December 21, 2013
Tarak Ridge (Corregidor Island on the left; Mariveles Bay on the right)
Tarak Ridge is on the west part of Mt. Mariveles, it's popular to climbers because of its steepness and rocky terrain near the summit. "Tarak" roughly translates to knife stab, as the ridge is like a knife with sharp rock edges. The trail can be divided in to 2 parts: The 1st part is about 3 hours and involves walking along the woods with mild elevation, then a grassland peak and after that another woodland trail with some dried rivers. The 1st part ends with Papaya River, a good camping site with a stream as a water source. The 2nd part takes you across the river and into a denser woodland and after about 30 min the trail will become steep all the way to Tarak Ridge, where the terrain becomes rocky and the wind will be brutal. This is an optional campsite for climbers who will assault the summit the next day.
At the ridge there are no trees or tall grasses that will act as windbreakers, please bring extra pegs and support for your tents, you can also place rocks on the edges of your tent as weights. From the ridge, there's a breathtaking view of Mariveles Bay and the nearby Corregidor Island. Manila Bay can also be seen at the horizon as well as the mountain range of Cavite.
08:30 We boarded the Genesis Bus bound to Mariveles.
11:45 Arrival at Balanga, Bataan. From here we waited for the mini-bus going to Brgy. Alas-Asin
12:30 Arrival at Brgy. Alas-Asin, there's a signage here that acts as a landmark. From the signage there would be a nearby barangay outpost where climbers will register and pay 20.00 fee. When Engle and I arrived we don't know that there was a registration needed so we immediately stated our trek towards Tarak Ridge.
12:45 We passed by Lola Cording's House, there she also has a logbook for registration with an envelope for donation. It's up to you if you will give something after the forced registration. In our case since we were on a tight budget we didn't, it's a climber's discretion and I think they have their own responsibility to take care of themselves and must not depend on climbers' donation. Take note that the brgy personnel will be the one that will rescue you and not Lola Cording. Please require yourselves to register on every brgy outpost when you climb just in case something will happen, at least there's some people who know your whereabouts and will rescue you.
13:10 We reached the grassy peak where we first had a glimpse of Corregidor Island. Then the trail that followed will take you into the forest where it was a descending walk all the way to Papaya River.
14:30 We finally arrived at Papaya River. Since we plan to camp at the ridge we only took a short rest and continued our climb. This was the thrilling part as we ended up lost in the woods because we tracked down an earlier party that got lost! We read a previous blog that we should not cross Papaya River to get to Tarak Ridge, we religiously followed this instruction and ended up in an abandoned trail. Fortunately we met some new climbing friends: Jerland, JL, and Kuya Manny. Together we backtracked until we have returned at Papaya River.
17:30 At Papaya River we took a quick rest then we crossed the river and followed the trail that eventually lead us to Tarak Ridge. The trail took us to a dense forest and then a steep elevation greeted us after 30 min of mild walk. There were many fallen trees along the forest trail and after that the main course of the trail which is the steep, thank Mother Earth for the roots that acted as ladders.
19:30 The vegetation changed into grassland, the sign that we finally reached the ridge. We set up our camp in an inner area near the ridge as the winds were very strong that night. After eating a hot meal and a very relaxing coffee we enjoyed the company of our new friends that adopted us in their tent and shared with us their food.
22:00 Lights Out...
05:30 We prepared a quick breakfast and decamped for our assault to Mt. Tarak peak. The sunrise was spectacular! It was my 2nd overnight climb, the first one was the unplanned overnight at Mt. Arayat.
07:40 We arrived at the rocky plain, then proceeded to the grasslands. The trail then took us into a grove until we reached the Tarak Peak.
08:00 At the summit, we took the mandatory wacky pose. Engle and I then changed to our formal attires for documentation. Every climber must pose with the signature tree at the summit.
08:30 We started our descend.
10:20 We took our break at Papaya River before going to Nanay Cording's home. There were many hikers that camped at the river at that time.
12:30 Arrival at Lola Cording's house and drank a rewarding buko juice while resting. Here there were many children that greeted us Merry Christmas and Nanay Cording hinted us that the kids want some money for Christmas. Since we were resting we created a game for the kids wherein they will sing the whole set of Christmas carols, the pot money starts at 100.00 php and will be reduced by 5.00 php for every mistake. It was funny how the kids sang the songs very slowly just to ensure they won't commit any error. They still ended up with so many errors but we still gave them 50.00 php as consolation price. We signed out in her logbook and then continued our hike to the main road.
13:15 We took a bath at a house before the highway to freshen up. Many houses along the way offer this service, you won't have shortage of wash area.
14:10 We ate at a store beside the highway while waiting for the bus.
19:30 Touchdown Manila.
08:30 We boarded the Genesis Bus bound to Mariveles.
11:45 Arrival at Balanga, Bataan. From here we waited for the mini-bus going to Brgy. Alas-Asin
12:30 Arrival at Brgy. Alas-Asin, there's a signage here that acts as a landmark. From the signage there would be a nearby barangay outpost where climbers will register and pay 20.00 fee. When Engle and I arrived we don't know that there was a registration needed so we immediately stated our trek towards Tarak Ridge.
Mount Mariveles
12:45 We passed by Lola Cording's House, there she also has a logbook for registration with an envelope for donation. It's up to you if you will give something after the forced registration. In our case since we were on a tight budget we didn't, it's a climber's discretion and I think they have their own responsibility to take care of themselves and must not depend on climbers' donation. Take note that the brgy personnel will be the one that will rescue you and not Lola Cording. Please require yourselves to register on every brgy outpost when you climb just in case something will happen, at least there's some people who know your whereabouts and will rescue you.
13:10 We reached the grassy peak where we first had a glimpse of Corregidor Island. Then the trail that followed will take you into the forest where it was a descending walk all the way to Papaya River.
Corregidor Island
Natural stone walls along the trail going to Papaya River
We were lucky the rock slide happened before we passed this area
14:30 We finally arrived at Papaya River. Since we plan to camp at the ridge we only took a short rest and continued our climb. This was the thrilling part as we ended up lost in the woods because we tracked down an earlier party that got lost! We read a previous blog that we should not cross Papaya River to get to Tarak Ridge, we religiously followed this instruction and ended up in an abandoned trail. Fortunately we met some new climbing friends: Jerland, JL, and Kuya Manny. Together we backtracked until we have returned at Papaya River.
Papaya River (Upper Portion)
Papaya River (Lower Portion)
17:30 At Papaya River we took a quick rest then we crossed the river and followed the trail that eventually lead us to Tarak Ridge. The trail took us to a dense forest and then a steep elevation greeted us after 30 min of mild walk. There were many fallen trees along the forest trail and after that the main course of the trail which is the steep, thank Mother Earth for the roots that acted as ladders.
The area where climbers should cross the Papaya River
19:30 The vegetation changed into grassland, the sign that we finally reached the ridge. We set up our camp in an inner area near the ridge as the winds were very strong that night. After eating a hot meal and a very relaxing coffee we enjoyed the company of our new friends that adopted us in their tent and shared with us their food.
22:00 Lights Out...
05:30 We prepared a quick breakfast and decamped for our assault to Mt. Tarak peak. The sunrise was spectacular! It was my 2nd overnight climb, the first one was the unplanned overnight at Mt. Arayat.
Some climbers on their early morning assault to the summit
A climber appreciating the sunrise
Sunrise
07:40 We arrived at the rocky plain, then proceeded to the grasslands. The trail then took us into a grove until we reached the Tarak Peak.
The grove were we spent the night
Mount Tarak
Mariveles Bay
Clouds passing by
A true friend helps you in times of danger
Jerland and Kuya Manny assaulting the summit
The steep trail going to the summit
Sharp rocks along the trail
A few meter before the summit
08:00 At the summit, we took the mandatory wacky pose. Engle and I then changed to our formal attires for documentation. Every climber must pose with the signature tree at the summit.
Onésimus Model
The signature tree of Mt. Tarak peak
The dead tree with Pantingan Peak in the backdrop
08:30 We started our descend.
Bird's eye view of Mariveles Mountain Range
Cavite Mountain Range at the horizon
A good resting area between Tarak Ridge and Papaya River
Fallen trees such as these frequent the trail
10:20 We took our break at Papaya River before going to Nanay Cording's home. There were many hikers that camped at the river at that time.
Camper at Papaya River
Group picture at Papaya River
Jerland traversing a dried stream
At the grassy peak overlooking Corregidor Island
A natural garden at the grassy peak
12:30 Arrival at Lola Cording's house and drank a rewarding buko juice while resting. Here there were many children that greeted us Merry Christmas and Nanay Cording hinted us that the kids want some money for Christmas. Since we were resting we created a game for the kids wherein they will sing the whole set of Christmas carols, the pot money starts at 100.00 php and will be reduced by 5.00 php for every mistake. It was funny how the kids sang the songs very slowly just to ensure they won't commit any error. They still ended up with so many errors but we still gave them 50.00 php as consolation price. We signed out in her logbook and then continued our hike to the main road.
Mountaineering club tarpaulins at Nanay Cording's place
Group photo after conquering Tarak Ridge
13:15 We took a bath at a house before the highway to freshen up. Many houses along the way offer this service, you won't have shortage of wash area.
14:10 We ate at a store beside the highway while waiting for the bus.
At the signage along the highway
19:30 Touchdown Manila.
