IT WAS A WEIRD CLIMB. It was an induction climb for batch 99
and a memorial climb (for Manong Ed?). It was star studded, according to Edwin, with 2
board members, a former president, PRO and the Matulid Warriors. It was
also historic in some sort; the first time Edwin became the team leader,
the first time that MMS made a straight Ambangeg (police detachment) - Kabayan in three
days. It was also memorable, with a number of climbers already non-virgin in terms of
climbing Mt. Pulag (Long 4th time, Ed 3rd time,Edwin, 2nd time, Rommel 2nd time, and Irene
2nd time). But much more important, it was a revelation in terms of jinx.
PRECLIMB. From the pre-climb meeting, it was already full of surprises. It
was Edwin's first time to be a TL (team leader hindi tulo laway). And
indeed "pinangatawanan na niya", with an itinerary straight from the
printing
press, complete with pictures of the inductees- the best ever itinerary I have
seen in my life. Mukhang walang magawa sa trabaho o baka naman pa pogi-points sa isang
inductee (hehe). But as usual, the survivors were again grouped into one (mukhang
gutom na naman !). "Survivors" was a term coined by the group to those
members who eat survival food during lunch not to test their ability but because of
laziness. Edwin, Ed and me into one group ? Buti na lang sinama sa amin si Kae...Yehey
! may tagaluto na kami .
PRECLIMB ACTIVITIES. Rommel was already in Baguio as early as Sunday,
October 25th. He made the initial permit preparations with DENR. Ed and
I went there Wednesday to have some R & R before the climb. Thursday, the
trio went to climb Mt. Sto. Tomas. It turned out to be a ride to Sto.
Tomas. We were lucky a delivery pick-up was on its way to the summit to
deliver gasoline for the generators of the facilities of antennas atop
the mountain. It was a bumpy ride though, as if we were auditioning for the
Marlboro Adventure team rodeo riding. The fuel was also spilling so we were
prepared for an action pack ride ala Stalone jumping from an exploding
vehicle. Surprise, surprise! There was a Sto. Tomas lodging house atop the
mountain- what a summit ! In the afternoon, we combed Session Road which was more taxing
than climbing Sto. Tomas. During dinner we were already thinking of aborting our Pulag
climb due to the body aches brought about by the Session road escapade. During the night,
we night trekked (yes, Rommel's parent's house entails trekking to get to the main road)
and then made our BBH -
Baguio Bar Hopping. It was like reliving Ed's high school life. In one of
the places, there was lots of krispi-pata flying all over the place, if you
know what I mean. Rommel was straightforward when he asked the waiter why
they do not have a weight-training program for their GROs.
DAY 1. Tired, we slept at around 1:00 AM. Few hours later, the group
arrived in Baguio (Edwin, Mhon, Nini, Kae, Erwin, Myrtle and Irene). We night
trekked again to meet the group at Chowking- the official waiting place.
The group was already prepared for the trip to Ambangeg with their
malong to prevent being "espasol-ized" by the road dusts. Atop the
roof of the
jeep, there were not only awesome views that we got but also Edwin and I got a
glance of the man behind Manong Ed, the main manong. Right there and then,
we were able to get a glance of the life of the infamous sex-machine (which
will later turn out to be another lover boy- chika). With socials atop the jeep
and an early travel time, it' was becoming a promising climb in terms of
chika.
The big surprise of the day was when the jeepney we have hired announced
that he can no longer go up to the ranger station. It was Terminator, the usual
service we hire in climbing Pulag and Ugu. It meant that we will have one
extra day of hike, ruining the entire schedule. We dropped by the DENR park
station and had our lunch there after some discussion with the park
employees regarding trails and the future of the park. It was a long,
looooooong, looooooongggggg hike to the ranger station. But it was a
revealing hike. We found out about the dark powers that MMS members possess when a jeepney
going to Palanza refused to give us a ride. They prayed the
jeepney will encounter problems as a curse for not letting us hitch. And after
the next curve, we saw the jeepney stuck on one of the mud hole. Ed tested
his powers too much by requesting for a helicopter to drop by and pick him up.
Better luck next time dreamer.
It was already getting dark and rain started but the group was still in
Lusod. Lucky for us, a vegetable delivery truck gave us a ride to the
ranger’s station. Naawa siguro, especially when he saw Nini. Pero it
was one
hell of a ride! Sumabit kami ni Ed sa likod with our backpacks. We
literally hang from the bar carrying the load from the pack when the jeep
was climbing uphill. Muntik nang pumutok yung muscles ko.
At the campsite, it started to rain and the wind blew hard. It was already
12C, but if you would consider the wind factor, it must be
lower than that. Our group cooked inside the tent (although it was against
BMC, we did it on a safe manner). We were happy that Kae was with our group,
sige luto ! After eating everybody expired due to fatigue.
DAY 2. On our way to the summit, the skies were still covered with clouds.
It was raining and the wind was strong. It was like trekking to the death
zone of Everest (kahit na hindi ko pa na-eexperience yun). For few minutes
we got windows of picture-taking opportunity but majority of the climb, was
under 0 visibility. After a long and strenuous trek to the summit, everybody
was in a hurry to go down due to the cold winds. We had a mini-program for
the induction of batch 99. Welcome to the club !! Then off we went down
towards Akiki trail. (FYI Pulag has 5 major trails Ambangeg, Eddet, Akiki,
Tawangan and Lusod. From Tawangan, you can trek towards Tinoc Ifugao to
Banaue or Napulauan and from Lusod towards Ugu). Since we were delayed
already, we were on race against time. Our target was any campsite near
Eddet since it was impossible to go to Eddet anymore. We were happy to reach Marlboro
Country or what other groups call "helipad" by 5:00 PM. It
was sunny and we had an opportunity to take pictures. But alas ! It also
started to rain. This was the time that we have figured out that a member of MMS
was a rain god, a rainmaker. But it was not an asset for us. It was a jinx!
People from Kabayan might offer a cañao for him because he had brought
forth rains in this dry land but why during our trip !? It was another miserable
night. We cooked inside the tent again and slept our exhausted body.
DAY 3. I woke up wet (no I did not wet @#$%&) due to the mist brought by
the strong winds. Our goal was to reach Kabayan, a feat we haven’t done before
but very much possible. It was a miserable packing time (packing Ed not
f......) with all the wet stuff, raining etc. I led the prayer and
requested that at least even a short sunshine would be given and a promise of
going-back-home by November 1st. On our way down we met some groups, Power-up, PEGS and
ABS-CBN foundation. We were thinking of how miserable they will be. We pushed harder and
harder until we reached Kabayan by 1:00 PMPM. Ed bet that we will reach Kabayan by 2:00 PM
while I was expecting 1:00. We were both right. The lead group arrived by 1:00 PM and the
tail by 2:00 PM.
Man ! The sky was clear blue ! It was sunny. The other groups may be saying
their apologies for our group. My prayers were answered but why only in base camp.
Myrtle invited Edwin for a church blessing to ward off the jinx he is
carrying. We ate at the restaurant and also took a shower there. Ed visited
diwata, but sorry Ed, she is in Baguio. The other members visited the local
mass burial site. There was no longer public transportation available to go back
to Baguio. But since we desperately wanted to get home, Edwin and I went to a house with a
Kia 4X4 truck to rent it for that afternoon trip. The owner tried resisting but we said
the magic word- how much ..... and
off we went to Baguio. Ed, Edwin and I tried the top load ride but it
was
too terribly bumpy (ayaw pa naming mabaog). Ed ikaw na lang....so we went
inside the truck. We experienced a minor delay when one of the shocks gave
in.
The trip was a bit exciting, traveling the cliffs on a nighttime with a driver who have
eye problems. Looking back at Pulag, it was a clear night, with
lots of stars, a dark blue sky.... What a climb!
I felt like I am trying all mountains at its worst state. Remember, Famy 1996,
Majayjay 1998, Halcon, 1999 and now Pulag 1999. Whew ! And all of these climbs have this
key climber with me. Or am I the one ? Pero how about Matulid? I was not there. So siya
na nga ang maysala.
But what the hell ! Jinx or no jinx ,lets CLIMBBBBB!!!!
PS. It was a good team. We enjoyed every minute of the climb. Thanks to all!!
This may be my last climb for this year, but it was really worth it.