I’m glad we have made a worthy participation to the first ever Annual Freedom Climb slated on June 11-14, 2009 to Mount Apo via Sibulan-Kidapawan traverse trail. Thanks to the Philippine National Mountaineering Society (PNMS) who spearheaded this unified mountaineering effort.
Our expedition was actually beyond the normal, although we have completed the schedules reflected in our itinerary. Composed of 5 guests from Bicol, 1 guest from Manila and 3 guests from Palawan plus 5 Mindanao compatriots (Gabo, Julpanz, Papong, Kiba and Shei), we have made the first side trip to Camp Sabros in the first day and had our flag-raising ceremony at the summit on the 13th, as well as the distribution of certificates on the 14th which we did in Lake Venado. We were 14 members then, but the memories came very wild that we weren’t able to recognize the interruption of rains, muds and all others.
My club LOGSAC, along with Gabo-led TEAK had remarkably left an ink spot to each and every individual who joined the expedition. We have all put some reasons why Andres Bonifacio should be happy during the climb. The singing of the national anthem was more than the usual singing, it was even a pure internalization of the song. Where on earth can you find singers whose bodies were covered with unfriendly fogs, chilling with the coldest wind in Mindanao while mowing the lyrics “ibon mang may layang lumipad”?
Freedom Climb, indeed. When we reached Mt. Apo summit, we could not help but emptied ourselves with physical, psychological and emotional restrictions. We were all wild as we got drunk. Our ideals about the world were tremendous, not even Barack Obama could withstand. And of course, who could stop us from conversing and debating about who is the best lead vocalist the world has ever produced (For me it’s a tossup between Francis M and Ely Buendia of Eraserheads). Occasionally, we had some contention about whose going to bed the lone lady we used to hand carry….but that never stopped our short but chronic insanity. Indeed, we were having our Freedom Climb.
We were Freedom Climbers then, and we call ourselves weekend patriots. Amidst all controversies hemming in all sides of our beloved Philippines such as the outbreak of A(H1N1), the Katrina-Hayden Kho Sex Video Scandal and the latest Constitutional Assembly initiative, we stood out as one great entity capable of turning the tables around for the good of our country. Kudos Freedom Climbers.
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