Hello, and welcome to Fulbright Flashbacks!  As I approach these last (eight) weeks of my Fulbright grant, I’ve decided to take the time to backblog a few cool things that I’ve experienced these past few months in the Philippines.  

First up on the list is the conquering of Mt. Apo back in mid-March.  The tallest mountain in the Philippines, standing at 9,692 feet, Mt. Apo is no walk in the park.  Not that I expected it to be.  But to give you an idea of where my mind was at, here is a sample conversation of between me and my Davao friend, who was spearheading the trip:

me:  so how fit do I have to be to climb Apo?

friend:  you walk to work right?

me:  yeah, like a 5-7 minute walk…

friend:  great, you’ll be fine!  don’t worry.

Little did I know…

So anyhoo, a couple of friends and I booked our tickets to Davao at the very last minute and caught an evening flight.  We met up with our Davao friend as well as several other Fulbrighters at the charming Viajeros Inn before calling it a night.

The next day, we had to make our way to base camp, which entailed a trike (tricycle) ride + walk over to the bus station, for a two hour bus ride, where we went to the Mt. Apo tourism office, which oriented us on the rules and safety regulations we should follow while climbing the mountain.  We also met our guide for the climb at the office.  After the orientation, we grabbed dinner at a BBQ side stand and transferred to a van for another 2-hour ride to base camp.  We got to the base around late evening, grabbing some snacks before calling it a night.  

Then the fun begins.  I can’t remember if we got up at 4 or 5 AM.  Needless to say, it was early!  Our guide’s family prepared for the group a nice nourishing breakfast before we headed out.  

What followed next was some of the toughest physical activity of my life, bar none.  I was in no way or shape prepared for the climb, which was literally a climb — no rails here folks, just uphill after uphill.  It was exhilarating and exhausting all at once.  The first few hours saw my best friend slip on a ledge and hurt her knee (thankfully she was okay for the rest of the climb), and another friend bailing out of the climb after his asthma started acting up.  From then on it was hours of crossing rivers, tomato-and-cheese sandwiches, and ridiculous ledges.  At one point, there was a dirt ledge, with nothing stable to hold on except for a log.  Let me tell you, I clung to that log for dear life!  It was one of those moment where you’re too scared to be embarrassed about the situation, which was a grown dude suspended in midair, bear-hugging a log like his mommy.  Ah, life :)

Oh, and did I say there were no rails?  There is one rail…at the 90 degree section of Mt. Apo.  It’s a good 100-foot vertical climb, and in some parts there is nothing to hold on to but a wooden rail that extends down the majority of the 90 degree section.  Scary as heck!  But also super cool.

Did I mention how cool it was?  It’s definitely cool.

After 11 hours of climbing, we make it to the lake, which is about 5 hours from the summit.  We set up camp by the lake, which is probably the most pristine lake I’ve ever seen, and rest up.  We had some pretty tasty pesto/white sauce pasty for dinner.  Our hunger made it taste even better ;)

I don’t think I was able to sleep more than two hours that night.  I had no sleeping bag and only a set of thin blankets to keep warm — that, along with the rock hard floor made for a very cold and trying night.  Alas, we had to get up at 4 AM for the final stretch.  

That final stretch was ridiculously trying.  I don’t think I would have made it without the relentless support of my best friend, and vice versa.  Part of the difficulty was psychological.  The guide said it would only be 3 hours to the top, but our group overall moved at a slower pace, so it actually took 5-6 hours.  At the time, we had no idea when we were gonna get there, and morale was definitely waning among the group.

But in the end…perseverance!!!  The sweet, sweet taste of summit air.  The view was totally breathtaking, though at least half of us were content to collapse and nap.  

I forgot to mention that I brought a cheapo guitar with me, all the way to the top, just so we could all have a sing-along at the end.  Here’s a video of me covering “Hallelujah” at the Apo summit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Kh2ul_KaM

Unfortunately, there was no helipad, as I had secretly wished for while climbing to the top; the truth was, we would have to…

wait for it…

climb back down.

AHHHHHH!

After packing our things and heading out, the climb back down seemed straightforward enough.  But as time went on, it was clear that we weren’t advancing quickly enough, and night fell just before we were halfway through the climb.  Now that was some SCARY stuff — when you’re manuvering on a slippery ledge, with a cranky river 50 feet below you, the blood pressure tends to rise :P.  Furthermore, I had to share a flashlight, since there wasn’t enough to go around, which led to an amusing mini-game.  My friend with the light would walk about 20 feet ahead of me, lighting the path.  I would then wait for him to turn around and light my path, which gave me a few seconds to traverse before he turned around and walked some more.  Rinse, lather and repeat!  I felt like a little kid, in a good way :)

Also, I didn’t bother with any pretense of climbing — my legs were gone, so I basically slid down the majority of Mt. Apo on my butt.  Woohoo!

But yeah…it also started sprinkling, which upped the ante since our guide said that the rivers would flood if it started to all-out rain.  In other words, we had to high-tail it down that mountain.  Although there was a bit of hyperbole involved, I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt so in danger for such an extended period of time.  All of us in the group really had to work together in order to make the successful climb down.  

After at least another 10 hours crossing 5 rivers, butt-sliding, drinking iodine treated water, and a grueling final uphill, we at last made it back to the main road!  Phew.  epic, epic, epic.  I don’t think I’ll ever climb Mt. Apo again, but I am really grateful for the experience!  It truly extended my physical and psychological limits and brought me closer to my friends.  I heartily recommend Apo — just remember to pack a sleeping bag with the tent :)

Next up:  Baguio!