drop-off point at kamakawanphotos by totit
cagayan de oro - my clock reads 5:30 a.m. and the daylight was already all over my room. the sun rises real early these days. i got up from bed and had my hiking backpack prepared for the days adventure. we (singles from our local church CCF) are heading to mapawa for a river trek.
today's a different monday, no wearing of barong and no boring office works instead im on a hiking apparel and a backpack loaded with food, a liter of water, an extra shirt and short pants.
the meeting place was at CCF by 6:30 a.m., i got there at exactly the agreed time. eugene was there at 6:10 a.m., and the rest came later with totet on a jeepney which will take us to the drop-off point at kamakawan, cagayan de oro.
the city was still very quiet coz it's a holiday. u can almost count the cars roaming around. of course u cant expect everybody to arrive at the agreed time, so we had to wait an hour for the late comers...
i particularly dont like to wait and watch time passed by doing nothing. i wasnt able to bring any book or my cellphone coz for sure it would get wet during the trek, so i just bought some banana's at the nearby fruitstand and ate. hehehehe! i only had taken two-slices of bread, an egg, juice, and two tablets of vitamins for breakfast.
after an hour of waiting they all arrived and we were set to trek the long trail of the mapawa river... there were 28 of us, most were first-timers except for totet who had been there several times and me who had been there once.. i had trekked the mapawa river almost a decade ago with my highschool friends dropping-off from villa ernesto in gusa trekking all the way to the cascading waterfalls of mapawa in libona, bukidnon.
today's a different trail, with different companions and a different me. nothing much had changed with the river though but a lot had changed in me. a decade ago i was a young boy, full of energy, running the river trails carelessly, and chasing my young dreams along with my friends. life was pretty simple those days, unlike now, a bit complicated. maybe because i have now taken responsibility of the welfare of not just my own life but other people that God had given me (my friends and family) as well.
we had reachd kamakawan past 8 a.m. already and the sun was already scorching but all were still in high spirits and full of energy. from kamakawan we had to hike almost a kilometer of downward mountain trail to reach the mapawa river. it was the first leg of the trail, the dusty mountain roads and the heat of the sun had welcomed us uncomfortably.... and for the first-timers, especially the ladies.. it wasnt as pleasant as what they think it is.
we had to stop and rest for 15 minutes after reaching the river. gathered around, shared jokes, food, and water. the mountains and the trees therein had covered the river and no more mr.-scorching-shunshine which drained much of our energies. the boulders, sedimentary rocks, trees, the sound of the river, of the insects and birds were very lovely which renewed our spirits....our energies regained and then the river trek started.
totet was our trek leader and kim and i were assigned as sweepers which means we had to be at the back and be at the last of the group to make sure no one's or nothing's left behind.. it was a simple task at first until eugene started getting exhausted and was way behind the the group already.
eugene didnt expect it was a very long trek and very difficult. another kilometer and his leg muscles started to gave in and he could no longer walk and even more, climb the very dangerous rocks.
i guess eugene weighs more than twice my weight... if i weigh 60 kilos then eugene should be more than 120. he was short and really a big guy... looking at eugene, i can already sense trouble. kim went ahead and i had to help eugene.
the group was way ahead of us and occasionally eugene and i had to stop for about 5 minutes or more to rest...i could no longer see or hear the noise of the group until we reach a very difficult climb. it was very steep, almost 90 degrees and about 15 or 20 feet climb. we caught some of the ladies still having a hard time climbing. it was over for eugene, and i know he cant make it any farther. we decided to settle and camp there until the group returns. i ask those guys we saw there to tell the group that we will just stay there and wait for their return.
and so the guys left us there (eugene and i). it was almost 11:30 a.m. and then eugene started to unload his bag, and to my surprise... it was all food...hehehehe! chocolates, nuts, chips..and drinks..hehehe! well, it wasnt such a bad luck after all. being left there with a funny guy with lots of foods and the thought that i no longer have to walk another kilometer was a blessing in disguise. we were also near a waterfall and we were covered with trees so it's really not a bad place to stay. well of course, the fun being with in the group still lingers in my head at that time but i cant leave eugene there all alone. so i just thought that i might as well enjoy the little detour that i am in. the food was my only consolation. heehehehe!
couple of minutes had passed and totet came back. he told us that the group was waiting for us. i told totet that we'll just stay there coz eugene cant make it any farther but totet insisted that eugene should try a little harder coz we're almost there at the end point of the trail. i looked at eugene and he was really tired but i cant keep the group waiting and i cant play the kj of the group by not joining them although my worries were more of eugene. i asked eugene to give it a try and surprisingly we had climbed the 15 or 20 feet and almost 90 degrees rock climb so easily. perhaps it's because we had rested for quite a while.
we started hearing the group cheering us up from a distance and some of them came along to help us. after a while we were able to join them and we then continued our trek. at long last we reached the end point..a waterfall. the rest of the group were already resting, eating, swimming, jumping and taking pictures when we got there. we were the last to arrive.
for more than an hour we were overwhelmed by the fun we had. our bond of friendship were strengthened and lots of new friends were gained.
yet the fun had to end and we had to get back to kamakawan before dark. we packed up
our things and headed back to where we started. the trail back became more hazardous because it started to rain. the rocks were now slippery and the water started to rise. climbing down the rocks were more difficult than climbing up.
reggie was helping eugene while i was clearing up the easy and safety trail. soon enough we have to deal with fatigue and fear that we wont make it on time. we spent almost an hour convincing eugene to move on because he was totally demoralized. more than the fatigue was eugene's attitude, he slowly became negative and pessimistic. for eugene, reggie and me, it was really a test of character.
God was so gracious. he reminded me of so many things and revealed my character on that day. at some point my character was about to break down, when i looked at the difficulties and the distance we still have to travel, plus the rain and eugene's attitude. God made me realized that if my character will falter that day then eugene's and reggie's would falter as well. so i just looked up to the heavens, enjoyed the rain, and we just sat there not worrying if will gonna make it home or not. we just started talking about our lives, and God's greatness.
we started talking about the love of our lives, and suddenly eugene gained new strength. until it hits me, his eyes lighted up everytime he speaks of the girl she really liked...so i keep on asking him about the girl and stuff.. then we started walking...in my mind i was shouting for joy coz i finally got him walking again... he only needs his inspiration...praise God!!! and reggie joined the conversation and then totet went back to help us.. all through out the trail back to kamakawan we were talking about eugene's love of his life...and we were just laughing and shouting that our situation did not hinder us from believing that we're gonna make it.
after finishing the river trail, we had to climb up again the uphill mountain trail. this time the the dusty road had turned into a slippery road. once in a while eugene had to stop for a rest but he was now determined to reach the top. i keep pushing him at the back and every step he made was a full of courage and inspiration.. it was already dark and still raining and halfway along the trail before it gets really steep, a mountain boy riding his horse came along our way. we asked him to let his horse lift our friend eugene back to kamakawan and we just have to pay him some money. he was delighted to help us after watching our exhausted faces which were about to cry.
once again, the group was cheering eugene as he approached the jeep riding on a horse.... they were so proud of him and i was so proud of him too. more importantly, i was so thankful to God.
we head home and called it a day.
