You may think finding your way into an active volcano would be easy, but let me assure you, you would be wrong to think so.
It was much later than we planned on leaving that morning when we got on a boat to head to Ta’al, a volcano located on a lake on an island in the Philippines. When we arrived, locals attempting to sell us various things bombarded us. These included alcohol (at 11am), bandanas, and enormous hats. We refused, paid a fee, and made our way to the trailhead.
The first leg of the journey took us about 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) uphill through what seemed to me to strongly resemble dried streams. There were people constantly passing us going up (or on their descent) on horses. For those of you who are not aware, I am allergic to horses, so you can be certain I was praying the whole way that I would not have a reaction (and praise God, I never did!). After about an hour of hiking we reached the top of the ridge of the volcano. It was beautiful to be sure.
Several Filipinos asked if we would like to go down into the crater, and we had already been planning on it. They told us we would need a guide (which could be provided for at a fee) but we, the arrogant Americans, declared we did not require a guide and would find our own way down.
Thus began our journey.
We made our way along the ridge with only inches of high grass separating us from the edge of the cliff (which gave us a strange sense of security) for a while. We continued to follow the path into the jungle on the outer part of the volcano (remember our goal is to get inside of it) for the next couple hours. We made our way up and down the side of the ridge following different paths and losing paths, having to create new ones.
We came to the top one more time and found the path ending at the beginning of a steep downward slope. The slope was extremely loose dirt, thorny vines, trees and occasional high roots. I led the way down, sliding and grabbing onto vines to prevent from falling the distance of the cliff. Our visibility was very low, though, causing us to follow the path (which we all agreed would be a terrible idea to climb back up) into the unknown.
A ways down I found that we could not go any further. The vines and trees were thick and created a kind of impenetrable spider web. I attempted to crawl through and retreated with cuts all over my legs and blood running down my thigh. I yelled back to the group that we would not be able to proceed. They asked if I was sure, and being the shortest person on team Tikvah, I was certain no one else would be able to make any more progress then I.
Chris asked me if I could see out where we were at all, so I went to the web of vines and leaned out, relying on the vines to catch me. I could not see the crater; all I knew was that there was probably a cliff a few yards in front of me.
So, we did the thing we had to do (and never wanted to), and climbed up the loose slope, pulling ourselves up by the vines. When we arrived at the top we were covered in blood and mud, not knowing really what to do next. Nate was determined to continue on our way, though, and set out to find where a different path might take us. Nearly ten minutes later or so he returned and we set out on another path whose end we were uncertain of.
This path took us downward away from the volcano and toward the lake. We saw local farmers and continued around the side of the volcano to attempt to find a way in. After hours of hiking, Natalie began to feel ill with a headache, so we took a break. Chris went to attempt to find another trail while Emily and I went to the locals for help.
These farmers did not speak English, but led us to a path that would take us to water. At this point we did not mind which water, the water that covered the magma inside the volcano or the water of the lake the volcano was located in. We did not know which this path would lead us to, but returned to the team with our report. We needed to find a place we could set up camp for the night, so we set out on the trail.
After hiking for about twenty minutes we came to more Filipino farmers. Nate decided to ask them if they knew how to get into the volcano. A man there, June , knew how and agreed (after negotiations) to guide us there for 200Pesos (about $4USD). As a note for the future, if locals say you will need a guide, they may be telling the truth.
We followed June down to the trailhead that led to the crater and parted ways, following the path to the center. When we arrived we immediately set up camp and gathered wood for a fire. Most of us then went swimming in the volcano (which is active, let me remind you). We sat around the fire, in the glory of the accomplished goal, ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches, mangos, beans on the fire, and roasted marshmallows for smores. It was a moment of triumph for team Tikvah even though it took considerably longer than anticipated and we were nearly out of clean water.
The next morning (after sleeping in the crater of the active volcano) we made our way back to the lake. We had no idea where we were, and neither did our boat. Luckily, we ran into June again, and he was able to tell the boat where to come get us. We waited for the boat to arrive, and Emily commented many times how she felt as though she was on a CIA mission waiting for pickup. Needless to say, we made our way back and successfully survived our journey to the center of the active volcano.
