Mt. Kanlaon Summit Trek - Day 3

The night before I'd hung my socks on a branch in the hope that the weather would remain fine throughout the night and they might dry out a bit.  Not a chance.  Early morning I was awoken by the pit, pit, pat of rain falling on the tent, as well as the snoring and wheezing from Rutger the Leprechaun.  As usual I was awake early and lay there wondering what time everyone else was going to get ready.

Outside of the tent the whole mountain top was enveloped in cloud so a quick trek to the cone and the highest point wasn't going to happen.  A disappointment not to be able to go to the peak but with the rain making everything feel quite wretched there didn't seem any point. 

I recovered my boots from under my rain coat and of course, they were still wet.  My socks were dripping wet and I couldn't decide whether to put them back on again or leave them off.  There didn't seem to be much point in putting them back on again so the were stowed away under the rain cover on my rucksack.  I'd left my rucksack hanging off of a branch with the rain cover pulled over it but this only really protects the outside of it and so it was also pretty much soaked through too.

Breakfast was cheese and onion sandwiches made with stale bread.  Jochen was very proud of his home-made bread baked in a wood fired oven but it didn't stay fresh for too long.

Waiting to Catch Me Slipping Over

Back into my wet clothes we then headed off down the mountain.  Visibility was only 50 yards or so but by the time we left it had at least stopped raining, although it was difficult to stay dry when all the surrounding vegetation was soaking wet.  The terrain going down was completely different to that going up in that it was grassland rather than forest.  This made it easier to traverse except the trail was muddy and very, very slippery.  All of us seemed to spend a fair proportion of our time sliding downhill on our backsides.  The Leprechaun seemed to delight in this and would wait for those up ahead to slip over, and then after having identified the really slippery bits would wait in ambush with his video camera to capture those behind befalling the same fate.  

Wet, Dirty, Scratched and Tired - But Still Smiling

As we started down the grass was only knee high but the further we went the longer it became until it was over 6 feet tall.  In places there had been brush fires and slipping over meant getting covered in a thick, black, sticky soot.  Trying to hold onto the grass to stop yourself from falling wasn't such a good idea either as it was like grabbing razors that sliced your hands open and it was full of hidden brambles and thorns.  My legs were cut and grazed - no wonder everyone else was wearing long trousers.

Cuts and Grazes

Halfway down we stopped in a dried up river bed for a rest and to be eaten alive by huge mosquitoes.  Pulling off my sodden boots to remove the grit and stones I realised it was a mistake not to wear socks - the big toe on my right foot had an enormous blister on it and the left one was developing one too.  Jochen was kind enough to lend (gave) me a pair of dry socks, which helped enormously.

Blister on my Big Toe

In some ways, coming down is harder than going up.  On the way up you alternate between pushing off on one leg and then the other but going down both legs are under constant exertion.  By the time we coming to the end, walking through farmland and out of the grasslands, I was hobbling a fair bit from my blisters and now thoroughly exhausted legs.  Within the last 500 yards the elastic on my underpants gave out and I finished the trek in a rather undignified fashion with my pants dangling around the legs and crotch of my shorts.

Rice Farms on Kanlaon's Slopes

A short 10 minute video of the trek can be viewed by clicking on this link: Kanlaon Trek

We were met by the lads on the scooters and taken back to the guest house.  I slumped in a plastic chair and guzzled on a bottle of San Miguel.  Without doubt, when you feel like you've earned a beer it certainly tastes good - and this tasted divine.  So I had 3 more and they didn't bother going to my stomach, they just went straight to my head!

Kanlaon Lush Waterfall

As we were all having a celebration beer a local bus came down the road, full to the gunnels with people and baggage.   Jochen stood on the side of the road flagging it down but I reckoned there was no way it was going to stop to pick up more passengers.  But of course I was wrong.  Still holding their beers, and with standing room only, we said goodbye and off they went.

In summary then, it was a great trip, although somewhat disappointed that we didn't actually make it to the very highest point and that the weather was so grim.  I'm not sure it offered good value for money though.  Php 9,000 (£135) for one night in a cheap guest house and some rice and noodles (and a free pair of socks) seem rather expensive, even taking into consideration the guide and rental of tents, but even more so when you consider we had to carry all the kit ourselves.

Whilst on the mountain I swore that I'd never do this again.  I was adamant.  I'd decided that all I was going to do in the future was take up golf.  Stamp collecting.  Needle work.  But within a very short time after finishing I was thinking that it wasn't so bad.  Despite all the pain and suffering the rewards are immense and it's not the physical challenge that I enjoy, it's the mental ones.  The need to keep going when your body's telling you you should stop.  Having to ignore the cuts and grazes, the blisters and aching legs.  It's not like a bus ride: you can't just get off when you want.  Once you're there, you have to see it through.  There's also the thrill of doing something edgy and dangerous.  There are plenty of precarious ledges and walkways where a slip might send you tumbling down the mountain but without these the trip, and life in general, would be pretty dull.  Wouldn't it?

Plot of the Route Taken (Google Earth)

The Start Point is to the Right