Wala Lang
Hi from your usual writer Jaime C. Laya. Let’s say the year-long Covid-19 lockdown is already getting to you and you’ve decided that you need fresh air, exercise, and something to look at other than wall and fence. You already know more or less what hiking possibilities are but naturally you want to know the specifics: what, where, how—all the details. So you ask.
What follows are my questions and Bambi Guevara’s answers.
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Can hiking be a family affair with spouse and young children?
A spouse and kids may be more interested in indoor activities like cooking, shopping, watching Netflix, or computer gaming. The probability of only spouse and/or one or two children wanting to join is higher than the entire family tagging along.
Is hiking a macho thing or do women also hike?
My guess is that women comprise about 20 percent of the hikers I know and have met outdoors hiking. Their common denominators are the importance they place on physical fitness, enjoyment of the outdoors and willingness to rough it out briefly away from the comforts of home.
You might have heard of Bukidnon’s Carina Dayondon, who is into mountaineering. That is in an entirely different league from ordinary hiking. In 2018, she completed the so-called Seven Summits Challenge, i.e., reaching the tops of the tallest mountains of the world’s seven continents, including Africa’s Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas’ Everest.
ON HIGH – Mt. Everest Summitteers: Carina Dayondon, Janet Belarmino and Noelle Wenceslao
By coincidence, I ran into Carina in 2006 at the Mt. Everest Base Camp in Nepal that is 5,400 meters above sea level. It took me eight days to get there from the usual take-off point. One goes up only about 300 meters per day because of the thinning oxygen at those heights. The Base Camp was good enough for me and I made it back to the starting point in five days.
Carina was in a group that included two other Filipinas, Noelle Wenceslao and Janet Belarmino. The three also didn’t go any further than the Base Camp but they returned in 2007 to climb Everest from Tibet and descend to Nepal on the mountain’s other side. They were the first women to do that traverse route to and from the top of the world at 8,848 meters altitude.
How healthy should I be before I start up some mountain?
ON HIGH – Mt. Pulag Summitteers: Joey Tence, Gunther Hecker, Ric Tan, Bambi Guevara, and Gerry van der Linden.
It is only Mt. Pulag National Park I know that requires clearance from a physician. The other hiking sites assume that the visitor knows what his health condition can handle. Guides are also aware that some trek slow while others are fast. Mt. Pulag requires a health clearance as the trail is rather taxing and some have suffered heart attacks and died on the way.
There is no age limit that I know of. I brought an 83-year-old friend to Mt. Pulag last year. He survived and just texted me to ask when we’re climbing Mt. Maculot.
I am in fairly good shape but with frequently protesting knees. Should I even think of hiking?
Strong knees and good balance are essential for hiking. I suggest getting doctor’s approval beforehand and doing extensive leg strengthening workouts first. Many seniors suffer serious bone injuries due to slippages or falling even at home due to weak leg muscles. Hiking could actually strengthen leg muscles, however, and prevent future accidents.
Are guides and porters available?
It’s of course best to be part of a group. It’s more fun and safer in case of any emergency. The National Parks and local government units with hiking sites have organized guide and porter associations for visitors. It costs about P500 to P1,000 per day for a guide or porter, depending on the place. There is usually a maximum number of hikers, say seven, for every guide. The load limit for a porter is usually a 15-kilo backpack because he also has to carry his own pack. On Mt. Pulag, there are even women members in the porter association.
A word of warning. Different places have different standards of quality when it comes to guides. It is best to get one through a referral. Some guides may point out to you the plants, animals, and places that you see while some may just walk wordlessly ahead.
Am I likely to be bitten—maybe eaten—by some wild animal or fall down a cliff? What risks should I guard against?
There is very little risk or potential injury from wildlife. In all the years I have been hiking, the only harmful creatures I’ve encountered are lematik. Some trails, not all, have these leeches about an inch long that jump at you and suck your blood. Plants that cause itchiness are rare and the guides will warn you about them. Snakes slither away when they hear humans approaching and the ones I have seen were quite small.
On physical injuries, the most common are abrasions and ankle sprains when one slips. Injuries from falling occur only in extreme off trail conditions like climbing a mountain that has hunter trails or traps. The classic or popular trails are well laid out and the guides and porters will see to it that you’re not exposed to anything dangerous.
What about holduppers, kidnappers, hostile locals, outlaws? Are there safe places to sleep overnight?
There is no danger from any of these on the classic trails. There are designated camp sites near a water source for drinking and an outhouse. Chances are your guide knows the residents of villages along the way and could arrange home stays.
Accommodations tend to be basic but better than sleeping outdoors in a tent on a rainy night. Local officials will not recommend a hike or even prevent you from proceeding if there are lawless elements along the way.
Is it possible to get to the end of a trail on wheels and just hike downhill?
The Mt. Purgatory Trail in Bokod, Benguet can be shortened by five hours with motorcycle rides on Days 2 and 3 but it will still require a six-hour hike on Day 2. Hiking downhill is harder for the legs than climbing since you’re moving against gravity.
Note: The Seven Summits Challenge is reaching the tops of the highest mountains of the world’s seven continents: Everest (Nepal and China), Aconcagua (Argentina), McKinley (US), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Elbrus (Russia), Vinson (Antartica), and Kosciuszko (Australia) or Carstensz Pyramid (New Guinea).
(To be concluded)
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