Mount Maculot

January 13, 2014

The famous "Rockies" of Mount Maculot

Our third climb in a span of one month. This climbing bug has really infected my system. Mount Maculot is popular to climbers (both for beginners and seasoned ones) due to its close proximity from Metro Manila. It's just a couple of hours away and the difficulty to climb the mountain is just around 3/10 (ALU's personal rating). Do not get me wrong, even though the climb is easy the view from the "Rockies" is scenic, it gives someone a full view of Taal Lake. Most climbers opt to only reach the Rockies and refrain from climbing all the way to the summit, as the craggy portion of Mount Maculot is more popular than its peak. Our team did not reach the summit in this climb we started at around 09:00 in the morning.

Mount Maculot has been comercialized due to the huge volume of climbers that frequent the mountain. There is a store at the Campsite where hikers can buy instant noodles, canned goods, water, and alcoholic drinks. The Campsite acts as the fork going to the Rockies and to the trail that leads to the peak.

06:15 Boarded the Bus at LRT Buendia bound for Cuenca, Batangas.

Bayan ng Cuenca Welcome Arch

09:00 Arrival at Bayan ng Cuenca. From the National Road, we took a long walk on concrete road passing through residential houses then we stumbled upon a registration area organized by the barangay officials to ensure the safety of the climbers. After paying the small fee for our safety (I highly recommend the registration so that there will be people that will search and rescue you just in case something bad will happen, there has been a case of a climber falling to his death at the Rockies). The houses gradually thinned until we reached a signage that points to a rocky road.

 The Municipal Hall of Cuenca with Mount Maculot on the background

At the registration area 

 The signage going to Mount Maculot

The Mount Maculot Signage

10:00 We passed by the tablet that marks the start of the trail. The path going to the Campsite was straightforward and easy to trace thanks to the efforts of different mountaineering clubs that placed signboards along the trail. There were some parts of the trail with made up stairs, making the climb easier. We also observed vendors of "buko" juice on numerous resting stations along the trail, giving climbers a refreshing drink during short breaks. You have buy from them or you may choose not to patronize them to discourage the locals from commercializing the area.

 The Stone Tablet

 I was fascinated by this smooth boulder

 A group of climbers resting

Be careful at steep parts of the trail

 The 1st buko juice station

Some made up stairs

 Group photo at a resting station

Congestion along the trail

11:00 We reached the station where we had the first chance to view the lower grounds, this is also the last station where there is a "buko" juice vendor. After taking a short rest we continued towards the campsite.

 A few more steps before the last buko juice station

 The grassy vegetation near the campsite

 Cuenca, Batangas

 Pro climbers taking it easy

Framed group photo

The summit of Mount Maculot

11:30 Arrival at the Campsite, our group was shocked by the volume of climbers taking their lunch in the area, some even brought precooked "adobo" and reheated the food with their butane. We took our quick lunch of burgers and then immediately went to the Rockies before the other climbers as the congestion would be a bother in shooting our "epic photos".

The convenience store at the campsite 

Climbers eating their lunch 

Hikers reheating their adobo

12:30 After changing to our outfits, our group went to the Rockies. It did not took me long to realized that it was hard climbing the rocks in my slacks! But it paid of since it was difficult to change clothes at the Rockies. We spent almost 2 hours taking photos in the area, it was really the climax of the climb. The Rockies features many edges for climbers to get those magnificent landscape backgrounds. I'll Let the photos tell the story on how breathtaking the view is from the Rockies.

Mount Maculot's Rockies!!! 

The catwalk trail going to the Rockies 

Candidate No. 1 & Wildcard

Candidate No. 2 

Candidate No. 3

 The lush forest of Mount Maculot

Ralph Lauren Endorser

 Late for my meeting

The Speedo endorser

13:20 After the photo ops we went to the other side of the Rockies where the Taal Lake and the crater was more visible.

Vanessa & Vicente on their emotional reunion 

That island at the back is the Taal Volcano 

One of my favorite shots of the climb 

 A monkey emerging from the rocks

 Vanessa relaxing at the Rockies

 Mount Maculot Summit as seen from Rockies

The final hurdle at the other side of Rockies

The cliff overlooking Taal Lake

14:20 After almost depleting the memory of our devices we decided to go back to the Campsite and descend. We did not opt to Traverse Mount Maculot by Reaching the summit and descending through the Grotto as we can not assure that we'll be able to get back to civilization before the dark.

Group photo pic on top of Rockies 

On our way back to campsite 

Descending the Rockies

15:30 We passed by the 1st "buko" juice vendor that acts as the 30 min mark from the starting area. Before we completed the trekking, Sushi managed to fall on a steep part of the trail. Fortunately, there were stems and shrubs that stopped here snowball roll all the way to the bottom. Of course, after ensuring the safety of Sushi and taking some photos of the momentous event, we helped her get up.

This part of the trail was dry and slippery 

Justin saving Sushi from the fall 

This picture completed my bucketlist for Mount Maculot

16:00 Back to the starting area, we took a short rest while cooling down with a nice halo2x.

The halo2x store

17:00 We reached the National Highway and took a jeep to Lipa Bus Stop.

18:00 All of us were hungry upon arriving at Lipa so we decided to take our dinner before boarding the bus.

20:00 Touchdown Manila ...

read more " Mount Maculot "

Mount Batulao

December 15, 2013

Mount Batulao

Mt. Batulao is considered as a minor climb by mountaineers, its name came from "Batong Ilaw" because of the 2 major summits of the mountain that enclose the sun during sunset creating a beautiful phenomenon. Mt. Batulao is a popular day hike adventure for climbers coming from Metro Manila as it's just 1 1/2 hours away by bus. The mountain is just a short travel from Tagaytay so most of the time the weather at Batulao is cool but during our climb the heat of the sun was dead hot. As of the date of this writing, the New Trail and Old Trail of Mt. Batulao are open for climbers. We decided to use the Old Trail on our ascend to the summit and do a traverse via the New Trail, our decision was based on our visual assessment of the New Trail which can be seen from the fork, the New Trail obviously was shorter and looks a lot easier. We want to conquer Mt. Batulao the hard way. Haha

The landscapes were remarkable, especially the rocky part of the New Trail. It looks dangerous to traverse but the trail is actually beside the rock's edges and unless you're scared to fall and roll up to the bottom, you'll enjoy the scenery. Both the Old and New Trails are pretty much straightforward, you will not get lost. Along the way going to the jump-off point many children (around age 8 - 10) will offer to guide you to the summit, we politely turned down their offer as we knew we could find the way without guides and we're on a tight budget (this was a wise decision).

Our group met many along climbers the way, Mt. Batulao is really popular both for a day hike climb and an overnight. I'm glad nowadays climbers are more responsible and they don't leave their garbage along the trail. There are 2 campsites one on the Old Trail and another on the New, the New Trail is more accessible so the locals were able to build small stores. You can buy various products at the stores from soaps to instant noodles to alcoholic drinks. With these I can conclude that Mt. Batulao is not for climbers who want the peace and quiet ambience of mountains as this characteristic has sadly left Batulao. 

08:00 We left DLTB Terminal on board a bus bound for Nasugbu, Batangas.

10:30 Alight at Evercrest, from here we rode a tricycle going to jump off point.

10:50 Arrival at Jump-Off point and a few stretching and warm ups, then we had a long walk on a muddy road going to Mount Batulao.

11:20 We had our first glimpse of Mount Batulao, its jagged looks really excited us.

11:40 Arrival at the fork, straightforward was the grassy path of the New Trail. On the left was the descending path of the New Trail that leads to the woodlands.

 The signboard at the fork that leads to either the New or Old Trail

12:10 We arrived at a "Buko Station", the 1st resting area of the Old Trail, Mount Batulao really was commercialized by locals. The Old Trail was a variety of grass, forests and dry soil, and mud. I enjoyed the diversity of the Old Trail unlike the consistent grassland theme of the New Trail, if you plan on going to Mount Batulao I highly recommend you to use the Old Trail.

At The Buko Station

The more difficult Old Trail

12:40 We finally reached the campsite of the Old Trail, there were many climbers resting at the site when we arrived. There was a water source near the camp site, the water is potable but you may still bring betadine and puritabs if you still have some doubts. We paid the registration fee, took some rest and went on. The trail going to the summit gradually ascended to higher campsites and became rocky.

Old Trail Campsite 

A Phoenix shaped cloud formation

Camp 8, the last campsite before assaulting the summit

13:40 We reached the final resting area before assaulting the summit. There was a store at this spot that sells halo-halo for 30.00 php and Mountain Dew for 25.00 php.

 Final resting spot before the summit

Balayan Bay from our resting area, this gap is where the sun forms the Batong Ilaw phenomenon

14:10 The last hurdle to the summit was my favorite, the 78.50 degree rock climbing. A rope was attached to assist climbers of this steep part but we tried to climb it without the rope as additional challenge. Luckily the soil was not slippery and the rocks were steady so it was quite easy climbing without the rope.

The 78.50 degree rock climbing segment

Justin climbing without the rope

14:20 Summit of Mt. Batulao, with a 360 degree view of the surroundings. To raise the commercialization of Mt. Batulao to another level, there was still a vendor at the summit that sells Mountain Dew. It took my by surprise, it just shows many climber were buying semi cold drinks for the locals to bring those bottles all the way up to the summit. We ate our lunch at the summit, took some photos before descending using the New Trail.

Mt. Batulao Summit

 The compulsory Edge of Glory Pose

 Formal attire at the peak

The gang at the summit

15:10 The descent on the rocky part of the New Trail, this was the only challenge of the trail. The New Trail showcases many minor peaks for climbers to climb but I think the most rewarding view was at the actual summit itself. After the rocky trail comes the trail near the edge of the grassland slopes. Be careful traversing the grassland slopes as one misstep will take you rolling all the way down to the bottom. There were no trees to hold on to at the grassy trail so be careful. There was an isolated case of a 1st time climber that fell to her death at Peak 8. New or veteran climbers alike should be careful and respect the mountains, be always vigilant and take precautions during climbs, safety first before photo ops.

The scenic portion of Mt. Batulao, this is the New Trail

Traversing the rocky edge of the New Trail

The grassy part of the New Trail 

Winds were strong during our traverse at the grassland slopes

15:55 We finally reached the campsite of the New Trail, there are stores in here for you to buy various products, however I was not able to ask if there was a water source nearby. We paid another 20.00 php as registration (30.00 php if overnight)

New Trail Campsite

16:30 Arrival at the fork. We took our well deserved rest and sipped a buko juice.

At the Fork Buko Station

17:00 The long walk back to the tricycles area.

17:20 At Evercrest, we waited for the bus going back to Buendia.

19:30 Touchdown Manila.

read more " Mount Batulao "