After my typhoon trip to Nagsasa last September its inevitable that I will return to fully appreciate the place. Since Nagsasa Cove is a new place for outdoor lovers (especially the trail way), I proposed to PALMC to make it an official climb of the club, with me taking the job as the EL.
I won't go much into details on how to go to the place since I've already done it in my previous entry to this blog. For starters, its already summer and the most noticeable difference from last time is that the trail is very dry. With almost everything colored brown. Most of the rivers don't have water and what you can only see are big chunks of stones. The very opposite the last time. Its still recommended that you trek very early morning so that you can escape the scorching heat of the sun. And be at the cove around 09:00am before the heat of the sun peaks.
There are parts of the trail which had been burned by locals. According to our guide some locals do this to refresh the grass(new grass will grow for cows). Some parts was still burning when we passed by that we can still feel the burning heat. The cove is now starting to be commercialize. There are several picnic tables now and several bathrooms have been erected. There are a few sari-sari stores too, with the price of goods double that of SRP.
The next day there are participants of the climb who took the boat. We were scheduled to trek back, other than I don't want to ride a fishing boat for almost two hours, I also want to dip at Pinaglaban River. A big river that almost look like a small lake, where water is continually flowing. The only problem with trekking back is that you cant escape the burning heat of the sun. We left the cove around 11:00am, just when the sun is directly above us.
I have several experience in organizing climbs but this is the first time I have this much participant (25pax). And most specialy this is the first time I've been an EL for PALMC official climb. I never imagined it was this difficult hehe. But it was a very succesfull climb. I learned a lot from this experience, and hopefully I can use it if ever I'll be an EL again.
Balingkilat on the background
Dry Trail
Nagsasa cove from top of Mt. Nagsasa
Can't believe its this dry
Nice Sand
Pinaglabanan river
After the several cancellations, our climb to Mt. Manabu was finally put to reality. It was still raining for several days last week but the sun came out on thursday prompting us to proceed with our hike. Five of us were originally scheduled to climb, but at the last minute two back-out which left the three of us (Gian, Cris and Me) proceeding with the trek. This is Giannes first climb and it was organized for her.
This is not may first time to climb Mt. Manabu, but since this is the mountains first entry to my blog, I'm also adding the some details on our Itinerary. From Buendia bus station we took the bus going to Lipa, Batangas. From Lipa we hired a trike that took us to the jump-off. There is a 'kubo' bath/rest place at the jump-off, but I was surprise to see a new man managing the place. I later learned he was the husband of Ate ___, who died last march due to breast cancer (may she RIP). The last time I was here she was just diagnosed with the diseased, cancer is really a fast-silent killer.
Going back to the climb. We arrived at the jumpoff around 12PM, the weather was good. We immediately started to our hike. Starting from the jumpoff up to the 1st river crossing, the trail was also being use by locals for their livestocks path (cows, horses etc) hence eventhough the soil was not that wet its very beaten. This mountain is really for beginners, the trail is very easy after the river. It only got steep after Mang Pirings place, but was immediately compensated by the ropes stationed along the way. we arrived at the campsite at around 4:00pm and we were so surprised that we were the first climber to arrived. After a bit of rest we set camp, cook our dinner and enjoy the surroundings. According to my watch the summit measures 750++ masl, but I was really amazed how cold it was. Fog was everywhere when it started to get dark. At around 2:00am the next day I woke up chilling. Good thing I brought my jacket.
Start of trek
Nice river
At the trail
Cold while cooking?
So whats for dinner?
The next day we woke up to a good weather again. We were able to view sunrise from our campsite. After taking our breakfast we broke camp and headed for the summit. We took several pictures then decided to go down. And then it started to drizzle, o-oh the trail is gonna be muddy - plus the fact that several climbers went ahead of us. But Gianne was able to manage her balance well, I was really amazed. To think that she grew up in the city (I grew up on the country side). I'm not sure if this is due to genes or that I brought her to jogging 1x a week or maybe a little bit of both? After several hours of trekking we arrived safely to the jumpoff. We cleaned up, went back to Lipa bus station and headed back home. But of course not before taking a hearty lunch in Lipa with their famous Goto Batangas.
Theres a Mountaineering saying that the first climb is always the deciding factor if a newbie will climb again. So whats the verdict for Gianne? Very positive. She really enjoy our climb and even asked me when are we gonna be climbing again. She's very curious with critters and we saw several fauna on our climb.
Sunrise!
Group shot
At the summit.
Gianne's First Mountain Jump Shot
Cross at the summit
Evening of September 25, there is a lot of first with this climb I'm posting. This is my first climb since a long hiatus due to an injury. This is my first climb with a typhoon signal #2 (Zambales was initially forecasted not to be hit). And this is the first time I was uncertain as to wheter pushing through with the climb was a good idea- something I also expressed to the EL.... but ended up deciding to go anyway. If you are familiar with Anawangin cove (hopefully not from the ABS-CBN movie), Nagsasa Cove is very much similar. But Nagsasa cove being recently discovered its more pristine and untouched. This climb is the second climb via trail. Thanks YABAGMG for exploring this trail.
Nagsasa is also on the outskirts of Zambales bay so even the transportation is the same as Anawangin. You take the Victory Bus bound to Zambales but instead of getting off in San Antonio, you should alight in Subic. From there we took a hired jeepney going to the jumpoff, guides and porters are also met here. From the jumpoff onwards, the trail is very similar to Mt. Pundaquit (of Anawangin) but has better scenery. For starters four rivers were on the trail, my guess is that two of them does'nt dries up even on summer. And once you reached the summit of Mt. Nagsasa, you will have a grand view of Mt. Balingkilat. The trek is 5-6 hours for a fit hiker.
Typhoon Connection : It was drizzling throughout our hike. But still very minimal, no signs of storm... yet.
Mt. Balingkilat in the Background
Mt. Nagsasa with Nagsasa cove from afar.
Arriving at the cove, Its indeed very similar to anawangin but the shoreline smaller. (not so sure though coz I was not able to fully explore the beach). The place is not yet developed, except for the Local Tribes huts, there is no human structure. There is a small river beside the beach, afar you can see a waterfall. This waterfall can be reached on a good weather. The cove is deeply cut that it protects the beach from big waves. So the water is calmer than Anawangin. Typhoon connection : When we arrived the beach seems OK. After a while winds start to pound us. Several tents were uprooted, resulting for the occupants deciding just to take them down and find shelter on the tribal chiefs hut. Early at night I guess the typhoon already passed by Manila and is completely upon us. Our tents are still being battered that I decided to relocate. I relocated beside a small hut which protected us througout the night. Early in the morning only four tents were left standing, I also learned that the occupants of the hut had a hard time sleeping. At around 2:00 am the wind was so strong the hut almost collapsed, since the hut is partly open, they were hit by winds, sand and rain. We are still lucky because we had a good night sleep (though always on alert). My relocation worked!
The Beach
Broken tree
The surviving tents (mine beside the hut, one is not visible)
Raging Waves
There are two ways to go back to subic, either via trek or boat. Boating is out of the picture since on a normal calm day it would take 1.5 to 2 hours. Imagine how dangerous it is during this time. And besides, our itinerary is to trek back.
Typhoon connection : We woke to a better weather, it seems that the typhoon is now at sea basing from the raging waves at the beach. It was raining the whole night as expected the rivers expanded. The tribal chief advise us that we cannot pass through given the circumstances. Fortunately it stopped raining and the river subsided a bit. Our EL and tribe chief do a recon and they were able to station the rope that our EL brought. Its time to go home earlier than planned. The rope was 60 meters long, the river around 40 meters. All of the river expanded with the last one the biggest. During our trek it rained some more and the last river was now chest high. I have nothing against rain, I love to trek eventhough its raining. My real concern is crossing a huge river. It was also dark and this made this last crossing the most difficult.
At around 8:00pm Sunday we arrived in Olongapo, change to dry clothes in one of climb buddies place. Eat a hearty dinner then took the bus back to Manila. Its just now we learned that Manila was badly hit by flooding. I felt a bit of guilt of being on a climb while the rest of my countrymen is reeling from the storm. But at least we all arrived home safely and thank God for it. =)
