Mt. Palaopao : the way of the cross

It’s been days before my birthday and I was looking for a hike that somehow makes a meaningful sense for me to thank God and meditate. I heard about Mt. Palaopao, the new pilgrimage destination during holy week and decided to go there to pray and hope to God.

              Mt. Palaopao is located in Sumilao, Bukidnon. It was used as a burial ground during the 19^th century but is now serves as a pilgrimage destination especially during holy week in Catholic tradition.  It stands 668 meters above sea level and it has a wide mountain range that has caves and rockwalls. It is in this ranges where Sumalsag, Basag, Paiyak and several other caves are located.

 

I dropped by Sumilao bus terminal and headed to the back of Sumilao public market

 

 

At the back of the market there are rice fields and trail leading towards the mountain

  

                                                                The alluring mountain awaits me

The two peaks at the left side is my destination

                                        

 Halfway through the rice fields and zooming my camera at high level, I can see the big white cross at the peak.It made me more excited.

At the end of the rice fields I was amazed to see that there is a deep canyon with the river below.

                 Using my camera I can see the hanging bridge from the top of the canyon

           The trail on the canyon has very steep sections where it gets slippery during rainy season.

                                                     

                   the hanging bridge

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                                           At the end of the bridge is Sitio Palaopao.

     After the bridge I have come across two trails, one that leads to left and to the right. There is a house nearby but there’s nobody home. There’s no one to ask. Relying on my instincts, I decided to go right.  I was always looking up at the peak and I noticed that I was going farther away from it. It was then I have a great feeling that I am lost. It was the wrong way.

I was walking on tall cogon grasses that covered the trail that I took. It was far enough when I saw an old woman to ask about the directions and told me that the trail is on the opposite side. So I went back and took the trail going to the left from thebridge.

The settlers in Sitio Palaopao have their own chapel, basketball court and gardens. They then directed me to the trail.

And then I arrived at the chapel and took the trail at the back heading towards the mountain. I was looking for a bamboo cross to which they say that will lead me to the right trail.

                                                   I saw the first cross at the back of the chapel

      As I was going further, I was leading into more different trails. I couldn’t find any cross and the sad thing about it is that there is no one to ask. Again, I have to rely into my instincts. I took a trail and it led me to farms and houses.  And I got lost again. Going into farms after farms, which latter did I know that it was private property and I was trespassing.And then I met manong Eduardo Gorra and ask for directions. He then pointed me the way. As I was going to the direction he was pointing, he decided to go with me instead saying that he wants to go to the peak with me. He said that he could see people going in there on the trail but he has never been there. Manong Eduardo then came to be my guide and photographer. A good and kind hearted man.

                    The trail going up is very steep. It is very ‘technical’. The feeling of determination and excitement made me feel very invincible against the cruel heat and exhaustion for the trail going up has no means of shade.  Not good for first timers and weak at heart.  But for an average climber, it is very challenging.

It took us 45 minutes in reaching the cross at the first peak.

         The moment we reached the cross I was speechless. I was in awe. I was imagining the effort of the people in building that cross in the peak with all the heat and exhaustion that we’ve been through. I then knelt and prayed while manong Eduardo is just watching me. I talked to God and hoped.

With manong Eduardo Gorra

Watching the lowland from the peak is just amazing. We could almost see the whole lowland of Sumilao Bukidnon. I could see Mount Kitanglad on one side but it was covered with clouds.

After eating my lunch we then headed to the highest peak.

We passed by bushes which gives the only shelter there in the peak. And there were cliffs on either side.

 

We have to walk through sharp coral-like rocks in trail to the next peak

                    

 

 

I was amazed to see that there is an old rugged cross at the next peak. It is made of tugas, a hard wood. Its rugged stature gives me an unexplainable feeling and made me teary eyed.

I knelt and sat at the cross for a while to rest. The moment lifted my weary spirit.

The first cross as viewed from the second peak.

After watching, talking about the lowlands and taking pictures at the peak, we then descended trying to get rid of getting caught of in a rain. Weather in this area is very unpredictable .Halfway through the trail, manong Eduardo part ways as he goes back to his hut and continues his chores there. I then continued the trail down to the base and saw the right trail that I doubted before.

Being on the right trail, I then got the chance to see the beautiful sides of the mountain. Like this rockwall

                             And several bamboo cross that I tried to find during my ascent

Before going up from the canyon, I took a moment to just stay and watch over at the bridge.
 I was fond of the hanging bridge.
It took the daredevil character in me. I was thinking, what if I could jump into the water in the river below. It would have been a great feeling to satisfy the pumping adrenalin in me. Nah, the river is shallow.

  

It took me 45 minutes to reach into the plains above the canyon and into the rice fields.

 I then took a final glance at the mountain that I have just been and I felt happy about my experience.

It is still 4:00 in the afternoon and I find ways to make the most of my time in Sumilao. So I decided to go to Alalum falls, just a kilometer away from the terminal.

Hindang Cave: the inside

      
    1^st cave
 

The big boulders of rocks in the entrance excites me

 

I was amazed by the colors of the rocks. There was gray and green because of the moss and molds

 


There were many chambers inside the cave with ceilings as high as 60-80 feet much like of a cathedral with stalagmites and stalactites in all shapes and sizes.

 

The first cave that we entered in is inhabited with bats and we can see the bats resting and hanging on the ceiling of the cave. There were lots of them. We can smell the awful smell of their urine and excrements covering the floor of the cave.

the dark color of the cave floor shows the bat dung

           The view of the rocks inside the cave is amazing. The colors, textures, shapes and sizes.the cave is very alive and active.

a stalactite formation (draper)

straws

 The Science behind the form



                                Questions like:     What are Stalactites?
                                                               What are Stalagmites?
                                                               How do they form?
           
Here’s how it works:
          The mineralized groundwater that flows underground passes through limestones. The water then dissolves the minerals from the limestone and drips very slowly on the ceiling of the cave carrying with it the mineral that came from the limestones (mostly calcium carbonates). The air from the cave contains carbon dioxide comes in contact with the water causes a chemical reaction and reverses the process. The reaction turns water into solid. This process goes on and on until stalactites will be formed hanging from above or on the ceiling of the cave. Or there may be times that the drips of water reaches the floor or the lower surface of the cave thus stalagmites are formed. Amazing isn’t it?.

the water flows to the tip forming a cone shape

the flow of the water makes the form like this on horizontal

newly formed stalagmites

there may be times that the chemical reaction didn't work

  We saw some insects inside the cave like crickets. And they are very healthy and grow to its full size as no other predator could disturb them. They feed on the insects that feed in the bat dung.

 

crickets grow for up to 3-4 inches in size

              

                            Some sections of the cave have narrow entrance and we may need to sneak or crawl to get into that section or chamber. There is no other outlet from the first cave so that means the entrance or the entry point is also the exit point. After taking pictures we proceeded to the next cave.

the trail leading to the second cave

2^nd cave

     

at the entrance of the second cave

with roger at the entrance

                                                       
                                                      some of the pictures inside

drapers

a closer look of a draper. If you flick it with your finger, it sounds like porcelain

                                                                             

 

an exit point that requires some rope

L-R : roger , me , brian

       

when stactites and stalagmites meet they are called columns, like this

    The second cave is much better than the first one maybe because for one thing: there is no awful smell of the bats inside. The second cave though is thrived with cave birds. A blacknest swiftlet bird called Collacalia Maxima. They build their nests using feathers mixed with their gummy saliva. The nest is lighter in color usually white or yellow. They nest on the holes on the limestones especially on the ceiling.

the cave bird nest mixed with some twigs and feathers in the hole of the ceiling of the cave

the black cave bird (right) nesting on the holes at the ceiling of the cave

The locals are harvesting the nests to sell it because the nest has a high market value. These nests can be made into a soup and has high nutritive values that will bring various effects to the body like:  boosting the immune system, enhances the rebirth of cell tissues or improves the functions of internal organs and the like….Based on my research that a bowl of bird nest soup costs $200 in other countries. It is very popular especially in the Chinese community. If you will soak the nest in water it will expand up to 5-8 times from its size.

the cave bird nest mixed with feathers. The white stuff is the gummy saliva

     This second cave has no very high ceilings but it has a long network inside and there is an exit point. There are much more rock formations than the first. There are many chambers that can be explored. Sometimes I get frightened by the birds inside as they were disturbed by our presence they fly around and might hit me. But they are not aggressive and totally harmless.

There are two sad things that I have observed on the cave. First, since the locals are harvesting cavebird nests they have big tendency of harming the cave. They climb on the sections of the cave to get the nests and they are stepping and staining mud into the delicate stalactites and stalagmites formations that takes years to form. Second, people getting into the cave are making some unnecessary writings on the walls therefore destroying the scenery of the cave. I only found out after seeing the pictures. It is my first time to get here, the next time I get here I will suggest to the local officials there to make a little orientation about the do’s and dont’s inside the cave to preserve it and avoid harming it.

the mud stains on the walls of the cave

the beautiful crystals stained with mud

We lost track of time. We didn’t notice that it’s already late afternoon and we already spent almost 5 hours in taking pictures and exploring inside the two caves. We spent more time specially that my buddies are busy getting cave bird nests for them to sell. We decided to go home before it gets dark as we have a long trail to take on. We went on to the exit point.

the steep slope to the exit point

                                                       

brian helping roger in going up the steep slope of the exit point

                                                               
                                                    

it is only after taking the pictures that i noticed the annoying writings

the narrow exit

going up

roger in action

                   


                                      we then headed home taking the same trail in getting here. 

 Brian rode me into his motorbike into the highway. Brian took me into another route in going to the highway which leads to lugait and it was already dark when we arrived there. I took a bus as i have to catch for an evening shift at work. wheew!! what a day.





What to bring : 

•  Flashlights, headlights or any lighting equipment
•  a good pair of shoes with good traction for the steep slope
• food. you might take more time inside the caves
• enough water. there are no water at the start of the climb or outside the caves
• ropes (optional)
• extra batteries for camera. you may use your camera flash all the time and it drains your batteries fast.