Mt. Pundaquit - Anawangin Cove (Part 1)

I've always wanted to go to Anawangin cuz I've always read and heard so many beautiful things about it. So when I learned that K's third training climb with the MLQU Stallions Outdoor Club would be Mt. Pundaquit with a 2-day stay at the Anawangin Cove, I immediately begged him to ask their president if I could guest-climb with them.

It was a short-notice, though. He informed me Wednesday night (Nov 3) that the club allowed me to go with them; assembly was 8 PM Friday (Nov 5). I immediately canceled my Balagbag Falls day trip with a friend that Saturday. But I couldn't cancel Princess' follow-up CBC that Friday.

And I crammed. The itinerary included a boat ride from Anawangin to Capones Island to Pundaquit on the way home, and I don't know how to swim!

So after bringing Princess to the vet Friday morning (and learning that her RBC's kinda high which might result into a stroke [God forbid]), I went to the mall to buy stuff including a whistle, soccer socks for compression (I over estimated the mountain, it is only 400 something MASL), a box of Ziploc, a headlamp, and a float vest. I know, I'm so paranoid.



LoL!

It actually fit in my 40L Sandugo backpack with the earth pad, Lock & Locks, and these:



So K, Gerald, and I rode the PNR, which was my first PNR ride. It was SRO, but good enough.



Anyway, only a few of them were at the MLQU grounds when we arrived.



After several trips to 7-11 (I really can't stand waiting and doing nothing), we left MLQU around 10:30 PM for the Victory Liner terminal. All 20 of us had been reserved for the 11:05 PM bus bound for Zambales. It was cool that Victory Liner leaves on time. And it was so cold that I started having a cold halfway through the ride. What's more, most of our jackets were inside our rucksacks which were deposited at the baggage area under the bus. Foolish me, it was my first time to ride an aircon bus since I started traveling and keeping a sweater with me on bus rides had never been something to make a special note about.

But just the same, we arrived in San Antonio, Zambales in one piece (plus a cold for me). It was 3:00 AM. We then took a tricycle ride to the jump-off where we had an early breakfast, use of the bathroom, and a warm-up.



We started the hike at 4:30 AM. It was so dark that those without headlamps were made to walk in between those who had. So nice that I bought one. I actually didn't wanna experience ever again what happened to us in Pico de Loro.



Look! All sweaty in the wee hours of the morning.



It was a friendly trail, almost flat then moderately steep less than an hour into the Anawangin Saddle which is the midpoint of the traverse. It is also the summit, but to better say that you've been to Mt. Pundaquit's summit, you can trek up a little higher to the right to what seem to be a hill on top of the mountain.



It was 6:15 AM when we reached the saddle. It wasn't dark anymore but the sun was still hidden behind the mountains. The mountain is a grassland, and at that point, I could understand why the Stallions wanted a night climb. We would literally toast under the heat of the sun with no tree to give us shade if we climbed during the day.



We stopped at the saddle, taking a break and regrouping. From the jump-off, I was already part of the tail group, actually positioned at the very end of the tail that I wasn't pressured or anything to keep up with the pace. LoL! But then something happened to the leg of one of the members in the tail group making most of the members stop to wait up for him, therefore the applicants and the guests reached the saddle ahead of the members. The applicants should have been in the middle of the team leader's group and the tail group. But since someone was hurt, I was among the first few to reach the saddle. LoL!



And that's the Anawangin Beach low behind me.

After taking forever, we resumed the trek. Since it was a deliberation climb, the applicants were made to find their way from that point on. The members would leave trail marks along the way, which would test the applicants' skills to read the signs.

So we were divided into three groups again. The members would all take the lead, then the applicants (aside from K and another applicant named Eric) would follow trail after 30 minutes. Then the two guests (I included) with K and Eric (who looked like a high school student, btw), formed the tail group. And we were to leave the saddle 30 minutes after the middle group of applicants.



It was funny, though, that after only a few minutes of walking, we spotted the end of the middle group. So the four of us rested again to let the group ahead of us keep their distance.

It was the most relaxed time of the trek for me. First, it was a descent. As much as others say they hate descents because it hurts their knees or whatever, I love it even more than uphill trekking. Secondly, Eric and K were two of the most behaved applicants and we shared lighthearted talks while resting and walking.
At the foot of the mountain, we again found the other applicants just about to leave after taking a rest. K and Eric started teasing the group on how slow and weak they were. Then K, being the leader of the tail group, decided to take a different trail than the other group was taking. And then we started seeing trail signs. As it turned out, we took the right path to the beach.



After all the rests and stops, we arrived at Mansayon Beach Resort a little before 8:00 AM.



Don't let it fool you, though. Not because there's a so-called resort in the area doesn't mean they have all the amenities you have in mind. They have old-fashioned toilets (no flush), and deep well hand pumps the water of which smelled like kalawang so it's not really potable. They don't have cottages so you really have to bring your own tents if you're staying overnight. I was advised by K to bring my tent so I brought my 4-person dome which I realized was 9 years old already. I wasn't able to take any picture of it at Anawangin but it's the same tent I used at Kwebang Lampas.

When it rained at the camp Saturday night, though, I realized I needed to buy a new one. Water, though minimal and not really noticeable unless you're like me who keeps noticing the weirdest of things, can now seep at the seams.

But before it was night (sorry for the fast-forward), I immediately roamed around after settling. No one wanted to go with me cuz it was stifling hot so I walked around alone.

The cove has such a calming atmosphere that I could just stay there for hours and not get tired of the place. What's actually good about it aside from the natural beauty of the place is that there are minimal tourists around.

Thanks to the person who invented the digicam's timer, I was able to take pics of me even when I was roaming the place alone.



When I spotted the hill to the left of the beach, I knew it was where those amazing pics of Anawangin Cove were taken. I immediately headed to the direction of the hill but stopped and thought twice about crossing that little patch of water going towards the cove.



My reason for hesitating to cross the water? This:



Haha! And the stories that you can't really be too careful when swimming in Anawangin so you have to wear your float vest all the time. Okay, paranoia. But that's me.

I really had to go back to the little store selling overpriced sodas to ask the vendor if it's safe to cross the water on that side of the beach, blah, blah. They said it's safe but that I have to be careful on going up the hill.

On my way to the store, though, I saw K, Gerald, and Troy walking along the beach. I didn't know K followed me on my way back to the hill until I was about to cross the water.

It was waist deep (on my 5'3" height, btw) and the little fishes were ticklish despite the leggings I was wearing under my shorts.

Part 2 of my Mt. Pundaquit - Anawangin Cove Adventure to follow.

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Mt. Maculot (Grotto-Summit-Rockies)

Mt. Maculot is a favorite destination for new mountaineers. The Rockies, being the most popular point of Mt. Maculot attracts newbie climbers because of its friendly trail and friendlier height (706+ MASL).

The summit, though, is a little bit higher (830 MASL) and the difficulty depends on which trail you use. As for adventure-seeking newbies, my friend Danilo and I opted for the more difficult traverse by way of the grotto trail.

We set off last September 20, a Monday, leaving the house at 1 am for our much anticipated first climb together. This was his first mountain, and my second - the first being Mt. Romelo in Siniloan, Laguna.

We arrived at Cuenca a little past 5 am, starving. Good thing there was one open carinderia offering stuff to warm our tummies. So we had a big serving of Lomi for only 35 pesos each.

Asking the store-owner for directions to the local church, we reached St. Isidore Parish just when that morning's mass was about to end. Quite admirably, they hold daily masses there at 5:30 every morning. Only a few church-goers were present, though. But it's still admirable enough that they wake up that early just to attend mass.

We passed by this toll gate slash registration area for those wanting to climb.

When we asked for a guide, the Barangay Tanod told us to go to the store beside the Barangay Hall (of Barangay Tico) a lil farther from the gate. The store also serves as an alternate registration area for climbers.

The guide that the store-owner gave us, though, only wanted to bring us to The Rockies. He discouraged us to do a traverse saying that no one does that anymore and there's no more trail from the summit to The Rockies. Little did he know that we knew someone who did a traverse just a month earlier. After sensing that the guide wouldn’t really be convinced to go with us in a traverse, Danilo called his friend (who recently had a traverse). The friend told us to just hire a tricycle to bring us to the grotto jump-off, which we eventually learned was called Barangay Pinagkaisahan.

The locals at Barangay Pinagkaisahan were much friendlier, we didn’t even have to ask for guides. Sensing what we needed, they pointed us to the house where a kid named Denver lived. The kid was ever so ready to be our guide. He wouldn’t even tell us his fee, leaving it up to how much we wanted to give him.

At exactly 7:11 AM, we started walking towards the grotto trail.

The trail has concrete steps. I could just imagine how full these steps could get during the Lent.

But on most parts, the steps were almost made invisible by towering cogon. And it was so bad that I didn’t bring any arm band or leggings to protect my arms and legs.

The stations of the cross were empty but our guide said the locals put religious icons on those stations during Holy Week when lots of pilgrims hike up to the grotto as a form of physical sacrifice. Danilo and I were kinda fast, stopping only to take pics once in a while. At 8 AM, we were already at the grotto.

We took that moment to take more pics, and moreover, to rest. The grotto offers a good view of Cuenca, it was so hot, though, despite the fact that it’s not even mid-morning yet.

We decided to move on, after 25 minutes of rest, to our next destination – the summit.

The trail to the summit was steep enough that I refrain from looking back. I don’t have bathmophobia, it’s just that I knew I’d feel weak in the knees if I looked back down and it’s still a long climb.

Three times, the trail had to be aided by ropes because it was really steep. Good thing I packed light and left the heavy dome tent at home.

We reached the summit at exactly 9:57 AM. The summit, though, didn’t offer any view because it was surrounded with bushes.

This was me with Denver, our 13-year-old guide.

Moving on, we reached the nearby campsite where we had our lunch. It provided us with much needed “refill” and an hour of rest, plus a change of shirt.

At exactly 11:00 AM, we started walking towards The Rockies. The trail leading down was so forested we had to duck and go over tree branches.

But the sights were so cool I had never seen anything like these.

The heart:

Around 45 minutes later, we were rewarded with our first sight of The Rockies. It’s that part covered with clouds to the right of the pic.

Then we had to pass by the cogon trail and the grass was again taller than us. The trail was actually almost not there anymore. So that’s what the first guide we talked to at Brgy. Tico was saying. But our little guide seemed to really know where he’s going cuz no matter how thick the cogon was, we didn’t get lost.

At 12:00 noon, we were already at The Rockies camp site. Imagine the heat! And it was quite a dismay that trash (even though collected in one place) were just left there by previous campers as if a garbage truck would come passing by and get them.

Then we headed to see The Rockies. It was the middle of the day; scorching hot, the 1 liter I brought with me was almost gone. Good thing Danilo brought 2 liters and was kind enough to share.

We were having second thoughts on whether to climb the rock formation or not. It seemed so steep from afar and there seemed to be no trail. But since we were already there, I decided to give it a try. We just agreed that we shouldn’t force it if we felt like its beyond our capabilities. After all, there’re only the two of us and the kid guide. We couldn’t really risk it if it proved to be a very technical assault.

But then we were surprised to find out it was very easy. Steep it might be, but it’s a very friendly ascent. But being above The Rockies in the middle of a very sunny day was no fun. At one point, we started hearing something popping inside Danilo’s sack. He opened it and found out it was his mineral water bottle getting deformed due to extreme heat. So before we suffer from heat stroke, we decided to take quick pics and head back.

Now that’s supposed to be the Taal Volcano behind me. LoL! Really hard to take pics in the middle of a sunny day especially with point-and-shoot cameras.

Pics turn out to be either so bright or so dark.

We left The Rockies at 1:05 PM. Still many hours to kill but there’s nothing much left to do up there, aside from the fact that we almost don’t have water anymore.

One hour and 10 minutes was all it took for us to reach the first stop over – the U.W.A.C. (Unified Wanderers Adventurers Club).

Being a Monday, they don’t have anything to offer but colas and mineral water, not even the “Banana Ice” I have so many times read about on the interwebs. But we were able to wash-up for a fee of 15 pesos per pail of water, and eat the boiled eggs my mother woke up early to cook that day.

There were no one else at the stop-over and since it was still very early to hurry up, we took some time to rest our aching muscles. But since I’m a person who gets tired of a place (aside from my house) so easily especially when there’s nothing to do, I had to keep going 45 minutes later.

Now, this was the first time we saw this sign since we started the climb in Barangay Pinagkaisahan. Lovely road. I won’t call it quaint, but it’s definitely a very simple town. Sometimes, I can’t help but wish for a life this simple.

Anyway, we reached Cuenca town 3:25 PM where we took a jeepney ride to Lipa. By 4:15 PM, we were already eating as much as our tummies could take at Jollibee Lipa. It was a tiring day after all, and even fast food tasted like heaven.

Bus to Alabang left at 5 PM and we literally slept all throughout the 2-hour ride. I was home by 8 PM. It was by far the earliest I went home after a day-hike.

HOW TO GET TO MT. MACULOT

* Ride a bus to Lipa (Php77.00 from Alabang)

* Take a Cuenca-bound jeep (Php23.00) and asked to be dropped at the town proper

* Walk or take trike to the Barangay Outpost of Barangay Tico for registration Php10.00

* If you’re going to The Rockies and you need a guide, you can get one at the store near the Barangay Hall (the store also serves as an alternate registration); but if you’re going to the Grotto, go straight to Barangay Pinagkaisahan and go get your guide there.

* If you’re doing a traverse, better get a guide at Barangay Pinagkaisahan. From personal experience, no guide in Barangay Tico wants to do a traverse. Better yet, ask for the kid named Denver at Barangay Pinagkaisahan. The kid is initially shy, but becomes friendly after a while. We gave him Php600 for the traverse.

* Don’t forget to bring extra food for the guide(s).

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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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