Mt. Batulao: First Mountain for 2017

MT. BATULAONasugbu, Batangas
Jump-off point: Evercrest Golf Course, Nasugbu
LLA: 14.0408 N 120.8011 E 811 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 2-4 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 4/9, Trail class 3 with 60-70 degrees assault

Features: Open trails, rolling slopes, scenic views of Batangas

Above info from pinoymountaineering.com

 

 

I missed trekking the mountains. When was the last time I climb? Oh it's been a year. Because of this, I decided to hike Mt. Batulao, as what I've read, it's very easy and recommended for beginners (but why is it 4/9 diffucluty?) ehehehe. And because I also wanted to test my knees, lately I feel there is really something bothering. when i play badminton too long, I feel uncomfortable with my knees. This started when I hike a mountain that is very steep downhill.

 

At first I was planning to go solo, but eventually i asked my cousin if she's interested to join.

We leave the house at around 6am which is supposed to be at 430am, but due to something we were not able to leave early. We arrived at DLTB bus station at around 7am, and ride the bus bound to NASUGBU, Batangas.

 

We arrived at Evercrest, it is now Hillcrest Golf Club. I feel so excited and nervous at the same time, because I learned that it will be my cousin' first time. oh, I should really be responsible, this is one of my adventures that I don't have idea what to expect or what challenges we will encounter. But of course maybe it's innate to me to accept any challenges, we're good to go.

 

There's a lot of strangers volunteering to be our guide, but I decided not to have one. I know right, ahahaha. I always have the urge to endanger myself ahahaha. I have the courage you know...

We say a lil prayer first before we start trekking, it was muddy because of the rain the past few days. After 10min of walking the trail become narrow and you can see it's a beautiful day, bright sunny day with a beautiful clouds.

 

 

 

Another 10min and we arrived at the first registration, we paid 20pesos here. We rest for awhile and then moved on. And then there's another registration place, before the separate trail going to old and new trail. Another 20pesos.

 

We choose the old trail, because at what others say, it is more challenging. We encounter another registration here, we paid 20pesos, we rest for 3min here. And then we moved on. There's a two way path, and I'm not really sure what to follow, i just trust my instinct (all the time ahahaha). Then we arrived again in a resting place, and there's another fee.. I noticed there's a lot of station with fee here. And because I'm already exhausted and out of breath, we rest here a bit longer, because I can now feel, the final leg,..the remaining course will all be assault. Also it will be open, no shade at all, just grass..

 

 

 

 

 The trail was breathtaking literally and figuratively ahahaha.. When you're out of breath you just have to look around and breath, and you'll be recharge again. The moment when you thought it's so close, ah , so close yet so far... I thought it would take us 15min more to reach the summit, but no, it took us 30min.

 

The path became difficult, as i need to remind Jasmin to take one step at a time, and to be more careful. (Lagot ako sa Nanay nito pag nadapa or nahulog, ahahah). And then there's the 90deg vertical trail that you need a rope to climb. whew.. And the dog that i feed with jelly ace follows us. I wonder how she did the rappelling ahahahaha..

 

 

 

Another 10min and we reached the summit, around 1230pm. Breathtaking indeed, refreshing. Luckily, we're the only people on the summit. We ate our lunch here, yeah we don't mind the heat from the sun. But we need to go down immediately because it was about to rain. We follow the new trail going down. After 5min, it rained.

 

 

Another challenging part, it is now slipper because of the rain. We pass through a knife edge like trail, and it was too windy, so we need to scooched down to pass the trail. We don't rest much going down, and when we arrived at the hut, we took a rest, eat goto and halo halo... Ahh, so tiring.

 

 

Even when it's tiring we decided to walk up to Hillcrest, we arrived at around 4pm. Hay kapagod. Panindigan ang paglalakad.. ahahaaha.. We took a shower in one of the houses nearby for 25pesos each. Then we waited for the bus to go home. When we arrived at Manila, that's the time I feel my legs so weak and my knees hurt..

 

But still, it was fun and fulfilling. My knees are still ok with hiking though.

Here's the video clip of our adventure..

 

 

 

How to get there:

-Ride a DLTB bus bound to NASUGBU in Buendia Station.
-Alight at evercrest
-Take a trike to jumpoff..

Easy eh.   

It took us 3hrs going to summit and 2hrs going down to jump off

 

This is it... Skydiving in Bantayan Cebu

This day is gonna be the best day of my life…

And yeah, indeed it was a great day. Skydiving is one of my bucket list. But it was on a special list, in which I don’t know if I could ever do it or if it is really possible. I started planning it to be a reality 6yrs ago, when I saw a skydiving package in Clark on the internet, then I read and read, nag research ako to the max baka nga pwede. But then bigo ako.. It seems hindi na sila nag ooperate or that time close lang talaga. And wala pa sa isip ko yung I’ll go solo pag walang gustong sumama.

Until I saw skydiving greater cebu and I was like oh geezzz.. this is it.. I remember I was in Kalinga when I heard about it last Oct. 2014. And I was like going gaga over it. Whatever the price for it, I’ll go. And thanks to my reliable travel buddy, na game na game sa mga kabaliwan ko, baliw din kase.

Ok I didn’t really planned it kung kelan talaga. I still have out of the country on the first month of 2015, so that means, financially it would be too much.. But then, sabi nga walang makakapigil sa akin… I just booked a ticket to Cebu. Ok then, magdildil na lang ng asin makapagskydive lang.. ahaha

The night before our jump, I was really excited. A lot of things running into my mind, yung totoo may marathon yata sa utak ko. Kinakabahan na na eexcite, hindi ko maintindihan. I would like to believe that i had a good night sleep. We have to be at Sta. Fe airport at 9am.

When we arrived at the airport, we have to sign a waiver. It’s 20pages as far as I can remember, and you have to sign every page. Dito ako nakaramdam ng matinding kaba, panong hindi kakabahan, puro nababasa ko in case of INJURY and DEATH, oha.. e pambihira naman. Ang dami na naman tumakbo sa isip ko, last day ko na ba? Pano kaya ako iuuwi sa amin if ever. Baka mahimatay ang mga magulang ko sa mga pinagagagawa ko. Then I stopped reading.. Ok ok, I want this no matter what, there’s no turning back. Mentally I’m prepared. I stopped reading and just sign every page of it. Whatever happened to me, at least I’m happy when I die. So don’t cry and regret it.

As I finished it, I volunteered to be the first to jump.. (I puffed my medicine muna syempre, baka hikain ako bigla sa excitement). Then Brad put harness on me, and explain every bit of it... Ok ok.. I'm secured and safe.

And this is it.. On our way to the plane.. It's just me and Brad and Boy the pilot.

Ok there’s really no turning back.

And we are ascending I was a bit nervous and anxious, but thank God Brad is so talkative and reassurance that I will really have a good time. The plane has no door, so you can feel the air blowing on your face and body, my mouth was so dry, i don't know if it is because of the wind or I'm just nervous. Brad gave me instructions when we are almost on the right altitude to jump.. Still nervous, you can see how tight I’m holding him. I keep on smiling and reminding myself that it’s going to be alright and fun and amazing. And I’m pretty sure Brad don’t what to die either.. ahahah At that moment i'm hoping that the parachute will work,,,gaaahhh...

And this is it… We are at around 12,000 ft high, and you will realize, oh God, it's so high... I put my legs on the flatform right outside the open door, and I can feel the strong wind, I cant steady my legs, but because af strudy body of Brad, I was steady. Eto na nga po, i'm on the edge.. Parang napapakanta na lang ako ng "I'm on the edge of glory..."

And i'm filled with the adrenaline, like nothing i've experienced before. This could be the amazing few seconds of my life, when you jump...the few seconds.. I can't describe the feeling.. you want to scream but you can't even hear yourself..

I know i'm screaming but it's so loud i can't even hear myself.. In a few seconds you are falling at about 140mph. But it doesn't feel like falling.. It feels like a ton of wind blowing at me, so intense, and i'm just there chilling watching the scenery... You can't hear anything, it's so loud but peacful in a way.

After around 30seconds, it's time to open the parachute.. During the orientation, Brad asked me if i want to pull the parachute trigger, and i said yes.. Brad grab my hand and guide me to open the chute... And it was like..arrrggghhhhh, masakit sya sa dibdib, because of the harness. It pulls hard on you, as in.. But after awhile, Brad unstrapped me, para daw makahinga ako ng maluwag and he knows it's kinda masakit.. and it's ok now.. Super enjoy ng view, and from there, tuloy ang kwentuhan namin ni Brad.. He asked me if I'm ok, and welcomes me to his world.. O diba bongga, and sarap lang talaga sa pakiramdam... I really thought it was so scary. But it's not...at all..  

Afte 10min or 15min we prepare for landing.. Ayun, instructed me to just keep my feet up, his feet hit the ground first, then mine. And then it's over.. 

I'm so glad I did it, i wanted to do it again.. I want solo skydiving.. I wish i could.. pero sobrang pricey naman kase.. huhuhuh... Maybe...one day.. (Wishful thinking)..

Sobrang saya lang talaga... It's been 6months na, but I can still feel it.. Next is.. bungee..super looking forward... Pero super kabado ako sa bungee.. woohhh... next year, next year...

Victim of Traffic in Manila

I thought I was going to see you tonight, but it's not really my luck today. Nakikiuso pa to sa TAMANG PANAHON? ahahahahaha...

I traveled for almost 3hrs from home to airport. I knew it from Quirino pa lang, wala na, stand still na. Ano na ba talaga nangyayari sa daloy ng trapiko sa Pinas? This is the worst ever. Pano na nga ba ito masosolusyunan? I was praying and hoping na makakaabot ako sa closing ng counter, but I arrived 10minutes late. Wala ng tao sa counter ng Jetstar. Hay, konti na lang e, di pa umabot... But what can i do? Medyo not so lucky day.

I wanted to get mad and angry for everything, for the traffic, for the government and all, daig ko pa ang nagbyahe from Manila to Batangas. Hayst. My normal travel time from home to airport is 30min without traffic and 1.5hrs worst ever on my experience.. But today? arrrgghhh.. what the?? 3hrs??? Then what? I read some articles na wala naman namamatay sa traffic sa EDSA.. huwah naman uyyy, loko loko ka ba? hay para sa ekonomiya..

But then again, it's not the end of the world for me. I still have 4days to enjoy Singapore. I'm thinking ..just make the most of it instead of ranting. Maybe I can still catch up Adam Lavine in some event and the F1 race that I've always wanting to experience, may next year pa naman...

And good thing was I can still rebook my flight tonight. It's still worth it I guess.. OH the things you'll learn when traveling... Patience pa more... :)

Lesson learned: Wag mag pabook ng normal na oras.. It's either, madaling araw or late night..

Spelunking at Sumaguing Cave

We prepare for the Sumaguing Cave right before we had our lunch. It was around 1:30PM. It was a bit gloomy when we left the camp. So ayun na nga it was raining na when we arrived at the entrance of the cave, it was a 5-minute drive from our camp.

Entrance.

While the guides were preparing for our guiding light, the lampara… picture picture muna..

Guides preparing the lampara

After short briefing from the guide, we start to enter the cave. It was so dark (without the lampara) and cold inside. First instruction, don’t look up and don’t open your mouth or else…. Ehehe.. There is lot of bats at the ceiling of the cave. So magttry ka pa na tumingin sa taas? And when something drops on you, like warm liquid… alam mo na yun.. eheheheh.

The first stage was sharp and slippery rocks, you just have to be very careful and follow the steps aof the person in front of you, hawak hawak na lang sa mga bato bato, kahit medyo eeewww yung hahawakan mo. Mas gugustuhin mo sigurong madumihan ang kamay kesa naman maslide ka at tumama ang ulo sa bato bato… ehehe..

Going down.

 

 

Trail going down was steep, it’s 80deg inclined, there are parts that’s 90deg inclined. Slowly but surely, I’m glad I used my trekking shoes instead of slippers. It’s too slippery inside. And then we stop at the, what they called elephant cage, and then we saw these two guys who are so putikan and wet. Sabi nila galing daw sila sa crystal cave, so connected din pala ang crystal cave sa sumaguing cave. Then someone ask from our group kung mahirap and kung pwede sa kids, and they said, its difficult and wag nyo na subukan isama ang kiddos… Aside from putik, me mga scratches din sila.. Now I’m picturing them on a difficult path inside the crystal cave. Hmmm, gusto ko yung, challenging.. ehehhe…

Then we proceed with our Sumaguing exploration.. Merong part dun na pinagtanggal lahat ng sapatos at tsinelas, kase madulas masyado. Ayaw ko sana magtanggal kaso they insist, madulas daw kase ang mga bato.. and yes madulas nga, specially the white na bato, super dulas, so iwasan ang maputing bato.

As we go down, heto na ang aming nakita…

 

 

And then when we reached the bottom, hmm I don’t know if it’s the last part, wherein you can see a rock formation that looks like the rice terraces and it was so nice… parang inukit lang ng tao.. Pero aside sa part na ito, may makikita ka pa na mga maliliit na lagusan, I don’t know kung where it leads but since I was focusing on the formation, and the beauty of the cave, hindi ko na natanong kung may mahirap na daan.. kase bumalik na kami from where we enter. Sabi nga ng isang guide if you want na mas mahirap na way meron pa, but the group didn’t push thru..Ok na daw sila don.. ehehhe..

And then me, I was like, really? Tapos na.. yun na yun? Ahahah I was expecting a more challenging path.. ahahahha… ako kase yung mas nahihirapan mas masaya… ahahahha But to sum it up, it was a nice, moderate adventure… We finished spelunking at around 430PM, and it’s still raining outside. Hah, ang lamig… eheheheh

And ang pinaka pagsubok sa lahat? Ang maligo after magcave. Since we’re just staying on the camp, at walang hot and cold shower, wow super lamig maligo ng 5pm.. Halos hindi na nga ako nakabanlaw ng maayos sa lamig, at sumasakit na rin tenga ko.. Hindi naman pwedeng hindi maligo, kamusta naman..

 

Let’s go to Sagada, meeting MESAU group (My 36th province)

Another last minute preparation for Sagada trip, but this time I’m not the spearhead for this trip. I was invited by my Sister in law sister, naguguluhan nga ako nun una kung paano ang  set-up ng trip na ito, that’s why I don’t really take it seriously. Then 3days before, ako na yung nag ask kung tuloy ba o hindi kase I never heard about the activities na. Finally last Monday na confirmed ko rin at medyo naintindihan ang set up (pero Malabo pa rin ehehhe.)

Meeting place: Victory Liner Pasay, 10PM.. medyo malayo sa manila area, at 8PM nasa house pa ako packing my things. Around 8:45PM nakaalis na ako ng bahay, good thing walang traffic along Quirino and Osmena that time, in 20min I arrived at the terminal.. (Just in time). J

 

Exactly 10PM umalis ang bus namin, then we arrived at Baguio around 445AM. Sumalubong ulit ang malamig na weather ng Baguio, pero mas malamig last March noong nagpunta kami ng Mt. Pulag. From Victory Liner nag taxi kami papuntang Dangwa bus station, kung  saan sasakay kami ng Bus papuntang Sagada. Pila pila ang mode, wala din pala kaseng reservation ng ticket dito. 5:45 umalis na ang bus namin.

 

Non-air na bus, at goodluck nasa pinakadulo kami ng Bus. It was a long and winding road… ahaha napakanta na lang ako. Ang hirap ng nasa dulo ng bus, wala kang pag lagyan, wala yata akong nakitang straight lang ang daan, puro sharp turn.. to the left to the right ang peg ng katawan ko. Plus ang dalawa kong katabi byahilo.. Yung moment na gusto mo na lang itali ang katawan mo sa upuan para hindi mag slide. Si ate coleen na nasa left side ko, hilong hilo na.. Si Oreanne naman na nasa right ko suka bag ang laging hanap. Halos mahawa na ako sa hilo nila..  Pahirap. Ahaha..  Pero ganun pa man, bawing bawi ka na sa view na makikita mo along the way.

Hindi naman halatang hilong hilo na kami. :)

11:35AM finally nakarating kami sa Sagada. Here’s my first sight of Sagada.

First thing we do is to register at MFPI (Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines, Inc.)
So yun pala yun, annual congress ng mga mountaineers.. ahahaha.. kaloka, walang kaalam alam sa mga mangyayari. So ayun pala yun. MFPI pala yung nag organized for this event and the 20th SEGA anniversary.

 

Nag pitch kami ng tent after registration. Then lunch after. Then we’re ready for the first activity. Sumaguing cave.

 

 

Mount Pico De Loro Adventure

I’m not really into mountaineering or hiking, kase feeling ko ang bilis kong mapagod, and hindi ko ma-grasp yung idea ng pamumundok, thou lagi kong sinasabi pag may dinaramdam or problema ako gusto kong mamundok. I was invited by my friend Jack, since I just wanted to have some time, some fresh air, me time… and this invitation was perfect. I don’t know anyone but Jack. Overnight pa ito, so bahala na sya sa akin wala akong tent at lalong wala akong mga kung anu anong gamit pamumundok. I just have my shoes and bag good for hiking.

We just bought something that we need:

Headlamp (kase overnight nga)

Insulator – (para pangsapin sa tent para hindi lamigin ang likod)

Sleeping bag- (kase malamig daw sa camp site)

and…. Hindi mawawala sa check list, 3L of water each.. wow ha, parang ang bigat naman yata. Goodluck sa akin.

Call time 5am. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako nagpapapaniwala kay Jack, ang aga ko kaya, takot akong maiwan no. Sa kasamaang palad, umalis kami mga 8am na. Diretso LRT papuntang pasay, medyo nabibigatan ako kase hindi ako marunong talaga mag empake ng konte.. plus I have my camera na naka separate ng bag. Buti na lang wala masyadong hassle sa LRT ng pagbulatlat ng bag. Sumakay kami sa Munoz station then baba ng Pasay station, kase dun kami sasakay ng jeep papuntang Ternate Cavite. Meron silang hired na jeep for us and other group.

We arrived at Ternate Cavite around 1130AM. Register muna sa jump off. Then we start trekking at around 1145AM.

 

 Starting Point

 

Ang start ng trek is ok with me, rolling lang sya.. hindi gaanong mahirap.. may paakyat then pababa ulit. Madali lang, hindi ako nagrerequest ng take 5. Basta lakad lng ng lakad. After an 1.5 hour of walking nakarating kami sa Base Camp 1. Dito kami nag lunch ng mga baon naming sa pananghalian.

 Rolling

 Mawawala ang pagod dahil sa kulit ni owel

Base Camp 1

After maglunch, start ulit ng lakad. Pero habang tumatagal, pabigat ng pabigat ang bag ko at pahirap ng pahirap ang dinadaanan.. Nakaka limang steps pa lang ako, take 5 na agad.

Ang dami kong pahinga dito.

 

Finally, we reach the camp site at 430PM. Super pagod, ang lamig sa camp site. Malakas kase ang hangin, and the view, wow. Worth it. Halos puno na ng tent ang camp site, buti na lang may mga nauna na, na mga kagrupo naming at nakapagpareserve ng space sa may puno, para safe ang tent sa malakas na hangin.

 

Camp Site









All set, pati yung maliit na kubo na occupy namin. Sa sobrang kakulitan ng mga kasamahan namin, naging parang comedy bar ang lugar namin. Pati mga foreigners na umakyat, nakihalubilo na sa kakulitan namin. Dito mo mararanasan yung umiinom ng emperador na walang chaser ahahaha, kase nagtitipid sa tubig. At medyo minamalas lang talaga, nahigad pa ako, first time ko to. Ang hapdi pala nun at super itchy.. Akala ko me something lang sa jacket ko, higad na pala. Our dinner? Pakbet and adobo. Ang sarap, kumpleto sila ng gamit at masarap magluto ang cook. Busog lusog. Sulit na sulit ang pag akyat, hinding hindi ka magugutom sa kanila.

 Sangkap. Parang wala sa bundok. ehehhe

 Master Chef

Super hapdi at kati

Dahil na rin siguro sa sobrang pagod, kahit nagkakatuwan pa sila umidlip muna ako. Nagising ako umaga na, sunrise na.. ang pinakahihintay ko na time para sa pagkuha ng mga pictures.. Wala ng mumog mumog o hilamos, kase on the way na sila papuntang summit. So go na, pare pareho naman kaming walan hilamos. Mahirap din ang papuntan summit, it will take you 5mins, at magagamit mo talaga pati kamay mo sa pag akyat.. gapang na. halos 90deg na ang bundok. Kahit yung ibang mga boys sa sobrang steep at lakas ng hangin halos liliparin ka na, na chicken out na. But I manage to climb pa, sayang naman nandito na rin lang e, panindigan ang pagiging matapang.. ahahaha

View of camp site from the summit

 

And I guess I now know the answer why they wanted to climb mountains, ang sarap lang sa pakiramdam. Yung paghihirapan mo muna bago mo makita yung ganda. Iba ang feeling. Ang masarap pa, you never know what’s in store for you. When you’re on top, parang ang peaceful. Lahat ng worries mo nawawala sa mga nakikita mong tanawin. Parang na hit yung refresh button mo. And that time, that’s the thing I needed the most, to have peace of mind, my first step to repair something in me. 

After magmuni muni sa summit, bumaba na kami para mag prepare sa pagbaba ng bundok. Nakakaliw rin lang ang mga kasama naming at talaga dito napaisip ako na pwede naman pala talga yung travel light. Ahaha. Akalain mo nga nabitbit pa nila ang kusina nila sa bundok..

Kusina sa bundok.

We left the campsite at 1130am and we arrived at the registration at 230PM. At last pag dating sa baba, nakapagtoothbrush at nakaligo din.

Exploring things beyond your comfort zone with new people is definitely a great experience.

 

 

Considered the highest mountain of the province of Cavite, Mt. Pico De Loro (also known as Mt. Palay-Palay) is so called because of a unique rock formation near its summit.  Pico De Loro, in Spanish, means Parrot’s Beak.  It was said that the name was given by Spanish mariners who have used the mountain as a directional landmark whenever their galleons approach the port of Manila through Manila Bay.

Vital details

Height: 664+ MASL (meters above sea level)

Difficulty rating: 3 (out of a maximum of 9); Minor Climb

Located approximately 85 kilometers southwest of Manila by road, the mountain actually lies along the boundary of the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. - aboutph.com