Tuesday, November 16, 2004
SAGADA Revisited
November 12-16, 2004


Friday Night, Nov. 12
I was up late, waiting for more news and details about Prana. Then I couldn't sleep because I was mostly imagining what it takes to actually have someone lose her foot (as in the foot, and not her footing) as she was carried by the river to where she ended up. I was also amazed at how rational her father was, stating that he knows he couldn't blame anybody else but his child. And then, I had a bad dream involving climbing.

And so, I woke up with this heavy feeling on my chest. And I had to relive the horror of my alone-ness in Banahaw. And upon going home to get my stuff after work... I had to watch news of the derailed train. I kept asking God all day, was I just affected by Prana's misfortune, or was He telling me not to go?

Then again, my parents who knew of the death and who saw the train accident on the news didn't seem to mind me going off to Cordillera. So, I bid them all adieu, kissed Pyro goodbye, and was fortunate enough to get a cab for the Autobus terminal.

The bus left the terminal at almost 11:00 PM. The journey was relatively uneventful.

Saturday, Nov. 13
We arrived at Banaue before 8:00 AM. We had breakfast somewhere, where the cook obviously had an intense love affair with rock salt, and thus killed any love affair I had with omelets. Their onion soup was great tho, but it did take the better part of 2 hours to arrive.

We rented 2 jeeps for Sagada and had several stopovers to take pictures of the rice terraces ruined by towns and quarries. What's left of Banaue's magnificence was still very much a sight to behold... however, the early morning sun refused to cooperate much in the way of taking pictures.

Because it was cold, we also had to keep stopping for wiwi breaks. (for those who didn't get the pic, none of them were actually taking a piss, ok? i'd never allow that!) We were running kinda late, and arrived at our inn (Traveller's Inn) at past 12:00 NN. We decided to just rest the whole afternoon, take baths, postpone spelunking for the next day and just go to Echo Valley before the sun sets.



Going to Echo Valley was easy, although I kept on making wrong turns. Good thing, the local kids were only too happy to lead us to the right paths, in exchange for some coins and well... participation in our photoshoots.

It was just around 4:00 PM, the sun was still high enough to cast shadows all over the place so taking pictures of the coffins became a challenge. I also think I took better pics of them the last time I was there...

Anyway, notice the chair hanging with the coffins? I couldn't take a good pic of that!!! My hands kept shaking from the cold and the allergic reaction to the blades of grass.



Buffet dinner at Alfredo's was filling... and socials that night was a blast. Either out of inebriation or just plain happiness, the guys kept gyrating like macho dancers the whole night. The Boondockers also started discussing the evolution of the group into something better.

Sunday, Nov. 14
I was adamant about taking pictures inside Sumaguing Cave. Alas, even if I waterproofed my cam using Ziploc... I was too busy watching my step, and trying not to feel so cold.. to actually take pictures. Besides, I had someone else bring the backpack with my cam in it. And of course, it's far easier to just pose along with the group for pictures.

Still, the cave was every bit breathtaking and wonderful as I remembered it to be. I suspect that I'd always be amazed at how amazingly time has transformed its rocks into smooth walls that makes you think of bananas. The water was of course, really very cold. I couldn't move after jumping into almost-chest high waters and just kept shaking and saying "Shootix". One of us even lost balance which resulted in their cellphones getting wet.

Sadly, the guides didn't point out fossils like they did with my MMS group last year. However, they pointed out the Pregnant Woman (basically, it looked to me like an ass) and the Pecker(supposedly, the one responsible for the preggy woman.. ahehehe... a rock formation fashioned like a d!ck by time).

Speaking of d!cks tho... my palawiwiwi boys were only too happy to pose.

The Sumaguing Cave is definitely worth the butt-breaking trip to Sagada. All of us had fun, and I for one wondered again when I'd get to bring my sister there.

Alas, Big Falls was closed because the natives were holding a ritual there that day. Part of the group went instead to Mini Falls while the others went to Mt. Ampacao and Lake Danum.

The view going to the Mini Falls was great, but the falls itself was disappointing, mainly because we arrived to see briefs-sporting men doing their laundry.

That night though, after dinner at Masferre's, we went back to the Sanctuary, a souvenir shop and cafe of sorts. There, the owner and his gracious wife (and their cute 8-month old boy) welcomed us to eat and drink and be merry while the man played local songs using local instruments for us.


What's even cooler was being lent other instruments, and being able to play along with him and redefining songs with our own tempo and by our individuality. The night had to end early, since Sagada is strict with their 9:00 PM curfew, but it ended with my friends dancing and playing along with our host. It was a quaint, romantic, and all-too personal cap to a great day.

Not that we didn't make use of the love dice I brought with me, after we got back to the inn.

Monday, Nov. 15
The first batch Sagada at past 5:00 AM. It was a 6-hour journey to Baguio, where we passed through more preserved terraces and verdant forests. It's sceneries like those that make you feel blessed you're alive for they seem to promise every possibility.

We ate breakfast at Benguet. We ate lunch at Burnham Park. We watched THE INCREDIBLES at SM Baguio. Our bus left at 6:00 PM. But as luck would have it, those of our group who left at 7:00 and 10:00 AM arrived in Manila at almost the same time we did.



It was a blast... and a trip I loved taking.

a horrifying thing I heard
The government is going to provide electricity in Batad next year... so people who want to see the tranquil place and enjoy the peace and rustic life it has to offer have until December this year... after that, it's just not going to be the same anymore.

last palawiwi hiret



why "sagada"?
A foreigner was asking what the name of the place was... a local thought the foreigner was asking what the thing he was carrying was called... Turned out, brooms were called sagad in their local dialect, so that's what he answered the foreigner. After sometime... the name evolved into Sagada, its present name.

by ~me~ at 5:00 PM ©

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Thursday, November 11, 2004
Watching the news regarding Prana last night, JRA kidded me about having put myself in similar situations before.

Actually, he was talking of my GuisGuis climb... where I was left alone for awhile, dealing with the wall, cold...

See, I was semi-injured then. I twisted my ankel several times the other day and therefore was a sort of liability. Our group put me in the front of the pack so that I won't be lagging so much behind. When we reached the rope-climbing/wall part... I was already in the middle of the pack.

My buddy was very nice and supportive, even offering to bring my backpack for me. I refused because the backpack, tho weighing my foot down, actually helps me keep my balance as we went our merry way from Palacio to Durungawan III.

However, I couldn't still carry my backpack while climbing ropes as well. My buddy was a lot stronger than even our male counterparts, and she insisted on carrying my backpack for me when we reached the most critical wall. She went ahead, with the assurance that she'd be waiting for me at the top of that wall.

What happened was, she got scared. Carrying two bags and the Banahaw crater looming from all around you, with the mist from its river and the fog for being 2,000 metres high up the ground limiting your visibility to just the rope you're holding and the rocks you can also hold onto or use as footholds... she got scared that she might fall. So, forgetting her promise to me, she kept climbing and climbing and climbing all the walls... catching up with the head of the pack.

Me, on the other hand, managed to climb the most critical wall safely. But alas, no buddy waiting for me. I figured she's just waiting for me somewhere where she can sit and be comfy. So I followed the ropes and took care walking some cliff-like trails to next rope. I kept telling myself, she's just at the other end. And because it's really kind of dangerous to dally, I pushed myself to not feel my ankle's complaints. But still, no buddy.

And then I realized, I was alone. I couldn't hear my other friends. I started wondering if I took a wrong turn somewhere and is actually lost. (after all, there were many of them following me, where are they?!) My rational mind would counter that I followed the ropes, and surely that's the correct way? (after all, there's not much trail on this part of Banahaw, it's mostly just a 20-45 degree wall you climb using ropes) Also, a part of me hoped that my buddy would still show up, looking for me. I was torn between paranoia and rationality, i'd proceed climbing and then stop sometimes. I'd cry out for people. I'd sing. I'd shout.

I was still alone.

And then fear really got into me and I stopped altogether. I sat on a protruding rock and took stock of what's really happening. My rational, logical, sane mind still insists that I couldn't have possibly taken a wrong turn. I also assumed that my bud thought the others were taking care of me alright. I also allowed that the others might be going more slower because they still had their backpacks, whereas I was n't carrying any load anymore.

And then it hit me. I didn't have my backpack with me. IF I was really lost, I wouldn't have anything to eat, or protect myself with. I pondered going back down and retracing my steps, but the injured foot reminded me that i'd most probably end up in an accident because supporting your weight going down is something it cannot bear.

And did I mention that it was friggin' cold there? The fog was everywhere and sitting still just made me feel more cold. I removed my gloves and started rubbing my palms together to keep myself warm. And then I started feeling sleepy. And then I started worrying about hypothermia. And so I started doing crazy mini-exercise twists and shakes of extremities to feel warm... and awake. And thru it all, I worried about being alone.

Actually, I think I was only alone for less than an hour. But believe me how hellish it can prove to be, not wondering if you're safe, or if someone would come. And again, the fact that I didn't have my backpack bothered me to no end. If I was lost, I know I could probably survive the night if I had my backpack. But without it, I would be at the mercy of the elements.

I literally cried when I heard voices again. And aside from realizing who it is that I really love in my heart (because my busy mind contemplated on the possibility of me dying there)... I was also truly made aware of the dangers of being an unprepared mountaineer.

by ~me~ at 7:00 PM ©

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Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Sorry but I have to say something about it...

I am deeply saddened about that Prana girl being lost in Halcon since October 29. But what saddens me more is not the fact that she was found dead this morning (i think they still have to investigate why she was found by the Mangyans wearing only her underwear, and with her things missing), or that the search for her was called to a halt yesterday (good thing the Mangyans pressed on). In my opinion, unless she sought shelter with the Mangyans, and even if she was self-contained, it would take more than a miracle to find her alive after 2 weeks of being out there. Halcon once already claimed a boy's life, because of hypothermia. It rains every day in Halcon. That mountain is considered one of the hardest climbs in the Philippines.

True enough, she was found dead. And i'm sorry for her, sorry for her family and friends, and sorry for those who searched for her.

Still, call me a bad person... and tell me Prana was only human and entitled to mistakes, miscalculations and arrogance... but unless she was insane to start with, I believe that she should have known better than to climb a difficult mountain ALONE. Here is someone who's been trained by a respectable mountaineering org... and yet it seems, respect for nature was not inculcated in her.

I won't be too bad to say, or think, that she deserved what happened to her. But I guess, not knowing her personally allows me to also see that this was not an accident... She was courting disaster by striking on her own.

*~*

Climbing for fun is good. Not being affiliated with any organization isn't bad either. Some even eschew membership in any mountaineering org because they do not want to follow certain norms/rules that an organization upholds (MMS forbids smoking during climbs, and if anyone here go on fun climbs, they'd know that maybe half of those who climb smoke in campsites, even justifying it by saying that smoking keeps them warm).

But being a member of an org has its benefits. Almost always, you'd have to undergo a Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) where you learn the basics of survival and environment care. You get trained to climb mountains and protect mountains. You get trained to become a mountaineer. More than that, and hopefully, you get taught to RESPECT nature, for its a force you cannot really reckon with.

*~*

I have prayed for Prana. I feel strongly about mountainerring even if i'd never be a really strong climber and backpacker.

But I am praying more that mountaineers all over will at least learn from this. Never underestimate nature... and always have a buddy with you.

It's one thing for mountaineers to be scouring a mountain for a lost, straying or injured you. It's another thing for them to be searching high and low, second-guessing your decisions, because you started out irrationally, and who knows how your mind is actually operating (I'm sorry, but going alone in Halcon? And you're not a Mangyan? it's absurdity kills me)...

*~*

Leovic, that mountaineer who got lost and wasn't found last year, in a mountain i've already forgotten... was trained in Search and Rescue. That implies that, if he was sane, he'd have known what to do. And yet, like what I said, he was not found. Who really knows what other things befell him.

Neptali died in Halcon due to a string of bad luck and lack of information. It also seemed that because they were all cold, and their team was divided, nobody was rational enough to care for Neptali's group and address hypothermia.

A certain Joseph accidentally fell from Durungawan I in Mt. Banahaw last March 2002, supposedly, as he was craning his neck to look down the precipice, a gust of wind just ate him up and carried him down to his death. (At least, it was Buloy's choice to jump)

Not to mention hundreds of accidents.

A little respect for nature, environment and the elements can go a looong way. A little humility can save your life, and allow you the privilege of enjoying the outdoors.


by ~me~ at 4:42 PM ©

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