Nature-ral High

Cinco Picos and Silanguin Cove II

2012-01-09T01:16:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I decided to comeback to Silanguin cove, but this time with a lot more friends and family. I also distributed the itinerary to three days to make it more relax and enjoy the hike and beach more.
The Zambales area has not been receiving a good amount of rainfall, this was very evident on the trail. It also seems less hikers were using the trail, there were parts were the path was not very recognizable. The grass were also higher that an average human (well at least higher than me), and getting through them scatters the polen/dust that they have.
Since it was early January, the campsite was colder than I expected. It was also very windy that its very difficult to cook.

We arrived at the beach a little bit after lunch of the 2nd day. The last time I was in Silanguin we stayed in the middle part. Since the shoreline is very long (approx 3 kms) we opted to camp out on the right side (if facing the cove). The shoreline was wider and more beautiful on this part of the cove. Swimming was also very nice because the water was still not deep eventhough your already far away from shore.
We were also able to buy seafoods from local fisherman in the area, for our dinner. The third day, a friend and I decided to explore the area a bit more. To our amazement there was a big lagoon not easily recognizable.

The place is really good that we are already thinking of coming back again. =)

PS: I brought my daughter to this climb. I think she is really a outdoor girl now. She didn't got tired and totally enjoy every minute of the trip. We'll except for the descent part, she's complaining here feet was aching largely because she outgrown her shoes.

Passing the Torch

First CampNight

Silanguin Cove

The Gang

Dry River

Long and Winding Beach

Great shot

Fresh Dinner

Most Beautiful Sunset

Bumming Around

Still Waters

Artist?

The Secret Lagoon

Sphinx

Mt. Kosciuszko (The Climb)

2011-10-09T00:52:00.000-07:00

***continuation***

I walk up early the next day. A miracle did happen, I can see no clouds in the sky. The sun was shining bright. Nadia told me I was very lucky, and shes also sure that lots of people will go up to ski or to hike.

So I hurriedly prepared and proceed with my hike. I was glad I decided to take the chairlift, it was a 15 minute scenic ride. Very enchanting (yet scary) view.

Good Weather

Just like Baguio but better

The ride

For the record, I have no experience climbing in alpine/snow. Since there were fresh snow from last night, the whole mountain top was covered in snow. Alpine hike is very very much different from the tropics, everything was white and there is no trail. As the sun goes higher, the surrounding goes brighter, to the point that its ver difficult to open your eyes. To those who are still not aware, long exposure to this surrounding can cause snow blindness. UV light is several times stronger in the mountain,specially in alpine condition. Adding to the problem was that I forgot to bring my sunglass (which I think is still in-adequate). Miracleously, a good Samaritan lend me her snow glasses. She said that I just put it back to a rock where we met. Shes really an angel. The terrain is rolling until you reach the summit. Whenever there was a bit of uphill trek, I was breathing heavily. I dont know if its the weight of the snow boots and shoes (around 2-3lbs each leg), or the air was just thin. Footing was also difficult on uneven terrain due to the size of the snow shoes. I got lost twice following two ski tracks, losing much precious time, I guess its just my climbing instinct that saved me. Since time was not on my side, I didn't took my lunch. I just ate the choco trail food I brought. My perception was that when you on snow it will be chilly, but as I quicken my face, I sweat a lot. But whenever I made short stops to catch my breath chill immediately take over. The most difficult part was the final assault to the summit, it was steep. I reached the summit at around 12:15pm. A few minutes early of my turn-back cut-off time.

The summit view was unexplainable. Snow cap mountains on the close distance and as it goes farther the view gets greener. I met a Swedish and Australian couple on the summit, I believe I was the 4th to arrive at the summit that day. I really want to stay a bit longer to enjoy the view, but time was moving fast.

A river runs through it

The Angel and her kid.

Mt. Kosciuzsko (in the middle)

Heavy foot

Avalance (below is lake)

Trail to Summit

If you look closely, 2 climbers are on the right

Summit Marker

Summit Friends

As I went down I met other hikers, who hired guides. A guide cost $100AU, thats the reason I didn't get one. Plus the fact that they started late so it dont match my itenary. I talked to the guide, bragging aside he was surprise that a tropical climber like me was able to summit without a guide and at a quick pace. Going down was much easier, other than ther is less assault, the trail can now be easily seen because of the number of climbers that went after me. Going down the chairlift added another great experience. You can see the whole village below. As I pick up the rest of my things, I saw that that bus was already there. And guess what, it was the same driver as yesterday. hehehe

Climbers going up after me.

The same climbers

The view going down is also mesmerizing

I really thanked God I was able to do this climb. After a few days, I learned that not all locals climbed (or want to) Kosciouzsko during winter. As of this writing, the skin on face is having its second peeling due to intense sunburn. I told my american friend before I can't imagine climbing without trees, now I know, and its also beautiful. I am really against solo climb, but I have no choice for this one. It was more mentally tiring than physically. Travelling home in the bus I rarely slept because of the mental strain. Even when I got home in the comfort of my bed. I remember Bear Gryllys (of man vs. wild) crying a few hours before his flight above everest using an untested flying craft. Pastour Imata also cried before his final assault to everest summit. I also felt the same uncertainty, specially the day before the climb. I was sometimes shivering, thinking what I got myself into. And also when the time I got lost. But I guess, thats what makes an adventure more rewarding. When you conquered adversities.

Mt. Kosciuzsko (Preparation, Logistics and Travel)

2011-10-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

When I told an American friend about my Australia assignment during a family dinner. "Why dont you climb Kosciuzsko, its not that high but its one of the seven summits" - he told me. Its the first time I heard of this mountain, but it gave an idea on what adventure I can do in the land down under.

Fast forward to mid-september, for two weeks I had been researching almost every night on how to go to Thredbo, a village right at the foot of Kozy (how the Australians calls Kosciouzsko). There are two ways to reach the summit, via Thredbo or Charllotte pass. I chose Thredbo for mainly two reasons, it can be reached by public transport during ski season and there is a backpackers lodge. I also checked if its possible to climb Kozy during early spring, since most Australians climb this mountain during summer. A date was also chosen, October 1-2 since, October 3 was a public holiday in NSW. I will have an additional day to rest. Since Ski season (winter) was almost over in Thredbo, only a few transportation regularly go there. I chose the one most convenient, cheapest (though its not cheap) and was okay for my chosen dates.

Below is the summary of my Itinerary

Oct01

7:00 AM - ETD Sydney to Thredbo (Bus)

3:15 PM - ETA Thredbo

3:15 PM - LOdge in Hostel, roam around the village. prepare for next day.

Oct02

6:00 AM - start of climb (not use the chairlift)

12:00 NN -ETA summit

3:00 PM - ETA Express Chairlift to village

4:15 PM - ETD Thredbo to Sydney (Bus)

12:00 MN - ETA SYDNEY

The Bus ride is via reservation, so I really need to be there on the time of departure, and only one bus travel each day. The last bus for the snow season was October 3. There is also a chairflift (Kosciuszko Express) from thredbo up to certain part of the mountain, this is a help for skiiers to be able to reach the snow easily.

A week into the climb date I was monitoring the weather forecast. Eventhough its early spring, the weather had been bad in NSW, even in Thredbo. On the last minute, I had to adjust my climb schedule to October 2-3, since the weather forecast was better during this dates. Good thing the bus and lodge booking can easily be moved.

The travel from Sydney to Thredbo was approximately 7-8 hours (500KM approx), stopping only in Canberra. As we arrived in the village, the weather was worst than I expected. The mountain was full of clouds, and it was drizzzling hard along the road. The mountain trail has a 10 feet visibility. To make the situation worst, the driver told me there were no more bus travelling the next day (October 3), he was so -sure since he was the driver assigned for the snow season. But the customer service says otherwise. In any case I have no choice, I leave the worrying for tomorrow since my biggest concern was the climb. Arriving at the village, the temperature was Negative celcius.

Bad Weather

One thing good was the lodge Manager (Nadia) was very kind. She helped me how to go around the village and anything she possibly can. She also help me in monitoring the weather forecast the next day. The forecast changed again, and was not good.

Thanks Nadia

Dining and Living Room

Another view of the Mountain top

I visited Thredbo sports (rental) to check for the gear I need tomorrow. I plan to hire snow boots since my hiking shoes is not waterproof. They said I will also need snow shoes since there was fresh snow all week, problem was they open 8:00am, I decided to change my Itinerary and just take the chairlift going up. Snow shoes are also heavy that it was difficult hike carrying it (early part has no snow).

Thredbo Map

I slept with a heavy heart worrying about tomorrow. I also prayed that a miracle would happen about the weather.

**** to be continued *****

Mt. Cristobal Traverse

2011-07-05T05:55:00.000-07:00

It was really a good decision that I moved the Cristobal Traverse climb to July 02-03, the prior weekend was very wet because of the Tropical Depression that affected parts of Luzon and most of Southern Mindanao. Below is my blog entry of our traverse trek to Mt. Cristobal.

Jump Off

After alighting the bus from Manila, we hired a jeep going to the jump-off in Dolores, Quezon. From the jump-off it’s around a 1 hour walk up to the first rest stop and landmark which is the Montelibano House. My assumption is that this house was created as a rest house but is rarely use by the owner. We met the caretaker who advised us that we are free to take fruits around the yard and refill our containers with water.

Montelibano's House

From Montelibano was the start of the “real” trek. Continuous assault under the cover of thick and mossy forest. The inclination is around 45-60 degrees. Good thing that there are lots of protruding roots on the trail, this made our foot hold much easier. You’ll be able to see very large trees that I believe are centuries old. The early part of the assault was so humid that I think I consumed my water ration more than I budgeted. I was literally sweating like a pig! And since there is no water source in this mountain, each of us brought 5 liters of water making the assault more difficult. When you reach around ~1000 masl it becomes a bit colder and trek is now much easier.

The trail is mostly the same until you reach the crater campsite. I was really surprised that there is some sort of mini lake right across the campsite. The water was not pristine but was clean. Though we were the first to arrived at this camp, we camped on another campsite a few minutes from the crater. This was for the reason the crater camp has a tendency to be flooded if there were persistent rain. The other campsite (bulwagan saddle) can fit around 8-10 tents, and mossy trees surround it making cooking a breeze. My estimate is that temperature is around 15-16C degrees in early morning.

Crater Camp

Crater Lake/Swamp

Salad looking plants

Bulawagan Saddle

4 of the 7 lakes of San Pablo

Jones Peak

We commenced our traverse at exactly 8am the next day. The early part of the trail was established but very beaten. Its very hard to go down unless you hold the cugon grass on your sides. After a few hours walk (or slide) the trail will become covered by trees again then it will become another open area. I believe this is the part where we made the wrong turn. Our intention was to exit in Tala, San Pablo, we should now be able to see the cross of Tayak Hill after a few more minutes of walk. But after passing banana plantations we ended up in an open farm where there are pechay and kamote (sweet potato) crops, the hill and cross was not in sight. We assess the situation and took our lunch.

Where we lost the trail

Some of my companions said that they were able hear dogs barking. Me and our sweeper did an ocular inspection of the place. After around 15 minutes of descent we were able to find the source of barking. It was the hut of the crops owner (~650 masl) were there lives 3 old folks. They said that the trail that we found was actually the original traverse trail exit, but ever since the Tala exit became popular rarely did climbers pass by their hut (exit point) anymore. They showed us their logbook which has a record date 2008 as the last entry.

The old folks

Traverse Exit. To our right is the
old folks hut.

From their hut it was around 30 minutes of easy rolling trail. When we got to Sta. Elena (~400 masl), we talked to the contact person given by the old folks regarding the hiring of tricycles. But before going back to San Pablo, we took a very rewarding and relaxing clean up in their “Batis”. A big water pipe which water flows to a small pond.

Upon reaching San Pablo, we took a hearty meal of Gotong Batangas and Bulalo, after which we took our respective bus bound to Manila.

This is one of my most enjoyable climb of PALMC. This is not because I’m the EL (Expedition Lead), but because I really love old school mountaineering. Itinerary was followed diligently and drinking was just to warm the cold body and without over indulgence. Everyone was so independent and showed due respect to nature. All of the participants showed patience when lost our way. I’m really hoping to participate in more climbs like this in the future.

Trivia – Banahaw and Cristobal long had the perception of being mystical, positive and negative respectively. Let me share to you my experience I had during our climb.

We slept early as we were all tired from the trek and we had minimal sleep the previous day. At around 11:30pm I woke up because I need to pee, I was trying to hold it but since it was so cold and there are 5-6 hours before dawn I had no choice but to do it. So hastily, I pick up my head lamp got out of the tent even though the hair on the back of my head was already standing up. I bowed my head so that I wont be able to see anything but the creep keeps on sinking in…… I turned off my headlamp…. What I saw was there are sort of round rings that are glowing on the ground, green round rings that looks like a glow in the dark item. And there are lots of them even from afar. I keep rubbing my eyes thinking I’m just seeing things. But were really there...... I felt that that was the longest pee I ever had. The next morning, I woke up at around 4:30, I checked but the neon lights were not there anymore… it was still very dark.

I told this to the group in the morning and a companion said there was scientific explanation for what I saw…. Bioluminescence. What I know about bioluminescence is a plant emitting light, but not circular lights. What ever it is, still a very scary experience.

note: most photos were from Linson and some from Aris our guests.

Kibungan, Benguet to Sugpon, Ilocos Sur (Cross Country Trek)

2011-04-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Maybe your wondering why there is no mountain name in the title of my blog. Because this hike is a cross country trek which consist of climbing several mountains. I have been longing to do this trek for several years now, and when a friend invited me, without hesitation I immediately joined. I had been into several major climbs but this is the first time I will climb without a porter, only guides. I also had been practicing lightpacking for sometime now, but without guides on a multi day hike will put my skill on the next level, so don't be surprise if you'll see me wearing same shirt for several days. LOL!

The jumpoff point is Sitio (small village) Tanap which is about 30 minutes from the municipality of Kibungan, Benguet . The start of the trek ascending in between valleys. Eventhough were in the mountain province it was still very humid and hot. The campsite for day 1 is in the Sitio Agdanganan, its a village for locals which is located in between mountains. At 1300 masl, it was very cold in the night.

map of Kibungan with all the mountains and Sitios

Rice paddies

Close up

1st camp

Cold!

With the local kids

Second day consist of 4 hours of non stop assault. The destination were the mountains that can be seen on the 1st camp, Mt. Bulalakaw (1,772 masl) and Mt Almase (1,811 masl). The view was spectacular and the mountain walls are like pillars. After the assault was the mossy forrest that lead us to the highest peak of our climb. Mt. Oten (1854 masl). During our descent it started to rain, our guide advice us to camp about an hour away to our intended destination. We lodge at Sitio Dalipey, yes lodge because they have dormitories for students who live far away. Sitio Dalipey is one of the few Sitios that have highschool. The place is very secluded that they don't know how to speak tagalog, even speaking the local dialect ilocano was a struggle. They also dont have electricity. But locals are so hospitable that we are like celebrities. They dont mind we enter their village unscheduled and the even serve us coffee before we left.

There are lots of hanging bridges

steep steep!

rest stop

summit of Mt. Almase

Summit of Mt. Oten

Resting near summit of Mt. Oten

Grass eating pig.

Pic with the locals.

Igorot house

Benguet Mountain coffee anyone?

Third day consist of passing by Mt. Dalipey (1300++ masl). The summit is an open field with wild flowers everywhere. From a distance you can see big mountain walls that makes you think you are in the Lord of the Rings! After a few hours walk will lead you to Pipi-wan stairs that I can say is about 70-80* inclination, makes me really wonder how they were able to create this way, there are some part which are cemented but most part are carve from the stoned wall. Continuing will lead you to the view of Les-eng rice terraces. After which there will be another assault to Sitio Batangan then Mt Batangan, the last high point of our trek. There were no complete clearing but we were able to peek from the clouds from time to time. The view was very grand and amazing. After this summit was a complete descent for 4 hours! We were only able to rest at Likungan, Sugpon Ilocos Sur (Yes we are already in Ilocos). This was the most difficult descent I have experience. Very steep and very long. Our trek ended we we reach Amburayan river. A very wide river but has less water during summer. Finally, we were able to take a dip and clean up without feeling cold.

Summit of Mt. Dalipey

A local carrying Rice Stalks

Cherry Blossoms?

Stairs to Infinity

Les-Eng rice terraces

Wild mushrooms for dinner

Peek at Mt. Batangan

Our initial plan was to trek all the way to Sugpon town proper on the 4th day. But since the river was low, jeepneys can be hired. Yippee! The jeep has wheels of the bus so that it can navigate to the stoney trail of the river. The jeepney ride took three hours, imagine how long it will take us to trek. The river is just like the pinatubo trail so there was not really much to see. Our cross country trek ended when we reach Sugpon town proper.

Jeep Bus

Kibungan - Sugpon

This trek was one of the most enjoyable for me. The views were magnificent and spectacular. The place was really great. Our Lead said that this was the "easier" trail compared to the one he had last. I might opt to go back here again, and try the other trail for a different experience.

Hiking Updates!

2011-04-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Bad news for us who likes to frequent the Cawag settlement mountains (Balingkilat, Nagsasa, Cinco Picos and Dayungan) in Zambales. I received a reliable news that the locals (aetas) unjustifiably adjusted their guide rates. The guiding rates is now categorize via destination instead on a daily basis.

Before

300 per day for every 5 persons, no matter which mountain you are heading. Traverse or not to the beaches of zambales.

Now

Mt. Balingkilat dayhike - 600
Mt. Cinco Picos to Dayungan Traverse - 900
Mt. Cinco Picos traverse to Silanguin cove - 900
Mt. Nagsasa traverse to Nagsasa cove - 600 (1 or 2 days)
Mt. Balingkilat traverse to Anawangin cove - 1500
Mt. Dayungan traverse to Nagsasa cove- 900 (1 days or 2 days)

I hope all mountaineers will protest this unjust rate increases. Most of us are already familiar on the trails of these mountains. Paying the guide fee is just our way of helping them and in return the mountains will also be protected. YabagMC are the one who explored these mountains, they are also the one who established this place as a hiking destination. And this new rates are not what they verbally agreed upon. I had been to many climbs and I can say this rates is overpriced. And I will not climb to this place anymore unless they return the rates to what it should be.

*** Updates as of July082011

Chieftain Jimmy is no longer the Chieftain of San Martin Cawag Subic Zambales. He was replaced by Chieftain Binggoy. To all mountaineers going to Subic Mountains, kindly proceed to Chieftain Perla for the registration. Chieftain Binggoy and Chieftain Perla are now working hand-in-hand to assist the mountaineers going to Cinco Picos, Rounded Peak, Pointed Peak. There will be a final meeting this weekend. - MikeB (YABAG)

Cinco Picos traverse to Silanguin Cove

2011-02-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

After several cancellations, my long plan climb Cinco Picos that will traverse into Silanguin Cove finally went into fruition. I was really pushing for the climb to be spread into three days, the main reason was that I assumed that doing it on an overnight might put most of our time on the hike. Then have minimal time to enjoy the beach. But due to conflicts in schedule of the participants, we decided to go for two day hike.

As expected, the trail of Cinco Picos during our climb was very much different the last time I was here. It was the rainy season then and everything was green. It was even raining when we climb so it was cool during our climb. Compared to now, all of the surrounding were almost brown. And since the trail is between hills (valley like) there is no wind breeze, it was so humid and hot.

The traverse trail to Silanguin Cove starts from the Cinco Picos campsite. The start of the trail is very steep very much similar to nagsasa trail but is more decline. After a few minutes it will become a bit flat then later totally flat with trees covering the area. We reach the cove after around 10-11 hours hike with just enough rest in between. I even slept at the campsite since we arrived earlier than the time alloted in the IT. Since I was so sleepy due to the very early trek, I decided to take a power nap. hehehe. Thanks to our girl buddies who was surprising strong (though exhausted) that were able to stick to our IT.

To describe the beach, its much longer than Nagsasa (I think around 3KM) but narrower, well at least on the side that were at. The other side seems to be better (my hike mates went there to buy soda for 80 pesos!). Next time well try to stay on that side. The place is very much pristine, proof is that were the only ones during that time. We saw several rare sea creature, like a sea snake (c/o Tins olympus h20 cam). And there are sand dumpings on the beach from creatures we dont know and we didnt saw. Another proof that minimal people explore the beach is that we saw lots and lots of antlions. Which wont be able to thrive on sands that are usually step on.

I was really surprise we were able to enjoy the beach eventhough its just an overnight hike. I will surely go back to this place before it become another anawangin or nagasasa. Thanks hikemates for such a wonderful time.

The Gang

Bundok Dayungan

Hanjin Shipyard

ahhhhh...Silanguin Cove

The shore, beach and mountain

Reflections

Nice eh?

Mysterious Sh!t

Lots of them

Guardian Lion

Beach Life!

Bon Voyage Louis!

2010-12-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

“All good things must come to end” as the saying goes. And with that, our French friend Jean-Louis two year stint in the Philippines is over. He’s going back to his homeland on December 22. We share the same passion for climbing, these brought our group together. Hes been with us for several past climbs including the infamous Guiting-guiting. To celebrate his departure, a friend organized a climb for him in the mountain which is grand yet easy to climb. Mt. Maculot . Its my first time to climb Mt. Maculot (traverse) during the rainy season. I never thought that it was very grassy during this time. I guess it is true that each climb of a Mountain is different, the trail differs and the trees grows.

We had a great time with your company Louis! Hope to climb with you again someday, even on another part of the world. Till next time!

A few more steps to the summit of G2.

Go ahead... Make my day!

Trying to ride a carabao in carabao island!

Last climb!

Gianne at Pico

2010-12-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

I specifically organized this climb for Gianne. Me, being brought up in the countryside knows what she had been missing since she was mostly brought up in the city. I want her to see how nature as it is and give some awareness on how we can also conserve the environment. But I’m a bit wary of her physical capacity since Pico de Loro is more difficult than her first climb Manabu. To my surprise she was able to keep with our pace and still enjoy the trek. She was delighted to see mushrooms that she only saw on her books. And huge stones that was normal for me, but for her was totally extraordinary. When we reach the campsite several climbers were already there and were very surprised to see a kid with our group. I think the part that totally amazes them was that Gianne is not that exhausted, not like some of them specially the new climbers. This made here an instant celebrity. =D During our free and cook time she kept roaming the ridges looking at the view and playing around with the flowers and grasses. She said there were at least eight persons who took her picture.

With regards to the mountain status, I guess more climbers are visiting this mountain since the trail is wider now. There was minimal trash on the trail now but we saw several of it on the campsite, mostly on the hidden parts. Proof than more awareness is needed. I am really wondering whats the registration fee was for (DENR and Kubo).They should at least inform that climbers that they should bring down their trash. Geez….

By the way, two other climbers joined us for this climb. Special thanks to them for such a great time.

mushroom at the trail

Giant Gianne

Celebrity status =D

Mt. Kanlaon

2010-10-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not in hiatus. There were just so many changes in my life (for the better) that I got too busy to write in my blog. It has been more than a month since my last climb. This mountain is Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Occidental.

There are several trails in Mt. Kanlaon. You can climb via Wasay - Guintubdan, Guintubdan - Guintubdan and the unregulated Makawili trail. For us we used the Wasay - Guintubdan trail, though considered the most difficult, it is known to be the most rewarding. The trail normally starts in Mambucal resort, climbers usually stay here for an overnight and climb the next day. But for us, we opted to stay in the Rangers (Bantay Kanlaon) house. The place was around 30 minutes from Mambucal, its also the rangers place where we did the preparation for the climb of the first day.

The first day of climb started on a wide rocky road and immediately went on assault. After a few hours of walking will lead you to the PNOC private road. The elevation continued to rise until we reach around ~1300MASL. At this height I think we continually hiked for 3-4 hours. Put into consideration that there were four or five river crossings. Hiking up and down with the ground having very loose soil. Early on this part, my wifes shoes shows signs of retirement. Proof how difficult the trail was. At the end of the first day we reached the Junction camp. Very beautiful camp and spacious. It can be compared to Camp Goody of Mt. Apo but much much better.

early trail

limatik

Continuing our trek the next day involves passing the mossy-iest part of the mountain. Heck, I think this is the mossiest part of the Philippines! The trail involves passing into ardous space that we called hobbit holes. Its just like there were hazzards that you need to be nd then crawl then twist then immediately step up. Whew! But the forest was so mesmerizing, it seems to be untouched that lifts up your spirit removing your tiredness. You can compare this to the mossy t

rail of MakTrav, but also much much better. Adding beauty to the trail was that there are several Lakes, that had been named from the Mountaineering group that discovered them. Among them were PMS, SAMOK etc. There was also Harding Sangbalo (Garden of a Widow) which was also undescribable. similar the first day, when we reached around ~2100MASL we hiked for 3-4 hours with the height declining or rising. There was also a part that has 90 degrees inclination, adding difficulty was that the soil was also very loose. I think the only consolation here was that though the limatiks were abundant, they were not aggressive. We Camp at the Easter Saddle Camp that was just a few minutes away from the summit/crater.

Beautiful Harding Sang Balo

The trail was zig-zag!

Mossy isn't it?

90 degrees climb

Samok lake

Moss garden (my watch as the reference)

PMS lake

View from PMS lake

The other group in Margaja valley

The next day was the plan to see the summit/crater. But since it rained the previous night, there was no clearing! But thank God around 9am the wind stops and the cloud cleared! We had clearing and theres was sea of clouds! We enjoyed the s ummit (though very scary) took pictures then decided to go down. The first two days was via Wasay trail, the 3rd day was Guintubdan trail. Though the early part was similar to the Wasay 2nd day, the rest was just complete flat hike. But the trees was still very thick and tall. The time then was just 2pm it was as dark as 5pm! We reached the Guintubdan jumpoff still ahead of our schedule. Bragging aside, the locals was so amazed to s

ee us they called us 'DASIG'. Whats DASIG? Its for you to find out :P.

Summit at the background

Onward to the summit!

Sea of clouds?

Margaja Valley

Summit view while going up

The crater was a big "whoaaa"!!!

Cris peeking at the crater

Sitting beside the crater.

Steep huh?

Girls of team Dasig

Team Dasig!

Smiling above the clouds

Height in MASL, Margaja at the background

Going back to the campsite

Goodbye trusty shoes, and thanks Barry for the ductape.

A mountain, view from the airport.

I considered Kanlaon as one the climb I like the most, but also one of the most difficult. One factor adding to the difficulty was that you have to climb full packed for three days, and since most of your food supplies is with the guide/porter. Your load doesnt get light as the trek progresses. And because its a traverse, theres no way for you to leave some of your personal things. Its difficult but was very rewarding. Its not just the mountain that was perfect but the company (Go team DASIG!) the timing and the weather. And what a way to end our hike but with an INASAL dinner in Manokan Country of Bacolod. It has the best INASAL I have ever tasted. And my American friend can attest to that.

Mt. Cinco Picos

2010-09-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

I had been monitoring the Tropical Depression (TD) forming up last friday (Sept27). I am worried that it might enter the Philippine area of responsibility. Luckily, the storm which started in the South China Sea was heading WNW and base on my knowledge of Philippine storms if they are headed that direction they would'nt go back unless is pushed by a more powerful typhoon.

Having this information, I decided to push through with our Mt. Cinco Picos climb. If you had been following my blog, Cinco Picos is one of the popular mountains in the Cawag settlement so the jumpoff is just the same. cinco Picos got its name for having five peaks if you view it from a distance. But only three peaks have been scaled, and currently only two can be reached. Though the TD was outside the PI, I am expecting there will be rain. The first hurdle is crossing pinaglabanan river. The rain from previous night had caused it to swell that its normal size. Fortunately there was another group who were also climbing Cinco Picos, they brought in ropes and we were able to cross the river with them. I believed the river can be crossed un-assisted, but its still safer if you had something to hold on to. Thanks to the U-Trek for lending us a hand.

After the river was mostly wide trails that according to our guide was created for mining. Its basically flat trail that is carved in the bottom-mountain side, with several brooks along the way. Looking around, will give you the grand view of the mountains along the area.And because its the rainy season, everything is colored green. Constrasting when its summer that everything is brown.

After a short river trail, you'll go around peak1 and then do an assault of peak2. The trail is very slippery due to moss, surely its more difficult going down. A few minutes of flat walk after the assault of peak2 we reached the campsite. Its a lot smaller compared to Balingkilat, but its not that open and there are a few trees to block the wind coming from the sea. We arrived at the campsite around 2pm and at 3pm started to rain on/off until morning. From what I know Silanguin cove can be seen from the campsite, but its very foggy so theres no visibility. The guides told us that Peak3 (summit) cant be climb. Rarely climbers go there and the trail is not that established. They said also that it might take another day just to go to the summit.

The trail

The view

Onwards to Peak2 summit

Summit shot

Because of the all night rain, the senior guides advised us to take the less taken hunters trail(our guide was a kid). But after going down peak2, it became sunny. So we opted to take the traditional trail. Our analysis was correct, even pinaglaban river was smaller compared to yesterday. We were even able to take a dip before heading back to the jumpoff.

After the rain

Group shot

Meditating

Swelled Pinaglaban, but still not as big as Yesterday

In two weeks we are heading to Mt. Kanlaon, the Kanlaon climb was actually the purpose of this climb (training climb). And with the rain in all, I guess I was able to push ourselves the limit. So whats next? I plan organize another Cinco Picos climb but one that will traverse to the untouched Silangin Cove. A few have done it so I think its time to do it before it become another Anawangin and Nagsasa.

A Mountaineers Level

2010-08-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

If you had been climbing for quite a while, its quite obvious that you are developing skills in hiking. But of course its still defends on how much you are willing to put yourself to the next level. Meaning if you are climbing for say ten years now but its just around the Batangas-Cavite minor mountains, your skill will plateau just to a minor extent. Two years of climbing on Major mountains is better skillwise compared to the latter.

Given these scenarios, I had compiled the Mountaineers skill levels basing on how much he had honed his skills and physical prowess.

Level 1 - Normally this is a beginners level. When you start climbing probably on a dayhike and then simple overnights trips to minor mountains like Mt. Maculot or Mt. Manabo. If you had been on level 1 for quite a while, you may also have the ability to organize a minor climb (advance level 1).

Level 2 - This is the time when you have the urge to explore mountains which are more that 1000++ masl or so. So if you have climb Major mountains like Mt. Pulag (akiki or tawangan trail), Mt. Banahaw or Mt. Apo, you are a Level 2. You can add that an advance Level 2 hiker is the one that have tried mountains that needs technical skills. There are a few mountains that has this, but it still needs to be put into consideration. Mt. Guiting-guiting is considered technical but doesnt need ropes erstwhile Mt. Banahaw is not technical but there are a few parts that use ropes. And the more advance a level 2 hiker is, the more ability he has to a climb farther away of his comfort zone.

Level 3 - One of the traits of an outdoorsy person is that you want to share what you see or experience. So the next level after climbing major mountains is to organize a climb, Both a minor and major. From organizing a simple dayhike to multi day trips requires a Level 3 skill. Here is also where Leadership potential comes in. By going through the previous levels (1 and 2) will also give the climber the idea on how to take care of Nature and he should know LNT (leave no trace) outdoor ethics by heart. You should also should know how to blend to the locals, and have haggling skills in getting your logistics. And like the previous level the more advance a level 3 hiker is, the more ability he has to organize a climb farther away from his comfort zone.

Level 4 - So whats next after organizing? Exploring! This is the time when you create trails for mountains that had never been climb by hikers. This requires a lot of skills (and money) since you might need the help of the locals around the area. Proper planning is also need and most of the time, a single climb will not achieve your goal. There are also time that your resources and supplies might deplete untimely and survival skills comes into play. Mt. Ugu climb was pioneered by PALMC, Mt. Balingkilat by YABAGMC and Mt. Guiting-guiting by the group of Art Valdez. The more advance a Level 4 is, the higher the mountain he can explore. And the farther also from his comfort zone.

Level 5 - Alpinism. When you climb mountains that your not familiar with. And ideally when you try to climb snowcap mountains. This mountains cannot be found around the Philippines and nearby south east Asian countries. Being a tropical country, we are not climatize to coldness. So to climb this mountains (Mt. Hood, Mt. cook or Mt. Denali) will need extra training (e.g ice climbing) and of course money.

This leveling is just base on my idea and is not official. And of course this is base from a tropical place point of view. So if you live in an area where you are alread use to snowcap mountains, this leveling is not applicable.

Mt. Balingkilat Traverse

2010-08-11T21:42:00.001-07:00

Rainy season is here, its normally off season for hikers. But that is like half a year of no climbing? I thinks, its still okay to continue climbing during this time given that there is no severe weather disturbance.
Thats why last July 24, even the weather being glommy we opted to go to the most popular hiking destination in the Aeta Cawag settlement. Mt. Balingkilat - short for "Bahay nang Kidlat" (Home of Lightnings).

From the jumpoff the trek starts passing by the aeta houses until you reachead the "kawayananan" pit stop. About two hours from the jumpoff, this place is where hikers have their lunch and rest a bit. After kawayanan is where the fun begins.... its the start of complete assault trek. Its hiking on a trail which is 70-80 degrees incline. The trail is composed of cugon grass, scattered limestones and I almost forgot loose soil! Opposite Balingkilat (early part of the trail) is a hill, which blocks the wind. You may compare this part to a valley. This also adds to the difficulty of the hike since the place becomes very hot and humid. I can't imagine climbing here during summer. The ventillation only becomes better when you reach the height of about 700-800masl. When your almost at the plateau of Balingkilat, the trail becomes more narrow and more dangerous. I was asking myself, why didnt the group who created the trail made it a bit easier (zig-zag) and not complete assault? Well, the mountain had eroded a lot (there is no trees here) and this is apparently the best trail to create.

the valley like trail

rest stop

Upon reaching the plateau after roughly 3++ hours hike, its just an easy walk or around 15 minutes to reach the campsite. But we choose to wait for our companions who were left behind [angry smiley]. Bad bad idea because after half na hour or so it started to rain. We pitched our tent under heavy downpour. The rest of the night rain was off and on. But early in the morning there was good weather. We took this chance to have a good look of the area, from the campsite you can see the nearby mountains in the area (nagsasa, etc) and the far away coves/beaches (subic bay etc). You can also see the summit only about 15 minutes away. One thing amazing about this mountain is that there is a river on top (beside the campsite), which is also the water source. We took advantage of the clear weather to cook and have our meals. And then the sky closed... and the weather turn bad to worse. It was raining so hard that we settle to cancel our summit assault. We were hoping to wait the rain to stop, but it just would not. Thats the time I decided to break-camp, and just move out from this rain cloud.

Subic Bay, summit view

river beside campsite

campsite, afar is the summit

Since the trail is very steep going-up, imagine how it is after this rain. This is also the time I decided to take the traverse trail. The traverse trail had been taken by other climbers a few times, plus the hunters. Its not yet established but I know its possible. With our guide leading we took this trail, early on my mind was debating If I made the right decision. The early part of the trail was very steep,grassy, full of twigs and has loose rock and soil. But after about 30% of the trail, it became for more level and just a bit rolling. I guess its still safer than if we took the traditional trail. After 2 hours of hiking down, we reached the Nagsasa ridge. From here its an easy way going back to the jump off. We also try to pass by Pinaglabanan river but it was overflowing, guess its better to dip here during summer. Next stop.. Cinco Picos.

the traverse route, summit view

traverse route

bundok Dayungan (cloud covered) and Mt. nagsasa (left partially seen)

Mt. Batulao (Unplanned)

2010-07-07T00:54:00.001-07:00

Every end of the year the sun sets around the peaks of Mt. Batulao. This creates a grand illusion of rocks lighting up. The locals calls it "Bato sa Ilaw" (Rocks within Light), which later became Batulao.

A climb friend who was vacationing from Canada asked us to organize a climb for him. Since he was on tight schedule we decided to go to Mt. Batulao on a day hike. Just a recap, the jumpoff to this mountain starts at Evercrest Golf course, upon proceeding you past by Barangay roads which is dusty in summer and muddy in the rainy season. The reason for this is that the locals also use this road for their livestock (cows, horse etc). We even saw several transporstation horses carrying several sackloads of indian mangoes. After this road next is the rolling trails that leads to the fork of the new and old trail. There are a few huts along this route that I believe sells buko during the peak climbing season (theres none during our climb). We initially planned to take the traditional trail going up and then the new trail going down. But since time is not on our side, we decided to take take the faster route (new trail which is the right side) The new trail has several stations markers that I recall numbers 1-10, with 10 as the campsite. The trail is also rolling but are steeper than the ones before the fork. Something new also is that a new trail had been created going to the summit. Its now shorter and easier, you dont have to go to the forested part. To use the new trail, right after the campsite there is another fork, you need to take the left side trail. These goes around the shorter peaks of the mountain.

My friend havent lost his touch in messing up our IT like in our past climbs with him (peace pre he he). But for some reason it turned out to be a good thing and on our advantage (same as in our past climbs too). We started trekking late, but this made us escape the scorching heat of the sun. We were already in the campsites hut when it drizzled for a few minutes. On the summit, theres was clearing, in contrast the last time I was here. And right after we arrived back at the jumpoff thats the time it started to rain hard. I call it Luck points.

G2 like Jagged Edges

Summit View (Small specs are tents on the campsite)

Climb Buddies

Summit

MakTrav (Mt. Makiling Traverse)

2010-06-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to join a MakTrav (Makiling Traverse) climb last ID12 2010 . There were two instances in the past I planned to join the climb to this mountain but due to untoward and unexpected incidents I had to backed out. Mt. Makiling will always remain close to my heart since this was my first climb at the tender age of 16.

This was my first time of doing the traverse of Makiling. The jump-off starts at Barangay San Miguel in Sto. Tomas Batangas. The trail starts in a rough road that gives you a grand view of Makiling from the Batangas side.

Then you need to make a turn to a dry river bed.This is the place where all the hikers get lost. We also got lost that we asked help from some locals who were harvesting mangoes. It seems that the trail is forever changing and adapting defending on the season. Most of the succeeding trails are fully covered by trees. Except for some parts where cugon-an are present (and reforestation is happening). There is also a hut halfway where you can rest and refill your water rations. The first destination is Peak3, where almost all of the assault climb are present. But there are stationed ropes to help you a bit on the climb. A majestic view of makiling can be seen on this part of the trail. The view is so beautiful that some climber compares these to Avatars Pandora (but there is no Navi species :P). Upon reaching peak3, we took our lunch.
After Peak3 the next destination is peak2, the trail is a mossy forest where there are several fallen logs and narrow paths for a climber to get through.It must have been harder for our American friend who is tallest one among the group because we had to go through low-hanging branches and fallen trees . Also its a good thing its still the end part of summer, and there were few limatiks (tropical leech) on the trail. Or else I think this place would be very infested, and since the trail is narrow there was no way you can avoid leaves and branches touching you, the place where the limatiks attacks their victim.

Mabuhay ang Kalayaan! (with Pandoras view)

Upon reaching peak2 the trail was now on a descent. This is traditional trail that will lead you to UP Los Banos exit (with regard to the traditional trail click here). Except on the early part where its muddy and slippery, the traditional trail is very easy but is very long. I learned that from peak2 to UPLB its roughly 9KM. We arrived in the forrest ranger post at 7PM. We hiked for 11 hours! After cleaning up, we had our dinner then head back going to Manila.

Peak2 Group shot

Maculot Traverse 2010

2010-06-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

I organized a MacTrav (Maculot Traverse :P) last June 26. This is not a traverse per-se as the mountaineers define it (please see my previous post for the details). Its just a dayhike and I organize this mainly for these friends.. A former officemate who wanna try hiking, an American friend who is a veteran in climbing but is new to the tropics and two old buddies who is on/off on their climbing career. The last time I've been here it was raining and now its el-nino so surely the trail is different. Its not just the trail that is different but also is the cleanliness of the place! There a lot of plastic trash along the grotto trail and onward to the summit. My hunch is that the trash was the result of the recent 'holyweek' which several Roman Catholics influx this site. Seeing no trash going down the traditional trail confirms my observation. The traditional trail is normally the route of climbers
Maculot will always be one of my favorite mountains. The climb is not that difficult but the view is more than rewarding. And what a day to end our trip with a visit from my friends aunt who lives in Cuenca. To our surprise his father was a native of this city, there are several stores in Cuenca which bore their surname. And then his aunt served us their bakery's 'monay' bread which their family is famous for. After eating several pieces, now I know why.

Here lies two mountaineers... Jus Kidding!!!

Resting at the 'Grotto'

Rope a Dope

On the way to saddle

Group shot at the Rockies

Magalawa Island

2010-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

As a self proclaimed nature tripper I had been in constant search for a place I can go and enjoys Gods creation, and if possible share my knowledge on how to protect it. For this year I went to Nagsasa cove and last weekend (May01) to Magalawa Island.
Magalawa Island can be found along the outskirts of Zambales too. From the mainland you just have to take a short boat trip to reach it.I brought along some of my climb and trip buddies to share the place and probably bond together.
So how is the island like? First off, the place is surrounded by several other islands so the water is very calm. I did'nt regret bringing my snorkling gear and there's even a designated and protected place where you can snorkel. The island also resides near a fishing community, so snorkling even just on open water will lead you to view several sea creatures (good and odd looking hehe) Secondly, the shoreline is quite long and the sand is fine. Definitely an A-class beach. Camping wise, there are several trees on the island so you dont have to worry about pitching your tent in the open sun.

But since its summer I'm expecting there will be lots of guest. Not just from far flung Manila but also from near localities. But it turn out there are more than I'm expecting, probably because its a long holiday. (labor day). Good thing is that the influx of guest came when were about to leave.
All in all its a very good place, I will probably come back here on a off-peak season. To enjoy the place to the next level.

The island

The Beach

Campsite

Snorkel Man!

Snorkel Man meets SeaWeed kid.

Superheroes at work

Newly arrowed fish

Grill them!

"Lato" (edible seaweed). Yum yum.

A hermit crab.

Starfish are everywhere (be careful not to step on them)

3rd Time's a Charm!

2010-02-15T21:39:00.001-08:00

You may call me a climb addict. But yes, I returned to Nagsasa again last weekend. And the decision was very much worth-it. We had a PERFECT climb - the weather was good, we were the only visitors on chiefs Ogos place, the beach was calm and the food was great. Since its the cove that I dont have much entry on my previous blogs, this is the one I will discuss (I didnt enjoy the beach much on my previous trips, one of the reasons for the return trip)

the sand is better than Anawangin. Much finer, that one of colleague told me if it was white sand the place would look like Boracay.
the water is clearer.
the place still pristine due to less visitors compared to Anawangin. Less visitor means very quiet place. Very nice for relaxing.
there is a chance to buy a newly haul fish from fishermen.
your 70-100 pesos payment of the place is very much worth-it. Locals are very willing to assist you if you need help. And you can use their equipment if in case you need any (stove, water container, etc)

And dipping to the crystal water of Pinaglabanan river is an added bonus.

Dara our guide dog.

the beach

campsite

water up to my knee

water up to my waist

our kitchen

sunset!

our pulutan (and became breakfast too!)

our dinner

why so serious?

jump for joy!

sad to leave.... =(

pinaglabanan river

Nagsasa Part Deux

2010-02-07T02:01:00.000-08:00

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

Gianne's First Mountain

2009-11-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

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

Mt. Nagsasa traverse to Nagsasa Cove - After the long Hiatus

2009-10-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

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. 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. =)

Launching of the Balangay

2009-07-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

I was all set to attend the Balangay launching last June 27. Unfortunately, I encountered some sort of back problems and needed to visit my doctor on that same day. But since my daughter was very much keen on seeing the boat unloaded to the sea, I just told them to go ahead without me. So basically, the accounts I'm going to discuss here is not from my experience but from my representatives.

I was expecting the event to be very simple and not so extravagant. But Lo and behold, the place was jampack with journalist. The sponsors even hired PR firm to organize the event. Lots of prominent personalities was also present. Environment Sec. Lito Atienza was there, Oscar Lopez (an avid adventurer himself), former Senator Nina RAsul and former DILG Rafael ALunan among others.

The boat was also christened by a priest before being set unto the Manila bay. She was given the name "Diwata nang Lahi" (goddess of Race). Of course a boat will not run without a crew. Present are the Philippine Everest Team, they were given the task to complete this great feat. Leading the Team is former DOTC Usec. Art Valdez.

It took the builders (Badjaos from Mindanao) a while to take the boat to sea. They used the old way of carrying a boat, much like how the egyptians carried the building blocks of the pyramid. I also forgot to mention on my previous post that the boat was replicated very much from the ancient one. Everything was made of wood and no metal was used, even the nails.

Gianne with Leo Oracion

The Crew

PALMC???

Christening

All set

Gianne and her paper Balangay.

A Tribute to Jay Lorenzo

2009-06-17T20:37:00.001-07:00

June 13,2009. News came to me that until this moment I'm unable to grasp. Jay Lorenzo ongoing Vice President of PALMC died from a vehicular accident. Loving husband and a father of three young kids. He just turned 38.

Up to this moment Im still on denial stage. Just three weeks ago we have concluded a very successfull Mt. Tabayok outreach program. Last holyweek we climb Mt. Guiting-guiting and had a very good time together. It was also through him that we were able to go to carabao island for our sidetrip. I will always remember him wearing sunglasses that I always joke as 'everest goggles'. A guy who is very strict to Itineraries and have a very good negotations skills.

He's supposed to lead a climb in Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon at the end of June. They are even planning to comeback to Mt. Guiting-guiting next year and do a traverse. Heck, hes supposed to celebrate his birthday on the 14th!

Jay, you surely are gonna be missed. The void you left in this world can never be filled. The memories you provided in PALMC and in our hearts are going to last forever.

We'll see you in the morning Jay.

Those Everest Goggles

One of my stolen shots of Jay

Mt. Tabayok

2009-06-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

I was allowed to only have a day of leave during my group's outreach program in the area of Mt. Tabayok. The actual outreach program was scheduled on a Saturday (May 23), but the whole trip will last for 4 days given the distance of the place. Mt. Tabayok is located near Brgy. Ballay (pronounced Bal-lay) in Kabayan, Benguet. The land travel will take about 15-20 hours, almost two days is allocated just for the trip.

As part of the 'Habol'group, we left Manila taking the Victory bus bound for Baguio . We left on Friday night and arrived on Baguio early morning of the next day (the first group left thursday). From here, the idea is take the bus bound to Kabayan, this is the same bus that is normally taken by climbers going to Mt. Pulag via Akiki trail. The problem here is that there are only two bus trips per day, and they are scheduled to leave Baguio by 10:00am and the other one is 04:00pm. Its is still very early when we arrived at the bus station (8:00am) and being on a time constraint, we don't want to waste any moment. So, we decided to hire an FX taxi and maybe we could still be able to catch the actual turn-over of Donations. Its the drivers first time going to Kabayan, my guess is that if he knew the place (and the roads) he might not have agreed on being hired since half of the road is not yet cemented and its an eight hour trip.

When we arrived at Brgy. Ballay, the actual gift giving was completed. We missed it by an hour or two. The school supplies had been distributed to the students and the computers had been installed in the Faculty rooms. There are also several boxes of vitamins that had been distributed to the kids of the community (thanks to Unilab). A bit disappointing but were still OK, we'll planned to be the support group anyways. And the community was already very happy whenever urban citizens visits their place. Our companions had been camping out in the schools rooms. This is the reason they told us not to bring tents. We also lodged hourselves in the vacant rooms.

The next day is the actual climb day to Mt. Tabayok. The first batch hired a jeepney going here and this was also the one that took us to Mt. Tabayok. Mt. Tabayok is the 5th highest mountain in Philippines with height estimated at 2,870 MASL. There is a lake situated beside the mountain (Lake Tebayo), this lake was voted for cleanest lake in the PI way back in 2003, but now I guess it has lost its glory. The lake is not crystal clear anymore and looks more like Taal lake. The jumpoff starts at 2,200 MASL, since we started climbing at a high altitude there were only 600 meters left to gain. According to my friend who was one of the pioneers in climbing this mountain there were only 2 houses around the foot of the mountain during their exploration climb. But now there are a lot, and a big part of the mountain slope is now being converted to farmlands. I also noticed that there are a lot of cut mountain trees which are near the farmlands, my hunched is that the farmers are planning to expand their farms. I could rate the climb easy as there is a well established trail and there are lots of portruding branches and roots to hang-on to. The forrest is very mossy and the weather is cold. The summit has no clearing, but what the locals did was they created an elevated viewing deck that lets you peek at the top of the trees. You can see Mt. Pulag from summit. We stayed here for a few hours and then we decided to head back down. The trek back down was also relatively easy and we managed to get back on the jumpoff with only minor hitches.

We left early the next day and the same jeepney took us to Baguio. The locals were so happy of our visit that the Baranggay Captain keep on texting while were on our way. Special thanks to Raymond for giving us extra entertainment during this trip.

Lake Tebayo with Mt. Tabayok on the background

First Summit

At the Flatform

Mushrooms!

Mt. Pinatubo

2009-06-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

I read an article in the net that if you want to experience Mt. Pinatubo to its post eruption beauty, the time to climb it is now. So when an officemate invited me to a planned trip to Mt. Pinatubo I decided to join (of course I also like to have a little bonding with my co-workers).

The Jump-off starts from Brgy. Sta. Juliana in Tarlac, a Korean company had established/monopolized a resort in this place. I guess all the travelers to Pinatubo needs to pass by them, they are handling the tours in coordination with the locals who are serving as the guide and drivers. After registering, we took a ride in a 4x4 pickup truck that took us to the foot of Mt. Pinatubo crater. As expected the 4x4 ride is very rough, but the uncomfort is overcomed by the scenery along the way. We saw rivers, lroads covered by lahar, Aeta community and some domesticated animals roaming freely. From all of these, the most grand is seeing lahar pillars that I guess were created when mudflows flowed along this area. I also saw from not so far away mountains that maybe are still unexplored. Rightfully speaking, the internet article is correct. Most, if not all the surroundings are now covered in green. From what I've read and saw in pictures, this area use to be like a desert after the volcanoe's explosion and the lahar mudflows.

After almost an hour of traveling you will reach the foot of the crater. Its all walk from here. According to our guide, the trek part is now cut in half. Before, you have to walk for about 30-45 minutes to get to the foot of the crater, now this place can also be reach by vehicles. Well, I guess they really want to have a lot of tourist here and develop (commercialize?) the place. From the foot of the crater its about another 45 minutes leisure walk to the crater. The path is passing by a shallow river with rocks and sand. Then you will reach a short stairs climb (about 30 steps) and then its the crater. There is water on the crater that is normally colored green (but they say sometimes it turns blue). You can swim inside the crater lake but mind you its not like a beach that you can walk far into the water and still very shallow. Here after three steps, theres already a chance for you to drown. Looking around there are about two cottages already built around the area, and they are still building more. O well, signs of commercialization (so whats next, Hotels?) .But in fairness the place is well kept clean. I just hope they could keep it this way.

After spending a few hours looking, dipping and feeling the place we decided to head back home.

Mt. Pinatubo adventure is a good experience specially for those who like to see good nature beauty with minor sweat. But if you are looking for a complete outdoor experience I suggest you try another trail going to this mountain (currently there are three existing Mt. Pinatubo trails).

Balangay Project

2009-05-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the pre-climb meeting of PALMC's Tabayoc outreach program held at the CCP Manila vacant lot housing the Balangay (Bangka/Boat) Project. I never thought that my attention would be diverted out of my real purpose here.

So whats the Balangay Project?

The building/construction of the Balangay (ancient boat) is on-going at the CCP Complex. It started in March 2009 (I guess. But the conceptualization was planned long before (after the 2 Everest climb expeditions) c/o former Usec. Arturo Valdez, the Bajaos, and the Everest Group. It is set to sail to the seas (Philippine coasts/ straits/ shorelines) on June 12, 2009 during the celebration of our Philippine Independence Day.

This year the voyage will be done in the Philippines first but in the succeeding months or years to come, consequently, it would go international (to Africa, etc etc). The first voyage of the Balangay is divided into 7 legs (and these 7 legs are divided into 75 stops/ports).

"We Filipinos are known to be land people (as what Art says). But based on our roots, we are also marine (sea people). We must take pride of our origins and let the whole world know once again that we are proud of our heritage."

There you go, I was very excited and happy to be able to see the boat in construction. I was also amazed on how much they have accomplished with so litte time. After the meeting I inspected the boat and then took some pictures. Hopefully I can join the voyage and be able to see and feel how our ancestors travel.

more info here: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=458964

Artist Concept of the Balangay

Mt. Guiting-Guiting (Side Trips)

2009-04-29T02:25:00.001-07:00

***Last part of the G2 Trilogy***

After a very challenging yet enjoyable climb, we badly needed some relaxation. So to put additional good use for the time and effort we spent going here, We planned to do a side trip in Carabao island. Carabao island is a part of the Romblon group of islands. Our initial plan is to travel via land and sea going to carabao island. But according to the locals here in sibuyan, it is also possible to do it with just one boatride. It's supposed to be faster and more convenient with the only drawback is that the only boat available is a fishing and not a passenger boat. To make it short, we hire a boat and scheduled a trip very early next morning.
We were scheduled to leave Sibuyan at exactly 7:00am (April 09), with another group that we met here in G2 that is going to Boracay. But due to the other groups undecisiveness(long story to tell), we left one and a half hour late. Being a fishing boat it doesnt have any life vest and we were all cramped to the small space alloted for the boats crew and their fish hauls, adding to the uncomfort is that the trip takes about 5-6 hours. We saw some dolphins and lots of flying fish along the way temporarily cleansing our boredom. Our boat even encountered engine problems with about thirty minutes away from the shore, worst we broke down on a place that is known to be the local version of the "bermuda triangle". I really practiced my prayers here.
Arriving in Carabao island, we were greeted by one my companion's relatives, who are also our host. We set camp at their backyard, this is our home for the next two days. So what did we do on our two days of stay here? Plenty. Ate native chicken dishes and goat meat, drank "Tuba" and buko juice fresh from the cocounut tree, played the local version of pool, ate fresh fish newly netted by fishermen, bum around and of course enjoyed the islands beautiful beaches.
BTW, I guess your now wondering how the island gotten its name. Well according to the locals, during the mid 1900's there were lots of wild carabaos here. A lot, that a trail was created on one of the islands rivers due the carabaos habit of drinking there every afternoon. During those days, the supply of Carabaos on the Visayan region are mostly coming from this place. But during my stay here there is no trace of the islands former carabao glory albeit I saw two domesticated carabaos with cows outnumbering them.

Lazy afternoon

We left the island on Saturday (April 11). Our route was to go by Caticlan then take the RORO (roll-on, roll-off) transportation going back to Manila. But since Caticlan is very much near Boracay (that we even passed by it coming carabao island) half of the group decided to spend an extra night on the island. I guess sometime things doesn't go the way you planned it, at least for the better. =)

Strong man (a passengers baggage)

Club Panoli

Mt. Guiting-Guiting (The climb)

2009-04-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

*** Continuation of the G2 Trilogy ***

Very early the next day (Monday, April 06), we started our trek to G2. Our goal is to reach Mayos peak as early as possible. Mayos peak is the campsite were hikers camp-out before proceeding to the summit. From the information I gathered, the distance from the basecamp up to Mayo's Peak is 11KM. The trail is mostly steep ascents with around 20% flat to semi-flat. The most inclined part of the hike is after Bulod Spring (the only water source), and is also very slippery. The trees grows big near the foot of the mountain, as the climb progress it becomes mossy with the roots protruding on the trail. When your almost at Mayo's peak the trail becomes exposed, the trees are still there but they are small with only a few leaves. Along the way we met hikers going down, they told us they have a failed summit ascent due to bad weather, proof that in G2, failure is always a possibility. It was raining for several days, luckily the sun is peeking this day.
We reach Mayo's peak after around 10 hour hike with very little rest except for lunch. We wanted to be early at Mayo's for there are around 50 hikers (maximum allowed) that registered, we wanted to be at the best camping ground possible. Describing Mayo's peak, its densely covered with trees that sheild the campers from the wind breeze specially during the night. Most of the time also drizzles early in the morning, sometimes early at night.

G2 Towering from afar.

Bulod's son (Cocoy, our guide) in Bulod spring.

Campsite at Mayo's peak.

We woke up early again (Tuesday, April 09) to finally do the summit assault. Surprisingly and luckily the weather is on our side. It didnt rain yesterday and the sun is still shining today. You need to move out of the tree cover to be able to start the hike. From here you will see the start of the trail, its a jaw droppingly beautiful and also a bit scary sight. You'll have a view of the jaggedly mountainous trail. we can also see hikers who went ahead of us. Ant size, you can see them scrambling unto the rocks. The trail from here are composed of ridges and steep ascents (sometime descents) on rock formations. The trail is difficult and technical that several parts have been given names: "Knife ridge", "Camel Back", "Kiss the Wall", "Peak of Deception", "Hillary step" (similarity to the real one) and "Walk of Fame". Upper body is used althroughout the hike. There are two parts of the trail that is worth detailing, first is a "Kiss the wall" in which you need to walk on a 2-3 meters long, 2-3 inches wide step holding only to the crack on wall. The other one is "Hillary Step" in which you need to hang on a small crack on wall and the step is about a meter away from you, chest high. A cut-off-time is given to the "Peak of Deception", you should be able to reach this place before 12NN, else you should turn back. But we were able to get to this place with much time than required. We reach the summit with a handful of climbers already there and celebrating. We also celebrated, congratulated ourselves for a feat not most climbers dared or even able to accomplish. Then, we took our lunch, take some pictures and also congratulate the rest of the climbers specially those that arrived after us.

Knife Ridge

Cliffs on both sides.

Mayon volcano can be seen from on the trail

Last leg to the summit

Summit at the background.

The next Pinay summitter? Shes only 9 =O

Summit group shot.

Hiking this terrain in the dark is a big no no, so after a short stay on the summit we decided to head down. Opposite to the ascent, the surrounding suddenly turned foggy and later on it drizzled, proof that the weather here is so volatile. The trek going back is almost as difficult as going up. The fatigue factor is already present plus with the trail and rocks being wet. Slowly and surely we head back to Mayo's peak. I also recall an instance when one of our companion grab on a rock that I guess was not so durable, the rock chipped off. All of his weight was on this rock so he fell, fortunately he landed on the flat surface beside cliff. Close call, whew! The complete assault (and back) took us 12 hours stopping only to drink and take some pictures, Again, from the information I gathered the distance between from Mayo's peak up to the summit is around 5KM.
If the first two days are difficult, the trek from Mayo's to jumpoff is taken on a much lighter pace and mood (Wednesday, April 08). The only thing that made the trek difficult is that half of the climbers went down ahead of us, making trail muddy, slippery and beaten. Arriving at the jumpoff, We took a dip again on the dam and after which we went back to Manong Lee's place. Then took a hearty dinner of different Lapu-lapu recipes (and other fish), cooked by Nonos Mom. =D

No visibility

Having said so, is the climb to G2 difficult?
You bet! Now I know why this is considered one if not the most difficult climb in the Philippines. Patience, stamina, endurance, strength, climbing skills and perseverance are put to the limits. The rock formations are not identical that getting through them is just like solving a jig-saw puzzle, everyone has their own solution. And solving it going up and is different from solving it going down. For those who are planning to climb G2, my advice is to train and have a good diet. It works well for me, eventhough I'm tired at the end of the day, Im not totally burn-out.

Mt. Guiting-Guiting (The trip)

2009-04-17T03:06:00.001-07:00

For the Holyweek, my group (PALMC) had a long scheduled climb for Mt. Guiting-Guiting (G2 on Mountaneering Lingo) in Sibuyan island of Romblon , there are 10 of us for this climb. I had been to some parts of the Philippines throughout my climbing career and I had never thought that the travel to this part of the country could be so difficult and is a challenge. My travel going to Sibuyan will be discuss on this part of this blog which entirely is about the Mt. Guiting-Guiting climb plus the sidetrips.
There is only one boat going to Romblon per day, and since its the holyweek it is expected that great number of people will take this ride. The boat company does'nt give reservation so its a first come-first serve basis, our EL opted to go to Batangas pier early to buy tickets. She arrived there at around 8-8:30am (Saturday, April 4) but unfortunately all the tickets for the 1st class (supposedly) rooms are sold out. It turns out that there are also scalpers (and I thought these only happens on concerts and sporting events) who later sold these tickets at a higher price. In the end we purchased tickets for the economy rooms, rooms that have reclining chairs for the passengers. Most of us were at the terminal at around noon and the boat leaves at 5:00pm. Most of the time we stayed at the Batangas port terminal repeatedly hearing women shouting services for 'Manicure - Pedicure'. Think of the boredome we bear.
Fortunately, the boat arrives on time. I was wondering why the passengers were scrambling to go ahead when there were actually numbers on the seats. Entering the boat, there are already some vehicles (for transport) making the passage to the 2nd floor using the single person size stairs difficult. Seeing the room, my question is now answered. There's are a lot of chance passengers, but since there are limited seats most of them wants to be first on the most comportable space available. The isle, the cafeteria, even above the luggage boards. They are even irritated if you pass-by where they are staying, eventhough its the walkway. I even met some of my climbing acquaintances staying above the ship. The ship is overloaded. Everything seems to be good because we had reserve seats, oh so we thought. Our leftmost seat was occupied by an old man, actually he is reserving it for his wife (all of us are seated side by side). I kindly told the man that that seat is reserved to us, but he wont budge. I still inisted and later on he started cursing me, and we had an argument. When it was already heating up my colleague who is also from Romblon said just to chill down and that we'll just take the seat that the old man have (ours is 110 his is 112). To make the matters worst another man is also occupying seat 112! To make the story short, my colleague ended up taking seat 116(?). Early that night, being tired of waking up early morning, I decided to go to sleep. The boat was starting to rock side to side. Later the boat was swaying the hardest, I'm not sure if its because I'm sleeping or I'm just good at it that I did'nt get dizzy. From all of my sides I can hear people throwing up. Then I realized the boat stop, we were now at Odiongan Port, also at the island of Romblon. Most of the people alighted. It is also then that I heard the news that the air-conditioning for the 1st class room broke down, luck were still on our side. The next day(Sunday, April 5) we arrived at Romblon, Romblon, the Capital. I'm so relieved to be on the ground again.

The name seems familiar.

Sardines is an understatement

Sweet Dreams

There are two schedule of boat rides from here to sibuyan 9 and 12pm, we decided to take the latter so that we can spend some time checking the place. Describing the island, it looks like a port city that blends the old and new. Fort San Andres is located in this city. Theres also an old spanish church were the bell tower was restored with most parts still from the old materials. For those whos not familiar, Romblon is the marble capital of the Philippines. Hence, when your walking at the cemented roads, you will see bits and pieces of marbles (I think they use crushed marble instead of gravel).

Purely solid marble.

Old Manila?

Then hurriedly we took the boat ride going to Sibuyan, its another two long hours ride. =) When we arrived at Manong Lees residence (the jumpoff), we were greeeted by his wife and Nono his son. Nono is the barangay captain of this place and also the head of the guides. Its good to know that hes a PALMC member! We were allowed to have our packs inside the house, use their kitchen and dining place. We later even slept on their sala. =D. But before that we also took a dip to barangays river/dam, we havent took a bath since yesterday. Imagine our smell.

*** I will be discussing the climb proper on the next post*****

12 people are on board.

Feel so good to take a dip.

G2 View from the Dam.