Dammit Damas!

'Fall down seven times, get up eight.'

I wonder why mountains in the province of Tarlac are too tough to conquer. There are the mountains of San Jose Circuit, Mounts Tangisan, Bunkol Baka and Kawayan, and then there’s Mount Damas. Damas lives up to its moniker of being small but terrible as it is a tough mountain to climb. My group’s conquest of Damas was really a very memorable one. It was a clean-up climb, as we decided to participate in the 4^th National Mountain Clean-up Day. It was a day hike (extended day hike actually). The hike took us sixteen hours to finish, with some of us sustaining injuries, including myself. I experienced muscle cramps at one point during our descent. For the record, Damas was the hardest climb I had ever done and the second longest after Mount Ugo.

Some of our companions are from Camiling, so we had to fetch them on our way to the jump-off point. We made a stopover at a gasoline station for a bathroom break while waiting for our other companions. When they arrived we made our way to barangay Papaac. It was still dark when we arrived at the jump-off point. It took us almost an hour before we started the trek. After the registration, we decided to eat breakfast at the store that sold ‘goto’. Then, we also decided to do some warm-up exercises, and finally a short orientation.

The trek started at 5:30 in the morning, together with a group of students from Tarlac Agricultural University. The trail was easy during the first 2 to 3 hours. We did stop whenever we saw the need to take a break. We made a stop at a house before we started the hardest part of the trail. We began passing the river. But the real struggle for the group was that we needed to do some rappelling. This took some time since only one person could rappel at one time. We were 17 in the group, so it took us hours to complete all the rappelling parts. When we made our final river crossing, we noticed that another challenge was afoot. We had to do a steep ascent. The trail became narrow, with bushes along the sides. It was a struggle on my part, as I had to bow and kneel at times. The heat of the sun was also intense at that time.

The group was divided into small groups because the others decided to go ahead while others were left behind struggling due to the countless assaults leading to the summit. We met other hikers as we were nearing the summit, with the group finally converging at the ‘Millennium Tree’ located just below the summit. Although it was already lunch time, the group decided to proceed to the summit first before having lunch. We left our belongings at the foot of the tree and we went ahead.

The heat was unbearable. The summit of Damas was bare and there was no way that you can escape the intense afternoon heat. We hurriedly scaled the summit. Once there, we immediately did our individual and group photo ops. After that, we decided to make our way back to the ‘Millennium Tree’. As we went down we started collecting trash as part of our clean-up drive.

After we arrived at the ‘Millennium Tree’, we immediately had our lunch. We were all starving, and not even the heat could stop us from having our meals, even if the tree barely provided shade to the whole group. After we ate, some took a brief rest. We then we decided to make our descent. Our route was a back trail with a side trip to Ubod falls. The way to the falls was something to be reckoned with as we had to trek along the river and pass small waterfalls along there. There was another rappelling part before finally reaching the magnificent Ubod falls.

Ubod falls was huge and impressively high. It was the tallest waterfalls I’ve ever seen so far. As I was the sweeper of the group, everyone was already there when I arrived. Some were taking a dip in the cold and crystal clear water, while some are simply sitting and resting. We mainly took a much needed rest at the falls. Then after a few minutes and some group photo op, we decided to leave.

 

We made our way back to the river. After a few minutes, we began entering what they call the ‘Cardiac Trail’. It was a steep ascent. The trail was muddy and boarded by bamboo grass. As we went higher, we caught a glimpse of Ubod falls from afar. It started to get dark and with the current pace of the group I knew we would finish late. It took us some time to maneuver the trail as it was too steep and some members of the group were having hard time descending. Our guides had to use ropes to assist us in descending steep parts of the trail. Slowly, darkness began engulfing the mountain and it was still a long way ahead. I began to worry because I really struggle trekking at night. I made my way carefully and slowly. We reached the river and began trekking along it. As I began to feel the exhaustion, I felt sudden pain in my waist and left arm. I tried to endure the pain but it was unbearable. I had to stop the rest of the group who was with me that time. I told them that I needed to rest to lessen the pain. If it were muscle cramps, I don’t know. I just took some medicine to ease the pain.

The rest in the group were already ahead of us. One of our guide and five members of the group was with me during the ordeal. It took a few minutes before I began feeling better. We resumed with the trek as soon as I was sure I can do it. It was getting late and I know it will be perilous if we stayed long enough in the middle of the mountain. It was almost 8 in the evening when we reached the house that we passed earlier. The rest of the group were there waiting for us. There was a store selling cold sodas in the house. We bought one to quench our thirst.

We took a brief rest then decided to continue with the trek. All of us were already tired that time. It was already late and we never expected that the trek will take that long. Adding to our misery was the fact that two in the group were also injured. It was a good thing that the trail became easier after that. We proceeded with the trek without taking rest. When we got near, our guide had to call someone to fetch some of our companions to take them directly to the jump-off point. Those with injuries and those who were really exhausted decided to take the habal-habal.

I decided to go on walking, together with some members of the group. It was already 9:30 in the evening when we arrived back at the jump-off point. The rest of the group was there, as well as our van and driver, who looked worried on why it took us that long to come back. We lost no time and immediately took a bath and changed our clothes before leaving Papaac and heading back home.

Our Damas day hike and clean-up climb was my longest day hike to date, matching my Ugo day hike at sixteen hours. Only after the climb did I realize how tough Damas was. Standing at only 800+ meters above sea level its trail was the most difficult I encountered. Until this moment I am still scouring my mind on why it took us that long to finish the trek. The river crossing and rappelling was really hard and time consuming. In addition, there were also 17 in the group. We also had to collect trash as we went along. All of that, I think, made the trek harder and longer. There was an amazing view at the summit, but Ubod falls was the one that really impressed me. The falls was one if not the best and beautiful one I’ve seen. Now I know why they call it by that name (Ubod kasi siya ng laki at ganda).

In case you want to conquer Damas, be prepared for the task ahead. Don’t underestimate this mountain. Be warned. It is indeed small but terrible, extremely terrible based on our experience. Pursuing it will put your endurance, patience and even guts at its limits. Time is also a main consideration. I recommend starting your trek early to avoid the heat and to finish early. It also helps if you’re with a smaller group so that it will save you time for the rappelling part. First timers will definitely have a hard time, especially if you’re doing a day hike. A good option is to do an overnight climb. Catching the sunrise at the summit would be worthwhile.

For now, I have no plans of returning to Damas. It can wait for now. I would have to do some serious thinking before pursuing this mountain again. I may consider an overnight climb to have another perspective of Damas. Despite everything we had experienced it was all worth it since we did something significant. We did enjoy the climb after all and we were proud of our accomplishment. The first attempt of our group to participate in an advocacy like the Mountain Clean-up Day was memorable. I didn’t regret what transpired in Damas one meaningful Saturday of July, but I had one word to say to describe my exploit in this mountain…dammit!

Mt. Damas Dayhike and Clean-up Climb via Papaac Trail
Brgy. Papaac, Camiling, Tarlac
July 1, 2017

ITINERARY:

02:00 AM Assembly at McDonalds-Romulo Blvd.
03:00 AM ETD Tarlac City
04:00 AM ETA Brgy. Papaac/Register/Orientation
05:30 AM Start trek 
07:00 AM ETA Kubo ni Kuya Boyet
07:30 AM Resume trek/Start river trekking/Rope segments
10:30 AM End of river trek/Mt. Damas foot
11:00 AM Start trek to Mt. Damas summit
12:00 PM Arrive at Millennium Tree/Rest
12:15 PM Proceed to summit 
12:30 PM Mt. Damas summit/Photo op
12:45 PM Back to Millennium Tree
01:00 PM Millennium Tree/Lunch
01:45 PM Start descent
04:00 PM ETA Mt. Damas foot
04:15 PM Resume trek to Ubod Falls
05:00 PM ETA Ubod Falls/Explore/Photo op
05:30 PM ETD Ubod Falls/Cardiac Trail
06:30 PM End of cardiac trail
08:00 PM Arrived at Kubo/Rest
08:15 PM Proceed trek
09:30 PM ETA jump-off point/Wash up
10:15 PM ETD jump-off point
10:45 PM Dinner
11:30 PM ETD Camiling
12:30 PM ETA Tarlac City

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Mr. Aldrin Mendoza
Registration
Brgy. Papaac, Camiling, Tarlac
Contact no.: 0949-802-4523