04/12/2025
DEATH ON MT. GUITING-GUITING
A tragedy befell Mt. Guiting-guiting on November 24, when one 46-year old hiker from Cavite died after exhausting himself on the descent.
An average "backtrail" hike (jump-off to summit to jump-off) of this challenging mountain takes three days and two nights, the first night being spent midway at Mt. Peak campsite, the second night on the backtrail again on the same campsite, with the third day spent on the descent to the jump-off, at the DENR office in Magdiwang town.
Two hikers and two guides set out for the summit on the second day of a three-day hike on Nov. 21. Looks like a normal pace at this point. The rule is you must reach the summit by midday, then make your way back to Mayo's Peak campsite before sundown. But this is rule is often followed on the breach because many hikers make it to the summit well past noontime and make their way back in the afternoon, already worn and tired, and then they find themselves in the valley between two peaks, the summit and Mayo's Peak, at nighttime. The two mountains are connected by the so-called Knife's Edge (see photo), a land bridge with sheer cliffs on both sides.
The delayed returned heightened the risks. The two hikers found themselves groping and crawling along the jagged rocks of the Knife's Edge where there is hardly a space to sit and rest because cliffs open up on both sides and the narrow trail follow an obstacle course of rocks in its middle portion.
Apparently, one of the hikers experienced difficulty leading to the Knife's Edge on the part of the trail called Camel Back which is actually a series of mini peaks that simply drains you during the return, because the ups and downs never seemed to end.
At 10 pm, the team had to stop because the weakened hiker could no longer go on. This is the worst possible place to spend the night because, as I said, the middle part of the Knife's Edge has only tight spaces between jagged rocks. At about midnight, one guide and the able-bodied hiker had to leave the other one to seek help.
Now, the story is unclear, whether the able-bodied hiker spent the rest of the night at Mayo's Peak or was left behind there while the guide rushed to Magdiwang to seek help. Suffice it to say that a rescue team of Magdiwang trail guides and firefighters was quickly formed the next day, Nov. 24, and they reached the stranded hiker in less than 10 hours, a very quick pace, and placed him on a stretcher. They were able to carry him through the treacherous trail to Mayo's Peak, then the final descent through a thick forest and bring him to the hospital in town at night. Unfortunately, the hiker expired under medical attention.
Now, was there any negligence on the part of the hike organizer, the trail guides and the rescue team? I don't see any. We have in fact to commend the guide who kept the hiker company at the Knife's Edge throughout the night, exposed to the elements. The chill alone could have killed both of them.
If there was any fault, it could only be on the part of the hikers who broke the rule. The guides have limited control in case of stubborn hikers who insist on reaching the summit past noontime; they can only manage the risks. There was also the physical condition of the hiker: he might have overestimated his capability.
There is no comparison to the tragedy of four experienced UP Mountaineers who perished in 1985, the pioneering days, when they were caught in a rainstorm at night and were carried away by a flash flood in the same place.
It is a surprise that no further deaths took place in the 40 years that followed, especially in the last few years when the trail has gained in popularity. The latest victim had presented the requisite medical certificate to the DENR, plus proof that he had recently climbed a Level 9 mountain, the highest category of difficulty.
The DENR closed the trail with abundance of caution. I hope it re-opens soon.
Mt. Everest doesn't close because a hiker died.
The risk of death is a reality in dangerous activities. You can also die in non-dangerous activities such as sleeping. Nothing is ever safe including doing the thing you love the most.
