The longest night

Talomo-Apo Traverse Day 4

We camp on the summit of Mt Apo campsite, near the peak facing the Boulders. The wind was so strong that I need to tie a guyline to my mountain hardwear sprite 1 for another protection. The dinner that we have that night is my pre packed power oat meal, to give us an energy boost and to warm our core. We keep on hoping and praying that Sir Castell,somehow is also warm and cozy on the place he choose to spend the night. We made a plan that first thing first in the morning , Bigboy and Datu will look for him on the trail to Sta cruz, because we know it will be for difficult to find him at night, with the cold weather and strong wind, we don't want to add more people to be worried about.

My SOL heatsheet emergency bivy protected me all night, high altitude, cold weather and strong winds, somehow I was warm inside my tent , not fearing any signs and symptoms of hypothermia.
But you see, I might have asleep with one eye open because I know that on the other tents, they are also worried about our lost companion. The night is darker just before the dawn as they said, this is our longest night, We havent had enough sleep, We keep on checking the time if its now safe to look for Castell.

                                         Mountain Hardwear Sprite 1

                                            Silangan Tent in Mt Apo

At long last the darkness fade giving Bigboy the chance to descend to the trail which he believes Sir errol spend the night. And indeed he found Castell there, preparing his things to ascend to the summit.Imagine our Joy when we found out that he is safe and sound.Earlier , Max and I ascend to the peak of Mt Apo near the boulders to catch the sunrise, to witness the Gods wonderful creation. We have a sea of clouds everwhere, we were stunned by beauty of surroundings while the sun illuminate the entire area giving us the most magnificent view we have seen on top. As I said to myself, there I am on top of the highest peak in the country, Im not a newbie anymore, those people who have been looking down on me because Im not able to set foot on Mt Apo,well Im not only summitted Mt Apo doing your regular trail , I was able to conquer it coming from Mt Talomo.

                              The mighty Maximus and Jm on top of Mt Apo

After our reunion on the campsite, we prepared and ate our breakfast , quickly breakcamp , then passed by the summit again , then start our descend to boulders. This is the most difficult part of the descend. We need to make sure that when we set foot on the rocks, it will not slide. So slowly but safely we descend to the boulders, sniffing the sulfurs thats venting out of surface. After an hour the entrance to the forested trail emerged, then its an easy up and down trekked. We arrived in Gudi Gudi campsite only to be disappointed with a lot of trash everywhere. We know for a fact that organizers from Manila just went there a week or two prior to us, They charging their participants way to high, Imagine if they hire a locals who can manage their trash and bring it all the way down ? They dont want to slice up their profits, you corrupt mountaineers, shame on you.. You bring up a lot of people on the mountains but you cannot bring your trash down ?

                                   Mt Tampurong seen form the boulders

                                    The famous boulders of Mt Apo

                                        Camp Gudi Gudi trash area

Much to has been said about that issue, we continue our descend and 30 minutes past 3pm we arrived in the area they called paradise, and at 4:15 pm we arrived at the end point of the trek the sitio mainit area. We tidy up, wait for habal habal to take us up to digos. After an hour of habal habal ride, we arrived at Digos bus terminal, have our dinner and post climb meeting. Then after that, we take bus to Davao. We arrived at Davao ecoland bus terminal at 8:00pm and then the fellowship went their own way with the unforgettable adventure inside their hearts and mind.

                                          Mcap Max on the summit

                                   The Glorious Sunrise on Top of Mt Apo

                           At Sitio Mainit, End of 4 days Talomo-Apo Traverse


Special thanks to Bigboy Sator and Jun Sicao for accompanying us to the toughest traverse in the country. For making sure we will not trek at night, and for always preparing our food in the entire journey. I will never forget the two of you..

Special thanks to Castell Faber for joining me in this climb.

and many thanks to sir Maximus for the help and support in making sound decisions on the mountains, for securing our ride from the airport to the jump off . For always walking with me on the insane difficult trail of the entire traverse, and for helping me document the climb and of course for the many pictures that will be forever cherished in our memories..

All of this would not be possible without you.. 

Until next time..

All the pictures used courtesy of Maximus tercerus

This itenaries based on Maximus documentation

This is a 4 day itinerary as based on the trekking we did for the Mt. talomo- Mt. Apo Traverse.

One can extend it to a 5 day traverse for a less exhausting trek though it may add to your expenses for food and guide/porter services.

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Day 1:
0600 – ETA Davao City International Airport (for the people coming from Manila) / Meet up with guide and transport service.
0630 – Purchase additional supplies at Bankerohan Market.
0700 – ETD Tamayong, Calinan
0830 – ETA Tamayong, Calinan / Breakfast and Repacking
0900 – ETD Sicao Village
1000 – ETA Sicao Village ; Register: P150/head ; Meet our porter and co-guide
1030 – ETA Mt. Talomo
1200 – Lunch on the trail
1400 – ETA Utan River

1730 – ETA Camp 2/ Lumot Campsite ; prep dinner
2030 – Lights out
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Day 2
0500 – Wake Up Call / Breakfast
0640 – Break Camp / ETD Mt. Talomo summit
0920 – ETA Mt. Talomo summit
1000 – Descent from summit, ETA for Lipopoccan Peak
1100 – ETA Lipopoccan Peak
1200 – ETA Canlelang Peak / Lunch
1500 – ETA Kabacan Falls / River
1730 – ETA e-camp site
1800 – Dinner
2100 – Lights out
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Day 3
0500 – Wake Up Call / Breakfast
0645 -- Break Camp / ETD Basinan Campsite
0850 – ETA Basinan Campsite
1400 – ETA Lake Venado
1500 – ETD Mt. Apo summit campsite
1800—ETA Summit Campsite / Dinner
2000 – Lights out
+++++
Day 4
0520 – Wake Up Call
0545 – Assault peak, viewing and picture taking
0630 – Breakfast
0800 – ETD Descent to Boulders
1030 – ETA Godi-Godi Campsite
1200 – ETA Baroring
1300 –ETA Upper Sabwag / Lunch
1530 – ETA Sitio Paradise
1615 – ETA Sitio Mainit / End of trek / Clean Up
1700 – ETD Digos Bus Terminal
1800 – ETA Digos Bus Terminal / Dinner
2000 – ETA Davao City


How to do it : 

Please contact Bigboy Sator for complete information and climb package. He will be happy to help you. 

Bigboy : 09297976642

For another information : 

Please visit pinoymountaineer.com

For maximus own word description of the traverse please go to this link

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.529324833768421.123054.100000727261650&type=1

Talomo-Apo Traverse Day 3

We woke up at 5:30am and quickly prepared our breakfast. We are still too far from Basinan campsite. It will took up to 3 hours to Basinan Campsite and from Basinan 4-5 hours to Lake Venado. The trail from e-camp to Basinan is the continuation of the trail from Talomo Summit. Still difficult , muddy, slippery, lots of logs crossing and to top if all , theres the chill being on a high altitude the trek became more challenging. We constantly found ourselves taking a small break,sitting and standing on the heat of the sun, trying to warm our bodies. Eventually , after couple hours of walking, we reached Basinan Campsite at 9:30am.

                                    Resting under the sun, getting warm.

                                     Approaching the Basinan Campsite.

From Basinan campsite to Lake Venado, the trail became less hostile, allowing us to walk without balancing on logs. Its 2pm when we reached Lake Venado , and took up our lunch facing the Almighty Mt Apo's Peak.

                                          At the Basinan Campsite

We know that it will be 3-4 hours ascend to Mt Apo Campsite. This time there will be no E-camp, We will pushed to reach the summit, even if it means we need to walk at night.

                                             Another forested area.

                       Almost there, I can see from here the peak of Mt Apo.

                           Lake Venado and Mt Apo, just a few minutes away.

 We expected that we will run out of sunlight before reaching the campsite, and with the constant ascend,meaning we are gaining altitude,We know that it will be windy and cold up there. So I ready my jacket and headlamp, I dont want to be caught unprepared when the sun's out and im already cold.

                                      Looking back at Lake Venado.

Slowly the air is getting thinner and the sun's moving quickly to set, so with little rest to take the pictures and enjoy the view,  we are constantly moving forward.

                                          The fogs are getting lower.

It is so difficult to walk at night up there, specially with the wind blowing in all directions, you might lose your balance. Lucky for us , it didnt rain. It just that the wind is so fierce,that my buddy got the first stage of hyphothermia. I was protected by my choice of gear. So the wind is not frightening me at the moment, because Im not getting cold.

                              Getting ready for the nasty weather up there.


I was constantly moving,only resting for a minute to check if Max still behind me. I can still see his headlamp , but we cannot hear each other because of the strong wind engulfing the whole surrounding. I know it will be more trouble if I proceed alone in the dark, so I decided to wait for my buddy finding cover on the big rocks on the trail. If your not moving and your on the open area, the wind will give you creeps, as it is so fierced and hostile, that I sometimes wonder what the hell am i doing there ? With constant movement and hope and will power, we made it safe.,then our guide approach as just before the campsite, saying that one of us is missing. We are shocked because we know that he went ahead of us. He was with our two guides. Imagine our fear and dismay to find out that he is lost somewhere on the trail, under the darkness and violent wind.

                       It might appear that this is an easy ascent, but hell no!!
                         The air is thinner and the wind is so fierce up there.

We just hope that he will not panic and stay safe all trough the night. We hope and pray all night that he is safe somewhere in the wilderness.

To be continued..

Talomo-Apo Traverse Day 2

Day 2

We woke up on the cold and rainy morning in Camp 2. We still need to hiked for 2-3 hours to reached the Talomo summit. After a quick breakfast,with renewed body and spirit. We break camp under the rain and chilly weather,then continued our journey to the wilderness.

                           Camp 2. 2-3 hours away from the Talomo Summit

                                  Just another mossy logs to crossed

As we near the talomo summit the trail became more slippery, dangerous and mind blowing difficult. Imagined walking on it while raining. Being wet,cold and in high altitude already the hiked became more taxing. We reached the foggy Talomo Summit at 9:00am.

                  Hail Salute once again to our fallen comrades who didnt make it.

                                           Mt Talomo Dense Forest

From the summit it would take another 8-10 hours hiked to Basinan Campsite. With a couple of another peaks to crossed, we didnt stay too long in the summit. After savoring the cold and the view to our hearts delight, this time the rain already subside, We continue walking trough the dense forest.

                                            Talomo's Jungle Canopy.

We thought that the worst is over,but not yet,,The trail from the summit to Basinan is the most challenging and mind puzzling part of the traverse. This time theres a lot of logs crossing and lots of ascend and descend with very slippery rocks and most. Theres a two 90 degrees descend, One is supported by makeshift bamboo ladder,that some part is loose. The other one is supported with vine.
That vine gives up while Max is holding it to descend, good thing he was not injured.

                                     The Almost 90 degrees descend.

                                             At the Cabacan River.

We failed to reached the Basinan campsite just before the sun sets, Our guides being knowleadgeable of the danger hiking at night. We set up camp somewhere in the jungle canopy of Mt Talomo.

                                           Just another part of the trail

Another day just passed, just one more day and for the first time I will be able to set foot on the Grandfather of the Phillipine Mountains. The formidable Mt Apo.

                                        Mt Apo. So near, yet so far.

                                          The Almighty Mt Apo.


Note :
All photos that were used was courtesy of Maximus Tercerus

To be continued..