IN
MEMORY OF UGU
By
Rolly M. Magpayo
“ Trekking through moss and tropical rain forests, lying
on alpine meadows, smelling pines and alpine flowers, tasting
wild berries, shivering from fresh cold mountain air, legs dipped
knee-level in clear flowing water,,, it shines when it’s
getting too cold, it rains when it’s getting too hot,,,
sleeping on grass cushioned beddings, viewing giant moonrises,
hot sunsets, visiting clouds, greeting lilies, cheating death,
unexpected blessings… This is Ugu, what more can you ask for?
”
It
was exactly 9:30 in the evening when we arrived in Baguio City.
It was raining hard, and was much colder.
After re-orienting our bearings, we hiked a few blocks to
reach our night’s destination.
Casa Vallejo was nearly closed when we checked-in, and
after paying our bills, we finally settled in a small but very
cold room.
Isabel’s alarm clock woke me up first.
When I looked out the room’s window, I saw three
jeepneys already parked outside.
We loaded our packs as soon as we checked out of the
hostel.
5:30 a.m., Day 1 of the climb proper.
We assembled at the 456 restaurant for breakfast.
The place was as mad as the first day of school.
It was crowded with different kinds of people majority of
which, we met only for the first time and who will be with us
during the four grueling days at Mt. Ugu.
Some familiar faces greeted us while we were eating our
breakfast; some didn’t even bother to look at us because of the
rush. 6:30 a.m.,
thirty minutes later than the planned departure time, we finally
left for Tinungdan. We
were divided into three groups, for each jeepney having it’s
communicating persons, Herr, Isabel and Jhoone, who kept in
contact during the two-hour rough and winding ride to our
jump-off point.
Our arrival caused excitement among the
climbers and the townsfolk.
46 climbers were all set to traverse Benguet to Nueva
Vizcaya through pine forest, alpine grasslands and Mt. Ugu’s
peak.
The jump-off point led to the longest
hanging bridge that I’ve ever encountered.
And by 10 a.m., we were assembled for the actual start of
trekking. The elders bid us farewell and good-luck.
Singing and laughing, our energies were
still at their highest. The
first part of the trail was noticeably getting harder and
steeper. Herr Obusan
(our expedition leader) and the others who have been there before
said that it would be a very difficult first day.
We passed through bushes, mint plants, guava trees and
sharp cogon grass.
The ascent to the promised hut for the
long rest was very hard, and everybody was getting impatient.
But the sight of the first hut, though far away, brought
us thoughts of lunch and rest, which inspired most of us to push
on.
Along the trail, we found Von standing
still before five cows. He
said one of the cows tried to charge towards him.
After we showed the cows that we were harmless, they
decided to let us pass. Shortly
after that, we arrived at the first hut and settled down to eat
lunch and rest. Before
everyone had finished lunch, it started to rain again. This
signaled that our rest will shortly come to an end.
The following ascent was very steep as
well as hot. Almost
everyone was exhausted and it was this time that some of the
trekkers were noticeably left behind by the more enduring ones.
We passed a small waterfall that nobody
could resist. After
that loomed the steepest and longest trail for the first day.
It ended at the second and last hut where we had another
long rest.
Mia, one of the inductees, threw her
pack as soon as she arrived, and fell asleep almost instantly.
As the group got bigger, everyone noticed her ability to
get sleep whenever, wherever and however she wants it.
Rain fell down, and everyone including
Mia, got up and continued the trek.
As I was in front with Maring of UPM and Trixie of Colgate
Palmolive Philks., we passed through a very wide park-like forest
of pine trees. I
never missed the chance of taking photographs of it.
Then we arrived at the village of Lusod.
We were greeted by people familiar only to Herr.
We proceeded to Lusod Elementary School.
There we learned that our planned camp, Sumel (native’s
tongue mispronounce sawmill), was closed and had no water source
at that time. The leaders decided we were to stay at the school for the
night.
After settling packs, and reserving
sleeping areas and arrangements, I took the coldest bath of my
life, and then got ready for dinner.
The dinner cooked by Isabel was unbelievably delicious,
sinigang na hipon and fried dried fish.
The steamed rice was heavenly perfect.
After dinner, part of the group conducted its traditional
socials while some of us slept, confident that no matter how hard
it rains, we were safe inside the classrooms.
We woke up early to catch-up on our
itinerary. We filled
up our trail water bottles because there will be no available
source throughout the day. We left the school after breakfast. The trail on this second day was very slippery, and had
several log bridges and fences, which we had to cross.
We passed by Camp Sumel and continued ascending.
The climate was getting colder.
We passed through pine forests and walked on the side of a
mountain ridge. The
view on the right was endlessly magnificent while it was pure
white on the left side.
We ate lunch on a clearing a few hours before the summit.
Pork Adobo with rice gave me the reserve energy to push to
the peak. Hot sun
and rain drizzles alternately accompanied us during our journey.
The trail to the summit was thorny, and
luckily, I got my first few cuts from cogon grass blades.
Several hours later, we were on top.
Everyone exchanged congratulatory handshakes and hugs.
The feeling inside was priceless.
We pushed down to the overhead crash
site (site of 1987 PAL airplane crash that killed more than 50
people). Only minutes from the summit, the clouds closed in causing
visibility to drop to 15 feet.
We were instructed to maintain close distance and watch
each other closely. We
arrived at the crash site but unfortunately it wasn’t visible.
We continued down through fog and heavy rain that caused
the temperature to drop to 15º Centigrade.
Some nearly got lost; there was one who nearly fell from
the steep trail, and another who sprained her ankle.
At the end of the fog-covered trail, the group rested and
re-assembled. We went down the other side of the mountain and noticed a
change of weather. There
were Benguet lilies dangling from the cliff’s sides and there
were more loose rocks on the trail.
A few hours later, we arrived at the helipad campsite.
Wing and I reserved our team’s campsite area, and Isabel helped
me in cleaning it out. We
pitched tent and waited for the other group members. As soon as everybody was settled, we went to the water-source
to get cooking and drinking water.
I couldn’t resist the water, so I took another cold
bath. Our dinner was
chopsuey, adobong pusit, and chicken.
While we were cleaning the dishes, a climber shouted “
Ang ganda ng sunset!” (the sunset is beautiful!).
We looked up to see the big round orange glow beyond the
horizon. Somebody
shouted for us to look at our compasses, and we were more
surprised to discover that it was the moon and not the sun as it
was rising over the East. I
took a few shots, hoping to get it on film before it disappears.
During that night, I transferred from one tent to another
for the usual stories and experience sharing.
Then at 11 p.m., lights out was announced.
5:00 a.m., 3rd day (Saturday).
I woke up to prepare breakfast.
It was still cold but I had to start cooking.
6:00 a.m. Herr announced that Father Vitt would conduct a
holy mass, and almost miraculously, the weather cleared and the
sun shined. The mass
was very peaceful and the most touching words spoken by Father
Vitt was how people in the Bible tried to speak to GOD by
climbing mountains and how GOD was represented by nothing else
but the elements of nature.
The consuming of His flesh and blood finished it all and
made us one with GOD and nature.
After breakfast, we went to the water source
to get water for the trek. This
day was the day of the landslides.
We’re lucky, or should I say blessed, that the sun was
shining, making it possible for us to tackle the landslide trails
that would have been impossible if it were raining.
Still it was very difficult and scary.
At one part of the trail, my water bottle
accidentally fell from my pack, down the mountain’s landslide
side. I was trying to analyze the possibility of retrieving it,
when I heard everybody shout that it was dangerous and not worth
my life. Though I
have regrets, I didn’t have a choice but to leave it.
We stopped at a waterfall big enough to accommodate all of
us. We drank, we
bathed, we posed and somebody slipped.
When the trail sweeper arrived, it was time to go.
We stopped in a waiting shed at Domolpos Saddle, where we
reinforced our toes with plasters and duct tapes for blister
prevention. During
the descent, a valley seen through an opening in the forest
fronting the trail surprised me.
It made me feel so much stronger, that I ran down the
remaining trail leading to a water source where I literally
plunged myself in.
The last part of this day was through thick
bushes leading to the valley I saw earlier.
Just when we were about to enter the village, it rained
very hard that no waterproofing could endure.
When we arrived at Camp 3, Levy’s house in Kayapa, Nueva
Vizcaya, we were soaking wet and covered with mud.
The house was full and wet.
Everyone was looking for something, somewhere. Everybody wanted a place in the house, and some couldn’t
get in. This
particular situation I like most.
I took a bath with the remaining water I had, slipped into
new clothes and sat lazily on one of the chairs in the house, as
I watched them do their panicking.
Talking about dinner, we were offered a goat
by the villagers and the officers gathered condiments from the
different teams to make up the ingredients for Afritadang Kambing.
Clem and Menchu did their best and it paid off.
I ate dinner outside with father Vitt and Jason.
We talked about things I never understood before.
It was the first time I talked personally to a priest.
And so while the dinner was very good, the conversation
filled me up more. The night ended with their socials and
inductee’s presentation and their induction ceremonies.
I witnessed it, but will not write about it.
I was presented with a small problem,
sleeping. The house
was very crowded, and I had to settle for a triangular space even
a kid wont fit into. I
laid down and fell asleep.
I was one of the earliest to wake up.
I drank coffee and went outside.
Then the others came out one by one.
Everyone was on a rush to prepare for the descent of the
last day. It was
7:00 a.m., breakfast was finished and the trek began again.
The first part was through the village and out
of it. The trails
mostly on mountain sides were going up and down, bringing up the
question “ Are we going down or what?”.
This day was the most cussed day of the climb.
The trek, though with wide trails, was always going up and
seemed endless. You’re trying to go up a steep trail, and just when you
feel like giving up, you’ll see from a far a steeper one
waiting for you. We
passed a small water source where we loaded up our drinking
bottles and that was it, an all-dry dusty trail.
Thanks to Dom, Clem and Menchu, who initiated
conversations with the group, the trek became less hard.
The trail was very hot, and water was as
precious as gold. I
made everyone wonder by sprinkling everybody’s face with water
from my single small water bottle and still have enough for
drinking. Everyone
was puzzled; how come my water bottled never got empty?
Secret!
What a relief it was when we saw the jeepney
from a thousand meters away.
It was like a mirage you really couldn’t believe.
We loaded our packs as soon as we reached it, then we
waited for the others while sitting very comfortable on its roof.
The climbers that followed displayed different
expressions. Some
were very relieved, some were angry, others looked exhausted,
while others have no expression at all.
I sprinkled water on most of the girls that arrived.
The jeep was ready and so were we. We were on top, 20 climbers, and the other 26 were inside.
Dom was with me, Luis was in front, and Dante on the other
side. The two
foreigners were also with us.
We zigzagged through the mountainside roads with the
scariest view of the cliff.
Every time the jeep banks, we scream.
It was definitely more exciting than a roller coaster
ride.
We ate lunch at Aritao.
For the first time in four days, I ate something I did not
prepare. And not to
forget the taste of Coke! The
last part of the jeepney ride was the same, with the addition of
fast long road acceleration, big branches that nearly killed us,
and the river crossing. It
finally ended up in Aritao Bus Station. We unloaded our packs and started resting and mingling.
Just as we were enjoying the card game, the bus finally
came, and we were in it and off to manila by 7:00 p.m.
It was 2:00 a.m., Monday, when we arrived in Cubao.
We bade each other farewell and grouped ourselves
according to areas for the last ride of the entire trip.
We took a cab and I was home by 4:00 a.m.
Then I asked myself what could be better.
“Aching back, strap-bitten shoulders, numb ears,
burnt skin, sprained ankles, swollen feet, tired legs, runny
nose, thorns on hands, bruised arms, dirty asses, sweat-soaked
clothes over freezing bodies, quitting mind, panting heart,
gasping lungs. Everything’s
painful, yet you love it!”
Photo October 1994/Wing Torres carrying
a poorly packed backpack crossing the longest hanging bridge in
the Philippines. Traversing Mt. Ugu from Benguet to Nueva
Vizcaya.
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