Pico de Loro (Part 2)

Click here to read Dayhiking Pico de Loro (Part 1).

After a quick lunch at the waterfall campsite, we headed for the summit at exactly 1:00 PM. Had it been under normal circumstances, it would be a very hot climb. So I don’t know if we would thank the bad weather for that. Trees shield most part of the trail from the sun but just the same, if it was not as cloudy, we would be drenched in sweat by the time we reached the summit.

After a few minutes of walking, the trail became steeper. As usual, I was behind the group, not that I wanted to be a sweeper but I always want to take my steps slowly but surely. (And I won’t admit I run out of breath.) Besides, the three teens I was with were all Energizer bunnies who won’t even stop for a break. But, of course, they take a mandatory rest whenever I tell them to stop. LoL!

After an hour and twenty, we reached the campsite. We actually wasted time in deciding whether to turn right and take the downward trail, or left and take the upward one. Normally, when you’re heading for the summit, you would logically think that the upward trail is the right one. But Kenneth, who was at the same mountain last September but couldn’t seem to remember the right path because it was a night climb, decided that we take the right turn. And that’s after turning left and going up a bit.

Good thing the downward trail was the one leading to the campsite near the summit. We got there at exactly 2:15 PM.

The summit’s view from the campsite was breathtaking. The shape of the parrot’s beak was all the more evident up close.

There were a bunch of mountaineers from UST busy taking pictures of one another when we arrived. Luckily, they left after a bit and the four of us were able to own the campsite and the beautiful, beautiful view for quite a while.

And did I say we took pics to our heart’s content?

Ino called Gerald’s phone while we were busy taking pictures to remind us it’s getting late. It’s Saturday and according to him, buses leave earlier than the usual 8 PM last trip because there are less passengers going to Manila on weekends.

But we haven’t gone to the summit yet! Just as we were preparing for the assault, two young mountaineers arrived at the camp site. After exchanging the usual greetings, I asked for the way to the summit. LoL! One of them pointed the way but reminded us that it’s quite dangerous to go up with bags.

We tried bringing our bags cuz there’s no one to leave them to at the campsite. Halfway, though, the trail became steeper with nothing to hold on to but short grasses so we decided to tie the bags around a tree somewhere in the middle and continued the assault with only the cameras and Kenneth’s hydra which I was carrying at that time.

I was the last to reach the summit, poor me, cuz I had to stop on several occasions cuz my legs felt like giving up. When I finally reached the top, clouds were starting to gather toward us, fogging the view of the towns below. I immediately took pictures of the famous rocky tower before it got so cloudy.

Up there, the 360-degree view of the surrounding towns made me once again realize how great God is; how He made nature so beautiful; how He made the mountains so high so developers wouldn’t be able to bring civilization in, thereby preserving them for the nature lovers like us. But then every true mountaineer knows that if we stop being responsible climbers, even the mountains will soon be devastated.

Anyway, we were doomed on our summit moment because we thought the clouds would disappear. So we waited… until it rained! We wouldn’t wanna stay at the summit with the rain cuz the summit was just as big as a bedroom and the trail going down was so steep we feared landslide! LoL! So we had a quick photo op with the barely visible rocky tower and immediately slid our way down.

It was good, though, that we started our descent at that hour. It was 3:52 PM and had it not been for the rain, we wouldn't be going down the summit yet. We were surprised, though, that when we got back to the campsite, a lot of tents had already been put up. We then learned that the two young mountaineers we saw earlier were part of a 31-person group who would spend the night there. And then there’s another group of 20 on the other side of the campsite surrounded by bamboos.

Halfway down, it started getting dark. We feared the night in the mountains cuz we didn't have any headlight or flashlight with us. Aside from the fact that it gets dark early during this time of the year, the clouds made it even darker.

But thanks God for cellphones with flashlights. Gerald and Kenneth’s phones saved us from the darkness of our descent.

Creepy, though, that there’s a candle in the dark trail. We actually saw 2 of these.

We reached the jump-off 6:10 PM, more than 2 hours after we left the summit. We cleaned ourselves at the DENR station where Ino and his tricycle were patiently waiting for us.

Since the four of us were all hungry, Ino took us to a carinderia near the bus station. But since I had a case of allergies and something else the previous week, I was afraid to eat anything other than my Nanay’s food. Good thing I still had a leftover from lunch and just bought a bottle of mineral water from the carinderia.

The three teens, though, didn’t have anything in their bags to eat anymore so they bought food from the carinderia. Anyhoo, I don’t have anything against carinderia/street food. It’s just that my tummy has always been sensitive and I can’t really risk it especially when I’m far from home.

A few minutes after we finished eating, a bus headed to Baclaran arrived at the station. We decided to just take the Baclaran route instead of Alabang. If we chose the latter, we would first go to Zapote, take a jeepney to Alabang then another jeepney going home, not to mention the fact that we’re not familiar with Zapote.

It was a two-hour bus ride from Ternate to Baclaran. And the bus’s aircon was freezing. I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t take my attention away from the cannibal movie the bus was showing.

Anyway, it was another one-hour jeepney ride going home. And it was in the jeep where I felt the soreness of my body.

I reached home 10:30 PM to an uber excited Princess and a tilapia dinner courtesy of my Nanay. And I’m telling you, she knows how to pamper a sore mountaineer.

HOW TO GET TO PICO DE LORO (from Alabang):

* ride a van going to Tanza and asked to be dropped off at the Jollibee branch near Tanza Municipal Hall
* ride a Maragondon-bound bus, you will be dropped off less than a kilometer before the Ternate Welcome Arch (or you can wait for a Ternate-bound bus and drop off at the bus station in Ternate so you’ll have a lesser tricycle fare – 70 pesos - going to the jump-off)
* hire a tricycle to take you to the jump-off at Magnetic Hill for 100 pesos per head
* register at the DENR station for 20 pesos per head
* register again at the Base Camp 1 (which is along the trail) for another 20 pesos

*Note:
The trail splits into two near the summit. On our way down, we noticed several mountaineers got lost by taking the uphill trail to the left instead of the downhill trail to the right. The arrow sign that points to the downhill trail is just etched in a tree trunk which is barely visible especially when it’s dark.

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Pico de Loro (Part 1)

Before laziness take away my urge to blog about my recent hike (just like what happened with my Lucban, Majayjay, and Mt. Maculot posts which are still non-existent until now), imma blog about it now.

Two weeks ago, before I even got the allergies and stuff that doomed the first two weeks of my October, I already planned going up Pico de Loro. For one, I wanted to introduce two of my friends to mountain climbing (cuz if they liked it, I’d have more climbing buddies in my future hikes). Secondly, it already felt like eons since I last climbed a mountain (Sept. 20, 2010/Mt. Maculot).

Thursday, after my successful visit to the doctor, I already told Gerald (who’s always too willing to tag along) about the climb on Saturday. I normally go out-of-town Sundays but Princess had a vet follow-up Sunday, plus the fact that I don’t wanna miss the Sunday mass anymore. Dan, another friend of ours, wanted to go but was hesitant because he partied Thursday night which emptied his wallet.

Kenneth, on the other hand, had a postponed Anawangin climb because Zambales was in a state-of-calamity due to the recent typhoon. He’s training for the MLQU Stallions Outdoor Club and Anawangin was supposed to be their third and deliberation climb. Upon knowing that it’s postponed, I immediately invited him to join us. And since Kenneth was coming, Dan wouldn’t wanna be left out.

The agreed 5 AM assembly became 5:30 AM. I knew it, I should’ve said 4 AM. We reached the Alabang terminal 6:15 AM but the waiting for the van to leave felt like forever. By 8:30 AM, we were dropped off near the Tanza City Hall since there’s nothing in Alabang that would take us directly to Ternate.

From there, we boarded a bus that took us to Maragondon. At 9:15 AM, we were already negotiating with Ino, the tricycle driver. His price, though, was fixed (yes, he wouldn’t be moved) at 100 per head.

From Maragondon, he took us to the magnetic hill where the jump-off was but first dropped us at the DENR registration office which was farther along the road than the jump-off. So if you have your own ride you can just skip DENR, but then you won’t have a place to park your vehicle. LoL! I kid. But I guess jeepney and tricycle drivers are instructed to bring the hikers directly to the DENR station (and those who brought their own vehicles don’t have a choice cuz they will really need a safe place to park). I’m just joking about skipping the DENR registration, though. It’s just 20 pesos per head. So small an amount to have a record of your whereabouts.

It was drizzling when Ino brought us back to the jump-off with his tricycle. It’s just a 10-minute walk from the DENR office to the jump-off but he’s going back that way anyway so he decided to just wait for us while we registered and changed our clothes.

These are Kenneth and Dan's feet. Notice their colorful ponchos. We actually started the trek with ponchos on.

It was exactly 10:15 when we started the trek, our ponchos shielding us from the rain. A few minutes into the trail, though, I felt so loved by nature when the rain stopped. It’s harder to walk with a poncho on, not to mention the heat inside one is torture.

Forty-five minutes after, we passed by the Base Camp 1 where Ino’s cousin, a woman named Yolly, approached us with a logbook in hand. The two registration sites/fees were already explained to me by Ino while I was seated behind him on the tricycle (aside from telling me that the woman at the second registration/Base Camp 1 was his cousin). So that’s another 20 pesos per head, which makes going up Pico de Loro cost 40 pesos.

Yolly further explained to us that they were the rightful collector of registration fees because 25% of their collected fees go to the local barangay. I quite understood it, though, when she told me in passing that the jump-off as well as the DENR office are part of Ternate, while the Base Camp 1 is on the side of Maragondon where Pico de Loro actually is. It doesn’t justify the 2 registration fees, but it kinda explains that Ternate also wants something out from the mountaineers since the jump-off is in their town even if the mountain itself is part of another.

It was an easy trek after the base camp to the falls, though it took us exactly an hour before reaching the campsite near the falls due to photo ops and a little rest by the stream just before we entered the what seemed to be a fenced private property.

We reached the campsite near the waterfall 11:50 AM. From there, we clearly saw the summit and it's famous parrot's beak shape.

And since the sound of the waterfall could be clearly heard from the campsite, we immediately rushed to see it, ignoring our grumbling tummies for later.

And the three teens I was with couldn't help but jump in the cold water for a quick swim. As much as I'd like to, I didn't dare swim cuz I had a fever the previous night (thanks Biogesic, by the way).

And then there's the mandatory back pic. LoL!

This post, though, is getting long it's gonna be hard to read. Imma post the 2nd part of my Pico de Loro climb tonight. But the truth is, I still haven't gone to vote. Today's the Barangay Election and I only have 2 hours left to do it.

Edit:
Click here to read Pico de Loro (Part 2).

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