Re-Conquering Mt. Apo, Final Part

April 11 (Day 4: Last Day)

Whoever said that climbing down a mountain is much easier than climbing up probably hasn’t done some serious mountaineering or a traverse.

It was raining when we broke camp that morning, hence it was a bit difficult to pack our gear (we had to wipe dry the raincovers of our tents so that we don’t unnecessarily bring some ‘water weight’ with us). After breakfast, packing and doing our morning rituals (yes, it still involves the use of a spade), we set forth for the last day of our Mount Apo adventure.

The mist was thick when we left the camp at Lake Vinado, really eerie. The scenery reminded me of the Silent Hill video game (arguably the scariest game I’ve ever played). It took us about a half-hour to find our way through the mist to get to the forest trail going to Kidapawan.

Photo (R): Searching for the Kidapawan trail in the heavy morning mist.

The trail going down Mount Apo via Kidapawan is very challenging: we had to contend with loose soil, muddy trails, slippery tree roots, wide tree trunks that needs climbing over, makeshift ladders and rope bridges. The trail is also steep for more than 70% of the way at angles ranging from 45 degrees to near-vertical (this is where we had to rely on tree roots as our only handholds). You can imagine how stressful to our knees the whole descent was.

The descent is usually the most dangerous part of a mountaineering expedition. We got reminded of it when we were held up for almost two hours at the trail, not progressing, because of a long line of climbers which could not advance further. Ahead of the line, a female climber broke her ankle earlier. As the trail can only accommodate one person abreast, everyone else could not advance until the victim was rescued by Red Cross volunteers.

When the victim was finally rescued and taken to a safe place, we resumed our descent. We had to quicken our pace to make up for the lost time. Marlon and I blazed through the rainforest, scouting ahead of Kat and Ren in order to mark the easier routes for the climb down. The two of us took turns between coaching the others on where to step or place their hands or which branch to swing from and do some scouting. I can feel the tension on my knees that our pace is causing --- my legs/knees would feel rubbery on a couple of instances when we stopped to rest.

On one of those rest stops, we had lunch (rice, chorizo and fruit jelly) beside a stream. It was there when both Ren and Kat acknowledged that Marlon’s and my trail skills are superior – ‘talagang veterans kayong dalawa sa mountaineering’, they quipped – because we were so sure of our footing despite the sharp angles and slippery trails. Well, we’d both find ourselves slipping on our butts every now and then, but those instances were really unavoidable.

We exited the forest area by three in the afternoon and entered the Marble River. The last leg of the trek would be river-trekking.

At Marble River, we criss-crossed among the big boulders (the big boulders scattered along the river bed provided Marble River’s its name) to cross the river back-and-forth, depending on where the trail is. The river trek is the perfect ending for our adventure. The sound of the water crashing among the rocks had a calming effect, and I got to see an eagle soaring across the open skies.

At one particular river crossing, I almost fell into the water because I lost my balance --- in a split second I decided to fall flat instead on the boulder where I was standing. I bruised my ribs with that, but at least I was still dry.

We arrived at the exit point sometime after five that afternoon. Our last day was really tiring (the last 10 minutes of the whole trek was another steep uphill climb!), and I shouted happily when I first heard the sound of vehicles from the highway. We deposited our trash at the Kidapawan exit station, paid the corresponding exit fees and hopped aboard dirt bikes to get to Kidapawan City’s bus station for our trip back to Davao.

Photo (L): Group photo at final exit at Marble River.

Onboard the bus, we felt how really tired our bodies were. All of us were suffering from muscle pains throughout our lower bodies. It was an effort to sit down, stand up, or even walk! Hahahaha. Our adrenaline reserves must have been 100% depleted by then.


Oh, and even before we boarded the bus, we didn’t have time to clean ourselves or change our shirts. So we took the seats at the back because we realized how dirty and smelly we were. Hahahaha.

The Mount Apo adventure was great.
I was in my element.
I was with great company.
It was full of challenges. It’s been my hardest climb so far.

The fact that we’ve done everything on our own (no porters, no guides, no tour groups) for the whole four days makes our conquest of Mount Apo a hundred percent official.

And we were so damn proud of it.



Photos (top left, clockwise): (1) Our respective fullpacks and initials in stone; (2) Me; (3) Marlon in [photography] action (4) Kat celebrating her summit conquest