Our Stormy & Limatiky Mt. Tenglawan Climb (July 9-10, 2016)

During my Mt. Kabunian climb last year, I saw Mt. Tenglawan over the northern horizon and I was in awe, beyond words.  At those very moments, I promised myself to climb it in due time. 

Our Kabunian Guide, Tita Segundo who was an efficient story teller told us folkloric tales about how Mt. Kabunian and Mt. Tenglawan came to be.  According to her, Mt. Kabunian is the good mountain and Mt. Tenglawan is the opposite; meaning, the bad one. She warned us that before anyone would attempt to climb Mt. Tenglawan, she should climb Mt. Kabunian first.  She relayed that at least one group of mountaineers suffered some misfortune because they climbed Mt. Tenglawan ahead of Mt. Kabunian.  Keeping that in mind, I told myself that it’s safe for me to climb Mt. Tenglawan because I’ve already received the good tidings of Mt. Kabunian last year. :D

The climb was initially scheduled to be Alex’s birthday climb last June 18.  But we had to postpone it to July.  So we set it for July 9-10.

On July 4, Typhoon Nepartak threatened to cause the cancellation of our climb.  As we came nearer to July 9, it was also coming closer to the Philippine Area of Responsibility. 

On July 6, weather forecasts indicated that Nepartak or Buchoy will move northward to Taiwan by July 7 to 8.  So when we attended the birthday party of Egay’s Unica Ija, Jamie, and we had some sort of a "pre-climb" meeting, we decided to go, rain or shine.  Egay called it:  "rain or rain" !

In past years of climbing mountains, we have gotten used to a prepared mindset during the rainy months starting May onwards until December.  The climate change has actually distorted the predictability of rainfall in this country.  So our backpacks always contain rain gear, even during sunny climbs.

Six of us were set to travel from Manila: Mindanaoan Casimir, Antipolo Nature Explorers Egay & Ricky, Mindoro-based Jei, Majayjay Kagawad Paeng and QC-bored Me. :D  We took the 8:40pm Victory bus from Cubao and reached Baguio City after 5 hours.  

Day 1
At 2am we were already in Baguio so we napped on the terminal benches while waiting for our assembly time 4:30am.

Riza who came from the northernmost tip of Luzon, Ballesteros Cagayan, joined us by 4:20am.  She came from the Baguio dorm of her son who studies in Baguio.

At 4:30am, Tublay-based Alex and Baguio Wrong Ranger Kardo arrived with their vehicles.  Off we hit the road.  We fetched Zorro Rex from La Trinidad. .  It was still dark while we started to zigzag thru Halsema highway.  It was very foggy.   After sunrise, we stopped over at Sinipsip to have breakfast.  Sinipsip is the place along Halsema highway landmarked by the junction that turns left to Bakun.

We carbo-loaded at that restaurant that served sumptuous breakfast!!  We also bought our packed lunch there.

Short Story:  Egay was locked up in the men’s comfort room..He almost ended up climbing that CR partition.  No one heard his screams for help.  Good that Alex decided to go there at the last minute.

By 7:30am, we left Sinipsip for Ampusongan, Bakun.  Thru the intermittently foggy skies, we caught glimpses of the uniquely beautiful western mountain ranges of the Cordilleras.  We were greeted by numerous land slides, both natural, and man-made.  The man-made slides were pre-emptive infra-structure projects.  In this part of the country, one could see where public funds go.  You would pass thru concrete roads even in the remotest barangays.

We reached Ampusongan by 9:30am.  We bought our provisions there and transferred our backpacks to the vehicle that would take us to Sinacbat, our jump-off point.

The vehicle that was prepared by our gracious host Kardo was a Delica van. (Sorry Kardo but we failed to update you about our number.) Upon seeing it, we immediately concluded that we wouldn’t fit into it, not to mention our backpacks.

We were ten: Kardo The Wrong Ranger, Rex the Zorro, Alex (he hates his title so I won’t mention it here), our Sweepers-by-no-choice Egay & Casimir, WSAR-trained Ricky, Limatik-buster Jei, Ang Tumao ng Majayjay my godson Paeng, Wonderwoman Riza and Limatik-scared Me.

As we were thinking about our dilemma, Kardo was staring at another vehicle.  I read his eyes.  Before he could even finish his question:  “Is it OK if we use that?”  I happily gave my ready answer yes of course! sure sure sure!! We would use that white, dainty cutie dump truck!! Yeheeeeeeeyyy!!! We immediately loaded our bags and ourselves into the dumptruck!! I so wanted to be with the guys at the back but I willingly occupied the front seat in the cockpit.  I had to be careful about my spondylolisthesis so my doctor wouldn’t prohibit me to climb. 

By 10:30, we left Ampusongan aboard “our” dumptruck.  Dark clouds rolled in, testing our resolve to push thru with our climb.  As we started to zigzag thru the road leading to the intersection that enters Barangay Dalipey that ultimately leads to Barangay Sinacbat, “our” dumptruck halted due to engine trouble.

Good that our driver, "MadMax" Abe was an efficient mechanic.  In no time, we resumed our travel and soon found ourselves in a beautiful country that made us feel like we’re in a foreign land.  The travel to Sinacbat would take two hours.  The dark clouds grew heavier; it began to rain. 

After two hours of navigating thru dangerous zigzags perched on narrow ridges with deep ravines, we found ourselves in a community peacefully nestled on graceful mountain slopes highlighted by pine forests and some small patches of vegetable gardens. Sinacbat at last!

  Ooooops! We had to stop because the road was blocked.  It was actually blocked by a wedding party reception.  There was a wedding!! In the middle of the road sheltered by a parachute makeshift tent, we saw party guests receiving huge party loot bags from their gracious hosts.  It turned out that the family of the newly-wed couple is related to Rex.  Wherever we go, it seems that Rex has relatives!! So we were instant party guests!!

We had to alight from the truck and yield to the lunch invitation of one of Sinacbat’s Kagawads.  That Kagawad (sorry I forgot his name, but he was very nice and accommodating) was also our contact person for our guides and porters.  In his house, we ate lunch.  Some of the wedding reception party food were brought in.  They called the roasted pork meat: “wat-wat”.  They were huge chunks of roasted pork.  Really, they were so huge that merely looking at them made me feel bloated-full.  (Sorry, but I don’t eat pork.  When I turned 50, I avoided meat actually.  That’s my problem whenever I climb Cordillera mountains.  We seldom find fish in eateries.)

The rain continued to pour.  It was getting cold.  We had to stop hoping and expecting that the rain would stop.  We needed to fix our mindset:  it will be a rainy and limatiky climb for sure.

After lunch and freshening-up rituals, we resumed our road trip until we reached the dead end of the concrete road.  Start of our trek.  Time check: it was 1:30pm.

It was heavily foggy.  Visibility was almost zero.  We saw no mountains that would somehow give us an idea about our destination. 

The first part of the trek was an easy walk.  We started to descend thru a well-established community trail that was slightly slippery due to the continuous rain.  As we hiked on, the rain slowly weakened.  As we were passing thru the side of what appeared to be a tall but steep mountain, the sweet roaring sound of waterfalls became louder.  Gradually, the rain weakened into gentle drizzles, and little by little like a stage curtain slowly opening up before a theatre play, we were welcomed by a breathtaking sight!!! The rocky wall of a crying Mt. Tenglawan!!! 

The view took our breaths away because the many waterfalls looked like tears flowing thru the rocky slabs that made Tenglawan looked so mighty and tough! It dawned upon us that we were at the foot of Mt. Tenglawan!!! And as we looked up toward our right side, we saw the carrot peak peeping at us beneath the thick fog that shrouded Mt. Tenglawan’s summit.  Surreal !!!

At the end of the descending trail that led us to a creek where the waters coming from the numerous waterfalls converged, we saw a concrete stairway that signaled our ascent to Tenglawan.  There we realized that even in this remote part of Benguet, government poured in public funds to make life easier for those who tread along this path, whether locals or tourists-hikers. 

The end of the concrete stairway ushered us into a mini-forest and then to a huge boulder with an underground camp.  Guides use it as their shelter whenever their hikers camp overnight..

ang guapo ni tio paeng dito a!

Some of us decided to take a prolonged rest there, but I who was starting to feel very limatik-paranoid decided to push thru with the impending Akiki-like steep ascent.  I requested limatik-busters Jei and Paeng to be with me because I was pretty sure limatiks were eagerly waiting for our arrival. 

As an opening salvo, we had to pass thru a couple of creeks.  There was a charming mini waterfalls near the second one.  Although I hated stopovers along creeks because I knew limatiks love to stay in wet habitats, I couldn’t help but pause and take a picture of the waterfalls. 

After that, the trail began to be cruel.  Indeed, the blogs were right; it was a 65° steep zigzag ascent thru an innocent-looking pine forest.  I murmured to myself: there was no limatik in the pine forests of Akiki and Sta. Fe (Ampucao ridge)!! How come there are a lot here???? That’s so unfair!! Validating my fears, soon I saw the sinister creature crawling thru my rain poncho!! Shocks I forgot to apply laundry soap on my poncho!! I screamed as if I saw ten ghosts! The horror of my life started to happen.  

As we ascended thru the Akiki-like trail, more and more limatiks attacked me.  Maybe, their battalion was alerted by my shrieks so they instantly were into defense mode.  Maybe they shared motto with Jaworski: “the best defense is offense.”  One after the other, or should I say, three after the other three, I think I was seeing or maybe imagining more than that, they climbed into my poncho, my shoes, my pants, my ankle…. Jei and Paeng were busiest harvesting limatiks from me, that they forgot to harvest the ones that were also attacking them.  My nape was painful, my heart was pounding, my mind was freaking out, my soul wanted to escape and leave me behind.  I was on the verge of fainting.  Paeng, notwithstanding his heavy backpack, literally pulled me thru the ascent.  As I crawled thru it with my eyes almost closed and my tears flowing together with my sweat, I stopped counting limatiks and just resigned myself to an unfortunate destiny:  soon I would faint and the limatiks will eat me alive.

The ascent that should have taken place in an hour happened in 45 minutes because Paeng dragged me up quickly.  Before I knew it, we reached the campsite to my overwhelming relief.  It was 4:15pm more or less. 

We were told by the guides that the campsite is only 20 minutes away from the summit.  I so wanted to go to the summit at that time but the weather was still bad.  So we just decided to rest early after pitching our tents and cooking dinner.  The weather was perfect for curling up inside our tents and savoring the rare opportunity to rest and to fall into deep slumber.

Day 2

It rained all night.  We had to use our umbrellas to do our bladder rituals in the wee hours before dawn.  The strong winds caused by the tail ends of Typhoon Buchoy (Nepartak) intermittently slammed into our parawing and fly-sheets sounding like a monster trying to pound on our tents.  Because my body clock dictates that I should already be up by 4am, I volunteered to heat water for our coffee.  One by one, the sleepy heads emerged out of their tents to accept my hot cups of coffee.  Then Paeng cooked our pancit canton. We preferred to eat lite breakfast so we could easily manage our quick summit assault.

By past 6am, there was no sign that the sun would melt the thick fog.  Sadly, I had to accept the reality that there would be no clearing at the summit.  Despite the disappointment, we were still excited to see the summit, and the Carrot Peak.

On our ascent to the summit, my limatik-busters were not with me.  I don’t know why I found myself among the group of the Wrong Rangers.  Jei, Paeng and Casimir were at the tail.  My mind was busy admiring the beauty of the nearby mountains and the fog that partly covered them.  The scenery looked like Chinese painting.  Every now and then, I took pictures.  

Limatiks did not at all occupy my mind.  Just yet.  Until we reached the mini-mossy forest when they started to make their presence felt again.  I saw a sturdy looking limatik crawling thru the pants of Alex.  I called his attention.  After that, I saw two more on Alex’s pants.  But Alex just whisked them away as if they were just mosquitoes.  In no time, we reached the fog-covered summit. 

 What caught my full attention was not the summit, not the carrot peak, not the fog, but the limatiks that each one of us brought along into the summit.  I inspected myself, and each of the boys.  They had it in their sweaters, hood, pants, raintcoats.  We were all busy killing the little monsters. 

To spare myself from a possible heart attack on our way down, I promised myself at the summit that I should conquer this fear.  Not the fear of heights, but the fear of this tiny monsters.  So to symbolize my resolution, I held one of them and tried to kill it, but it was very slimy.

We took pictures of ourselves and of the beautiful flowers at the summit with a very hazy foggy background.  It’s okay… To us, it was a success, despite the bad weather. 

We decided not to climb the carrot peak because the guides warned us that its rocky trail was slippery.  It was still drizzling at that time.

We went back to our campsite passing thru the same limatiky mossy forest.  As expected, the tiny monsters came with us again. 

After breakfast, we broke camp, took groupies, and descended. 

Before I hit the trails, I applied laundry soap all over my pants, shoes, socks, raincoat, backpack. The soap all over me bubbled as the drizzles poured upon us during our descent.  Surprisingly, not a single limatik attacked.  The laundry soap weapon worked!!! 

While the rest of the group still got some of them;  one even got stuck with Kardo all the way down to Sinacbat.  Bloody!!

The weather got better as we descended thru the concrete stairway and all the way thru the easy part of the trail.  We had the chance to admire the Bakun mountains.  We saw the white rocky wall of Mt. Kabunian greeting us from the far distance.

Meanwhile, Mt. Lobo was hidden beneath the thick fogs over the southeastern horizon.  We also saw Bakun Old Poblacion and realized that it is very very far.  Had we taken the traditional trail, it would have been very difficult.

These Benguet Lilies highlighted the slopes, we couldn't help but notice their pure innocent beauty...

Several minutes after we took off our raincoats because we already felt suffocated, and as we were ascending to our jump off point, a heavy downpour surprised us.  The fogs, as well as strong rain, caught up with us.  Whew!! Those of us who weren’t fast enough to don their raincoats back got wet and decided to bathe thru the cold rain.  We reached our jump-off point by 11:30am and “our” truck fetched us and brought us to the Sinacbat Barangay Hall where the very accommodating and kind Barangay Chairman was waiting, with matching sumptuous lunch!!! Simply perfect!

There at the Barangay Hall, we also changed our wet clothes and prepared for another long road trip back to Ampusongan, then Baguio City. 

By the way, it was obvious that the LGU of Barangay Sinacbat practices good governance.  I was very impressed to see Best Procurement Practices posted on their bulletin boards!!! Inspiring and exemplary!!!

I got so immersed into admiring the procurement best practices exhibits at the Barangay Hall that I left my backpack behind.  We were several miles away when we had to stop, not only because I left my backpack but also because of what seemed to be a traffic jam (vehicles travelling had to halt because of a vehicular accident;  a passenger jeep fell into the deep ravine because the driver was drunk.  Miraculously, the driver did not suffer major injuries; just a few bruises.  The jeep was intact with minor dents as well.)  The retrieval of the jeep that fell deeply into the ravine actually took two days, but we got stuck there for almost an hour.  After the road was finally cleared, we still had to wait for my backpack;  it was sent to us thru a habal-habal.  While waiting, the Wrong Rangers and the rest of the guys harvested what they called "born again" cabbages.  Why "born again"? These are cabbages which were already harvested but due to conducive weather, new buds grew out of their old "remains".

 "The Born Again Boys"

"The Cabbage Boys"

The trip back home to Baguio City via Ampusongan was about 6 hours.  At Ampusongan, we freshened up and repacked some of our things.  We are thankful to Uncle Philip (father of Odyssey, Kardo’s EA) who gave us plenty of pabaon na vegetables.

We reached the Victory Bus Terminal in Baguio at 7:30. We still had time to eat dinner so we had dinner at KFC.  We were very hungry so KFC chicken tasted heavenly!!!

Mt. Tenglawan, we will come back.  In due time, we will see you again and climb your carrot peak, God willing. Hopefully by then, the limatiks and I would be friendlier to each other.

Wrong Rangers, thank you forever.  Everytime you invite us to your climbs, my gratitude to you guys is overflowing.  

Egay & Ricky, Jei & Paeng, Riza & Casimir, didn’t you realize, that our climb was COMPLETE, because the 6 of you plus the Wrong Rangers, my favorite climb buddies, were all there!!! How I wish this "Magic 10" is always complete….

I always look forward to our next climb, whether minor or major, sunny or rainy, boring or limatiky.  

Super Thank You!!!

To God  be the glory!!!