Pico de Loro

October 13, 2013

Mt. Palay - Palay is a National Park located west of Ternate Cavite. The mountain is popular to casual climbers because the trail is not so difficult and the beautiful landscapes and as well as diverse wildlife. The area is near Maragondon which is the alleged execution site of the Filipino Hero, Andres Bonifacio.

Pico de Loro means "Parrot's Peak". Named after its resemblance with the bird's beak

• 04:30 Boarded a bus at Coastal Mall Terminal to Ternate, Cavite. (Look for the Bus with a Ternate signboard. Fare: P 81.00) 
• 07:00 We arrived at the last stop of the bus. Good thing since me and my friend Engle fell asleep while in transit. After getting off the bus we rode a tricycle to DENR Satellite Office for P 200.00.

The ride gives you some great views since the road is beside some cliffs

• 07:10 Touchdown on DENR Satellite Office. Registration Fee is P25.00. You may take a light breakfast at DENR, the prices of their merchandises are affordable. We opt not to get a tour package and climb the mountain on our own as it was considered an easy climb.
• 07:15 DENR Office acts as the jump off point for the Pico de Loro Trail. The trail starts a few hundred meters from the office. At the time of our trip, the trail starts between two long bamboo benches. It is also near a KM marker. The trek to the Base Camp was pretty easy, a common rule of thumb when you feel you're lost is "KEEP RIGHT". 
• THE MARKERS:         Aside from signboards, remember to look for yellow paint marks on trees, it's usually above eye level so be observant. Previous climbers tied colored plastic strips on trees as marker that you're still on the right path (The colors I saw were RED, SKY BLUE, YELLOW, LIGHT GRAY). In other paths the trees were marked by knife cuts or vandals of names. If you see those signs, congratulations because you're on your way to the summit. And the last marker I saw were stones piled on top of each other, 2 stones mean keep going and 3 stones mean danger.

That's a 300 meter walk from DENR to the trail

 The Easy Part

 Thank you roots for the improvised ladder

That mountain is not Pico de Loro

A fallen tree along the trail to Base Camp (marked by red vandal)

• 08:20 Arrival at Base Camp. P 20.00 registration fee. This is the first resting station of the trail, you may bring small tarpaulins that you can place among the trees as proof that your team climeb Pico de Loro.  They also sell some souvenirs & snacks, the souvenir tags are around P 50.00 and shirts range from P 150.00 to P 250.00. Sorry I didn't ask for the prices of the snacks.
• 08:25 After some chit chat with fellow climbers we started our ascend to the mountain. I thought it was an easy trail since the leisurely walk from jump off to base camp was like a walk in the park. The trail was easy up to the gate where the road splits, one going to the waterfalls and the other to the summit. Remember the markers as plenty of hikers with no guide end up getting lost after the trail beyond the gate.

Me and Engle resting at the Base Camp (Some tarps visible at the back)

• 09:00 The climb was challenging after the gate were there were plenty of steep elevation and your only safety handrail are stems, roots and bamboos. Be careful holding on to bamboos as they have some prickly needles near the joints. Check your skin every now and then if you have bruises that need medical treatment every time you rest. Some of the stones are slippery so tread lightly and carefully.
• 09:40 We reached what we thought was the summit, but was actually another resting station. It was raining and the surroundings was covered with thick fog. From here the summit of Pico de Loro was visible.

The foggy and muddy rest station

• 10:20 The fog cleared out so we took some photos before our ascend to the summit.

 Engle with the "emo" pose

 The Parrot's Peak a.k.a Pico de Loro

The Edge of Glory

Sleeping at The Edge of Glory

• 10:40 The summit was foggy by the time we arrived, we ate some chocolate bars. Me and Engle apparently underestimated the climb and didn't bought any lunch. Haha Good thing a group offered us some eggs, we were really grateful.
• 11:00 With some fellow climbers we met at the summit. We decided to climb the Parrot's Beak or Monolith after some fog cleared out. I think this was the climax and the climb will not be complete unless you stand on top of this majestic monolith. The path to go there was really dangerous, one wrong step and either you end up in the hospital or become an offering to this mountain. There were parts where your knees will weaken once you see the edge. The hardest was the 3 meter vertical climb at the edge of the Monolith. I doubted the strength of the rope in place so it was up to my level 1 rock climbing skills to get me to the peak. After reaching the top, the feeling of accomplishment was great.

Rock climbing 101

The foggy view of South China Sea

• 11:30 Monolith peak. We were the only one who went to the Monolith, the other climbers didn't since the path was too dangerous for their female friends who were casual trekkers.

Secure your Life Insurance before climbing this Monolith

• 12:00 The descent to the resting station was more difficult than the climb, the slippery paths really gave us a hard time and some us got muscle cramps. Other paths were muddy and we didn't have any tree branches to hold on to.
• 15:00 Waterfalls. This waterfalls was the detour at the left side of the gate going to the summit. Fortunately it was rainy season so the water flow is not like a pee of a child as I saw in other climbers' photos. We washed our gears after the muddy descent and jumped in the cold water. Yeah! and Ouch! The floor of the stream is uneven and rocky. Took some getting used to before I reached the center. Other times I swam to cross the water.

 The friends we met along in this climb

Pico de Loro Falls

Bruce Lee

• 15:30 Back to Base Camp. We ate some gelatin (this really is a miracle food to reenergize the body) and proceeded back to DENR.
• 16:20 Rest at DENR, took a bath and ate some merienda. Then we went back to Transco and boarded the Bus back to Manila. (Tricycle Fare: P200.00, Bus: P 81.00)

Total Expenses Summary:

• Food & Water                    P 176.00
• Bus Fare                          162.00
• Tricycle Fare                     200.00
• Registration Fee                   45.00

                    TOTAL               P 583.00

Thanks for reading!!! Feel free to leave some comments.