November 8-9, 1997 

H ere are some thoughts regarding this climb (thanks to Chito). Despite some discouragement (by Chito also) and some doubts about completing a major climb (since puyat kami at nakainom ako ng konti) we proceeded with the climb in search of personal fulfilment (refer to Why Do I Climb? at the PALMC web site), it was also a reunion with some of the wet, wild and dirty bunch from mahayhay falls (circa July 13-14, 1996). Everything about this climb will surely remain in our memories (wow, senti!). All the hard work, slips and slides on the trail freezing temperature, and the PAIN!!!------still didn’t stop us from having fun and bond once more. While it is a difficult to climb, the mountain, the mystic side of it paved the way for an easy climb (good weather, good food and good......no....great companions). Since this was a major climb, wow...what a feeling ....uulitin pa ba natin ‘to? Despite my hectic schedule (I work on weekends too), I was even offered to go to Bacolod (work pa rin ‘to), I still ended up going with these guys to the beautiful, mystifying Mt. Banahaw. Nothing more to say but......’Til the next climb guys!!! 

Now the details..... 

Participants : Barry B., Mayan G., Jojoy C., Emil D., Arlyn A., Mitch S., JV , and Miriam &Eva (from the Spanish Embassy met by Jojoy at the Maskara Festival at Bacolod) Destination : Durungawan 

The climb (according to e-mail of Mayan) was for Barry, since he hasn’t climbed for about six months and he is on his sem-break. Talk of the climb circulated via phone brigade, paging systems and e-mail. Meeting place was at BLTB, Pasay at 3:30 am of Sat., first to arrive was Mitch (tulog pa when everybody else arrived), next was JV, then Miriam and Eva, followed by Jojoy, and finally (good thing the bus was late) Barry , Mayan, Emil and Arlene. As the bus was about to leave, Chito Razon arrived (originally kasama siya, but he backed out last minute kasi ka-ka-major climb lang niya last weekend, at may alternate climb rin naman daw siya sa Batulao at 1 pm dahil hindi pa raw siya natutulog nung araw na yon) to bid us farewell and a happy expedition. It turned out, almost everyone, walang tulog naman (!!!). We left at around 4:40 am and arrived at San Pablo, Laguna at around 6:30 am. Kakain sana kami sa Chow King, pero sarado pa ! (boo-hoo!!!). We took a jeep to Kinabuhayan and got there between 8 - 8:30am, did last minute shopping and jumped-off at 9:00 am. 

We stopped by Kristalino Falls for our first kodakan session. Then we proceeded to Suplina Falls. We had lunch at Kuweba ng Dios Ama at 1:00 pm (here we met up with a group from Tarlac---mga Rizalista?). Nagiging topic during most of the trek was the PALMC web page, specially the Why do I climb? part. Common answers were.....because I’m CRAZY!!!.....to get away from pressures, stress and pain of working (huh???...wala bang pain sa pag-climb???).....and so on. We had several breaks (dapat no!!!) and during these stop-overs, jokes started popping-up from Emil, Jojoy and JV. Sabi naman ni Barry, tigilan na namin at baka maubusan ng jokes for the post-dinner socials. Surprisingly, bumenta ang jokes namin sa spanish guests (whew!) The first batch arrived at the destination at 5:30 pm (?) and the last group (mga out-of-shape at walang tulog?) at 6:45 pm. While we were setting up the tents, one thing we thought that would never happen.....happened!---naiwan ni Barry ang poles ng tent niya!!!(THAT’S INCREDIBLE!!!). Buti na lang dinala pa rin ni JV ang tent niya. Habang nagluluto ng dinner, isa-isa nakakatukog. The temperature dropped to 60 degrees Farenheit, minus the windchill factor pa. It was really cold, as in lahat nanginginig while having dinner (paksiw na bangus c/o Barry...hhhhmmmm). Then people started falling asleep at 10 pm onwards (ano??? walang socials!!!). 

In the morning, we enloyed the view from Durungawan, nag-kodakan at nag-kodakan. It was very windy and the clouds were soaring past us and seemed to come from beneath us (parang MTV ang dating)Back in camp, we started cooking breakfast and lunch. We broke camp and started to descend at around 10:00 am and took the shorter route. It was a little slippery because of the morning dew (and it showered a little at night). We had a couple of stops (actually marami---hehehe), had lunch at.......(anong tawag doon???), then finally reached our starting point (Sta. Lucia...Kinabuhayan). Washed-up and started socials (yehey!!!). May handang dessert pa si Emil (a la cathedral window) at holy water pang-tulak (he he he). To skip everything else, we arrived in Manila at around 7:00 (tama ba guys???) and everyone heard the calling of their beds. Zzzzzzzzz........* 

Adventures of an Amateur Climber 
(My trip to Mt. Banahaw, Mar. 28 to 29, 1998) 
From the private journal of Raul Emmanuel V. Lejano 

31 March 1998 

It’s been two full days since I got back from my trip to Mt. Banahaw in Quezon Province.  And I’m still reeling from the experience! 

Banahaw is the third mountain that I had ever climbed, the first one being Mt. Gokaisho-dake in Mie-ken, Japan, the second being our very own Makiling.  In 1995 I climbed Gokaisho-dake with friends Randy and four Toyota office girls, the ascent took us about 5 hours – at a height of  1211.95 m ASL.  We were there with kids and even lolos and lolas, marami palang mahilig umakyat sa Japan.  And it was customary to greet “Konnichiwa” to everyone we met along the way.  Didn’t see much of what was below because of the clouds.  And on the summit–guess what?  A restaurant and a souvenir shop-it was as modern as you could get.  And how we got back down?  Real convenient - by cable car!  I thought, what the heck, bakit ako magpapakapagod kung kaya namang magbayad ng pamasahe.  In around 30 minutes we were back where we started. 

My second mountain, Makiling, proved to be more interesting, what I term as my first real climb, with huffing and puffing and all.  I was invited to join by friends from  Assembly Maintenance last Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.  I really had been waiting for such an opportunity.  It was hot and tiring but lots of fun, especially with those wacky guys.  Maybe I’ll tell you more about it sometime.  For now I’ll tell you about my most recent climb. 

After Makiling, we wanted to conquer  another one.  Banahaw was the natural choice.  It is higher (2177 m. versus Makiling’s 1109 m.), more challenging (considered as a major climb by mountaineers), and best of all, shrouded in mystery.  There’s lots of talk that it’s a “magic mountain”, that a great funnel of cosmic energy from the sky goes deep into its heart, even some claim that Jesus went there once in His lifetime.  Too much  talk, and I wanted to see it for myself. 

I broached the idea to my loyal buddy Ronnie-a veteran of many climbs-and we agreed on a date and set out to invite others-those who had tents, outdoor paraphernalia, and the major prerequisites, guts and a sense of adventure.  We didn’t have to look very far, 10 others responded to the call.  Sayang maraming hindi makasama.  I wanted a three-day trip but Ron said we could make it in two. Well, for good measure I filed a vacation leave on the Monday after the climb.  Turned out to be a good decision. 

March 28, meeting place: San Pablo City, BLTB Terminal.  ‘Yun pala the old terminal changed to a new location (it had been two years since any of us had been at the place).  It was no less short of a miracle that all of us were able to find each other.  Final count: 11 persons (short of one, hindi sumipot),  six of us from Toyota Sta. Rosa, the other five friends of Biboy.   Seven of us were first timers to Banahaw .  After breakfast at Chowking, we set off for Kinabuhayan, Dolores town, Quezon, arriving there around 0930hrs. After registering (and dami na palang nauna sa ‘min!), we started the assault at 0945hrs.  Forty minutes into the climb we got to Cristalino Falls.  Loaded up on water, washed up a little, and continued.  Dito pa lang pagod na kami-just went to show the extent of physical unreadiness we were in. 

As the climb progressed, we naturally broke off into 3 groups: the first group, four guys, the more daring, strong ones blazing our trail; the second group, more relaxed but no less headstrong, where I belonged with three others; and the third, those who got tired more easily and who had the most attacks of leg cramps.  Ronnie was here and acted as sweeper, the last guy in the entire troop.  The second leg was long and arduous, and to everyone’s relief  we decided to stop for lunch at around 1430hrs.  For me, it was sandwiches I prepared at dawn, for others, plain crackers.  Because of the mistake of our lead man, Marvin (a.k.a. Tiago) we failed to pass by the famous “Kuweba ng Diyos Ama”, a 30 m.-high cave that was supposed to be one of the highlights of the climb.  How I wanted to strangle him right then and there!   There was no turning back, we had gone too far.  After the 30-min. rest, we set off again. 

We could gauge how far we had been progressing by looking at nearby Mt. San Cristobal, roughly two-thirds of Banahaw’s height, and  it seemed as if we were crawling at a snail’s pace!  It came to the point that we were stopping every 10 minutes at the request of Ewek, who was carrying the biggest and heaviest backpack in our group of four.  Panay ang reklamo at tanong kung malapit na kami makarating sa taas.  Eh sa mukhang magko-collapse na I volunteered to exchange my backpack for his for the rest of the climb, to my deepest regret.  Aba’y napakabigat pala!  In no time ako na ‘yung nagmamakaawa na tumigil kami para magpahinga.  But we really couldn’t afford to do it often because nightfall was approaching fast.  Then we’d be like blind mice groping in  the dark, ganoon kadilim dahil walang buwan.  We struggled with 15-min. assaults followed by 5-min. breaks.  Parang walang katapusan. 

Finally, we heard voices above, of those who had gone ahead.  This is it, I’m nearing the summit!  But then sharp jolts of pain ran through both my thighs, naku, ngayon pa ako pinulikat, I said to myself!  Ewek, who until this time was always behind me (perhaps feeling guilty), nag-paalam na iwan ako and scrambled past me to get to the top.  It took me only a short time to force myself to get my legs up and continue-I didn’t care if I was going to get permanent muscle damage as a result,  I just wanted to get up there, too.  I then saw the first group, couldn’t stop shouting for joy and relief at finally arriving!  Rommel and Larry said I should go on and get to the peak.  I let go of the backpack, ran up the remaining trail, and I came across the greatest, deepest hole I had ever seen – I was at the rim of the crater!  Called the Santong Durungawan (Holy Window), the view was simply beautiful, beyond words.  It was as if the mountain were broken in two and a gigantic hole dug in the middle.  It was so deep I couldn’t see the bottom – I learned that  the crater  walls soared as high as 915 m.  And the clouds were coming in  from the opposite rim, slowly caressing and enveloping it in a blanket  of immaculate whiteness.  It was 1810hrs, the sun was setting, and it was cold.  I ran to get my jacket, returned, and just sat there by the edge until night came.  A slight push could have sent me falling into that abyss.  But at that moment, as the wind blew into my being, I felt as if I was the strongest man alive.  I just sat there gazing at God’s beauty.  And for the first time,  I really understood how it was to be a mountaineer. 

That was the last time I saw the crater.  The sun set and it became exceedingly cold and windy.  Had to get back to camp.  While the others were pitching the tents and preparing dinner, I turned on my radio, settled into my  “bat cave” (an incline with plants above for cover), looked at the starlit sky (I’d never seen so many stars in my life!) and fell into a light sleep.  By 2020hrs we got a radio message from Ronnie, asking for assistance because their flashlights ran out of batteries.  Three of us responded, not knowing their location, ‘yun pala malapit na sila. 

In five minutes we were with the “Lost Brigade” of Ronnie,  Tiago, Edwin, with the two girls we met along the way, Angelica and Mac.  Hindi naman sila actually nawala, bumagal lang.  The two girls were going to stay with a group who were fellow Bosconians from Manda which I’d met earlier (Cyril, Rommel, Paul), so Larry and I escorted them to their campsite near the rim.  May free hugs for carrying their backpacks and bringing them there, pero walang kiss na kasabay.  ‘Di ba dapat kiss sabay hug?! Thanks, girls!  Dinner took almost forever to cook, naturally because 11 starved guys had to be fed.  By 2130hrs we dug in our meal of hotdogs, sardines, adobong baboy at manok (binaon), ensaladang talong, and rice.  It started to rain.  We did 5S, pitched Ronnie’s tent for the four of us, drank a “bilog” of Ginebra, then went to sleep.  No socials that night, everybody was plain exhausted.  In the middle of the night I woke up because of the biting cold, had to wear an additional shirt plus my thick jacket.  Ang ginaw!  Tulog ‘yung tatlo.  The water started seeping in to where my feet were.  The tent was close to dripping wet.  I was almost too tired to care. 

Woke up at 0730hrs, had breakfast of coffee and instant noodles – they never tasted so good in my whole life!  Sandali lang  ay lunch naman of corned beef and rice.  Still hadn’t stopped raining.  Went to the peak again, did some picture-taking, and met Chito Razon of PAL Mountaineering Club (whom we’d met in Sagada) with Mitch Soria also of the same group.  They were cooking breakfast  by the crater rim in the rain–now if that was not the ultimate in coolness then I don’t know what is.  At this time the summit was one expanse of whiteness and wetness.  Back to camp for an hour’s  sleep, to the crater again for another look, saw the Metropolitan Mountaineering Society people wearing garbage bags for clothes (whom Chito and Mitch were with), took their group photo.  Tapos it was our time to go.  After egress and  5S (we packed and brought down all non-biodegradable trash), we went for a last look at the crater, said prayers, and started the descent at around 1130hrs, the steeper yet faster way towards the Tatlong Tangke, so named after a series of waterfalls.  It was an uneventful, raining three hours but my feet were aching like hell and two of my toes developed blisters.  An excuse to buy real hiking shoes.  Stopped to rest at the Tatlong Tangke (everyone whom we’d met or seen at the peak seemed to be there), and got into talking with Chito again.  Tapos baba ulit.  Another hour na para ding walang katapusan.  Mga 1530hrs siguro nang matapos ‘yung descent.  Pagdating sa  base I passed by the grotto where some believe Jesus left his footprint and decided to pray for thanks.  A group of Catholic women were there talking, and as I wanted to hear what they were saying I got closer and stepped on a weak, old bamboo bridge.  It broke under my weight and my left leg went through it up to almost my entire thigh!  The women looked in bewilderment, I said I was OK, carefully lifted my leg out, and saw two five-inch gashes plus a lot of other scratches.  Pretty embarrassing.  Well, I guess there was no need for me to buy a souvenir from Banahaw, I  got a couple for good.   And as an added bonus to this day  I have two big bruises on my left thigh and calf from the fall.  Now I know how battered wives must look like.  Really pathetic. 

For the next two days I couldn’t walk properly, my legs were in pain, and getting down a flight of stairs was especially difficult.  Ang greeting namin sa planta may kasamang suntok sa hita.  But I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.  How I wish that everybody could go up there to see what I had seen, to experience what I had felt!  During the descent I had remarked half-seriously to Ronnie na sana may cable car din sa Banahaw para maraming makapunta doon.  Dine-deliryo na siguro ako sa pagod no’n at nasabi ko ‘yon.  It would never work.  It would never be the same.  Mt. Banahaw is an open invitation, yet the experience is reserved for a privileged few.  Go and see the mountain for yourself, and you’ll understand what I mean. 

-Posted with the permission of the author 
-Photos by Joy J. Barcelon