Till the Storm Passes Over: Canlaon

It was a very busy summer. We had just finished organizing a Youth Congress which was a huge success all by God’s grace. Then we immediately packed our bags to go to Southern Philippines to attend another Congress. 

My travel mates were planning to climb one of the most beautiful mountains in the Philippines after the Congress. I had no plans of going with them of course. I'm not exactly the most athletic person in the world and I was not entirely ignorant of the fact that you needed to be physically fit to endure the rigorous climb. 

But they were not persuaded by my argument so I tried a new tactic. No budget! I was days away from college graduation (oh yes) and my travels were not exactly light on my parents pockets. But if it was God’s will then i knew he would provide just the amount I needed. It turned out that my siblings wanted to climb too. Yes, my sister who is I think even less athletic than I was. And after pooling our resources we found out that we just had enough! And so we headed to uncharted mountains. 

THEIR bags. Not ours. :D 

Our companions were mostly experienced mountaineers. One graduated from a school just near Mount Kanlaon so I think he knew it like the back of his hand. From Iloilo we went to Bacolod, a freight ride away. We planned on sleeping early so we would have enough energy but then with this bunch of folks you can never really get enough sleep. Early the next morning, we took a bus ride to La Carlota City and from La Carlota we rode on a tricycle to the foot of the mountain. The view was splendid but unfortunately, we did not take any pictures.

The girls in the bunch. This looks photoshopped but it's real. Our first stop! Where we filled our canteens. 

This is the group! It took us about one hour of walking to get to the first stop.  It was starting to get cooler already. It took a while before I got my second wind. Like it took nearly an hour of walking. Uphill. Pretty painful. We were also constantly warned about leeches dangling from the trees or creeping from the ground. Plus the rocks that were slippery. And other scary stories. Even though we had a porter, my bag was still heavy with my essentials! 

We had four stops in between, not really stopping too long, just enough to catch our breath. We had to catch our second wind again if we stopped too long in one place so wearily, us beginners, had no choice but to go on. I was praying fervently of course. Climbing is not for the faint hearted.

Summit already! I was shooting a report for HCBN but it never got into circulation since something happened to the memory card. Anyway, just look at the fog behind me. Brrrr.But after eight hours of walking, “Hallelulah!” It felt like we had stepped into another country. It was that cold. And unbeknown to us, there was a storm brewing just at that moment. We prayed and thanked God for sparing us from harm, for the guardian angels who were on full alert look out and for the miraculous eight hour finish for us beginners.

We were excited to see the dormant crater turned basin but it was too foggy during our three day stay so we had to content ourselves with these pictures:

You might be surprised why there are more people in the first two pictures above compared to our initial group. They're our friends who joined the group later and left earlier. 

Words fail to describe the beauty of the mountain. From the trail to the summit. Aside from prayers, what made the tedious climb bearable was the company. Anyway, Kanlaon is a treat to the nature lovers, scientists, herbologists, ornithologists et. al. What made it more awesome was just looking at the flora and fauna made you see that God's prints are everywhere.

 the most valuable lesson that I got from that climb is that, our life is a journey. It may seem like uphill all the time. But when you're fully surrendered to God, the uphill climb won't even be an issue. He'll send you just the boost you need and just in time. 

As mountaineers know, the descent is more dangerous than the ascent. And boy, did I learn that the hard way! This time around, I think my guardian angel had back up help. I was carrying a heavier load (wet clothes) and our food supply was dwindling. 

Since it just rained, the rocks and the roots were slippery, the ground was muddy. My ukay-ukay (thrift shop) sneakers with virtually no traction was not helping either. I was jumping, stomping, slipping. More than once I could remember distinctly holding on to a thin vine yet it miraculously held me and to my side was a dangerous precipice! There were several times I almost slipped too! It was when we were already at the foot of the mountain that I finally slid on the mud. I could remember still smiling during that time. All those times on top of the mountain, God was holding on to me! 

And here ends the tale in Canlaon. :)

Hebrews 12:1" Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  

 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."