Mt. Kalisungan, Agot Isidro, and the Tale of the Lost Treasure

The Climb. It was Sunday morning, January 27, 2013, and I, with a few friends, were at the Mt. Kalisungan, Caluan, Laguna for the third mountain just yet of the 13For2013 series project (a year-long vow of conquering 13 peaks in one year). The thing about Mt. Kalisungan is/are the misleading trail/s. No one wants to get lost in the middle of the forest. Thanks to Mang Bino (the local tour guide, +639092971437), we didn’t get lost and the hike went smooth. It’s nearing 9:30 when we started with the real climb, and I started documenting things as well.

Wildly growing kans grass welcomed us as we reached the summit, which however, are very pleasing to our eyes. These were the primary reasons why we had to wear gloves on this particular climb. 

The Food. Before descending, we had our lunch the boodle way. Meals at the peak are actually, always the yummiest. The plain and simple sisig take-out was magically transformed into a first class dish, taste-wise. Plus, the pasta prepared by our reliable resident food sponsor never fails to taste good, though it doesn't look edible anymore most of the time (blame it on the handler). Nevertheless,  I could honestly say that lunchtime is one of my favorite part for a hike.

The Agot Isidro Story. The famous Agot Isidro wasn’t with us along the trail but she was once at the same trail we’re in, a few days back―that which made her our main subject throughout the climb. We were filled with infinite what ifs.. about climbing a mountain with her, seeing her at the peak, and all sort of daydreams. Thanks again to Mang Bino for the crispy showbiz news on the happenings on the day Agot (with the legendary Gid) went on hiking. According to him, Ms. Agot had approximately 15 tumblings total throughout the hike (you know what I mean). It was rainy and slippery at that time. 

The Lost Treasure. Much about the entertainment part, a serious mystery welcomed us as we reached the summit. There was a large hole up there allegedly dug by some unknown earthlings.

Again, we’re lucky enough to have Mang Bino with us for the instant trivia. According to him, the treasure-digging-incident took place last December when a group of hikers camped out at the site for five days. The next thing the authorities knew, there was that large hole with no trace of these diggers left except for some supplies blatantly abandoned around the campsite. Based on Mang Bino’s judgment, he thinks the diggers did get something from there, which somewhat makes sense since this mountain used to be the final stand of retreating Japanese soldiers towards the end of the World War II (cited from: here).

The Descent. After the whole thing, we wrapped things up as the clouds were low and the rain's about to pour already. The  skies started to really darken. It's hard to be caught in the middle of a heavy rain up there.

The End. Well some things are better left hanging. So this post won't b