Mt. Apo via Kidapawan - Kidapawan | Kidapawan City, Cotabato

Disclaimer: This is a personal (and emotional) post.

Mt. Apo for 2? Oh yessurr!

Last November 29, we finally made it to the summit of the highest mountain in the Philippines! (slow clap) read my notes below which I wrote real time from November 27 to 29 which includes our arrival in Davao, the day of the climb and the day of the summit assault.

 

November 27,2012
6:45PM

Lake Agco Resort 

Our day started very early that the check-in counters at the NAIA 3 were still closed when we arrived. I am never late and my friends know that. When you say be there 2 hrs before the departure time, I am there 2 hours and 30 minutes before the departure time and now, I regret it. I have such huge respect for time but NAIA 3 doesn't deserve it.

Anyway, we finally arrived at the Kidapawan Tourism Center at around 10 in the morning. The very accommodating staff welcomed us and I was surprised to see Romy Garduce's guide when he went to Mt. Apo for a day hike and asked for a photo. He also introduced us to our guide Amboy Torres (a member ofthe city's rescue team, jackpot diba?!) Like a routine, they asked us what we're gonna pack to eat on our climb. We said we'll settle for canned good which he politely disagreed and said: "Wag ganun, aakyat kayo eh, kailangan masarap!" (Don't settle for that, you'll be climbing and you deserve good food!) I wanted to cry. <3

Neil Sumalinog, Romy Garduce's guide when he did a day hike at Mt. Apo

In an instant, he was already scribbling down the list of all the essentials that we need and surprisingly, by rule, our guide and porter are gonna be in charge of cooking and preparing all that we need! (jackpot nanaman!) So don't bargain when they ask you to pay P800/day for the guide and P300/day for the porter because man, I am telling you - our guide and porter's service is like tee el ciii from your momma! Good food, hot coffee whenever/wherever you need it and a good laugh when you need motivation!

So after lunch, we went on our way to Lake Agco Resort which is a hot spring resort at the foot of Mt. Apo. We took a habal habal (P250/2pax) and travelled for around 45 minutes. Of course, you will need to pay for your guide and porter's habal habal as well. We opted to just rent a cottage with long benches for P250 per night. It includes a big table, light and an outlet where you can charge your gadgets. I will make a separate post about Lake Agco for reference.

 

our very strong porter, Kuya Don

 

habal habal boys

 

cottages at Lake Agco

The minute we settled in, our guide and porter prepared our food, made coffee and pre-cooked our meals for tomorrow's climb. I was just sitting there, offering them some bread and chips while bombarding them with questions ala Kris Aquino.

I tried to sleep early since we had a long day tomorrow but the benches were too narrow for me. Our guide insisted to pitch the tent since he can see me getting very uncomfortable and here I am right now, curled up in my sleeping bag while the boys chug a bottle of Tanduay. It is just 7PM and the temperature dropped to 20 degrees. My hands and feet are still numb from the icy cold shower earlier and with this, I bid goodnight.

November 27,2012
11:52PM

Lake Agco 

Ouch!!! Someone accidentally bumped my ass. Our tent is pitched outside the cottage since a big table is  occupying the space. Our new fly sheet really made a big difference. Props to Tita Gina for the help. Temp check 19.6 degrees. I shall sleep again.

November 28,2012
7:30PM

Lake Venado 

I woke up this morning at 3:48AM to find our guide preparing breakfast. I am shaking inside and sneezing a little and I actually feel tired. I am not used to this weather. Its a good thing that we arrived early to acclimatize our body. The temperature change is erratic that it changed from 18.4 to 17.9 in 15 minutes.

 

 Marble River

 

 

Matiao Camp

After breakfast, we walked for 10 minutes and reached the jump off point. It was 5 in the morning when we started our ascend and we passed by small hot springs where you can literally cook an egg. We then reached the bridge to cross Marble River. We crossed the river 6 times and our guide and porter acted as human posts for support. The trail up to Matiao Camp are adorned with a lot of flowers they call Everyday Blossoms and vegetable patches. It took us an hour and a half to reach the 1st camp where we rested for a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued our trek after 20 minutes and this is where it got tough. The trail was steep with tree roots resembling Tarak Ridge. Everything was mossy and wet hence the slippery trail. After 2 hours of scrambling and hoisting, my knees felt weak and I was already out of energy. I asked the boys if we can eat again since I can't walk anymore. My knee hurts as I tripped once and boy, it did hurt more as the temperature continued to drop. I recorded 17.9 degrees at 8:16AM. Since it was a weekday, we had the trail to ourselves and just ate in the middle of the trail. It was the best cold rice and oily adobo I had.

The trail became steeper as we approached Koong Camp. The rocks made it harder for my shoes to manage and I tripped a lot. Our guide was very strong despite his small physique and he hoisted me up quite a number of times. Haha! I was very spoiled! The Kidapawan trail is indeed very steep and I'm glad that we stop quite frequently to catch our breath. The lower part of my body is already sore and I knew I am close to giving up.

  

 

It was fourty-four minutes after nine in the morning when we reached Koong Camp. Area is vast and blemished by a lot of litter. There were heaps of water bottles which is disappointing to see. Our guide said that they regularly do clean up drives but it was not enough as a lot of climbers from other trails who don't go through the proper orientation leave their trash here. We continued our ascend after refilling our water bottles. Water sources are available all through out the trail and it tastes really great.

 

We encountered small ladders which I am thankful for. It made it easier than to carry my overweight body up on the slippery trail. Our porter took the hard route though, even with 60 liters of baggage, a smile was still glued on his face whenever I look at him. There was a part where I went on all fours. I was really crawling my way up as my knees felt like stone and my legs were already numb. I can't understand how I weaken so easily just after 2 hours of climbing and eating my chocolate and nuts. My energy was at its lowest and I wished I trained more. We had lunch in the middle of the trail again. It was 11:45AM, 2080 MASL and it was 16.3 degrees.

 

 

 

 

The 87 - 90 trail followed. They are called that way because of their inclines and it is known that a lot of climbers swear by how hard it is.But thank heavens that were was a landslide not long ago and the trail now has 2 ladders beside each other mwahahaha! Our guide's motivation really provoked me more as he said that we are nearing Lake Venado. And surely it is, after an hour a muddy trail and a few more bruises, we reached Lake Venado at exactly 1 in the afternoon. It was a joy to see the unobstructed sky again. I sat for quite a while and changed into sandals again since we'll be walking by a swampy lake. The summit was still 3 hours away and we opted to camp here since it was very foggy up there and our guide said that we might not be able to endure the temperature. 

 

 

 our camp

 

Kuya Don and Kuya Amboy

 

 from my phone

 

Right now, it is 7:35 in the evening. We are here inside the tent with only the sounds of constant snoring breaking the deafening silence of the night. I am exhausted and words cannot describe how much but I need to write down everything because for sure, I will get too lazy to do this tomorrow. It is quite  warm here as our very thoughtful guides made a manger out of dried cogon grass which served as the base of our tent. It is very comfortable despite the 11 degree temperature. We need to wake up at 3AM tomorrow for our summit assault and I hope we make it in time for sunrise. Besos.

November 29,2012
9:36PM

Lake Agco

Our trek started at 4:25AM.  The trail changed from a rocky and muddy combo to thorny grasses to knee high rocks and the forest - like area with small trees where we had breakfast. Our guide packed our food and brought our cookstove for coffee. I cannot elaborate enough how thankful I am to our guide (sorry, I'm too emotional) but I'm sure I won't be able to do it without him. He's too patient enough when I call for breaks. During the assault, we were stopping constantly every 3 minutes. The altitude combined with the temperature and the furious wind took a toll on me. I can't feel my legs. I was gasping for air.  My sore legs from yesterday's climb made everything hard. The cold pierced through my bones. My spirit was weak and I wanted to just give up. I never felt so tired in my life. I wanted to cry and I kept asking myself : "Why am I here?"  At the back of my mind, I wait for the answer while humming to Avril Lavigne's Keep Holding On. And until now, I still don't know the answer to that question. Haha!

 

 

 

Constantly, the Boss took my hand and tugged me upwards. I know he was tired like me but he kept on holding my hand and led me upwards (thank you my love!). We had zero visibility. Everything was foggy and that dampened my spirit more because we won't see anything up there. Don't get me wrong, we don't want to go to the summit just because we wanted to see the view okay? Haha! I won't explain further, you know what I mean. :)

almost there

 

When our guide said that we are just 20 minutes away, I felt a surge of energy. Imagine Popeye. Yes, like that.I found myself going up even if our guide wanted us to have a coffee break when we passed the high grasses. Then finally at 7:45AM, we were finally on top of the highest mountain of the Philippines. We ducked for shelter in the bushes as the wind became stronger and decided to wait there for a clearing. We just rested and didn't even think of taking pictures because we were concerned for safety. After what felt like eternity, the clearing we waited for still didn't come. We were soaking wet at 10,311 feet and it was not a good sign. The Boss was quietly shaking beside me and we all decided to go down. We just took short clips and some snapshots and descended to the nearby flat area with high grasses. 

 

last push to the summit

 

only summit shot

 

our guide making coffee

 

shelter

 

our guide, Amboy Torres

 

 

only clearing we got while descending back to Lake Venado

The feeling was surreal as I sipped  my tepid coffee. A dream climb planned year ago finally came true. And still up to this moment, I don't know why I am doing this, all I know is I am happy.

Goodnight, I know you're all tired from my blabbering.

PS: I will post a separate entry for the travel guide for your perusal!

Here's a short video:

Hasta luego!