Call
time is at 3:00 A.M. Even if I had just a few hours of intermittent
sleep brought about by the neighboring tent's "socials" the night
before, I was still fortunate to wake up on the right side of the tent.
I prepared for this day, the day we climb up the summit. Buying a
sleeping bag was probably the best decision I made prior to this trip.
It added warmth and comfort even if I was away from home.
We
were blessed with perfect weather from the time we left Manila all the
way to Benguet and there was no reason to stay inside the tent and miss
the summit. I slept with my early-dawn climbing attire on. I had 5
layers of upper body clothes (rash guard, shirt, 2 sweaters, 1 jacket,
2 bonnets, and knitted scarf) and 3 layers of pants (thermals, jogging
pants, trek pants), socks and gloves. Talk about getting ready for
battle.
Our
team leader suggested to put on our ponchos/rain coats as additional
protection against the cold which dropped to 7 degrees Celsius. I never
thought the raincoat I brought could be used this way, but it helped.
We
left camp thirty minutes past three and trekking time is about an hour
and a half. The summit is only a few hundred meters away from base
camp, but the total darkness and the near freezing temperatures at high
altitude made it more difficult. I told myself to take baby steps - but
the lights coming from the head lamps of fellow trekkers ahead of me
made it seem like forever. I had difficulty breathing and catching up
with my team mates but my guide encouraged me to breathe through my
mouth and stay focused on our goal.
The
dark midnight blue sky was slowly turning to a deep amber and specks of
light were beginning to be seen from the horizon. When I finally
reached the summit at 5:00 A.M., there was already a huge crowd of
people waiting for the sunrise.
We
each took our small space on top and patiently waited for the sunrise.
The sky now seemed like a giant screen while we waited for the opening
credits to roll.
The yellow-orange colors faded into a light blue then in perfect cadence of the moment, there it was...the glorious sunrise.
Photographs
could not do justice to the breathtaking scenery unfolding in front of
me. The rising sun in the horizon and the famous sea of clouds around
us are the most rewarding sights on top of this sacred mountain, also
known as the "Playground of the Gods."
On
the other side of the mountain, the partial sunlight looked like a
glowing crater. We all felt so blessed being there at the right moment
witnessing nature at its best.
The summit at last! Did I conquer the mountain? No I didn't...because it was the other way around. The mountain conquered me.
Hopping and whistling on my way down
One last look at the summit...a silent witness to
a lot of people ecstatic upon
