Mt. Talomo and Mt. Apo - The Year-end climb (Day 5)

Day 5 marks the last day of my Megatraverse. A day I'd surely remember because of the mixed emotions it has enormously given me.

I woke up at around 6am but since the rain hasn't decided to stop, I quietly moved inside the tent to fix some of my things while I let King sleep for another half an hour. The night that passed was a good one. It was not too cold that when I laid to sleep last night, I instantly shut off to oblivion.

By 6:30 am, I tapped King to wake up so we could start early. I decided to prepare our breakfast inside the tent (not advisable, though). As much as possible, I'm delaying my another encounter with rain. Can you blame me? I've been soaking wet the entire time.

After packing all our stuff (including trash), we started our journey down Kidapawan trail. Yep, still raining.

To our surprise, we've met another 2 climbers who are busy putting orange tie markings. My climb buddy asked if there is a bridge waiting for us down Agco river. Luckily, there is!  After a quick chit chat, we bade goodbye and continued with the trek.

We arrived at a campsite after an hour and a half of nonstop descent. We continued walking until a stream emerged. Thank God for makeshift bridges, otherwise it will be us against that rapid.

Haopy faces after reaching the campsite. Almost done.

These type of tree marks that you're almost done.

Hello....stream. Be good.

Baby steps...

I was so relieved right after passing the stream. The rumbling sound of the water was threatening for someone like me who doesn't know how to swim.

We followed the freshly tied orange markings until another nightmare (for me) came. Just when I thought it was over, came this much bigger rapids. Way bigger, I must say.

Yep. That's the bridge.

Still managed to have a picture with Agco river.

Good thing, the bridge were sturdy enough to hold such strong current.

At first, I thought that we will only be crossing the river once.... I was wrong. After that came series of river crossings, two of which has no assistance of a bridge. Yep... Just me, my heavy bag and sheer plain luck against the monster rapids! Just the thought of it while blogging still gives me goosebumps.

It took us more than an hour until we've reached a chayote (sayote) vegetation which means that 'civilization' was near. With just the sight of it, I felt hungry.

It's civilization, baby!

My boredom and hunger grew overtime as we continued walking until we've reached the last bridge that will lead us to Barangay Ilomavis.

Bridge to Brgy. Ilomavis

Shortly after crossing the bridge, we've met a local guy to whom I've asked the nearest store. I was hungry and all I can think about is eating. Did I forget to mention that I was teary-eyed upon the first sight of a non hiker local? It was overwhelming.

The last part of the trail at Brgy. Ilomavis is steep and muddy (at that time). I was also suprised to see steams nearby. Ilomavis is known for their hot springs, by the way.

Coffee, anyone?

Dry me up....steam some more!
 

Right after taking some pictures with the steam vents, a smile formed from my face. The cemented road was smiling back at me! Woohoo!!!!

Hello there, road!

Finally!

I was giggling uncontrollably upon the sight of cemented pavement. Every inch of me was celebrating. Finally, we're done!

Post climb lunch with King.

Thank you, feet. Thank you, Sal!

Upon reaching the first store in sight, I quickly ordered coke and a box of cigarette... I'm bad, I know. Cut me some slack! Sent a text message to my brother as well informing him that I'm tired but safe.

Below the detailed Day 5 itinerary of my climb.

DAY 5
0630 wake up call
0700 prepare breakfast
0730 breakfast. Break camp.
0900 start trek
1030 ETA campsite
1100 ETA Agco River
1215 ETA last bridge crossing to Brgy. Ilomavis
1240 ETA jumpoff Brgy. Ilomavis. Rest.
1300 lunch at nearby store.
1330 wash up at resort (25 pesos). Pay exit fee (300 pesos).
1530 travel to Kidapawan terminal via habal-habal. 250 per ride (max of 4)
1615 ETA Kidapawan bus/van terminal.
1720 ETD Kidapawan to Davao. Van fee 150/each.
2000 ETA Davao.

Special thanks to Joshua Pichon for the assistance, my guides (Willy and Jersson) and King.

Note: There is an exit fee in Kidapawan trail. Initial fee charged to us was 500/each.

To Mama Mary and my guardian angel, thank you for keeping me safe.

To the big guy up there, Papa God...thank you.

Till then!

Mt. Talomo and Mt. Apo - The Year-end climb (Day 4)

Originally, we planned to wake up as early as 4:00am because of the agreement we made with the local guide that will take us to Mt. Apo summit via Tinikaran trail. Unfortunately, the soundest sleep I had for the past 3 days came at Tumpis. The alarm I set on my phone wasn't too loud to wake me and my climb buddy up to dreamland.

The morning view at Tumpis village. What a beauty!

Good thing that the guide was still not awake when we started fixing ourselves. We were almost done preparing our packed lunch when my climb buddy decided to wake up the guide at the nearby house.

After a quick discussion on today's itinerary, we said our thank you's to Sir Judy and her wife and hit the muddy trails of Tinikaran. Time check 6:35am.

The blogger, Sir Judy and King

As usual, the weather was still not hike-friendly. Luckily, the rain wasn't pouring hard so the trail was manageable and not so muddy as we progressed on our assault.

An unfamiliar smell passed through me. It was irritating and weird. According to our guide, it was the sulfur from the vents at the boulders. Seriously?! Can the sulfur smell travel that far? And that strong?

Boulder as seen from Tumpis Village.

It was around 8:50am when we reached Camp 2 of Tinikaran trail. We took a 5-minute rest before proceeding again.

Old and rusty signage of Tinikaran trail.

The blogger at Camp 2 of Tinikaran trail.

King (climb buddy) and Jerrson (guide)

After 15 minutes, we arrived at a 'dead' (don't know what to call it :)) stream with off white sands and big rocks covered with moss signaling our arrival at the boulder's entrance. We are almost there....

The 'dead' stream before the boulders

Can't help it....nice background?

Of course, we took time in taking pictures of the unfolding beauty of the boulders while continuously ascending it's elaborate trails. We even get to eat wild berries along the way.

Wild berries at the boulders

A rare moment when fog suddenly cleared up

Then suddenly, the wind started blowing giving us chills as we continue to take pictures. The sun was still nowhere to be found and the fog was beginning to join us.

bad weather messing my pic with sulfur deposits

Sulfur vents at the boulders.

With that, I put my dslr inside my jacket and hurriedly but carefully passed boulders from boulders. The rain then started to join the strong winds. Flapping my jacket and gently swaying us back and forth while we look for trail signs that's harder to see due to the fog that the rain and wind created.

It was terribly cold and all I can think about was hot coffee and a good smoke waiting for me at the summit. Silly as it may seemed but that was my motivation at that time. Then after more than 2 hours of assaulting boulders, we saw these. It was a relief!

Group of mountaineers at boulders campsite.

After reaching this, we decided to rest for a bit and have a quick lunch before proceeding to the summit. We resumed trek at around 11:35 and braced ourselves again to the chilling cold of Mt. Apo summit.

Rainfall-filled crater....chilling.

The faint view of the crater was on my right side and at my back was the so called 'white sand' area of Mt. Apo. Surely, this would have been more than captivating if not for the strong winds and rain blocking the view.

Time check 11:48am. Location : Mt. Apo summit. Finally, I said. I made it...WE made it!

The blogger at Mt. Apo summit. 

Eventhough the view was nowhere to be found, I took a minute or 2 to grab my phone and flashed a victorious smile. Hell, yeah! Not even a very bad weather could dampen my spirit. Not this time.

After the brief picture taking at the summit, we hurriedly descended to the 'flooded' campsite (more like a ghost town). Not a single person or tent were in sight. Just the 3 of us looking for a place where we could rest for a bit. From there it's just going to be the two of us, me and King. Jerrson left right after I settled the guide fee. It was 'good luck' for both of us, me with King down to Lake Venado and Jerrson back to Tumpis.

At Mt. Apo campsite with one of the peaks.

By 12:20pm, we were on our way again. With a much heavier load, we continuously descended the muddy and slippery trail down to Lake Venado. From here forth no pictures were taken thus no time estimates were recorded of arrival at Lake Venado (that's where I base all my itineraries, for your information).

We were greeted by a flooded and ghost-town like at Lake Venado. The vast flat open ground was creepy. Not the mention the chills I was feeling due to the bad weather. We didn't stop until we've reached the forest area where Magpet and Kidapawan trail meet.

In between steps, we were discussing our next plan. As we're wrapping up our plan on which way to take, we're again faced with another closed trail. Mainit trail if my memory serves me right. With that, we have no other choice but to take the Ko-Ong trail. We arrived at the campsite 10 minutes before 4pm.

As I counted the hours we've trekked, I decided that it's rest time for us. My knees were shaking pretty bad. No injuries but tired. Unimaginably tired....

Here's the detailed itinerary for your reference.

DAY 4
0500 wakeup call
0530 prep breakfast.
0600 breakfast. Break camp.
0635 start trek via Tinikaran trail  
0850 eta campsite. Take 5.
0905 eta stream assault to boulders
1115 eta camping area before summit. Early lunch.
1135 resume trek.
1148 eta Apo summit. Take pic.
1150 start descent. Super bad weather.
1200 eta Apo campsite. Rest.
1220 resume trek to Lake Venado
Eta lake Venado
1550 Eta camp Ko-Ong. Pitch tent.
1630 prepare dinner.
1900 lights out.

Watch out for the concluding Day 5 adventure of my Megatraverse trip.

Till then.

Mt. Talomo and Mt. Apo - The Year-end climb (Day 3)

Our day 3 starts a little less cold given the nice tarp at Camp Basingon sheltering our tent.

After eating our full-packed breakfast, fixing our packed lunch, break camp and uttering a prayer; we started our trek. Time check 9am. Our next stop, Camp Bubong.

It was a rolling terrain with much lesser fallen trees obstructing the way. Much more easier compared to our Day 1 but still leeches are on the loose. I decided to just shrug them off as we continued with today's itinerary which is Lake Venado.

By 10:30am, we arrived at Camp Bubong. A much smaller campsite which can only accommodate 3-4 tents. The campsite was somewhat similar to that of Camp Basingon minus the makeshift tarp. After 3 minutes of rest, we started walking again.

Time check at Camp Bubong

Selfie at Camp Bubong with Willy on the background.

We encountered a closed trail sign on the way thus choosing the left trail and following my climb buddy's foot marks. Little did we know that we'll be heading the trail of Colan which is on the other side far off Lake Venado.

Around 12:30pm, we trekked a steep trail and arrived at a stream which holds a nice waterfall. Too bad that it was blocked by the thick bamboo-like plants on the left.

The stream along Colan trail.

Almost 2 hours had past when we finally arrived at an open foggy slope. The fog made it harder to navigate since no trail were in sight. We decided to wait until the fog cleared up.

The open foggy slope....creeps me out until now.

A showcase of colorful flora along Colan trail.

After waiting for 5 minutes, a view appeared in front of us. It's vegetation area. Luckily, a village local was nearby and directed us to Tumpis Village.

While resting on the foggy slope, I got the chance to talk with Sir Joshua on how we'd go about the detour mishap that we had. We spent a good 20 minutes customizing (together with Willy and King) our itinerary.

The team decided to go down Tumpis Village and spent the night there. Our guide, Willy decided not to push through with the climb anymore as he had suffered injury on both feet. I felt bad because his feet are slightly swollen but relieved at the same time that we're in a village which meant that an assistance was much easier and closer to civilization. I can't imagine if that happened and we're still in the middle of the forest.

We settled our wet and tired body at the humble abode of Sir Judy (or Jodi....my bad for not getting his complete and correct name). We also decided to get a local guide that will lead us to Mt. Apo summit via Tinikaran trail.

View of nearby mountain at Tumpis Village.

Don't give up now....we're almost there.

After everything has been settled, we fixed our tent to dry and some of our clothes as well. And for sidetrip...we went to a nearby chapel wherein a Christmas celebration was being held.

Christmas celebration and mass at Tumpis chapel.

Breads, biscuits and coffee were served.

Here's the detailed Day 3 itinerary.

DAY 3

0700 wake up call

0730 prepare breakfast.

0800 breakfast. Break camp. 

0900 start trek

1028 ETA Camp Bubong. Rerouted to Colan trail due to bad weather.

1230 ETA Falls

1415 ETA Tumpis vegetation area. Rest.

1530 ETA Tumpis village. Pitch tent at Sir Judy's place. 

2130 lights off

Watch for Day 4.
Till then!

Mt Talomo and Mt. Apo - The Year-end climb (Day 2)

Day 2.

Due to the bad weather last night. We woke up early....4am early. The weather was too bad that I can hear the wind rumbling the trees. I decided to sleep some more and woke up around 7am. :)

My guide and climb buddy was busy fixing our breakfast inside the other tent while we exchanged stories of the weather. It was too bad that rain water rushed inside our tents while we were asleep (we shared one big ground sheet....not a good idea!)

As soon as were done with our breakfast we hurriedly break camp to make amends with the late itinerary. By 9am, we left Talomo summit. 

We took extra precautions traversing since it was wet and the roots are very slippery. We arrived at the open ridge near junction where a new trail to Kidapawan was made at around 10:15am. It was too foggy and too windy. Still I managed to take a photo.

At the open ridge.

It was a non stop walk all the way down Talomo grounds. Then came this 20-foot falls (more or less) signalling that we're already at the foot of Talomo. Time check 11:35am. Just right under the wire for lunch.

Still beautiful even on a rainy morning.

We setup tarp to somehow shield us from the rain while we took our early lunch before continuing with the trek.

See that slanted log in the middle? That's our way up. :)

After were done with lunch and some more stretching. We resumed trek by 12:30pm.

I was busy chatting with Willy on what to expect on the approaching trail. He only said 2 things. Rolling terrain and leeches. Of course what stucked in mind were the last word....leeches. True enough, I can see my climb buddy, King pausing from time to time to remove the ever persistent leeches away from his feet. I, as well surveyed my shoes to check if the little bloodsuckers have already invaded my skin....well what do we know....they're already present. Lots of them! I just removed them one by one (not terrified by them anymore....really!) but as we progressed to a much elaborate trails, I just shrugged about it. Better to put my attention on the trail than to focus my time with the tiny parasites.

The 'friendly limatik (leech)' bites. Total bites... 30! :)

The trail became a little manageable after 2 hours of walking. The guide said we're almost at the campsite. With that, I smiled and after 30 minutes more of walking on a flat and mossy trail came Camp Basingon. And alas, there's a makeshift roof made of huge transparent plastic!

at Camp Basingon with King and Willy.

Dinner served at Camp Basingon.

After deliberation from my guide and climb buddy, we've decided to stay for the night at Camp Basingon. Factors that we've considered: bad weather, better shelter since it has a makeshift roof which gave us a drier campsite, small bonfire (apologies, LNT friends) to keep us warmer.

Below details of my Day 2 itinerary:

DAY 2

0700 wake up call. Prepare breakfast.
0800 breakfast. Break camp.

0900 start trek 

1135 ETA river near camp basingon. Lunch. 1230 resume trek

1500 ETA Camp Basingon. Pitch tent.

1700 prepare dinner.

1800 dinner and socials.      

2100 lights out

Disclaimer: This blog entry was done using my android phone only. :)

Watch out for Day 3 of my Talomo-Apo trip.

Till then.

Mt. Talomo and Mt. Apo - The Year-end climb (Day 1)

It was less than 2 months ago since my last blog entry....and today I give you my year-end climb. This by far, in my 1 year of climbing was my most wettest, muddiest, bloodiest and longest climb!

I ditched my original plan to do a Bakun trilogy when I got a seat sale ticket to Davao. This is it!

the view!

Arriving on a clear-weathered Davao the day after Christmas made a positive impact on my tingly feet. After meeting with good friends (also members of Sandawa Apo Mountaineering and Ecology Club), Sir Joshua Pichon and Sir King Ladores, we headed straight to Barangay Tamayong in Calinan.

My friends Joshua (gray shirt) and King (blue shirt)  with Datu Sicao (wearing cap) and Willy

Talomo jumpoff at Tamayong Purok 6

We arrived around 8 in the morning and met with Datu Sicao together with Willy (our guide). Final instructions and reminders were given by Sir Joshua before hitting back Davao city proper. We started trek after that and arrived at Sicao Village 30-40 minutes later. I must say that walking up the village is a nice way to pump your sleepy muscles and warm up your heart for the steeper trails of Mt. Talomo. After paying the registration fee and offering a simple prayer, we started our trek.

the blogger at Sicao Village

Talomo trail starts with a sweet moderate uphill grassland for at least 10-15 minutes then after that comes the forest line. Patches of moss are evident as well as the cold weather that shifted right after we reached the village.

start trek!

King (climb buddy) and Willy (guide)

We've met with 2 other climbers from General Santos together with their guide after an hour of trekking. I felt somehow relieved that I'll have company other than my guide and climb buddy but all that came flushing down the drain upon learning that they'll only be doing Talomo summit then back trail the next morning. After almost 2 hours of walking, hopping on fallen trees, grasping on reclined branches and gliding our way to a much decent plateau came the descent that would lead us to Utan River. Time check, 11;23 am.

Utan River

As expected, the water was cold. Temperature at that time drops to 19 degrees and the mere sight of raindrops in my rain jacket signals a very wet trail ahead. We left ten minutes past 12 after we've finished cleaning our food containers and as suspected, it's gonna be one hell of a hike to summit!

along the trail

We reached Camp 3 by 1;33 pm. Took more than 20 minutes of rest then push our way again to summit. It was freezing cold as the strong wind blows on the left side of the mountain. We hid from trees to trees every chance we got to avoid the punishing cold winds topped with moderate rainfall. A glimpse of smile passed through me as I looked up and see the mossy trees...we're nearing Lumot Camp...we're nearing campsite! By 3:30, Lumot (Moss) Camp emerged. It was magical.

I pulled out my camera again dismissing the fact that the then heavy rainfall might damage my beloved lens. Wouldn't you do the same thing if all you can see around is this?

Amazing, isn't it?

tried an app and -- viola!

My jacket was dripping wet, Willy (our guide) was trembling and so was King (my climb buddy) when we reached Mt. Talomo's summit. The two started finding the perfect spot to pitch our tents while I was busy checking this. By the way, it's the only decent picture I have of Mt. Apo.

Apo and me......... ;)

Right after I had my fill, I hurriedly helped my team set up the camp and quickly slide inside my tent to warm myself. The two did the same and nothing else mattered.

Day 1 - Talomo

Wait...coffee ...coffee matters ;)

Below itinerary based on my personal account:

Day 1

0545 Arrival at Davao Airport

0600 ETD airport to Tamayong

0817 Walk to Sicao Village

0900 ETA Sicao Village. Pay registration fee (P 200 / pax)

0935 Start trek

1123 ETA Utan River. Lunch

1210 Resume trek

1333 ETA Camp 3. Rest.

1400 Resume trek

1530 ETA Lumot Camp

1554 ETA Talomo summit. Pitch tent.

1700 Early dinner

1900 Lights off

Watch out for Day2.

Till then.