Surviving Mt. Tapulao

Jesus spoke thus, "Come to me all you who work hard

and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me

for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest.

For my yoke is good and my burden is light."

—Mt 11: 28-30

A long and rocky road stretched ahead of us on the morning of July 16, 2005. Mt. Tapulao, a.k.a. "High Peak," is located in Iba, Zambales. At approximately 2,000 meters above sea level, it is the highest point in the Central Luzon Region.

Check out those huge backpacks!


And the road goes on...

Group 2 takes a rest stop near the first water source.

Tired mountaineers must take a break for lunch!

After more than eight hours of walking, we finally reached the campsite. It was raining and we had to pitch our tents fast. Though Aryxz, Von, and I practiced how to pitch the tent Jon lent us before the climb, it took us forever to do it. When we finally managed to pitch it (with Angie and Jay-Z's help), the tent had already gotten wet and we were freezing! After changing into dry clothes, we proceeded to set up the camp kitchen and cook our dinner.

A sea of colorful tents amidst the pristine mountain grounds.


This shot by my groupmate Jon shows the unique beauty of the mountain.


Chopping green mangoes and tomatoes with our trusty swiss knives.

A scrumptious dinner of ensalada, beef kaldereta, and spicy tuna pasta!

Dusk at Tapulao.

After dinner, we had our camp socials (where I'm sure the members had a whale of a time watching the trainees' creative presentations!). We trudged back to our tents at around 10:30—lights out for trainees—to rest our tired and aching bodies. For someone who has a hard time sleeping in new places, I was surprised to have slept soundly that night—so soundly, in fact, that Aryxz, Von, and I refused to wake up at four o' clock the next morning despite Jim and Angie's insistent wake-up calls. It was just so warm and cozy being wrapped up in our makeshift blankets and hearing the rain drumming lazily on the roof of our tent. We were supposed to climb to the summit after breakfast, but a sudden downpour of heavy rains prevented us from doing so. We hurriedly "broke camp" and started our descent.

Contrary to popular belief, going downhill was definitely not any easier than going uphill. The rocks were moss-ridden and slippery. To make things worse, it was raining so hard that our path was drowned by rushing waters. It was like walking along a river. During the times when we would walk along level paths (and I wasn't so busy looking at the ground and worrying about the next time I was going to fall), I would look up and see myself surrounded by tall grasses and pine trees, the rain splashing on my face, and the mist hovering mysteriously around me. It was like being in a scene straight from Jurassic Park. Surreal.

Seeing the lands and the river on the horizon was a sign that we were only a few hours from the foot of the mountain.

At the end of the trek, we got a chance to take a dip in the river. All our pains seemed to be washed away by the cool, strong current.

Aaaah... REFRESHING!!!


Tapulao river babes.

All in all, it was a weekend rich in learning and experience. I felt quite proud of myself for having survived my first mountain-climbing experience. I was so scared before the climb and I kept on imagining the worst things that could happen. But surprisingly, I weathered the trail without too much difficulty... No, I take that back! It was damn hard, and to be honest, I was cursing God and myself in the middle of the trail for having joined this course. But aside from a few scratches, bruises, and a dead toenail, I'm okay! And though I seriously considered quitting during the trek, I now look forward to getting to know more people—both members and trainees—and having another world of experiences in the next climb. I am seriously going to miss being with the people in my group though. They have all been so helpful and supportive. I truly would not have been able to survive this first climb without them!

Group 2 totally rocks!
Clockwise from left: Eubert, Jay-Z, Bojo, Gerry, Joseph 1, Joseph 2, Jim (not in picture), Jon, Henry, Oca, Aryxz, Angie, Yvonne, and me!

But aside from feeling proud, I was also deeply humbled by the experience. I made a lot of mistakes. I kept hurrying up because I didn't want to be "the weakest link" that I failed to wait for my other groupmates and I wasn't able to fully appreciate the beautiful things around me. I slipped and fell countless times (most of the time, in front of someone crushworthy!), but after awhile, I learned to just get up and keep going. I've realized that the only fatal fall is the fall of death (falling in love is a close second, but I'll save that for another post!). I've learned that it's okay to be slow and to go at my own pace. As the members have repeatedly reminded us, this is not a race.

Before I end, I just have to say that I really admire the sweepers. They are a group of people who stay at the end of the pack to make sure that nobody is left behind. When someone is injured (as a few of the trainees were during this climb), the sweepers take care of that person. Sometimes, they don't even make it to the summit because they have to stay with the injured person—walking with her, carrying her backpack (in addition to their own), setting up camp, giving up their own tent, and feeding her, if necessary. I think it's easier to be in the lead pack where you can breeze past everybody else (though I'm sure they also have their fair share of difficulties), but it takes a great deal of patience to stay at the back of the pack or to "sweep" an injured person. It comforts me to know that should I get into an accident, the trusty sweepers will be there for me.

The sweepers with team leader Don.

During our post-climb meeting, one of the sweepers said that if you get "swept," you shouldn't feel bad. In fact, you should feel proud of yourself because despite the difficulty, you survived (like Mommy Beng whom I really admire because she persevered despite her sprained ankle)! He also said that if anything stresses us out in the real world, we should look back on our time in the mountains and think that if we survived that, we can survive anything. Indeed, the unwavering optimism of AMCI members has never ceased to amaze me. I guess when the going gets tough, there's just no room for negative thoughts—something I will definitely keep in mind during our challenging training sessions and our next climb!

The bus ride home. Tata for now!