Ode to Mt. Apo

Written during my first climb and included in my first book, “Beyond the Horizon”….

 

ODE TO MT. APO

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

You could have just been a dream…

Yet, here I am, biding my time

from where I’ll start my trek

over hills, mountains

thick forests, hot springs and lakes.

 

Please consider me one of your people…

those who dwell at your foot –

Bagobos, Manobos, and others

whose smile, warm and sweet

vanishes the fear and fatigue

of intruders like me and the rest.

 

Uncertain of what to find….

I don’t mind at all

for I know, I’m among a good people.

 

I don’t mind the trek from Makalangit –

past the Fourteen Stations

to Mt. Zion

or the nerve-rending leaps

from boulder to boulder

sixteen times across

the gurgling Marble River

that girdles your waist.

 

Ah, beloved Apo…

your sonorous Twin and Malou Shih Falls

delightfully blend

with the songs of birds

and chirps of cicadas

music that no man can feign.

 

Lake Venado, unruffled…

serenely mirrors your soul

and the seemingly drop of tear, Lake Jordan

furtively glistens under the searing sun.

 

Even for a moment while up here…

on the summit

I become part of you

as my wary soul is soothed

by your enchanting Lake Agko.

 

But there’s more to these…

Things that I need to understand –

those behind the curtains of moss

and orchids that hang

from the limbs of century trees;

those beneath your soft carpet

of lichens and grass

that swallow our steps

as if to muffle whatever

sound they might make.

 

You are the ultimate answer desired

by those who long

for adventure and mystery;

and, it may take a long time

for you to be transformed

from a dream into reality…

 

The Senseless Conflagration of Mt. Apo

The Senseless Conflagration of Mt. Apo

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

 

With the almost two weeks and still ongoing conflagration of Mt. Apo, the most “sacred” mountain in the Philippines, standing majestically between North Cotabato (Kidapawan and Makilala) and Davao (Sta. Cruz and Digos), and the highest yet, at 10,311 feet above sea level, mountaineers like me could do nothing but literally cry our heart out, at the recklessness of the irresponsible hypocrite/s who claim to be nature lover/s, and who mindlessly caused the fire.

 

The Breeding Station of the Philippine Eagle is found at Baracatan at the foot of the Sta. Cruz side of the mountain; the Makalangit known for its community where Filipinos of various faith, and who live among the monkeys, is found on the slope of the Makilala side of the mountain; and llomavis-Lake Agko area which is thriving as a tourist destination due to its wellness resort, for those who just want to savor the air and healthy benefits of hot the hot spring of the sacred mountain sans the tedious trek, is found on the Kidapawan side….all of them are in danger of being turned to ashes because of the seemingly uncontrollable creeping down of the fire!

 

UNFORTUNATELY, IT MIGHT TAKE DECADES AGAIN, BEFORE THE SACRED MOUNTAIN CAN RECOVER FROM THE SENSELESS ABUSE OF THE MORONIC “TREKKER/S” WHO JUST REFUSE TO OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING CREED:

 

“Take nothing but pictures.

Leave nothing but footprints.

Kill nothing but time.”