Surviving Sagada

Marvelling Mt. Makiling (Day hike to Night trek to Daylight again)

San Bartolome, Batangas to Los Baños, Laguna

March 16, 2013

Mt. Makiling's view from San Miguel, Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Silently lying like a beautiful princess but proudly standing with more than a thousand meters height (1090 MASL - Peak 2). Picturesque sceneries with full of mystique stories. A  mountain that is pertained with a goddess that once fell in love with a mortal. Known for several circumstances that took lives of some of its visitors which people relate to the superstition.

Mt. Makiling extends from San Bartolome, Batangas to Los Baños, Laguna and is conserved by University of the Philippines - Los Baños, specifically the College of Forestry and Natural Resources. Except from the superstition which people relate to the mountain, Mt. Makiling is popular because of its characteristics, like having boulder rock sections which require strenuous trekking. It is also known for having rain forest, wild flora and fauna, limatiks (tropical leeches), mud spring, which is believed as the crater of this inactive volcano, and hot spring side trip.

The trek was not as funny and easy as how we handled the not-so-lucky and not-so-timely scenarios that we had before we stepped our feet on the right trail. 

“Pinipigilan talaga tayo ni Mariang Makiling na umakyat.. hahaha..” was our favourite line for those moments. Funny huh? Well, not really. Not at all.

But, will we still go back to that mountain? YES, of course, with conviction. It was not funny but was fun and enjoying. It was not easy but was challenging. Tiring but was worthwhile. Death-defying but we managed to keep everyone safe. It was an experience that we always look for. An experience that provides sensation to all our being every time we achieve our goal for every hike that we do, and that is touching the mountain’s peak, by hands or by feet, and going back home. Alive. Complete.

The not-so-lucky and not-so-timely scenarios

As Team Santelmo planned a dayhike on Mt. Makiling, we decided to travel from Jam Liner Bus Station in Cubao going to San Bartolome, Batangas as early as 3 o’clock in the morning, but failed to do so because one of us stayed asleep until 5 o’clock in the morning and we waited for him to arrive, which we jokingly said that “Hindi pina-ring ni Mariang Makiling ang alarm niya para di siya magising agad, hahaha.”
 

Arriving at Barangay Hall of San Bartolome, Sto. Tomas, Batangas at around 8:00A.M., we registered our names and paid P20.00 each, then started to hike towards the mountain passing through the local houses.

Brgy. Hall of San Bartolome, Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Exhaustion fast came to us because of minimal number of trees to shed us from the heat of the sun. But the exhaustion was not paid off as we met the people from UP Los Baños College of Forestry, at the foot of the mountain, who told us that the trail we are trekking is already closed since last year because of the incident that happened in which two bodies were found dead in Flatrocks (see article).

Start of trek from Brgy. Hall of San Bartolome.

Team Santelmo ascending at San Bartolome's trail.

The trail reopened dated March 25, 2013, three-months after the incident, for the Lenten Season.

Mt. Makiling map posted in San Miguel registration area.

Cannot do anything but to follow, we went back to the Barangay Hall and waited for tricycles to bring us to the other registration area. Again, we jokingly voiced out our favourite line for the trek, “Pinipigilan talaga tayo ni Mariang Makiling na umakyat.. hahaha..”

We reached San Miguel, Sto. Tomas, Batangas registration area, input our names again but paid nothing. We continued the trek until Station 2 and had our lunch there.

Lunch at Station 2.

After lunch, we started to hike towards the river, as what the nice people we met in the Station 2 said that we have to pass through it. We hired a guide named John who is 23 years old and was accompanied by his cousin, but they are not aware of the trail we were trekking because they are from San Bartolome, so they are more familiar with the trail coming from there, which is the Palanggana trail.

Team Santelmo trekking from San Miguel's trail.

And so we got lost. We crossed the river, passed through the grotto, saw the small markers tied around the stems of the trees and thought that we were on the right trail. But along the way, we were not able to see the next marker. And our favourite line for the trek was heard again, “Pinipigilan talaga tayo ni Mariang Makiling na umakyat.. hahaha..”

Grotto in Mt. Makiling across the river at Station 2.

John, our guide, told us that he is not aware of the trail so we better go back and find the way that he knows. A little bit frustrated because it was already afternoon, around 2:00P.M., and we still did not know where we were and where we should go, but we still continued (of course, we had to).

We went back, passed the grotto again and found the alternative trail after San Bartolome’s was closed, which is the Sipit Trail.

The Real Trek on the Right Trail for Traverse

Frustration and exhaustion mixed up along the way going to Sipit Trail but were eased as we saw the ropes segment.

The Team forgot about the not-so-lucky and not-so-timely scenarios that we faced and focused on conquering the mountain’s peaks. At first, we were planning just to reach Haring Bato because it was already late in the afternoon and we were thinking on the extra challenges that we have to face if we descend by night time, considering the risky trail, dark surroundings and limatiks.

But after conquering the need-for-arm-strength ropes segment, passing through Melkas Ridge Campsite and succeeding to be on Haring Bato’s top, seeing how high we were at and looking below the ocean of trees’ green leaves that were almost covered by clouds, we were encouraged by our triumph and decided to continue pursuing our goal of touching the mountain’s peaks and do the traverse.

View from Melkas Ridge

Team Santelmo in Haring Bato.

View from Haring Bato.

View from Haring Bato.

Team Santelmo in Haring Bato.

Determined to continue, we dropped the moment of seeing beautiful scenery and started walking again through the higher-than-us grasses and plants. We vigilantly crossed the trees and rocks between the cliffs and realized that what we crossed was like a huge stone put on top of a steep mountain.

Team Santelmo member.

Way up to Mt. Makiling's Peak 3.

As the night fell down, fogs add up to the darkness of the place. We cautiously looked at the trail we were trekking and ensured that we could see any person at our front and back. Night trekking may be safer, if hikers walk together so they can make sure that no one gets lost or worse, fall.

We reached Peak 3 but did not attempted to stop for so long since it was almost dark when we got there, and we were more focused on pursuing to descend. Then we reached Peak 2 and stopped to take some rest.

Team Santelmo member, with the guide, at Mt. Makiling's Peak 3.

View from Mt. Makiling's Peak 3.

Limatiks were visible along the way from the river to Peak 2 but were more aggressive on wet areas of the mountain, which we experienced during the descend from Peak 2 (see this link for more information about limatiks).

Limatiks attacked Team Santelmo during Mt. Makiling traverse.

The Never-ending Trek to Descend

Going down the mountain seems to be an exciting idea. It gives the notion that sooner we can take a rest and clean our filthy body. But descending from Mt. Makiling’s Peak 2, by night time, prolongs the excitement and slowly kills it (whoah).

The trail from Peak 2 is infested by limatiks because of moist (well, what do we expect? It is a rainforest) that made the trek more challenging. In addition, we had to fight against darkness with our light supports (headlights and flashlights), slippery muds, starvation, exhaustion and sleepiness (since the team met up at 3A.M. but were just starting to descend around 8P.M.).

Despite the extra challenges, we managed to hike, duck under the plants and trees, crawl over the roots and rocks, slide down the mud and wander with limatiks on the different parts of our bodies.

Hours later, around 11P.M., positivity got us as we saw a road. But it seemed to be another challenge. It was just a road. Lesser limatik. No strenuous trekking. No need to hike up and down. But it was relatively a long road.

Along the way, we saw huge leaves of Fern and Gabi which are bigger than a single bed (nai-compare ko siya sa bed kasi inaantok na talaga ako sa mga oras na nakita ko yun.. hehe..:).

As we passed through the different large plants and trees, different hallucinations also passed through our eyes and minds. We thought that we were seeing lights from houses from afar, that we were walking towards a bahay-kubo, hearing dog barks and many others (maybe it was our hope for seeing and hearing those things that delivered us to these hallucinations, also considering the exhaustion and sleepiness that we feel).

Finally, we reached the UPLB College of Forestry registration area around 3A.M. That was the only time we knew that hikers of Mt. Makiling are only allowed to hike during day time. Everyone should have descended from the mountain at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

In the registration area, we had the opportunity to rest, take a bath and have a couple of minutes to sleep. Then we were able to walk again out the vicinity of the UPLB and see the day light as we travel back home.

Mt. Makiling's view from Brgy. San Bartolome, Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Mt. Makiling is really a long quest that provides hikers exhausting trails and challenging experiences. It is dangerous but can be managed by being responsible and cautious to the pathways that people are trekking, as any other mountain requires. A person should not be afraid of exploring such a beautiful scenic mountain but should be prepared and excited for extra challenges.

See Team Santelmo's video during Mt. Makiling traverse in youtube.

Pico De Loro - Monolith's Peak

Mt. Palay-Palay - Ternate, Cavite

February 23-24, 2013

Pico de Loro's Monolith

Known for its outstanding and challenging monolith, Pico De Loro is considered as one of the mountains that adventurous people usually dream to hike. Proudly standing with a 664 MASL (meters above sea level) and with 2 to 5 hours of hike, this mountain welcomes lots of visitors from time to time to see the magnificent tower that lies above the mountain.

Pico de Loro can be dayhiked but Team Santelmo decided to have an overnight at the campsite (maybe because of the first timers like me that they have to take care of, hehe, loser:).

  

As a first timer, someone should not be worried, she/he should be prepared for anything worst and expect for something best. Hiking a mountain is not that dangerous or deadly, it is a matter of being responsible, trusting your companions, and following Team Santelmo’s Principles.

Pico De Loro’s jump-off is at Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ where hikers have to pay P20.00 each and log their names (this is to monitor who are the people visiting the mountain and who will stay for the night).

After lunch, the team started to hike and with an estimated time of one hour, reached the second registration area and paid P20.00 each again. This registration booth is also a mini-store that sells drinks and snacks. After taking a rest for a couple of minutes, we started to walk, thus the expedition began.

We pass through the waterfalls to freshen up and experience the scenery. The falls is not actually along the trail, people have to detour in a different trail to visit the place. It is small but is refreshing. And after awhile, we continued the trek.

Waterfalls minus the Team Santelmo's member.

Hiking may be equated to being exhausted, but this kind of tiredness is something that we enjoy and exploration is one of our purposes.

It was a sunny afternoon but the heat was not an additional baggage from the huge bags that we carry. The trees were our friends that shed the trail and provided us enough breezes to feel the comfort of the place. Small plants became our trekking poles that gave us support for our assault. And tree roots became our stepping guides.

Team Santelmo ascending to Pico De Loro's Campsite.

For several hours, we kept on asking if the campsite is already near. But seeing the bamboo trees gave us the positive notion that we were almost there. After a few minutes, campsite appeared to us with lots of tents and a pool of people, but the team still managed to find a proper place and planted their tents.

Pico De Loro's Campsite.

As darkness tried to cover the place, it failed to stop us to be courageous and reach the top of the mountain. Together with the other team members, we bravely ascended, fought against the strong wind that hits our bodies by lying at the ground and triumphantly stepped our feet at the summit.

Grotto near the trail towards the peak.

Still gasping for crawling up, a breath-taking 360 degrees panorama came in front of our bare eyes. We did not really see much because of the darkness, and fear of being thrown away by the wind, but the feeling of being on top and the breeze touching our bodies is such an exceptional experience. Something that we will always look for and we will actually chase.

As the dawn breaks, we went up the summit again together with all the team members. As we usually do, Photo Ops! Smile. :)

Team Santelmo at Pico De Loro's Summit.

Then another challenge arrived. The Monolith.

At first, this stock of huge stones appeared to me as an impossible obstacle but with bragging rights, it was only some of us who braved to climb the almost 90 degrees rocky tower.

Team Santelmo as we strive to climb the great Monolith.

With a buwis-buhay attempt, we started to climb through the rocks. With the help of planted ropes tied between rocks and roots, and the tower itself, as our shield against the ever windy air, (and of course, of my companions) we continuously leaped and victoriously reached the peak of the Monolith.

Team Santelmo member as he walks through the tricky rocks of Monolith.

The Monolith is actually dangerous and requires physical and mental stability for the hikers. And why is that so? First, because of its height, that when you look down, you will not be able to see where you will fall, so you have to be focused and fearless, at least for that moment. Second, it is almost a 90 degrees assault, that if anyone will fall, he will surely fall. And also because of this assault, someone should lift his own body and should not have any body injury. Third, it is windy up there, you have to almost always hold on to the rocks. Fourth, the stones are relatively huge, and the way up is tricky that someone should extend all his body parts to reach the next step and get down again, alive and unharmed.

At the peak, obviously, we could see the other people who decided to stay at the summit and watch us (hehe, yabang lang:). We stayed for awhile and enjoyed the triumph that we pursued. The view is almost the same as what we saw from the summit. But it is the peak where we are stepping that makes the difference.

Team Santelmo at Monolith's Peak

Team Santelmo at Monolith's Peak

After awhile, we decided to go back the summit. Descending was as challenging as climbing up, but we have to go down. The summit and monolith are only near from each other, and to climb the second, you have to pass through the first.

Descending from Monolith

Going back to the DENR jump-off, we took the opportunity of taking a bath and cleaning our body in the Rest Room, provided by the agency with a reasonably priced of P5.00, and tiredly went home.

At the end of the exploration (after my first), we are still looking forward for greater heights that we can reach and other sceneries that we can see.