When: August 13, 2011
Where: Nasugbu, Batangas
Trail: New Trail
Latest
Next Stop: Mt. Batulao
Pico de Loro: The Rose and its Thorns
Destination: Pico de Loro/Mt. Palay-Palay (Ternate Backtrail)
Elevation: 706 meters above sea level
Location: Ternate, Cavite
Time to Summit: 4 hours
How we got there?
We were scheduled to leave for Ternate, Cavite on 4:00 p.m. (Saturday). We waited for the Saulog Transit bus in Lawton, but we didn’t know exactly where it passes by. In the 7/11 store near Lawton, we saw a group with climbing gear with them so we thought they are headed for Pico de Loro too. Luckily, they are so I asked them. They told me that the bus passes by on the other side of the avenue. For 30 minutes, we wasted time waiting at the wrong spot! So we crossed the avenue via the tunnel that connects both end. Actually we still ended up at the wrong side, but buses do pass-by that side, but you have to walk a few meters to the right so they can load. (There is an exit halfway the tunnel that leads to the bus stop.) |
After a few minutes wait, the Saulog Transit Ternate bus came by at around 5:10 a.m.. At first, I was concerned because if we arrive at Ternate 1 hour late, then part of our descend will fall late in the afternoon or even in the evening. But luckily, road traffic cooperated with us, together with the newly opened CAVITEX (Cavite Expressway), the expected 3 hour ride was cut down to around 1 hour and 45 minutes. We arrived at Saulog Transit terminal in Ternate at around 6:45 a.m.. |
To go to the DENR outpost for registration, we need to ride a tricycle, which was readily available outside the Saulog Transit Terminal, for about 20 minutes from the terminal to Magnetic Gil. The fare is P75.00/head, one way. You can contact Kuya Rey at 0928-9760157. He is a nice guy and very accommodating. He also will give you advice about the trail and a demo of the Magnetic Hill’s so called “magnetic pull”. He will also arrange a pick-up for you on your estimated time of descend.
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DENR Office
Part 1: The Basecamp (approx. 45 mins.)
The first part of the trail begins with a short 45 degree ascend. After the initial ascend, the trail becomes relatively flat with a few ascends until you reach a group of big rocks. The big rocks mark a steep descend which reminded me of Mt. Maculot’s trail. It’s a difficult descend as the ground was wet, muddy and slippery – be careful. After the steep descend, you will enconter a fork in the road. Turn right as the left side is said to lead you to Maragondon, Cavite.. It is marked by a big fallen tree and a waypoint sign that says, “Dito po ang daang Pico.” – what a polite sign. Take a few pictures here as that tree is a catchy conversation and pose piece. 20 minutes deeper into the trail will lead you to base camp 1. Register and pay P20.00/head there. You can also use the bathroom there and buy cold softdrinks (P40.00/can). Take time to rest here then move straight ahead into the trail along the mango orchard.
Note: There are ribbon markers attached to vines and trees and some arrows carved on the bark of the trees. Just follow those and you won’t get lost.
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Part 2: The Rough Dive and the “Hell Gate”
There are a few stream crosses along the way too so try not to get your shoes wet by using the rocks and or stones whose face is above the waterline.
In this part of the trail, one may notice that you are descending, when we should be ascending right? It may seem weird, but Pico de Loro is part of the Mt. Palay-Palay mountain range. To reach the mountain that hosts the famous “Parrot’s Beak”, you basically need to go through another mountain to reach it.
The Rough Divide and the “Hell gate”
A few minutes uphill, you will reach another fork in the road. The left one leads to the waterfalls (sidetrip?) and the right one is the continuation of the trail. A few minutes after turning right, you will find the salagubang park. It is marked by a single tree which can serve as a rest spot. At the end of the trail, you will enter the treeline and the beginning of the steep ascend.
The Ascend
The trail upward reminded me of Mt. Maculots trail. The trail there is pretty steep. There are parts where you need to grab onto roots and rocks for leverage. Since the trail was wet, it was slippery and muddy too. This part took a lot out of me. 1 hour into the forest and my heart was pounding my chest. It was a challenge for me, but you need to move to keep up. So I took a lot of rest while my climbing buddies advanced forward. Another thing, when using plants as leverage, please do look out for spiny plants. I mistakenly grabbed on to a spiny plant twice and ended up bleeding for 5 minutes or so.
If you will see bamboo clusters and a steep rock face, then you will be just 1 hour away form the summit area. Take a few minutes rest there and take pictures too. Be careful in climbing the rock face because its slippery and there is not much to hold on too. About 30 minutes later, you will see a group of big rocks and a cave-like formation. A few minutes from that, you will start descending again, then ascend through a bamboo forest. That’s the campsite area. The “veiwing deck” is just a few meters more from that. On the left side is the false summit, while the trail to the summit is on the right (don’t exit the treeline).
Part 3: Campsite 2 and the Assault
We were dead tired when we reached campsite 2, but the moment we saw the panoramic view of the lowlands and the Parrot’s beak, we were blown away. Personally, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Our fatigue, hunger and thirst seem to vanish the moment we laid our eyes on that magnificent view. We took lots of pictures there. There are rock formations that may serve as your “studio” but be careful. A steep cliff awaits you on the other side.
There is also a water source at the campsite. Its located along the face of the bluff going to the false summit. It’s practically water trickling from the porous rock of the rock face. We saw some climbers funnel water from there. They say its potable. But I doubt that the supply is constant, especially during the dry season.
We took a quick lunch at around 12:00 noon at the bamboo forest, rested for a while and decided to assault the summit. Luckily, there was a guided tour headed there, so we tagged along.
The trail to the summit is as steep as it gets! You literally need to grab on to roots, rocks and whatnots just to move forward. Its a short 15 – 20 minute hike. Half the trail is up a rock face, then a grassy hill. Very, very steep there so be sure to get a firm foothold and grab on to something for leverage.
Part 4: The Summit and the Parrot’s Beak (a.k.a. the Tower)
To reach the Parrot’s Bead or the “tower”, take the trail on the righ side and find your way down. Climbing the tower requires rock climbing skills and a reliable rope. Since we didn’t have either, we didn’t attempt to climb the tower. Though the guided tour invited us to tag along, we refused because we were pressed for time.
Climbing the Corporate Ladder Mountain
CLIMB SCHEDULE
Name of Mountain | Location | Target Date |
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Pico de Loro (Mt. Palay-Palay) | Ternate, Cavite | July 2, 2011 |
Mt. Talamitan | Nasugbu, Batangas | TBA |
Manabu Peak | Sto. Tomas, Batangas | TBA |
Mt. Marami | Maragondon, Cavite | TBA |
Mt. Daguldol | San Juan, Batangas | TBA |
Mt. Cristobal | Quezon and Laguna | TBA |
Mt. Batulao | Nasugbu, Batangas | August 13, 2011 |
Mt. Balingkilat | Subic, Zambales | TBA |
Anawangin Cove | San Antonio, Zambales | TBA |
Next Stop: Pico de Loro (Mt. Palay-Palay)
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When: July 2, 2011 |
Mt. Pulag: The Towering Queen of Luzon
Destination: Mt. Pulag (Ambangeg Trail a.k.a. The Executive Trail)
Elevation: 2,922 meters above sea level (2nd highest in the country)
Location: Bokod, Benguet
Time to Summit: 5-6 hours (in 2 days)
How did we get there?
Last Minute Preparations
The PAMB Office (approx. 1.5 hrs.)
There is a bathroom there that you can use as an alternative to the bathroom available at the ranger station.
Be sure to make your last minute preparations at the ranger station. Below are my tips: 1. Save your strength, hire a porter! You will not only help the locals, but you can focus on enjoying the sights and sounds.
2. Light weight dri-fit clothes recommended. You will only need your jacket when it rains and when your at the campsite.
3. Bring water (1-2 liters) and some snacks for energy – biscuits, candies and trailfoods such as mixed nuts.
4. Apply sunblock – The air is thinner up there and you are closer to the sun
5. Sunglasses – same reason above
6. Bring a walking stick or a telescopic trekking pole
7. Waterproof the stuff you brought with you
8. Taking a five-minute break for every thirty-minute trek is a reasonable pace
9. STRETCHING! STRETCHING! STRETCHING!
Part 1: The Vegetable Road/Pine Forest (approx. 1 hr.)
Entering the next part of the trail
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After the short, but steep ascend, the terrain gets kinder. From this point forward, the mountain trail offers a generous helping of ascends and descends. And the views of the flora, and if you’re lucky maybe fauna too, will astound any first-timer. As you go deeper into the forest, you will find yourself entering an ancient forest, and in some areas, you can’t help but think that it looks like the jungles of Pandora (Avatar film). Old trees and ferns abound, some of them looks alien or outlandish. Might be worth taking a picture of. The trail is in good condition. No need to do spiderman crawls or hanging-on-to-dear-life moves. No river crossings too, so you can wear shoes all through out the trek. Campsite 1 is approximately an hour deep in the mossy forest. There, you can take a rest at the hut and/or take a bathroom break at the… bathroom, so no need to step behind the bush and do no. 1 and 2 in Mt. Pulag. If you notice another steep ascend, then campsite 1 is waiting for you in the other end. there is a spring along the trail too. It is potable, but its not always available. Don’t underestimate this part of the climb. Its very exhausting and humid. The good thing though is that there are no bugs, snakes or any creatures you wouldn’t like to encounter.
Part 2: The Mossy Forest (approx. 3 hrs.)
Entering grasslands
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At campsite 2, we found ourselves resting below the infinite blue sky. Cloud cover was light and the sun is high. It was hot there, by the way, so sun protection is a must. While our guides were pitching the tents, our climbing team decided to wander around the rolling hills of the campsite. The sights were to die for! There are various hills there that you can climb. There is a cell site there too, so network coverage there is strong. At around 5:00 p.m., we noticed the weather getting cooler and the winds getting stronger. When we looked at the horizon, we saw a wall of fog approaching – a sign of bad weather. We found out later that the tropical depression in the Visayas region, became Typhoon Bebeng! But that didn’t bother us as we know that its still far away. The mountain ranges of the Cordilleras, by the way, can have various micro weather systems, so it can rain/drizzle in one part and sunny in the other… We got the former later in the evening! It was amazing how fast the weather changes up there.
Part 3: Grasslands/Campsite 2 (approx. 15 mins.)
Earlier in the evening, the gust of the wind and the murmur of other climbers rocked us to sleep. It was deeper into the night that was very uncomfortable. The winds are getting stronger and stronger. Each time the wind blew, our tent rocked as if something is hitting it. But there was no rain, thank God. It was very cold, noisy and uncomfortable. It was a miracle we had any sleep at all. At around 1 a.m., we heard someone calling out our name from outside of the tent. Our guide, knowing that our tent damaged, offered his tent to us and ended up sharing a tent with our other guide. (Maybe he heard that we were complaining about the cold.) We immediately took the offer and made our way through the thick fog to our new tent, which was smaller but warmer.
Part 4: The Summit Assault (approx. 1.5 hrs.)
The trail to the summit is quite narrow in some parts and steep. The morning dew and drizzle made the trail muddy and slippery too. The assault was a combination of rolling hills, cliff-side trails and sheer mountain face. The trail was hard enough and it was made harder by the creeping chill brought about by the strong winds especially in the valleys. I really regret not bring gloves and a scarf with me. My hand was so pale and almost numb from the cold, but Elorde, our local mountain guide, stood by me and helped me keep the pace. But in spite of all the hardships, the view was very spectacular. The vast grassy rolling hills reminded me of Rohan (Lord of the Rings). At one point, I was so tired that I was moving on sheer willpower alone. All I thought about was to get one foot in front of the other and trudge on. It was a cold, long, seemingly never ending journey. An hour or so later, the summit was visible. The winds at the summit were violent. The thick fog covered the edges of the summit. One wrong step, and one can fall a tumbling death. The summit is quite small actually. I think it can only fit 25 – 30 people at one time. Up there, you can see bigger dwarf bamboo bushes, which the local guides cleverly used as a shield from the wind. The strength and the windchill of the the gusts up there are much worse, since there are no more terrain or foliage to block them. We took victory pictures at the summit. Our prize was a strong sense of accomplishment and a freshly made warm cup of coffee, courtesy of our Team Leader.
Part 5: The Descend (approx. 3.5 hrs.)
Summit to Campsite 2 (approx. 1 hr.)
The rain began to pour harder as we made our way across the grasslands and into the mossy forest. The trail was wet, muddy and slippery, but it wasn’t so hard to trek through it downhill. We also encountered “traffic” along the way from ascending porters and other descending groups. (Be courteous to everyone you encounter on the trail. Greet them with a warm smile for courtesy.) After a while, the rain waned into a drizzle. Two hours later (with a couple of rest stops), we are back at the ranger station. There, we cooked our tuna pesto lunch at the house beside the ranger station. You can take a bath at the ranger station, but please be warned – THE WATER IS FREEZING COLD. At around 1:30 p.m., we boarded the monster jeep back to Baguio City.
Campsite 2 to the Ranger Station (approx. 2.5 hrs.)
Ranger Station to Baguio City (approx. 4.5 hrs.)
To be honest, the ride down the mountain was the worst part of the trip. You literally have to hang-on to dear life as the rough road and steep descend will throw passengers and bags around. I suggest you sit at the inner part of the monster jeep beside the bags so that you can lie down and save the trouble of holding on. But don’t sleep. You might find yourself with a lump on your head or a bloody nose when you wake-up. But it will over as soon as you hit the paved mountain side roads around near Ambuklao Lake. We arrived at the Victory Liner terminal in Baguio City at around 6:30 p.m.
THE EXPERIENCE I was the slowest in the group. Good thing our sweeper (the guide who keeps the pace of the group from behind) and the local guide was patient with me. They told me that this is not a race and I should climb at my own pace. So I did. While the rest of the group was taking a 5/30 min. break, I took a 2/15 min. break instead. That pacing worked for me as I would prefer to be slow than to hurt my self or collapse under pressure – This is a prudent measure, IMO. Like the PAMB superintended said, “Dapat realistic. Pag di kaya, relax muna. Di pwedeng go lang ng go. Its better to be relaxed than to get hurt.” (You should be realistic. If you find it hard, relax for a moment. Its not right to push beyond your limit always…) There were times when I hated the trip, especially when it was so cold that I wished the trip was over. But one can’t quit up there just like that. You have to keep moving or else you become a burden to the group. Though I complained to myself, I never complained to the group. I just sucked it up and kept moving. The best reward of the trip was the feeling of accomplishment. Sure the view was beautiful, the people were great and reaching the summit was awesome. But nothing compares to that temporary feeling of invulnerability knowing that you conquered the elements and especially yourself. Who would have thought that a 230 pounder like me can make it? After the trip, I felt nostalgic asap. I longed to feel that feeling again. The feeling of accomplishment and immersing in the spirit of challenge. So I decided to make mountaineering as my hobby. I will make it a point to climb 1 mountain every month starting with day hikes near Manila. I will also try to better my body so that later on, I can try more difficult climbs. I will also make it a point to get a Basic Mountaineering Course and eventually join a club. This blog will serve as my diary to fulfill that quest.
OUR ITINERARY
Day 0 (Friday) | |
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9:00 p.m. | Rendezvous at Victory Liner Pasay Terminal (We bought tickets in advance) |
9:30 p.m. | ETD. Board Baguio-bound Victory Liner bus |
Day 1 (Saturday) | |
3:30 a.m. | ETA Victory Liner Baguio terminal |
5:00 a.m. | Board monster jeepney bound for Bokod (pre-arranged by guides) |
7:00 a.m. | Arrive at roadside eatery (Toilets/Outhouse available) |
9:00 a.m. | Arrive at PAMB Office. Registration and orientation. |
11:00 a.m. | Arrive at ranger station. Organize climp party. |
11:30 a.m. | Start trek |
1:00 p.m. | Arrive at campsite 1 (toilet available) |
3:30 p.m. | Arrive at the grasslands/campsite 2 |
4:00 p.m. | Rest or explore the grasslands while guides set-up camp |
6:00 p.m. | Dinner and socials |
9:00 p.m. | Lights-out |
Day 2 (Sunday) | |
4:30 a.m. | Wake-up/Stretch/Suit-up/Breakfast |
5:00 a.m. | Start summit assualt |
6:30 a.m. | Reach summit (No sunrise due to bad weather) |
7:00 a.m. | Start descend to campsite 2 |
8:30 a.m. | Arrive at campsite 2. Rest and decamp. |
9:30 a.m. | Start descend to ranger station |
12:00 a.m. | Arrive at ranger station. Clean-up and eat lunch. |
1:30 p.m. | Board monster jeep back to Baguio City |
6:00 p.m. | Arrive at Victory Liner Baguio terminal |
8:30 p.m. | Board Manila-bound Victory Liner bus (we were chance passengers since all the evening schedules we fully booked) |
BUDGET