So…I had this ultimate urge to climb mountains way back in high school but sadly dad didn’t approve. So I went on to kill time with tamed physical activities like soccer and my short stint as a middle distance runner and javelin thrower. Since graduating college have furthered trimmed my adventure gene, I got settled with a good job, a regular schedule and frequent trips to malls which I considered “working out”. I was pretty fit for a woman with a torn ACL and is suffering from hypothyroidism which in turn makes my metabolism slow, to make the story short, I gained about 37-40lbs since I was diagnosed and had my left thyroid removed.
One of my eccentric college drinking buddy, well – back then, invited me to go mountain climbing. 3 hours trek, no biggie, guide and all side trip to a waterfall just a short nature trip during the weekend. Well, I got excited. I bought a hiking bag, a tent and few other trinkets I thought I needed. Of course I did the research thing on-line, just wanted to know what I was getting myself into. I saw the pictures, read a few lines, “great climb”; this weekend would be a good break from my monotonous life. Urbanized as I am, my greatest worry was going about the weekend without a bathroom, especially going #2. There is no way I am digging a hole somewhere and leave something unpleasant behind, no way. My plan was to watch what I put in my mouth and don’t eat something too early in the morning, my stomach just don’t function in the morning.
Saturday, November 8, 2008 – 8am. “Don’t be late” was the text message I received, we left around 9:45am. Sheesh. Most of the people I was climbing with I just met that day. Nice bunch of people, most of them worked in a call center so they had zero to an hour of sleep. Our guide, Nong Roger I felt was really nice and sincere at first blush, well he really was. I’m off to Mt. Napulak in Igbaras, Iloilo or The Nipple Mountain, excited nuff?
We got to our jump off, I concurred I had over packed. I didn’t really, the tent was just to heavy and I had 3 liters of liquid with me. A few clothes, sunblock, and a few other toiletries. I wasn’t planning on going back to civilization smelling like a stray dog and yes, including the fleas. I should just learn how to edit, note to self, pack lighter. Small talk during lunch, I didn’t eat by the way. I thought I could get through 5 hours without eating. I was a little nervous though, I was hearing stories of how high and far the mountain we were about to climb, not good. This was supposed to be a 3hr easy in and out climb. Good thing was, fellow climbers took a few kilos out of my pack which made it tolerable but still very heavy as I later learned. So much for carrying 1/3 of your weight. I suggest 1/5 next time.
So we set on, I was unlucky enough to talk with locals along the way that didn’t help boost my self confidence. We were not nearly 10 minutes along a low incline when I started to feel my back hurt, so bad. I felt like I was carrying my sins. I might as well have. I was of course dragging along at the back of the pack of 11 in all. We started to exchange packs along the way, too late though. My back had already felt the pain. I was so wrong. There was a storm signal that weekend and it rained. Rained hard. It started getting dark and the trail was getting muddy that it could have been a good venue for mud wrestlers. Somewhere between being drenched, shivering cold, covered with mud and weeds that stick to clothes and get very itchy later on, I was crawling my way up in the dark and rain we finally made it halfway. 6 hours! And to think I picked up snakes as thick as my pinkie along the way, mistaking them for bracelets dropped by fellow hikers. Honest mistake when it happened first, I was wet and tired, but the second time was just plain stupid. I should have noticed the head. Why do they have to be colorful and pretty?
Emergency camp. Our tent had mud and water in it so we were forced to find shelter elsewhere. Thank you so much to Manong Ignacio and son, if their hut was not strategically located near us, I would have just died there hugging my raincoat. I was delirious and I was thinking “Lord, take me now”, I wouldn’t have mind back then. I slept with mud inside my panties that night. Yes, I was that tired and cold and I just didn’t care. Plus, I was with men left and right who were just as tired and cold as I was. No place for whinny nancy me. I took care of that problem the next morning though, despite of the recycled muddy clothes the other day, I was all fresh inside. (insert smiley face here).
I was chipper the next morning, we were all cramped in a 5×8ft hut, all 8 of us. I didn’t get enough sleep but it was enough, I was dry and warm. We left our heavy packs and proceeded to climb half of the way to the summit, happier and calmer since the weather was cooperating. We watched the clouds as it engulfs us, we take in the view. Beautiful. It was free. We finally reached the summit, I breathed in the fresh air, took lots of pictures and got worried about climbing down the Nipple rock, I tell you. That make-shift ladder they built was a death sentence waiting to happen. The boys of Talahib gave me a bouquet of flowers, for the first female of the group to reach the top. I earned those flowers I though, I was so proud as I squeezed the water out of my socks. We stayed about an hour on the rock, waiting for the clouds to clear, wouldn’t cooperate, I thought, this mountain really wants us to come back for a second look.
The descend was pretty easy, except when it started to rain again, really hard. I didn’t mind. I used up my water supply and I happily drank the rain, stuck out my tongue and all. We got chased by human loving pack of cows, I wasn’t planning on climbing a moss covered tree that day. I didn’t know how actually, real slippery but I did, in a matter of seconds I was up that tree. Damn those cows! I got a short video when I was up the tree with a fellow trekker, I was filming a particularly humiliating moment. Damn those cows!
So, we got our packs and said our thank you’s to Manong Ignacio and his son. My knees had started to give from supporting all my weight, Manong Roger, our guide, took my pack. Bless him. We switched packs because with the wet clothing my pack got heavier. I got antsy, I wanted to get the whole thing over with, I had marinated my feet in wet and muddy shoes for two days and I was feeling numb. So I decided to go all out. I got separated from my group, then it started to get dark, I had forgotten my headlight in my pack, I started calling out and I was way ahead of my group because no one was answering. So there I was, alone in the dark and can no longer see where I was going. I don’t know what happened but I was really calm for someone who was about to die there. I followed my instinct and sprinted whenever I get the feeling I was somewhere familiar. Thankfully, I got close to a village where there were huts, I could ask for directions. I figured, I would wait till morning if worse comes to worst but one of the villagers said I was really near. So i held my shit together when one of them volunteered to take me back to civilization. Funny thing is, people there find it amusing to find lost hikers especially the ones who looked like they’re about to faint from sheer exhaustion. She commended me because I appeared to be cheerful, sane and can still walk upright.
I literally screamed and hugged the ground. I said my thank you and drank coke still stunned. Two hours later, my group arrived.
In a nutshell, the trail we took was easy and could have been boring. I was thankful for the rain, fog, snakes and the dark because it spiced things up. I thought I was in this great adventure and I was doing really great for a first timer.
I was pretty hardcore!
Look ma, no bathroom for two days!
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