I Miss This View! Nature’s Amazing Wonder Mountain Lake At 8,000-ft.

Today, I saw this photo of Lake Venado taken from the peak of the 10,311-feet Mt. Apo, the country’s highest mountain, posted in a blog of a group of environmentalists I formed over 20 years ago.

I was told that it was named Lake Venado by early climbers because from the top, it looked like a deer’s head with the small tributaries as its antlers.

It is a wonder of nature because it is the only lake in the country found atop a mountain with an elevation estimated at 8,000 feet.

While its size is not comparable to the world’s highest freshwater lake, Lake Titicaca in the boundaries of Peru and Bolivia, Lake Venado stands out as the only one of its kind in the region.

Lake Venado has never dried up even during the worst droughts and it is surrounded by centuries old “Tinikaran” trees or the Philippine Red Cedar.

The excess water of the lake falls into a river which flows down to the plains of Cotabato.

It was during one of my 15 climbs when a group of young climbers and environmentalists urged me to organize and lead them in taking care of Mt. Apo.

Thus, the Guardians of Lake Venado was formed in a ceremony at the camp site beside the Lake.

As members of the GOLV, we planted Tinikaran seedlings in portions of the mountain gutted by a fire.

This was successfully reforested by PNOC-EDC when it was still a government corporation which operated the Geothermal Plant.

Yearly, after every climbing season, the GOLV whose membership included the mountain guides and porters, conducted a clean-up, bringing down tons of garbage left by irresponsible climbers.

The GOLV is active until today with younger climbers carrying on the advocacy of protecting and safeguarding Mt. Apo and the remaining rainforest of Cotabato and Davao.

My last climb, which was my 15th over a span of almost 20 years, was on March 29, 2018.

I dream of climbing Mt. Apo and take another look at Lake Venado from the peak before the knees give way to old age.

#ClimbAllMountainsYouSee!

#TheMagicalViewFromThePeak!

(Photos show the cover page of the GOLV showing Lake Venado, me and my son, Imman, on our March 29, 2018 climb and me on the way up and at the peak of Mt. Apo.)