By Polomolok5
In terms of years, I am a new resident of Dumaguete, settling down here only at the end of 2020. I like the compactness of the area; in the fact that from the City, the distance to the mountains or the sea is short. Good for any person who likes the outdoors.
There are similarities between Negros Oriental and our former home in South Cotabato: Here, Mt. Talinis towers over us, while there, Mt. Matutum is the counterpart. Both provinces offer many beautiful natural features worth exploring like rivers, peaks, caves, falls, lakes.
It goes without saying that with Mt. Talinis in my neighborhood here, I had to climb it at some point.
And so when a former work colleague, Edgar, said he was vacationing this Christmas and New Year here in Dumaguete, and invited me to join a climb up Mt. Talinis on Dec. 28, I said yes without hesitation.
Edgar (who will later be a Dumaguete resident, too) has been a constant partner in our many mountain biking and trekking adventures in Mindanao.
More than the physical act of climbing a mountain, any adventure that includes a high degree of isolation and immersion in a special environment provides also a lot of time for retrospection, introspection, and re-calibration. And to me, that is the greatest benefit of an adventure. In the end, you come out a better person. So along with the narration, I will share my realizations.
On to the nitty-gritty of the climb. We assembled at 6 a.m. at the Apolong jump-off point in the town of Valencia, filled out the waiver forms, and set off at about 6:20 a.m. Ours was a small group: four adults, a young son of one of the adults, our guide Jason Tilos, and two porters. There were other climbers that day but they were in a different group.
Generally, we were dressed appropriately but the first clue that the trail would be muddy, aside from the rains of recent days, was the fact that our guide Jason turned up wearing rubber boots! I just forced a smile as I remembered that in our hurry to leave home, we forgot the trekking poles we had readied the night before.
Lesson No 1. Preparation is important to success. I researched a bit on the website pinoymountaineer.com to get an idea of what to expect, and what to bring. Asking friends who have been up there helped a lot. Example: Knowing that there are water sources along the way means you don’t have to bring a lot of water for drinking and cooking.
Still fresh from a good night’s rest, we hiked at a good unhurried pace, enjoying the crisp air, the greenery around us, the squish of our feet on the ground, and the light cooling rain that would come now and then. But as the slope started to increase, and the ground muddier, slips and near-slips became more common.
To avoid slips and falls, Edgar lent me one of his two trekking poles.
Lesson No 2. Respect Nature as it is always more powerful than you are. Misses and near-misses teach you humility and respect for the environment you are in. Mt. Talinis has been here far, far more than our group’s human ages combined, and will still be around long after our bodies have become compost.
On the way to our first major stop, about halfway through the trek to the campsite — and which I would call the Water Source Keepers’ Station — the views, smells, sounds, the feel of wind or water on the skin were wonderful, and drove us to keep going.
The Station (which I couldn’t find on Google Earth) is a safe haven for passing hikers. Here, one can rest, cook, take shelter from the rain, or get help because there are workers stationed there.
The other group of hikers was there ahead of us, and they were cooking up a good meal. Our group had an early lunch, and it was an opportunity to share what we had. Our guide lent us his stove and cookware.
Lesson No 3. Be kind on the trail. As in life, you go through the journey with other people. Even as some would just pass one by, a little greeting, a reserved smile, a small talk, or simply giving what we have establishes our connectedness as humans sharing a small space. And many of these climbers may just happen to be a source of help on the trail if a need arises. (Much earlier, our guide shared one of two cacao pods he found along the way.)
From the Station, we next hiked to the ‘Rancho’, a large grassy flatland with a wood cabin. But shortly before reaching the Rancho, our guide Jason advised us to refill our bottles at the last potable water source along the route. There was a tent at the Rancho pastureland but it seemed like the occupants were elsewhere. As we sat there resting with the other hikers, we wondered how cattle and supplies were brought up there, given the tortuous trail we had just hiked on. Maybe the cattle and the herders take a different route, we thought. As we were leaving, Jason pointed to the peak of Mt. Talinis we were to ascend later.
Next stop was the Kaipohan Sulfur Vents. Indeed, there was the familiar smell of sulfur, not suffocating, and yellow stains on the ground, but the thing that struck me was the desolation of the place. First word that came to mind was Hades: tree trunks were blackened, their green tops were gone, but amidst all this, there was a pool bubbled not by steam but by some gas from below.
Lesson No. 4. There is always hope beyond a devastation. What was obvious was the barren ground and the blackened trees but to me, the thing that signaled hope was the water in the bubbling pool. Why is it that in a search for a livable planet, it is always water that scientists look for? Isn’t it because water is most essential to life? Maybe not in my lifetime but I believe this Vent place will restore itself, perhaps not as before, but as a different thriving system.
Last leg for the day was the hike to the Lake Nailig Campsite. Among the things that add to the difficulty of climbing Mt. Talinis is that there are many trail sections that go deep down, then require you to go up again. According to my son’s watch, our uphill pace varied from 0.5 to 3.5 km/hour depending on the terrain and ground slope. We got to the campsite before 4 p.m., and hurriedly pitched our tents as it is always wise to have a ready shelter in case of rain. It was a long, foggy, cold, and windy night. Repeat Lesson 2.
Lesson No. 5. Listen to what your body is telling you. The aches you feel as you lie in your tent actually tell you what other adventures you could still be able to do in the future; and more importantly, what adjustments you have to make if you have to engage in them at all. The decision to hire a porter for our supplies bag was a good one. Afterall, this was my first mountain trek since the pandemic, and as a senior citizen. I’m just glad I kept up my mountain biking, and did not experience any issues with ascent heart rates.
On the next day, Dec. 29, we woke up to a beautiful morning by Lake Nailig. We were an hour late for the climb to the summit versus the plan the previous night but we didn’t regret it. Taking time to relish serenity is also important (or to “Stop and smell the flowers” as mountain bikers know so well).
Then we started the “assault” to the top of Mt. Talinis. It took us an hour to cover 300 meters of elevation over mossy rocks, under and over fallen trees and tree roots, until the summit. Nothing beats the sense of accomplishment of reaching the summit of Mt. Talinis after a looong hard climb.
Lesson No 6. Make time to celebrate success, moreso if it was attained with rigorous effort. Like relishing the thrill of victory, and the agony of the feet. For us, it was as simple as lingering there a little longer, studying the route we had just taken, and taking pictures with that tree with wide sturdy branches that has become anyone’s proof of summit to Mt. Talinis.
From the summit, it took us a shorter time to return to the campsite at Lake Nailig. We had our communal breakfast with the guide and the porters, broke camp, then took a group picture, before climbing toward the intersection that led to the exit in Bediao in the town of Dauin. A few ascents and descents on this muddy exit trail then brought us to our last major stop — Lake Yagumyum. This quiet lake is much smaller than Lake Nailig, and seemed shallower, too. After our guide cooked us a light lunch maximizing our remaining supplies, we rested a bit, then pushed off toward Bediao.
The trail to Bediao is shorter but much steeper compared to the one in Apolong, so you can imagine there were many sections where our descent was slow due to the wet soil, mossy rocks, and layers of fallen leaves on the ground. We did experience many slips, none serious. A fact familiar to trekkers is that the “braking” that one exerts during descents is harder on the toes and leg muscles than when climbing; getting dead toenails is therefore, no surprise. Eventually, we exited the forest canopy, and were rewarded with a view of a dirt road. Relief!
We finally rested after a short walk to the edge of the EDC-Lipayo-Magsaysay concrete road in Dauin, spent, but feeling great joy at completing a wonderful adventure. Some of us removed our soggy socks to dry our feet, and I am happy to report I have zero DOA toenails.
Lesson No 7. Successes are best paired with Gratitude. We look back at our adventure thankful that God answered our prayers for safety, strength, and protection, that we had good guides and porters to help us in our journey, and that we were rewarded with beautiful views all the way. Indeed, we are blessed to be living here in Negros Oriental!
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The writer, who goes by the pen name Polomolok5, loves the outdoors, and has spent half his life in the wide open spaces in South Mindanao, with their home up the side of Mt. Matutum. Negros Oriental is now his home with his wife, and he is slowly exploring its nature places.
Author’s email: [email protected]
