Our trekking adventures continue! During the summer of last year, I was still working as a consultant at my previous company, and one of the things I miss there were my workmates. I had some adventurous and fun-loving colleagues. I remember being antsy about going mountain trekking and I knew if I initiated it that people would go along.
I brought up the idea about the trek on a Thursday and suggested that we go right away on the coming Sunday. People were eager since most of them were free on that day and the location of the trek was not far from where we all lived. I've been an advocate of spontaneous trips and adventures back in college. I remember making plans out of the blue to go to the beach at midnight with my friends. We'd go there without any swimming clothes and have a drinking session until the break of dawn. Those days were exciting but they messed up with your schedule.
For this trek, we agreed to meet up quite early so that we'd arrive at the destination in time for lunch. We were going to trek to Budlaan Falls in Apas, Cebu City (Philippines). I've been there once and I told the group I would be leading them even though I can't remember the trail anymore.
Alfred, one of our colleagues, brought a car and we drove up to the jump-off point of the trek. After leaving the car, we started our trek on a paved and steep road. We all had our masks on but soon we were removing them because we were beginning to catch our breath.
As mentioned, I've already been to the falls and during that first time, I also lead the group. I didn't have any idea about the trail but I was confident that getting to the falls was easy enough that we wouldn't get lost. During my first trek, I got everyone lost and on this second trek, I also got everyone lost.
While continuing on the paved road, we asked the locals if we were going in the right direction and they all said to just follow the path. We did as we were told. Along the way, we could see the tall mountains of Cebu City. We also saw a lot of plants. Ever since the start of the pandemic, my mother has collected so many plants that our house has become a mini-jungle and because of it, I've also become familiar with the different names of plants. I recognized a few during our trek.
At the start of our trek, there were other hikers who looked like they were also going to the falls. They were a few steps ahead of us and that made me confident that we wouldn't get lost if we just followed them. The paved road ended and the dirt path started. What I remember during my first trip was that it was so easy and quick for me. That's what I told my friends and they all expected a chill trek.
Then, we passed by some difficult terrain with cliffs on one side. Suddenly, it wasn't as easy as I remembered it to be. I saw my friends struggling with the path. We all kept moving forward and we passed a few forks along the way. The two hikers in front of us kept walking and we just followed them. They were checking Google Maps on their phone. We passed by another fork in the road which looked like it dropped to a cliff and I thought it seemed familiar. We kept going and then, the two hikers turned around and asked us, "Are we going the right way?" They didn't also know the way and were only relying on us! We were all lost.
I laughed and told them we were following them because we thought they knew the way. We were quite deep into the path and I decided to scout the trail ahead and check if it led to the waterfalls. They headed back to the fork we passed earlier. I walked further on and passed by streams of water and I knew we were near the river. I kept walking but there was no sign that the path led to a waterfall. I heard my friends call out my name saying I was going the wrong way. I retraced my steps and found out that the cliff-looking path was the right way.
I think that was the most difficult part of the trek. We had to climb down the cliff using ropes attached to trees. It didn't help that the soil was loose. One of my friends decided to sit on his butt and slide down the path. We also had to help the other hikers because they were having trouble going down. Thankfully, we all made it to the bottom with everyone safe.
The path ended at some rock formations that were facing Budlaan Falls. It was a bit different than the last time I went there. Not much water was flowing but that's because it was summer with little rain. The entrance to the small cave inside had gotten bigger. The major difference I saw was the pool of water at the bottom of the falls. It was wider and it looked deeper and murkier.
There were kids who were swimming and one guy swam all the way to the cave and under the falls. I was tempted to swim as well but the look of the water put me off. I told my friends the waterfall was not really that spectacular but after going through the difficult trek, it was satisfying to see our destination.
The experience during my second visit was also different because, on my first visit, we trekked along the river upstream. We passed by some smaller waterfalls and deep pools. We had to climb rocks and walk through the water. We later discovered during the trip back that there was an 'easier' path.
We took out some of the food we brought with us and ate while enjoying the view of the waterfalls. There were many hikers who were also taking their rest and we chatted with them. There were groups who were members of a club. My friends and I joked around that we should also make a mountain climbing club in our company and organize regular treks. We tried to organize future treks after this one but none have happened.
This was the whole gang. From left to right: Jun, me, Alfred, Junivick, and Jolly. Johnrich took the photo.
We saw the other hikers climb the side of the waterfall. They said there was another smaller waterfall up ahead and that there was a natural pool that was clearer. It was still so early and we had spare time to keep going.
Jun, Alfred, and Junivick went ahead of us to see if they could climb it. Ropes were attached to trees and rocks, and you had to pull yourself up to get to the top of the waterfall. Before joining them, I asked Johnrich to take a photo of me with the waterfall as the background.
The climb was not easy and it required a lot of strength in the arms and legs. We had to help some of our friends in climbing up. We reached the top and I forgot to stop and take a picture of the view from above. I guess I was too focused on continuing with the trek.
Large rocks greeted us at the top. We had to be careful to step on the right rocks or else we'd fall into the water. My shoes were not the grippiest shoes and I think I slipped a few times. Luckily, I was able to balance myself and avoid the water. Some of my friends were struggling with stepping from one rock to another because of their short legs.
We made our way slow and steady towards the other waterfall. It was so cool to see the huge rocks where the river cut through. You wouldn't think there was a waterfall at the end of it. I could imagine the empty spaces between the rocks to be full of water during the rainy season.
We saw the smaller waterfall (Kabang Falls) and indeed, the pool at the bottom looked enticing. I didn't plan on swimming and I didn't bring an extra set of clothes, but Alfred went ahead of us and told us that the water felt so good.
I decided I'd go swimming too. I took off my shirt and my leggings and went into the water with only my shorts. And he was right, the water felt so fresh and cool. The waterfall was small but it somehow created a big pool. The water was not that deep but I was afraid of swimming into the deep waters. I was still traumatized from my experience of almost drowning during my last trip to the beach. So I just stayed in the shallow water while Alfred swam towards the waterfall.
Johnrich followed me and he also was staying in the shallow part of the water. He was inspecting the rocks and he found one that could serve as a good pumice stone. I also looked for a few stones and tried rubbing them on my skin. I don't use a pumice stone and I was shocked to see dirt and some dead skin being removed by rubbing the stone on my skin. Soon, we were all looking for the best pumice stones we could find.
The place was so peaceful and quiet with only the sound of the water filling the air. Being in the river and surrounded by the trees was the highlight of this adventure (and of course, the part when we got lost). If we continued the path upstream, we would arrive at Sirao Peak, another popular hiking site in Cebu City. I think in my next visit to Budlaan falls, I would want to trek all the way to Sirao Peak. I'll be sure to get a guide so that I won't be lost again.
The water was getting cold and more hikers were passing by. A group decided to camp a few meters from the waterfall and we decided to start heading back. We took the same path when going back and in one of the stores we passed by, we stayed to drink a few glasses of beer. I didn't know drinking beer after a trek was so energizing. We stopped ourselves from drinking too much because there was still some distance we had to walk back to the car.
I was satisfied with that spontaneous adventure and even though I got everyone lost, I'm now quite sure that I have committed to memory the right path to the waterfall.
That's it! Another trekking adventure! This will go on for my next posts as I want to share with you more of my mountain travels. The next one will be more recent and will offer stunning views on top of a mountain. See you in the next post. Cheers!
