The following Saturday after we went to Mt. Maculot, we climbed Mt. Batulao to satisfy our thirst for mountain adventure. Sometimes I can't help but think that mountaineers are crazy masochists, spending time and money to push their bodies to their limit, just to see those great views from the top.
We started our adventure by driving to Evercrest Golf Club in Nasugbu, Batangas, picking up some of our companions along the way. After a quick breakfast in Jollibee, and a load of beverages from 7-11 store both in Tagaytay, we were all ready for another gruelling trek.
Below are the initial views from Evercrest up to the first major assault. Our guide Randy is on the lower left photo, a 3rd year high school student who moonlight as a guide during weekends for Php 300/group.
Our first stop is at the hut where the old trail and new trail separate. We took the new trail on our climb to the summit, to save an hour's trek. But this trail has very few tree cover from hot sunlight.
Here are some of the nice views along the trail.
Below is peak no. 8 which we circumvented after passing the campsites at peak 6 & 7. The only forested part of the new trail follows, away from the sunlight which is draining our energy and water reserves.
Then we came out to this rock fissure below. The wind is very refreshing on this part, as the wind gets squeezed before blowing to this hole.
I think this is at peak no. 9 prior to scaling a mini-knife's edge on our way to peak no. 10 on the next photo. See the lower peaks and other hills on the background.
Final assault to the highest peak no. 11.
Then the climax of admiring the great views from the summit. The second photo's arrows point to the people while moving along the new trail.
A vendor sells Mountain Dew soda drinks in the summit at Php 25/bottle. Its not cold, but its one of the best Mountain Dews after all that punishing heat from the sun. On our way down, there are vendors of halo-halo and coconut water in shell, all very refreshing. We spotted an unusually big millipede along the way.
The rappelling part from the summit on our way down to the old trail. We did a traverse which is a longer trail, but the views are equally rewarding.
The red dot on the lower left photo of the collage is one of my trekmates.
Final rest stop prior to our way back to the jump off point.
I wouldn't mind doing another fun climb on this multi-peaked mountain in the future. Its tiring but the views and experience are very fulfilling.
sir saan kayo nag start i mean saan ang starting point po? we dont know where kasi san ang area nyan e. sa evercrest ba mismo?
ReplyDeleteHi! Our jump off point is from the local community inside the Evercrest Golf Club, I just forgot the name of the barangay. We followed the signs going to Mt. Batulao and Caleruega.
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ReplyDeleteOur group of 11 persons climbed Mt. Batulao last Aug. 25-26, through the old trail despite the rains. As expected, the trail is very muddy, even knee-deep in some parts. Hats off to those who did not slipped or fell along the muddy trail.
It was very foggy, so we did not attempt to scale the summit, due to visibility problem.