Only six of us, three men and three women, were able to join this 5-day expedition. Five of us were literally free from any obligation at work, while one bravely absent from work for 3 working days. (You know why.)

The weather was great. The scenery was superb. And there was no turning back as each day passed by. In Bgy. Inuman, the Dumagat people were impressed that we were able to get there without a guide in just 2-1/2 days. Those 2-1/2 days were indeed the toughest of all. Rommel did not remember going through those waterfalls (that we jumped) nine years ago. You see there were short cuts, but we took the hard way by following the river entirely.

All mountaineering skills were utilized each day on this expedition. Everyday, we did a series of cardiac assaults, rock climbing, traversing, swimming, slight rappelling, backpack riding, tying knots and more. Not to mention that we also got all types of bruises, cuts, and insect bites. Snakes were visible. There were few sightings of "lematik," but a lot of "hantik" that bites painfully and leaves a puncture mark. It is good to know that there is still wildlife in Sierra Madre. And the Dumagats still hunt for wild boar. We also came across various fruits and vegetables that helped us expand our meal.

There were many highlights in this expedition, as well as mishaps. On the second day, when each one of us had to jump over the waterfalls, Tara almost drowned. And who came to her rescue? You know who. Also, Tara confessed that she heard unusual noises at our first camp and had this strange, scary feeling while trekking along the river. And I saw a figure sitting by our mess area at our second camp at the river bank. The third night was the scariest of all. The river swallowed out campsite due to heavy rain and we were very fortunate to evacuate and relocate just in time. That was a sleepless night, as we were cold and wet, and the rain continued until morning. On the fourth day, just on the first leg of the journey, Irene almost went into the rapids, while Tara did unfortunately. Rommel caught her just in time and an agonizing 15-minute drama followed. Thereafter, as we hang on a rock wall while traversing, Irene slipped twice along the rapids and hang on to the rope for her dear life. Tara who was beside her, got destabilized too. So who came to their rescue? You know who. On the fourth night, Robert slept only with shorts on because his clothes and sleeping bag were wet. So at dawn, he asked Rommel, "Sir, body heat tayo." And so he was christened "Adan". On the lighter side, we learned the habit of sitting in the water anytime to pee, with or without people around you.

A strong bond developed between us. It all started with the tail men. When "E" was the tail, he and "T" spent so much time behind us. And so did Gladiator and Doc. On the fifth day, after each backpack ride while tied to the rope, we trek still tied to the rope. Super-bonding!

We would like to thank Pareng Edwin and Gladiator for being our end-to-end water propeller and stopper. Also I would like to commend Robert for being a great landscaper.

Is it true that Edwin brings the bad luck? You see, even on our way home, great obstacles still came into our way. Like that banca ride from Suwag to Angat Dam that took 4 hrs. instead of 3 hrs. because of engine malfunction. Then followed by the tricycle from Angat to Bigti, which took longer and made us trek in between due to engine overheat.