4th entry of the “Sagada Chronicles”
I somehow managed to pull my self up on an outcrop of rock and imagined it as a ledge of some sort. I tried to grip the wet and slippery rock as best I could but it wasn’t easy with the steady spray of water coming at me on a vertical angle directly from the waterfalls. I was trying to climb up the rock platform at the base of the waterfalls and the only way to do it was to climb up on this slippery rock and make my way up till I reach the base where I could then stand upright. I had to swim a bit in order to reach the nasty collection of boulders that would surely do a lot of damage to my bones if I somehow fell or slipped down.
I spent the next few agonizing minutes looking for a suitable handhold that I can use to pull my self further up. But every crack and depression barely gave me enough support for me to cling on to the rock much less provide me with a solid handhold for me to pull my self up. With no solid handhold the prospect of aborting this little climb and admitting failure was becoming more real with every second that went past. That would mean sliding down, which by it self wasn’t that easy and a mistake could prove disastrous. It would have also been admitting failure and weakness on my part. As time wore on, the prospect became more ominous.
We started that day ordinarily enough. After breakfast we boarded a rented Tamaraw and proceeded directly to Kiltepan. Kiltepan is nothing more than a good vantage point from which you can take great pictures of the rice terraces below. We spent the whole time there taking pictures. The view was spectacular and we fired away relentlessly with our cameras.
After Kiltepan we then proceed to the Big Falls. It was something like a 45 minute ride followed by a long trek down concrete paved stairs and rice paddies that formed the terraces past a small village then on to a narrow dirt path. It was a long hot walk and I knew it was starting to take its toll. But all of that faded as we saw the waterfalls from a distance.
Since it has been raining the last couple of days, what we saw was truly magnificent. It was enough to make me stand in awe even if I’ve been there before and I’ve already seen that exact same thing. The pool at the bottom of the falls was probably twice as large from what I remembered. It required some careful footwork before we reached the waters edge because of the countless huge boulders that blocked the way.
I spent the next few agonizing minutes looking for a suitable handhold that I can use to pull my self further up. But every crack and depression barely gave me enough support for me to cling on to the rock much less provide me with a solid handhold for me to pull my self up. With no solid handhold the prospect of aborting this little climb and admitting failure was becoming more real with every second that went past. That would mean sliding down, which by it self wasn’t that easy and a mistake could prove disastrous. It would have also been admitting failure and weakness on my part. As time wore on, the prospect became more ominous.
We started that day ordinarily enough. After breakfast we boarded a rented Tamaraw and proceeded directly to Kiltepan. Kiltepan is nothing more than a good vantage point from which you can take great pictures of the rice terraces below. We spent the whole time there taking pictures. The view was spectacular and we fired away relentlessly with our cameras.
After Kiltepan we then proceed to the Big Falls. It was something like a 45 minute ride followed by a long trek down concrete paved stairs and rice paddies that formed the terraces past a small village then on to a narrow dirt path. It was a long hot walk and I knew it was starting to take its toll. But all of that faded as we saw the waterfalls from a distance.
Since it has been raining the last couple of days, what we saw was truly magnificent. It was enough to make me stand in awe even if I’ve been there before and I’ve already seen that exact same thing. The pool at the bottom of the falls was probably twice as large from what I remembered. It required some careful footwork before we reached the waters edge because of the countless huge boulders that blocked the way.
Click on the picture to see a bigger image.
I decided to climb up to that platform as I did the last time I was there. I’ve done it before and I was confident I could do it again. I actually thought that someone might immitate me and try the same stunt I was trying to pull. Luckily no one was crazy enough to follow me.
I found my self stuck. It was during the summer months when I last tried scaling this wall, there was no spray of water coming from the waterfalls, the rocks were a bit drier, and there was a large crowd of people there. Now It was just our group of eight would be outdoor adventurers. It dawned on me that if something was to happen to me it would have been quite a problem. I wasn’t very confident of the first aid skills of my group. Compared with the last time, when I was there with college friends from UP Red Cross Youth. I was confident that I was with people who were highly trained, very competent, and experienced with administering first aid. This time around I would probably have to tell them what to do.
I was at the brink of giving up. I could not get a decent handhold to pull my self up. But I decided to try a different method and give it another go. I used my right leg for support and shifted all my weight on my left leg. I pushed with all my might using my left leg to push my self up while clinging on the rocks for dear life. I managed to stretch my self high enough until I found a good hand hold. With that, I was eventually able to climb all the way up to my objective.
I was at the base of the waterfalls and the only way to get back down was to jump…
After that stunt we rested, had some snack, and took more pictures then it was time to head back… Just another day in Sagada.
takot ako dun sa isang picture mo, when you were halfway up. ^_^
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