Baliktanaw 29 Years Ago

 This April 2022, I received a message in my Messenger inbox saying “Hi!”

“Hello po Sir, Magandang araw po sa inyo. Way back po 1993 po Mt. Pulag po may nameet po kayo na mga teens na sumubok akyatin ang mt pulag. Kung maalala po ninyo kasama ko po si Paul Soliman. Napasyal pa po kayo sa bahay namin sa qc. Anyway po sana maalala nyo po ako. Ingat po”

It was from Chris Junio, a high school graduate from Bautista Pangasinan who with their classmates and friends ventured on a climb to Mt. Pulag base camp 26 December 1993 riding in their top down Wrangler Jeep travelling a distance of about 170 kilometers for 5 hours.

With no climbing experience, they explored the place not sufficiently equipped with garments, tools and training to face the less than 0°C temperature of Mt. Pulag. At that time, coming from a storm and raining, it was freezing cold.

That Pulag adventure was my 1st upon invitation of Ricky Francisco, the late Romy Antonio and friend Gregg Cordova and a motley group of the PNB Mountaineering Club of Jun Galang, Jessica, and Ding. I recall they were hesitant to include me in the pack because of no training experience.

Yet there was this group of barkada fresh from high school who were not even in their 20’s and even worse not informing their parents on their whereabouts of this daring escapade to celebrate their graduation.

Due to the rain and the strong rains, my 1st Pulag climb was aborted. We sought shelter at a cabin for the night. The following morning, that’s when we met this group from Bautista Pangasinan struggling to ascend to a certain destination.

As it was also dangerous to proceed, we suggested that they go back. That’s when we learned that they left their vehicle somewhere. We offered them a ride in our rented jeepney to which they gladly accepted.

We eventually parted ways with both groups not succeeding.

Years after, I would get in touch with their leader Paul Soliman who eventually entered UP and stayed at Kalayaan. I learned that eventually, they summited the Mt. Pulag peak and some have taken climbing seriously. After some interactions, we lost contact until Chris’ message who perhaps had fond memories of their 1993 escapade.

I remember the lines on “Gentle Presence” by Joan Metzner" lifted from the book Gentle Presence by Earnest L. Tan on people slipping in and out of our lives.

"Some people enter our lives like deer, slipping in and out of the woods. They touch our earth and as we step to look at them they disappear as quietly as they came. But you feel blessed for having experienced their gentle presence.”

My 1st Pulag attempt like the Bautista group was 29 years ago. I could not recall the details (some info need validation) but with the help of Chris and the foto of their group which Chris said he maybe have a copy; it may help me reconstruct those moments (the group eventually completed their Mt. Pulag climb).

Like them, that Pulag adventure helped cement my relationship with nature and the mountains in the forthcoming years of our lives. For Chris and company to have remembered me and how those moments impacted on their lives, it was enough to validate life’s blessedness and its mystery.

31 December 2022