Background
At
the heart of the Cordillera rise Mount Napulauan also spelled as Napulawan
which is one of the tourist attractions in the municipality of Hungduan. It is
often associated with the memory of General Tomuyuki Yamashita as his last
stand during the world war II. Locals believe that Yamashita hid his treasure
somewhere in mountain by the time he was captured. Mount Napulawan was believed
also by the locals to be protected by goddess or locals called it “bibiyo”.
Mount Napulawan was classified to
have the most difficult trail in the cordillera region and arguable to be the
hardest in the Philippines. The mountain rises 2642 meters above sea level and
classified as a major climb with a difficulty rate of 7/9 and belongs to the
trail class 3.you may start the climb from the three jump-offs at Brgy. Hapao,
Brgy. Poblacion an Brgy. Abatan and commonly took 8-9 hours of trekking before
reaching the summit. Campers often took
2 days and a night before leaving the summit.
Introduction
At young age trying new adventures
and challenges is the highlight of this state of life. And at my age I love to
challenge myself and push it to its limits so climbing Napulawan is one of my
challenge specially that it is located at our own municipality. Last may my
friends plan to climb Mount Napulawan before the class starts. We decided to
have time together for the last days of vacation.
Day 0
My
friends travel from their respective houses to come to Hungduan for the
trekking. Stephen travelled from Kiangan and Kurt Dulinayan travelled from Lamut
and sadly someof my friends could not come due to personal reasons. After they
arrive to hungduan, they went to the house of Einstein Binwag to rest for the
night. While my friends are resting I and my friend Johnloyd Adawe are
preparing foods for tomorrow’s adventure.
Day 1
At 0700 hours we are gathered
together at the house of Eisenhower before we start the trek. We ensure that
all the stuff that we need are complete tents, blankets, matches and foods.
Each also on the group pocketed a little piece of ginger that is believed to
put away bad luck along the trail. We bring ginger as a sign of respect also to
the cultures and traditions of the locals.
The start of the trekking photo taken by Ruel Biniahan
The start of the trek is very hot
because it starts with an open area but as you go along the way, you will be
fascinated by the views of the rice terraces and the mossy forest. The temperature will drop as you reached the camp Ny-o where hikers commonly took a rest or even camp for a moment.
Rice terraces view along the way. Phot taken by: Stephen Ayahao
First resting time before continuing the trekking. Photos taken by: Stephen Ayahao
Finally reached the mossy forest. Photo taken by: Stephen Ayahao
The trail was never easy because of
some sudden steep terrain but there are also straight path but for just a
moment. The steep trail is not the only thing that makes it difficult but the presence
of blood suckers which the local called “matok”. After four hours of trekking
we finally reached the summit of Mount Napulawan. First thing we do is that we
lay our bags on the ground and then watched the view from the top and of course
took some photos of it.
Kurt Dulinayan lays on the ground after we reached the summit.
Photos taken by: Stephen Ayahao
View from the top as we reached the summit. Photo taken by: James Alfon
After
several minutes of resting and taking pictures we set-up our camp getting ready
for the cold and windy night. As we set up the camp, cold and chilling breeze
of wind is blowing towards us. And as the night approaches rain pours down that
makes the temperature drops lower that make it difficult to sleep.
DAY 2
After a sleepless night of mine, the
difficulties was rewarded with a stunning view of the sunrise at around 0500
hours. Everyone on the group took advantage of the view and pause for a while
for a photo. The view during sunrise was spectacular and when the sun clears up the sky you can have also a view of the sea of clouds but unluckily sea of clouds are blown by the strong winds so sea of clouds is not on our check box.
Kurt Dulinayan viewing the Sunrise at the historical mount napulawan tree. Photo taken by: Ruel Biniahan.
Gayhardth Yogyog and Einstein Binwag sunrise shot. Photo taken by: Kurt Dulinayan
After the sun rises we took our
breakfast and pack our things and dismantle our tents getting ready to retrace
our steps.We also clean the place and make sure we put everything to the way it was as we arrive.
Our group getting ready to trace back our steps. From left to right ( Gayharth yogyog, Einstein Binwag, James Bryan Alfon, Stephen Ayahao, kurt Dulinayan, Johnloyd Adawe, and yours truly Ruel biniahan.)
All smiles from Johnloyd Adawe and Kurt Dulinayan as we are about to reached the cemented road. Photo taken by: Ruel Biniahan
We finally bring our foot to the cemented road that marks the end of our trek on the majestic mountain of Napulawan. Photo taken by: Ruel Biniahan
The group after the trek rested
their tingling legs and painful body at the house of Einstein Binwag. The trek
with my friends leaves a memory to remember that will be cherished throughout
the days of my life.
This
trek leaves a lesson for my life because this is actually my second time to
climb the mountain but still I commit the same Failure I’ve done on my first
climb. For me, in life once should be enough if you commit a failure once never
do it again. The failure that im talking about is that I fail to sleep well
that night because on my first climb I didn’t sleep even a minute so I swear
that on my second climb I will sleep very well but as I said I fail. If ever someone will invite me again I am open for a third go!
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