The Mt. Batulao Freaky Experience

Me and two friends (plus our guide) had been trekking for about 45 minutes - even running on the trail on some parts when we decided to take a 5-minute rest. We used the time to joke around. Just before we resumed our trek, I said something about looking for my soul mate in the mountains. JayZ joined in saying he was also searching for one,  while Mira said she wasn’t interested. 


After several minutes of trekking, I began to feel an invisible weight on my back, as though someone was piggybacking. I decided to ignore it. But then the feeling grew worse and I suddenly felt so weak which was weird because I was in relatively good condition, I had enough sleep and we even ate breakfast at Wendy’s prior to the climb. We also carried little weight on our backs since it was just a day hike. The trails in Batulao are merciful with occasional steep parts but then there are tons of flat ground too for you to recover. 


I never felt so weak in a climb before. I felt that I was carrying a person on my back. About 45 minutes to the summit, I started trailing behind. Then I noticed JayZ seemed to be having difficulty too which was weird because JayZ just got back from an Akiki-Ambangeg traverse in Mt. Pulag about two weeks ago and he told me he was okay. Mira and the guide were several feet away and me and JayZ just struggled with each step. I felt I was fainting and that my energy was being sucked out of my body. 


When I caught up with JayZ, I told him how tired I was and that I felt that someone was riding on my back. To my surprise, JayZ told me that’s exactly what he felt and he even wanted to vomit. We looked at each other and I started to freak out. Me and JayZ tried to catch up with Mira who was scowling at us since we were so slow. It was so weird because when I climbed Cristobal last month – with a full pack, I didn’t have difficulty at all. It was tiring but pretty manageable!


After several minutes of practically crawling our way up , me and JayZ finally reached the summit. We stayed there for less than 10 minutes because of the heat and then we got down on the new trail. That’s when I felt the weight off my shoulders, as though that something on my back finally went down. JayZ also told me that he felt the same. Fortunately, whatever phenomenon that happened to us was finally over and we got down Mt. Batulao safe and sound. 


I find it freaky and funny because in my years of hiking in the mountains, I’ve never experience anything that weird before. Waah..me and my big mouth. Tsk tsk. I swear to never joke about soul mates in the mountains ever again!

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