Alto Peak is the tallest peak in the Visayas standing at 1332 MASL and though that might not sound very tall getting to the summit is extremely challenging. To summit this difficult peak you must find a tour guide in the quiet town of Barangay Cabintan, Ormoc City on the island of Leyte in the Philippines which you can take a 6 hour overnight ferry from Cebu City to get to.
I made the journey from Cebu with my friend Ryan where we met up with his brother-in-law Chris, nephew-in-law Cy, and their friend Budoy. We packed our things that morning, ate a big breakfast and set off to meet with our tour guide(1 of their friends). When we got to the guides house in the small town of Barangay Cabintan we had to wait several hours while he finished some stuff up at his farm.
Once we were all ready we set off on our journey, first stop Lake Jangadan. Right outside the city we made a stop at some coconut trees where our guide climbed to the top to get a couple of coconuts for us that were quiet delicious!
Then onwards we went. At first the trail was mellow, open and you could see the town behind us. Not far after it started inclining we approached a sign reading "TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES, LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS, KEEP NOTHING BUT MEMORIES", we found several of these throughout our trek. Another sign informed us that we had 1,500 m to Lake Jangadan, I thought to myself, no problem, we will be there in no time, little did I know at times I would find myself climbing up the steep trail with the threat of ferns and other fauna that were covered in ruthless thorns, some fine as hair, others similar to a rose bush. We were all sweating bullets and needing to take several breaks along the way except our tour guide who had taken my pack to make it easier for Ryan and myself and seemed to run ahead of us, barefoot, and barely sweating. Along the way I thought, "yeah, no problem, ha! This will be the death of me." Despite the difficulty it was gorgeous, the fog around us gave me a sense of home and protected us from the heat of the sun. The plant life was lush and diverse, my favorite probably being the Pitcher Plant(a carniverous plant).
I couldn't tell you how long it took us to get there but I was ecstatic to see the sign "Lake Jangadan, Barangay Caintan, Ormoc City 1,120 MASL". We were all relieved in fact, sweaty and ready to post up for a bit. We went to this rocky, beachy area where the guide began to cook dinner while Chris, Budoy, Cy, and I went for a little swim. I spotted a rope swing and had the boys try it first before giving it a go myself. When the rope was in my hands a rush of fear overtook me right before I jumped and it did take me a moment to do it but I did and the water was perfect.
While waiting for lunch I began to get hangry, this led to be feeling a little left out not being able to understand what they were talking about so I perched up on a rock to reflect on my thoughts and absorb my surroundings. Lunch was served on a giant leaf which included rice, topped with tuna, and seafood ramen on the side. Not much later I started to feel much better and the hanger dissolved away.
We packed up our stuff and set off to base camp which would be at Sulfurta, the mouth of the volcano. At first we made a wrong turn which had me a bit terrified cause one wrong step and I'd be slipping through the scary plants. We finally got on the right track and only had to go up a little ways before it was downhill. Although downhill it was just as steep as going up only slightly less challenging. This is when I made the mistake of grabbing the wrong plant putting dozens of hair like translucent thorns into my hand, oh how it burned so bad and was quiet miserable and it took assistance to remove them.
We then watched the sunset from an opening for a little bit and continued the rest of the way in the dark using head lamps and flashlights. Trekking that last 1/4 to 1/2 the way to camp was not just very challenging with lots of slips but horrifying due to the fact that not long ago I had encountered that thorny plant and now I could not tell which ones were thorny and which were not.
We hit a crossroad where it reaked of sulfur. This is where our tour guide left us and we continued another maybe 20 minutes on flat ground to the mouth of the volcano. I took Ryan's bag so he could carry mine and Budoy collected some wood so we could have a fire to cook our dinner.
Sulfatara was open with tall grass allowing the moonlight to assist us setting up camp. They made dinner which was rice and tuna again then we put on some tunes and cracked the two bottles of brandy we had brought. Which helped them not be so shy to speak English and even bust out some awesome dance moves. We killed the 2 bottles after learning more about one another, laughing the night away and set out to bed to rest up for the summit the following day.
Waking wasn't the easiest... I crawled out of the tent dizzy and hissing at the light from the world and climbed up to the ledge to look down into the mouth of the volcano where you could see the smoke rising but there were many trees blocking the view. Either way it was a gorgeous sight. Straight ahead I eyed the steep peak of Alto that I soon would be climbing. I stood their questioning if I could do it, that peak was steep! When I say steep I mean straight up with no incline... "Why did I drink all that brandy last night?! I'm going to die today or at least vomit several times" were the thoughts racing though my head.
I went back to the tent and laid down until breakfast was ready trying to get a little more rest as if that would help... HA! I laid there thinking about throwing up the white flag then the guys woke me to pack up and hit the trail. There is no way I could come all this way and just give up, I was going to get to the top of that peak no matter what.
Along the way we found a spot to hide our packs to reduce the weight. It was a nice flat walk for a bit and I asked if today was going to be as hard as yesterday and they giggled telling me that it most definitely would be. I asked several more times knowing the answer but hoping that they just might have been kidding the first couple times they told me. The trail began to incline and shortly after we came to a sign saying 1km. That's less than a mile, this should be a piece of cake.
Every couple hundred meters there was a sign counting down along with the trail getting steeper and steeper. By time we hit 500 meters I thought how it wasn't counting down until we reached the summit, it was counting down to the death of me, this thought was probably mostly encouraged by the fact that we had ran out of water! It had rained a bit but the jungle canopy shielded us allowing water droplets fall from the leaves where I found a consistent drip that I stood under and allowed to moistness my mouth. Each drop was so glorious.
We continued on taking small breaks, then the last 200 meters turned into at least an 80% vertical climb that we had to hold onto a rope to dear life to get to the top! We finally made it and I didn't puke nor die! I found a spot to lay back and absorb what just happened. Sadly we didn't get a view due to the fog but it was still incredibly gorgeous. While up there it was hard to think about anything else expect for how needed water more that anything and I couldn't wait to get back to the spring. Then it rained! We all found cover while Chris stood there in the pouring rain using a giant leaf to funnel the rain water into a water bottle. After a few minutes the rain passed and Chris handed me the water bottle! My eyes lit up with joy as I sipped it then offering it to everyone else but they told me to drink it all. I couldn't be happier and they all noticed how grateful I was.
We took a group photo and made our decent with Chris going first to help me when need be. Getting down was slightly easier and there was a lot less sweating. At base camp we filled the bottle with the spring water, had a snack and set out to get our pack. I was feeling alive again now that I had rehydrated and got some food in me. It was nice to be on flat ground and knew that a nice meal was soon to come. At the crossroads of the trail our tour guide pulled up on his motorbike as we were taking some photos. He was so kind to save me the last 20 minute hike and give me a ride back to his place where I took a shower and sat back until the rest of the crew arrived.
Everyone was impressed that I had made it to the top, they told me that they did doubt that I would make it but where very proud that I did it. I shared that I felt the same way and that I almost gave up before we started but was proud of myself as well that I powered through.
We had a meal with our guide and his family before heading back to town to end the night with some Tuba(coconut wine), laughter, more dancing, and feeling accomplished from the last 2 days.
Recommendations:
- Bring plenty of water
- Watch out for the thorny plants, bring gloves if you can't help but grab things when going up and down trails.
- Don't drink too much the night before
- Breathe in the fresh and absorb the beauty around you
- LEAVE NO TRACE
- Smile, you are doing something incredibly awesome
- Be safe
This was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life. It was an incredible experience and am so grateful that I did it. Would I do it again? No, haha, I would do something as challenging maybe even more challenging but not repeat it. I'm not one to repeat stuff like that, I look for the next challenge. Who knows what the next big outdoor adventure will be but I am excited for wherever I will find myself.
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Happy trails,
Finding Me Wherever I May Be
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