(November 2000)

We nearly perished in the highest peak of Luzon.

It has been more than two weeks but the experience is still part of my conversations with Gary. We as ourselves what went wrong. We try to recall vividly the experience and put rationality into it. We can’t seem to get it out of our system. One thing is clear though: whatever we’ve been through high above that great mountain is a lesson that will guide our timing and decisions in future escapes to the great outdoors.

It was Saturday November 27 when typhoon Reming unleashed its fury in Central Luzon. It was one of the strongest typhoons I could  recall, lasting for more than two days of very pronounced rain and strong winds that never seemed to stop. Metro Manila was submerged   but what concerned me most was our scheduled climb at the end of November to Mt. Pulag, Luzon’s highest peak. It was Tuesday, a   day before our scheduled trip, when the sun finally came out. Keeping track of the weather, I learned that a low-pressure area was   spotted in the Pacific and was traveling very slowly south of Mindanao. I brushed the weather report aside and did not let it bother me. “Think positive,” I thought. Nothing could stop us from conquering the famed mountain.

On Tuesday noon, we left for Baguio from where we would catch another bus going to Ambangeg, the starting point of our climb. Along  the way we saw the scenic Ambuklao Reservoir. A few kilometers before reaching our destination, a long queue of vehicles lined the road due to landslide. We had to hike the remaining distance going to Ambangeg. There we set up camp, drank a little booze to fight the cold, and slept like logs. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and started ascending again to the DENR Ranger Station. All those times the weather was very good and calm. We met some fellow hikers who offered us to join them in renting a 4X4 Jeep used for hauling  vegetables from the mountains. It turned out to be a joy ride since all of us at the back of the jeep were shaken like lotto balls due to bad road condition. We had to dismount countless times to allow the vehicle to maneuver the cracks in the road. We didn’t mind it though,   the view on the way up was heavenly. Besides, it would have taken us a whole day of hiking had we not rented the jeep. From the Ranger Station we ate our lunch, prepared our backpacks, hired a guide, and braced ourselves for the 3-hour uphill hike to the mossy forest  leading to Base Camp.

Man, the mossy forest was incredibly beautiful. There were abundant pitcher plants and giant ferns along the trail and the thick moss that covered the trees looked very unusual and primeval. I could imagine dinosaurs and yetis hiding in the woods. The four hikers who joined us (a guy and three girls) were kind enough to share with us their trail food that we shamelessly devoured. The uphill trail was taking its toll on everybody but the cool mountain breeze served as our natural energy booster.

We arrived at base camp at a little past four and some of us nearly collapsed due to sheer exhaustion. I was in high spirits at the thought  that we were almost there. Our four companions wanted to assault the peak, a good thirty minutes away. I frowned on the idea. We did not have the luxury of enough daylight to wallow at the peak. Being bossy that I was, I urged everybody to assault first thing in the morning. They obliged and we set up camp. It was a good decision I would later learn.

Was it fate that allowed us to pitch our tents just in a nick of time before the unthinkable happened? The wind and rain came  unexpectedly. All throughout the day, we were blessed with mild weather interrupted only by a thick fog that was normal at highly  elevated areas. Little did we know that it was an oncoming storm that we hoped would not come. We all hid in our made-up shelters and  hoped that the rain would take a commercial break. It didn’t, rather, it grew stronger and remained unrelenting. Still, I managed to cook supper keeping my rice perfect. It occurred to me how stupid we were for not bringing liquor at a time when we needed it the most. Gary and I stayed in one tent, our guide in another, while Leo, PJ, and Allan were on the third. I looked at Gary with such contempt and emotion that somehow he understood the grim reality that awaited us in the next few hours. I really could not recall what I felt when he said that the strength of Escape will be put to a test. I laughed my signature laugh but the tremble in my voice gave away the fact that I was scared shit.

Rain started to seep through the bandanna-like flysheet that covered our tent, or rather, Sam’s tent. He bought it at a bargain price at SM  and lent it to us. Gary joked that maybe this was Sam’s way of getting even with us. It looked funny but we were actually holding an umbrella when rain started to pour inside the tent. I sensed the seriousness of the situation and decided to abandon my best friend Gary to transfer to the already crowded tent of Leo and company thinking that their tent would hold better. I found them already wrapped in their sleeping bag unmindful of the deluge outside. Leo was shivering uncontrollably, a sign that he might succumb to fever. We were so  cramped that I decided to just sit in the dark as a self-imposed watcher of the group. I was so worried that something really bad might  happen to us that sleeping was out of the question. It was impossible to check on Gary and our guide or even the other group due to poor visibility. I wondered what had happened to them. It was 9pm and I just sat there contemplating on our situation. The wind was howling so strong it sounded as if a giant was whistling outside. It was hair-raising. I knew then that we were in real danger if the rain wouldn’t let up. My fear amplified when water started to seep through my sleeping bag and started to flood the tent. Worse, the wind was pounding on our tent, strong enough that the poles were slapping at my face. I felt like a punching bag. The three guys looked as if they were sleeping, but just like me, they were waiting for the big one.

The Big One came. I tried to hold on to the poles but to no avail. A big strong wind pounded our tent and I heard the tent poles crack. I started to shiver. My hands were numb and I could not feel my feet anymore. Then the wind ripped the upper portion of the tent and the poles went crashing at us. No need to wake the boys up since we were all suddenly holding on to the four corners of our fragile shelter. I shouted at them to abandon the tent. I gave instructions to Allan to put large stones in the center of the dilapidated tent so our stuff won’t get blown away with it. Then I found myself running in the dark without direction. I gave my flashlight to PJ and Leo earlier and I couldn’t see a thing. Out there, I was in danger of being blown off the cliff. It was chaos. Then I saw a glimmer of flashlight and slowly followed its direction. The guys found a small “kubo,” that served as a waiting shed for hikers. Allan was still out in the storm trying to secure the tent or what was left of it. Meanwhile, Gary and the guide came to join us because their tents also ceased to serve its purpose. Still, we managed to laugh at our predicament. But this time I realized that being outside we were more vulnerable to the forces of nature. The possibility of hypothermia attacking our body was not a distant reality. Rescue would be impossible. We could all die out here.

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