My Second Time at Peak 2
by Oliver Carlos
I climbed Mt. Makiling’s highest peak a second time in the summer of 1991. I was head of the expedition. With me were friends from church.
I had just finished my 2nd year in college. A year earlier, my cousin Eric Aragon brought me there. I learned so much from my maiden voyage, and I felt confident that I can lead a group of hikers up the same trail. So I assembled some guys who were willing to go with me. Those I got were young men in their 20s who call themselves, The Hangan Boys. They lived in Barangay Hangan, Calauan, Laguna. Some of them were students, some were rice farmers. They were my buddies in church during that time. With us also was my best friend from elementary and high school, Vlad Mariano.
Although they had lived in Laguna all their lives, the Hangan Boys had never been to Peak 2. So when I hatched the idea of climbing to the top of the mountain that they just view from their homes and rice fields, they we so excited to do it.
I set a date. I followed Eric’s time table and tips. We reached the summit exactly as planned. But two things were different this time around.
Firstly, there was now a rope hanging from the top of the 90-degree stonewall near the peak. We didn’t need to crawl up by grabbing protruding roots. It was easier this time.
Secondly, it was a sunny day. We were able to see clearly the panoramic views. On the east, we saw the whole province of Laguna. On the west, we saw the whole Taal Lake. On the north, we saw Makati with its faint-looking skyscrapers. The experience seemed perfect, but the trouble is, it was so hot up there at the summit. There’s no big tree to give us some shade. We couldn’t really last a long time at Peak 2, so we quickly trekked back home.
As we were hiking down Mt. Makiling, one of the Hangan Boys vocally expressed his disappointment. He said he didn’t enjoy the trip, he had some unmet expectations. He imagined that at the top of the mountain, there would be something like a resort. He expected to see a hut where he could take a nap just like how he would spend the afternoon hours after tending to his rice field. But instead, he found our destination to be barren, with just a few bushes that were no good as shelters for the hot summer sun.
Years later, I came across a nice quote that talks about this truth the we discovered in the hike. I just couldn’t remember who said it. Anyway, the quote goes like this:
“Men can climb the highest peaks, but he cannot dwell there.”
Yes, I and my companions have reached the highest point in Los Banos, but we cannot even stay one hour at the top. Aside from the scorching heat of the sun, there’s no water pipeline or electric post up there. We cannot build a house, not even a hut on Peak 2. It’s far from school, from the office, from the supermarket, from friends’ and relatives’ homes; it’s actually a desolate place. One philosopher even said mountain tops are cursed places.
But just recently, I read a Bible verse that counters all this fuss about mountain tops. Psalm 72:16 (NLV):
“May there be much grain in the land on top of the mountains….”
The psalmist is praying to God and claiming his promise of prosperity (grain) in the midst of a desolate situation (mountain top).
I don’t think rice would grow on top of Peak 2, how much more grain on the mountains of Israel where the psalmist was writing from. Mountains there are rocky and barren. It’s a poetic yet truthful way of saying that whatever is impossible, God can make it possible.
Are you on a mountaintop right now? Are you in a seemingly cursed situation? What impossible thing are you praying for today? Claim the promise in Psalm 72:16.
