Sakat Sa Asog
February 4, 2009
Sakatt kan mga Urastigon
Date January 24-25, 2009
by Elma Padua and Ivan Rivera
We assembled at the Naga City CBD Terminal at around 6:00 am. There were six us: Ted Ruiz, a 56-year-old American missionary who could speak Tagalog and few Bicolano phrases. Boyet and Patrick, both long time mountaineer from Manila; Jojo Villareal, the climb organizer; and Elma Padua the lone female climber. We were supposed to be joined by another female but unfortunately unexpected events came up.
We boarded a bus to Iriga City then transferred to a jeepney to Buhi Municipal Hall. We spent a few minutes buying additional supplies in the wet market and took some pictures of the lake. Finally we boarded a tricycle to our jump-off point at Barangay Cabatuan. When Boyet and Patrick were checking their packs they found out that the first aid pack was missing so they went back to the town proper and luckily found it hanging on the Municipal Hall’s fence.
The hike was as “U trek” because of the shape of terrain. We took our lunch while on the trail nearby a spring faucet. As we moved on we felt our back pack getting heavier every step. Yet, when we were at a certain altitude we were rewarded with awesome view of the lake, the town against the background of lush mountain greens. The rain started to fall as we moved closer to our base camp. We decided to take a shelter in an unfinished chapel. When the rain stopped we continued our hike until we reached Camp Esplana, our base camp, at past 4PM.
At the base camp we hurriedly set up the tent because the rain was starting to fall again. Luckily there was an abandoned house nearby which we used as a place for cooking our food and socials at night. Evidently, the house caused us discomfort because of the stench goat droppings but our nose got used to it. While taking our dinner each talked about their climbing experiences and some information about themselves. After the dinner and socials we checked our tent and it was good and up but the groundsheet was soaking wet from heavy downpour. We decide to sleep in the abandoned house instead. We fixed our bedding yet it was difficult to sleep because the dogs and goats were trying take shelter with us plus the sound of the animals and the howling of the wind.
Early next morning we prepared our breakfast and suit up for the climb. The plan was to climb the peak of Mt Asog but our guides led us to the rim of the volcano crater. Mt. Asog is a dormant volcano. We went through the ridges hidden under trees and bushes and tall grasses. From the rim, we saw the bottom of the crater which was full of pine trees and dense vegetation. We spent few minutes taking pictures. There was no trail that led us to the peak from the crater so we went back to the base camp. It took less than an hour to go up to the crater and back down.
The ascent to the peak was difficult. We did not find the established trail instead created our own trail. We walked, climbed and crawled through the thick sharp blade of cogon grasses. The ascent was almost risky because of the terribly steep terrain. Later we faced a dead end, a vertical wall very close to the ridge and decided to settle there. From there we enjoyed the view and savor the moment. After few minutes, we slid down. The descent was easy and fun. We took our lunch in the base camp and packed up. From the base camp hiked down to Barangay Santiago then took a ride on a tricycle to Iriga City.
