It was a spontaneous question that I asked my college friend about hiking one of the majestic mountains in the province of Iloilo. Knowing that she is a habitual hiker, I thought she could give me, an overweight guy with history of asthma, an encouragement to go for and survive the climb. Later she said, without hesitation, that I can do it given the mountain I was aiming for is just for beginners.
And so I obliged and we scheduled the hike. We invited our other college classmates, who are all registered civil engineers, to join us. There were six of us who committed but only three pushed through, not including that friend who I asked first. She said she had stepped on a glass just days before the hike, causing her to have a pained leg, so she will not be able to come. But the rest of us pursued the plan anyway with my conviction to go for my first – and hopefully not last – leisure hike at Mt. Napulak in Igbaras, Iloilo.
Everything was going as expected including the climb, but what happened at the summit somehow made me regret about trying to hike: I had a near-death experience there.
It will be a bad day for my legs and my respiratory system, I already knew that prior to the dayhike. This isn’t my first hike on a mountain, but my first one done for leisure so I sort of had an idea about the impact of such strenuous physical activity on my body.
But Mt. Napulak in Igbaras is not like the mountains I have traversed before. It is by far my most challenging, peaking at 1,239 meters above sea level – others I have climbed barely hit the five hundred meters mark. It is described by mountaineers as one forested in its slope, hiked by beginners for 4 hours and descended for 2 hours.
One-third of my group, let’s call him Guide, has reached the peak of this mountain for three times already. On his fourth time, he knew that we did not need to hire a local to locate the Tigbanaba trail as he can already do it himself. He did not disappoint.
At the time, it’s only a matter of pacing for the rest of the group – the two of us will experience leisure hiking for the first time at Mt. Napulak.
Guide pushed us to speed up our pace as he led the way. With backpacks plus body weight, this was a struggle to follow but we complied willingly while sweating and breathing heavily. There were 5-minute stops on the trail to catch our breaths and consume water.
Following Guide’s pace, we managed to reach the summit in less than 3 hours rather than the usual 4 for beginners. It was an achievement for the two of us, especially upon stepping on the summit of the mountain. Our deserving reward is seeing the mold of nature on this part of Iloilo. We celebrated our success at the top by having lunch while looking over such a breathtaking scenery.
At the summit, there is this sacred feature called the Nipple Rock. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to climb it despite my irrational fear of heights, I went for it. Little did I know that it is something I would regret later.
Guide went first, followed by my other friend. I went last because I volunteered to take pictures of them during their climb. Here they are:
I was already halfway the peak of the rocks when I suddenly felt muscle spasms on my legs. Not the best time to experience such, I thought.
Look very closely in this video to see what it was like:
At that point, I thought I will no longer survive it and even die by falling through and on the sharp rocks. I was hesitant to move further or even go back given the twitching on my legs. I was stuck. From there I realized death is just one wrong step away.
I was told by Guide to rest it and my leg condition will improve. Sitting down for about 10 minutes and moving my legs thoroughly helped indeed, but still I feared for my life. I pushed myself to reach the peak of the Nipple Rock to prove to myself that I am able to.
Partially disabled, I found a comfortable spot on the highest point in the vicinity of Igbaras. While there was a satisfying view right before my eyes, I still suffered with my legs having twitches intermittently. I only got to appreciate the beauty of nature for a while because I was worried on how I could go down.
Like what I previously did, I rested. For whatever miracle had happened, my legs cooperated and the twitching stopped. The moment I felt that the spasms will not come around soon, I went for the descent.
With my legs still hurt, I took a redeeming step on the grassy summit of Mt. Napulak and lied down immediately, not believing that I was able to make it. Alive.
Did I overreact about almost dying at Mt. Napulak? Definitely not. When you are in the middle of a rocky structure and your leg muscles decide to twitch, which by then makes you think you cannot move anywhere, it is a perfect reaction to panic. At least at first. It requires presence of mind on what to do next.
I enjoyed the hike overall minus the muscle spasm incident. Our descent was more challenging to me but I was able to cope up with Guide’s pace even with my sore legs.
Hiking has long been listed in my “To Do Things Before I Die” bucket, but I did not plan to die immediately after ticking it off. Thank heavens it was not interpreted that way by destiny.
Now I can only prevent from the same thing to happen again which is why I am highly doubtful of climbing another mountain again – regardless if it is just for beginners.