Muddy trails, stormy weather, and the Philippines’ highest peak—Mt. Apo tested me like never before. Curious how this unforgettable adventure unfolded? Read my blog!

Disclaimer: All views expressed on this blog are my own based on my own experiences and do not represent of any entity with which I have been, are now or will be affiliated

November 04, 2022
Batangas, Philippines

Date of Hike: October 28-30 via Sta. Cruz Trail

Towering at an altitude of 2,954 m (9,692 ft), Mt. Apo which meant ‘grandfather’ or ‘master’ in it’s local dialect is the highest mountain and volcano in the Philippines. Although Mount Apo has had no recorded eruptions, it is still considered an active volcano. Apo has 3 separate mini-peaks and a flat summit. Mt. Apo features an array of landscapes, virgin forests, crags, rivers, lakes, mossy swamps, volcanic structures, and crater of sulphuric deposits.

I have been wanting to reach the roof of the Philippines. I’m glad I said yes to this expedition, an unforgettable experience! 🙂

Budget

I booked Mt. Apo hike for 3 days and 2 Nights amounting to Php6,200, porter fee for Php2,750. Total of Php8,950. My over all budget for this hike is Php10,000. I booked my Mt. Apo hike with Lantuag x Jessiclimb organizers.

Weather

There was a typhoon during the hike which was named “Paeng” which caused damage across the Philippines.

Thing to Bring:

1. trekking clothes/trekking poles
2. trekking form (to be given by the organizer)/vaccination card
3. gloves/socks
4. jacket, raincoat or rainjacket
5. headlamp, bonnet, headbuff or facemask (due to sulfur)
6. fleece jacket
7. small backpack for summit assault
8. trash bag
9. Sleeping bag – tent, sleeping pad, emergency blanket
10. eating essentials – spoon and fork, plates, trail foods, water
11. pocket money

*We were not allowed to bring pork related products due to swine flu. Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses do not usually infect humans, but rare human infections have occurred. There are wild boar pigs in Mt. Apo who eat these pork and that will lead to other animals getting infected.

Itinerary

Mt. Apo Sta. Cruz trail (Back trail) Day 0 ( Oct. 27) – We were supposed to camp in the community in Kapatagan but we’re not allowed due to landslide so we stayed in Davao City instead. I stayed in Q8 hotel in Pichon Street in Davao City, it was a budget hotel. I liked it, cheap and clean. I was already in Davao for a week doing my backpacking trip so I just waited for my friends to land in Davao, but most of their flights got delayed due to the weather.

Day 1 (October 28)
4:00 am – A van which was organized by Avel (our leader for this hike) picked me up in the hotel that I was staying
5:00am – We travelled going to Brgy. Kapatagan in Davao
7:00am – We arrived in Brgy Kapatagan, ate breakfast and bought our lunch (eggs and eggplants (fried)
9:00am – a 4×4 pick up truck drove us going to Desander plant in Sitio Pogpog.
9:15am – Arrived at Desander plant Sitio Pogpog jump off to meet our guides and porters.
9:30am – Culan community to check permit, weighed our bags, ate snacks and DENR orientation
10:00am – we started trek to Sitio Tumpis
1:00pm – had our lunch on trail at Basakan E-camp. I ate in a plastic bag and it was raining. I ate as if my life depended on that meal haha!
2:00pm-9:00pm – The trek was difficult as there were puddles of mud, it was crazy that we reached Tinikiran campsite1 at almost 6:00pm. We pitched our tent to muddiness as well! It was very uncomfortable, my tent was flooded and muddy, good thing I had inflatable sleeping pad so I could sleep there. Everything was a mess because I also did not take a bath haha! I just really wanted to go home on that first night. I can write all the obscene words but words are not enough to express how uncomfortable I was – no shower, I have my period, my tent was a mess with mud haha! But, I learned something on my first night – to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I slept well, I am a heavy sleeper so I can leverage to that haha!

Day 2 (October 29)

It was raining heavily early in the morning that the team decided to prepare to summit at 7:00am instead after light breakfast. Our only goal was to reach the boulders but it’s go hard or go home for me on this day. I knew we will reach the summit but we just really needed to be very careful and check the weather. Our safety was our main priority.
8:30am – We reached the Boulder Face, we began to feel very excited, the giant rocks were a sight to behold. The rocks gave me the strength to move forward, it was really an exhilarating experience! It just felt really dramatic even as I am writing this gives me chills! haha!
11:40am – After the boulders, we reached Whitesand, almost summit. We had to regroup here to check on the weather, it rained but we were determined to climb the roof!
1:00pm – We climb the 87 degree assault right after seeing the crater lake. It was amazing that there was a crater lake on top of a mountain. It was a difficult 15 minute assault. I guess it was just adrenaline which made me reached the summit. It was too windy upon reaching the summit and the rain poured continuously. We only reached the first peak because the weather did not permit us to move to 2 other peaks. But, what the hell, we were on top of the Philippines, baby! haha
2:00pm – We descent after picture taking, it was very difficult when coming down, this was my most hated part of hiking.
7:00pm – We reached Camp 1 at 7:00pm, it was really difficult coming down, it was already dusk and we needed to light our head lamps and conquered a muddy road and rainy weather. Once we reached Camp 1, we had dinner, try to freshen up and sleep.

Day 3 (October 30)

7:00am – Breakfast
8:00am – Break camp
9:00am – Prepare for descent, I knew from this moment that my toenail was going to die, I did not wear my left sock because all my socks were soaked. I was not prepared for the trekking pants as well that I had to borrow from KC my friend haha! Good thing, it fits me! I need to bring 4 trek pants, shirts and socks next time. Anything can happen in the mountains!

The descent was too muddy, it became very difficult because the trails were slippery.
6:00pm – We reached Davao City and booked our hotel at Q8 hotel.

It was really fun reaching the roof of the Philippines, I gained a lot of experiences. Experiences are really important, especially experiences I do with others. I couldn’t do this without the help from the local guides – they were the ones who cooked the food for us and made sure we were well taken cared off, porters – I don’t think I could carry my bag without them, they were carrying almost 17kg of my backpack. And of course, my Apo team – it was one hell of a muddy ride! hahaha

Love,
Maria, sometimes, Niskie