I’ve traveled through typhoons before, mostly driving on concrete roads; but hiking a mountain — make that three peaks in one go — is an adventure I never thought I would still be doing at 57. The call of Mt. Ulap was just too loud for me to ignore.

It had been raining for days before our scheduled hike, but the news said typhoon Goring would not make landfall. After what I’ve been through in Pampanga, one would think I’ve learned my lesson on setting out during a typhoon. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve climbed mountains during a typhoon twice before, so I thought this should not be any different. Besides, I didn’t want to disappoint my inaanak, Kai, because this would be his first mountain hiking experience.

As usual, I couldn’t sleep on the way. Somewhere in Pangasinan, heavy rains began to pour. By the time we reached Baguio, we went through several flooded areas. This is getting serious, I told myself. I looked over at Kai, deep in sleep. I prayed for God to make this weather bearable, at least, so this kid can enjoy his first hiking experience.

We were supposed to start hiking at 4:30AM, but the bad weather delayed our travel. We arrived in Ampucao a little before 5AM. The temperature was a lot colder outside than it was inside the van. Too cold. The downpour didn’t seem like it would stop, and I started getting nervous. If I were doing this solo, I would still go. I know Kai is a strong kid, being an athlete and young, but he doesn’t know anything about mountain hiking.

We bought two pairs of water-resistant pants (there were no waterproof pants) and a raincoat from the local sellers. We were told during the briefing that it’s advisable to use a walking stick because of the steep trail going down the mountain. I had second thoughts about buying one since I’m not comfortable using walking sticks when I climb. I’d rather have my hands free when hiking. But I ended up buying one anyway. (On the descent, I realized that I made a good decision. They were not exaggerating when they said it was steep. With the weather that we went through, the steepness was just one challenge.)

We started climbing at 7AM when the rain eased a bit. As I felt the soft, slippery mud under my feet, I felt more confident for some reason. I told Kai that his first mountain hike is going to be awesome because it is made more challenging by the weather condition.

Another thing that made climbing Mt. Ulap more challenging for us was the scattered cow dung along the trail. Since it’s been raining, the clumps of dung were extra squishy and sometimes not easy to spot despite the size. Some of them looked like mud. We had to walk like we’re playing hopscotch throughout. Needless to say, we stepped on a few. Ugh! The wind would howl from time to time, rainfall was on and off, and did I mention there were cow shit all around?

Under normal conditions, climbing Mt. Ulap would take about 4-5 hours. It includes three peaks: Amabanao Paway at 1,788 masl, Gungal at 1,814 masl, and the summit at 1,846 masl — all for a total of 9kms, including the descent back to the jumpoff point. Our hike took us 8 hours because of the harsh weather condition, and the countless stops for photo opportunities. Yes, we managed to take some good shots despite clouds covering the views of the Cordillera mountains most of the time. We had to wait for clearing to get some good shots.

Scaling up a few meters to the summit and descending from it was the toughest and scariest. We had no idea how strong the wind was until we got there. It was only upon getting back home that I learned from the news what we’ve been through: about 20-60 kph of wind!

On the way down from the summit, I decided to hand the walking stick to Kai so he can have proper balance. I held on to his shoulders to keep us both from getting blown away by the strong wind. By the time we reached a flat surface, Kai went, “that was scary!”, then said, “I love this mountain!” We were both exhilarated despite the scare. What a crazy pair we make!

I almost got blown away by the wind somewhere between kms. 6-7, as we were treading a natrow path on the descent.

What an adrenaline rush this Mt. Ulap gave us! By the way, typhoon Goring did make landfall. It was signal no. 1 by the time we started hiking. Kaya pala.