My wife and I would like to thank the Buhawi Mountaineering Club for allowing us to join them in their trek to that mystical mountain, Mt. Banahaw. The following is my account of our adventure. We joined the Buhawi Mountaineering Club last June 13, 2003 to embark on an expedition to Mt. Banahaw. There were 22 of us in this journey: Myself, my wife Beth, our guide Richard Lontoc, Joel Tejerero (whom we call Sir Joel), his wife Ruby, with their ward Liezl Gagarin, Ricky Navalta with his wife Jenny, Bevis Sy, John Paul Iyog, Ian Dacanay, Ernie Gonzales, Rey Castillo and his girlfriend, Jasmin Latina (nicknamed Jas), Richard Hidalgo and his girlfriend Marites Gonzales, Lally Eudelia, Recelle Masanque, Jhacq Nelvez, Orpha de Silva, Gary Pascasio, and Jon Moraga.
We assembled in Makati at 4 AM and rode a bus going to San Pablo, Laguna. After a three-hour ride, we landed at San Pablo and took a jeepney ride to Kinabuhayan, Dolores, Quezon, at the foot of Mt. Banahaw. After we stepped out of the jeep after a 45-minute trip, we began our trek up Mt. Banahaw with prayers. As I closed my eyes, my white earth-angel spoke to me, telling me that something wonderful would make our journey unforgettable, that it would be a dream realized amidst a few trials along the way. I opened my eyes with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation.
As we walked towards the foot of the mountain, we formed a single straight line behind our guide, Richard Lontoc. About 10 minutes into our trek, Gary Pascasio collapsed from a combination of leg injury and fatigue. We treated Gary and comforted him briefly before we resumed with our journey. When we reached Crystalino Falls, we took a brief rest as we took pictures of the area.
After that stop, we proceeded to the Kuweba ng Diyos Ama (Cave of God the Father). On our way there, we had to step on large slippery rocks. One of the largest rocks there is home to a gentle, moth-like engkanto that I call the Strider. It was a pleasure encountering him again after eight years, as he welcomed me as I glanced his eyes and wings. The Strider guided us by flapping his wings, and none of us slipped on the stones. It was lunchtime when we reached the cave, so we had our lunch inside. We also filled our containers with water collected from the waterfalls of the cave.
After our lunch break, we continue with our trek by climbing a steep stone wall. Even with the ropes being provided for, it was a very challenging climb for all of us, especially for the ten females in our group, most of whom haven't had any experience climbing vertically. Besides the steep incline of the wall, the wall was slippery and muddy. But still, that did not stop us from reaching our next stop, the Pinagsugalan.
The Pinagsugalan is a sacred spot surrounded by dead trees covered with moss and ferns. When I touched one of the trees, a vision flashed in my mind: Eight silver ships sailing in the air landed on top of the trees. There were little people who disembarked on the ships and used the tree branches as steps. They then entered into the trees, and the fleet flew back up to the sky and vanished. I was overjoyed and inspired at my vision that I had to sketch the ships on my sketch pad.
After several minutes at Pinagsugalan, we continued our journey and stopped in front of two large trees that we called "The Gate". Ricky Navalta took pictures of the gate, with his wife, Jenny, and two other female companions in our group posing for pictures in front of the two trees as souvenirs. The first shot went well, but when Ricky prepared to shoot the second shot, a gigantic white deer-like figure emerged between the trees. Orpha de Silva, who was beside Ricky, immediately instructed him to take pictures of the figure, along with two antelope-like ground engkantos at "The Gate". Some carried digital cameras to capture the sight.
After walking for several meters after that, sir Joel and our guide Richard have decided that we would camp out and spend the night in the deep forest. Having been tired and hungry from our trek, we looked forward to preparing our meals, assembling our tents, and sharing stories under the tall trees. When our guide declared "Lights off," we then went to our tents to sleep and rest.
There are two separate areas where we pitched our tents: a high area and a low area. Three tents occupied the high area and four tents on the low area. In the low area, the first tent was occupied by Sir Joel, his wife Ruby, and their foster child (and niece) Liezl. The second tent was occupied by my wife Beth and your truly, and the third tent housed Rey, his girlfriend Jas, Ricky, and his wife Jenny. In the high area, the first tent was occupied by our guide Richard and Orpha. The second tent sheltered Richard Hidalgo and his girlfriend Marites, Gary, and Ernie, the third tent housed Bevis, Ian, and John Paul, and the last tent was occupied by Lally, Recelle, Jon, and his girlfriend Jhacq.
The next day, June 14, we continued on our journey. We started walking at 7:30 AM and by 9:30 AM, we reached the summit. We felt fulfilled when we reached the top. There, we thanked God before we all hollered at the sheer joy of achieving our goals, along with taking pictures and videos to remember this moment by. I also took the time to meditate and reflect on our achievement.
We started our descent down the mountain after a few minutes. We had to do it fast, because our supplies were depleted-we didn't have enough water to quench our thirst and cook our rice. Also, instead of one group descending from the mountain, we had split ourselves up into eight groups. The first group is composed of our Richard, Ernie, Bevis, and John Paul. They reached the Tatlong Tangke waterfalls at 1:45 PM. The second group is the couple of Richard H. and Marites. Beth and I formed the third group. The fourth group is composed of Ian, Orpha, and Ruby. The fifth group is composed of Sir Joel and Liezl, and the sixth is the couple Jas and Rey. The first six groups arrived at the pitstop of Tatlong Tangke in quick succession. Sir Joel received a cellphone call from Ricky-there was a big problem with Gary, as he couldn't walk because of his leg injury. Ricky and Jon stood behind to keep watch over Gary. They had to stay at this station called Kapatagan. So, after learning about Gary's situation via cellphone, the two Richards, Sir Joel, Bevis, John Paul, and Ernie decided to troop to Kapatagan to rescue them.
On their way there, they bumped into the seventh group, a quartet composed of Recelle, Jhacq, Lally, and Jenny. The four ladies told the rescue team further about Gary's situation. They then had an adventure on their own as they were puzzled by two different paths on the way to Tatlong Tangke. As they tried to figure out which way to go, a mysterious voice of a man told them to take the path on the right. Lally was frightened by the mysterious voice that she shed some tears, and it was her third encounter with an engkanto. Back at Kapatagan, Lally also saw a kapre peering through the trees. Needless to say, when they arrived at Tatlong Tangke at 6:00 PM, Lally was distraught-not only at the engkantos she encountered, but she felt that they were abandoned by the main pack. The sky started to dim at Tatlong Tangke and the ladies in the group were starting to be frightened. I gathered them all together and shared with them my knowledge about the engkanto, comforting them and telling them not to be frightened. I also drew sketches of the residence in Tatlong Tangke and the creatures that dwell there, like the Elves, the Greek God Pan playing his famous flute, a small mermaid, and mystical dragonflies. The ladies were all grateful, as somehow, they've appreciated the engkanto's existence.
Meanwhile, the rescue team succeeded in getting Gary and they all trekked towards Tatlong Tangke. On the way, Ricky had an enchanted experience, too. He met two kids, brothers Richard and Aga, who brought food for the last group while waiting for the rescue team, and they went a little ahead of this pack. The two boys were a noisy bunch when suddenly, from a tree behind little Richard, a branch-like hand pulled him down to the ground, which made him cry. Aga saw the hand, too. Ricky and the brothers also saw a small branch-like glowing castle that lighted their way as the sky darkened. At a distance behind Ricky, Bevis also had a glimpse of the castle.
The rescue team and the last group arrived at Tatlong Tangke at 8:30 in the evening. We all applauded their arrival. We then set up our tents, had dinner, and gathered in one place as we shared our stories under the heavy rain. The next morning, we patched up all misunderstandings, prayed together, thanked the people who accommodated us (like Aga and Richard), and began to walk down the mountain. We have a new and unique kind of fellowship from this experience.
