Some Like It Hot

What do you do with a couple of billion tons of angry volcanic rubble after it’s blown its stack? Well, if you’re Isuzu Philippines, you call on a bunch of unsuspecting motoring journalists, yank them out of their comfort zones at 3AM by the very roots of their hair, and try and climb it with your latest variant of vehicle of course. Thrice.

Welcome to the third installment of the Isuzu 4X4 adventure to the crater of Mt. Pinatubo — an enigmatic journey so steeped in history and folklore myth, that it challenges not just your body but your soul and your spirit. And your vehicle, of course.

This was my first time to join the adventure. And halfway up the trail, I thought it would be my last. I never really learned to swear until I made this hike. There were words coming out of my mouth that even I barely understood. But once I hit the peak, or the crater in this instance, all the pain seemed to just wash away — I remember standing there in a moment of awe, marvelling in the feeling of being in the very presence of God and the dormant fury of mother nature. It was, in a word, overwhelming.

Although this is a journey best tackled by daring and adventurous souls, it has one of the best returns of investments in the world. If it were a company, it would be like investing in Microsoft in the early eighties. The foot trail leading up to the crater is made up of varied terrains, offering you the contrast between the harsh, dehydrated landscapes filled with lahar and stone baking underneath the piercing sun, to the lush green, almost rainforest-like pockets complete with gentle, burbling streams flowing through and harmonizing to the soundtrack of singing birds.

Being one with nature in such isolation can really lend perspective to one’s life. You begin to really ponder your place in the universe. There’s something about a volcano that has laid dormant for 600 years, only to go postal one day, taking the lives of those it normally nourishes, that makes for a painfully profound backdrop for soul searching. I pondered world peace; I pondered my role as a father to my children; I pondered our country and all the richness we have that is being raped by corruption; but most of all, I pondered why I bought such cheap shoes for this trip.

The trek itself is about a three and a half hour hike from the final parking lot of 4X4 vehicles. Don’t think that this means any ordinary 4X4 vehicle, either. From Sta. Juliana, which is the visitors starting point, it is over an hours drive or so through soft volcanic ash and knee high river crossings. We were in the most recent addition to the Isuzu stable, the Alterra 4X4 automatic. Honestly, I had my doubts that we would even get this far. Even though we were being led by the extremely skilled guys of the Angeles four wheelers club, they were seasoned off-roaders in their modified four wheel drive jeeps that are purpose built for this kind of punishment.

The Alterra, on the other hand, is a very civilized family vehicle with a very soft ride and all the modern conveniences you can poke a stick at. Aside from the DVD system with dual monitors, there’s even an iPod connection for your own endless supply of hand picked, freshly stolen tunes. So you can see why I was skeptical. About the off road abilities, not the music. There’s always a trade-off for comfort. But because the Alterra uses the same driveline, chassis and plumbing as the D-MAX, it also means that it shares the same bulletproof reputation that has earned the respect of its hard-core, loyal followers. It is five inches longer than the D-MAX, which limits its departure angle, but it never posed a problem throughout the challenge.

I would watch the Angeles four wheelers club tackling the terrain up ahead and gasp at the thought of putting a bone stock consumer vehicle through that kind of torture. The fact that they would make it over to the other side was not reassurance enough; remember, its all about core competency — they were using specially modified vehicles, purpose built for these conditions without a single creature comfort built in and probably at the expense of having as much on-road comfort as fresh road kill.

But still, despite my doubts, the Alterras and the D-MAX vehicles pressed on. The mere fact that they were able to make it to the end of the trail speaks volumes, and says more than any decent editor could allow in print space. It was a challenging combination of hi and low range four wheel drive conditions, made a whole lot easier thanks to a new feature of shift-on-the fly, push button four wheel drive system. The automatic transmission, too, proved to be a blessing, especially in the softer lahar where manually changing gears could cause you to lose momentum and eventually bog down.

There were some gut-wrenching scrapes on the under chassis, and some bone crushing thuds underneath caused by the volcanic boulders pounding the skid pads on our vehicles as they bounced their way through the devastated landscape, but after negotiating our way through the punishing trails and flowing river beds, we entered a secluded touch of unprocessed paradise so distant from commercialism and blessed with the richness of a raw, jagged and natural beauty, I wished that God would just hit the pause button for a while. It was magic spelt differently.

As I came face to face with the mighty mountain and stared into the open mouth of Pinatubo, 940 meters above sea level, gazing into a magnificent pool of turquoise, capped by clean blue skies, it was a personal victory as much as anything. And yet was very humbling at the same time. Your very significance comes into question when you’re at the crest of a crater that only 15 years ago spewed out millions of cubic tons of burning rock as high as 10,000 feet in the air. All of a sudden, there was something spiritual in the cool breath of nature breaking against my face that felt like soothing balm against my cracked and jaded urban soul.

In an era where new car sales have become so competitive that sales can be won or lost over a set of free floor mats, Isuzu has wisely invested heavily in the lifestyle surrounding their vehicles. The confidence they have in their products is contagious and is an inspiring example of being able to put their money where their ad agencies’ mouths are. Together with their partners, Total Philippines, who fueled this passionate adventure, and the local tourism department of Region 3, headed by Ronaldo Tiotuico, that lifestyle just got a whole lot better.