 |
| Taken at Mt. Batulao summit 811 meters above sea level |
When my friend texted me on a wednesday night asking if i'd like to go hiking with her to mt. Batulao in Batangas, I immediately answered yes without any hesitations, thinking 'What could go wrong?', and boy was I wrong, because if you have Acrophobia like I do, everything could go wrong. Seeing as to how I get panicked while crossing overpass bridges, that little bridge in picnic grove tagaytay, I still can't get it why I agreed to this hiking trip but I did. Come thursday, I was already prepared for the hiking trip (atleast that's what I thought earlier that day), and we set on to our journey.
Mt. Batulao, situated in Nasugbu Batangas, is often what people referred to as a hike meant for beginners. It's accessibility from Manila, along with its comparatively 'easy new trail', made it a famous spot for hiking beginners, these are the few reasons why my friend chose this for our first ever take on hiking.
We started our journey for the day a little after 5am and reached Tagaytay within an hour, stopping at a fastfood to buy our breakfast and lunch for the said hike, since there were posts in the internet that it is important to bring packed lunch and a lot of water and fluids to fuel us up as we hike, being all first time hikers, we did exactly that.
By 7am we already reached Evercrest and had to ask for directions as to where the jump off point is, we were told that we could either walk to the jump off point or take a tricycle ride which costs 30 php per person. Feeling that it would serve as a good way to stretch, we chose to walk towards the jump off which took us about 20 minutes. After arriving at the jump off point, we were met by other hikers and the officials of the town who offered tour guide services for the hike. The options that we were given is that the tour guide's flat rate is 500php which we could divided within our group, consisting of four people, or we could wait for another group and divide the cost, and so we chose the later, knowing no better.
As we began our ascent, we noticed how muddy and slippery the path was and we were offered bamboo sticks for 10php which would serve as our aid towards the whole hike and decided to buy one for each of the for of us. Going onto our hike, we were informed that the other group preferred going up the summit via the old trail and then going down using the new trail. This information came as a shocker to us since we were already hell-bent on taking the new trail on both going up the summit and returning to jump-off since we were told that the old trail offered a longer and steeper path. We also noticed how the group with us were climbing at a rate twice our speed which often times left us with no guide, since the tour guide walked ahead of the groups. This rattled me a bit for the simple reasons that I know that the four of us within the group are all beginners, if ever we were met with a difficulty no one would know what to do and the last reason is that, someone already died at these very mountains. Since I was a wimp when it comes to these things and I have an irrational fear of heights, by the time that we reached the first hut I was already begging the other group, composed of six people who were supposed to use the new trail to and from the summit, who were climbing along side us to take our group along with them. Luckily for me, they were kind enough to take us along with them, leaving our original tour guide behind with the other group who preferred to travel using both the old and new trail. And so, the real adventure began.
 |
| Taken at the first hut |
 |
| Photo taken at Peak 4: The need to smile despite my nerves is so strong that I managed to take a normal looking photo. |
By the time that we were climbing up to Peak 4, I was already trembling with fear. Questions on why I agreed to joining this trip and what I'd tell my mom if I fall and die on the mountains kept playing over and over in my head which did me no help at all. I even clung to the tour guide's arm for dear life, it's either I clung to him or I topple over which would mean the death of me so I made the obvious choice. The hikers that we were with were considerate enough to wait for me throughout the hike, which I am beyond words thankful for, since my phase included trembling, constant deep breaths, and mild sobbing here and there.
 |
| Taken at Peak 10: The kind group who took us in. ( I was beyond myself scared at this point already, hence, the awkward smile) |
 |
| Peak 8 in all its glory |
By the moment we reached peak 8, where there were a few tents set up for the people who chose to camp and spend the night, I was already sure I reached my limit. I was ready to call it quits, calm my nerves in the hut and simply wait for them to come back from the summit, thinking no way in hell can I make it up four more peaks which the tour guides considered to be the most challenging part of the hike. I didn't want to quit, I hate quitting but it was either I quit or hold up the group's speed and become a liability throughout the hike. However, even having known this, the other group of hikers with us encouraged me to join, saying that it would all be worth it when we reach the summit and that they don't mind going up at my phase. At this point, my new mantra of living life dangerously while keeping a rational mind prevailed and I agreed to finish the whole thing through.
The remaining hike from peak 8 up to peak 12 which was the summit was extremely nerve-racking. The path we took towards the summit included a small trail allowing only one person to pass at a time with each side a 300m fall towards your end, four rope climbs of 90 degree angles, and a whole five or four parts wherein you won't have any choice but to hug the rocks for dear life since there is no trail to walk to. At some point all of us were made to stop for awhile and sit into giant rock boulders on top of one of the peaks since the wind was blowing ferociously which might make us loose our balance and meet our end (thank God none of that happened though). I was too consumed with fear to even know how far we've walked before we finally reached the summit.
Upon reaching the summit, what greeted us was a 360 degrees breathtakingly beautiful view of Batangas. A view that would make you feel fulfilled and that the hike was indeed worth-it. At the summit, we took photos (Well I did the taking photos part since I still wasn't brave enough to sit at the edge and pose for the camera), had our lunch, took a rest and took in the whole scenery.
 |
| Taken at the summit overlooking the whole stretch of Batangas |
 |
| Brave soul number 1: Maya sitting at the edge of a 811 meter high mountain |
 |
| Brave soul number 2: Bea sitting at the edge of a 811 meter high mountain |
 |
| Taken at the summit with Bea, Ogie and Maya (This was as far my nerves allowed me to go to for a photo) |
After a few minutes of rest at the summit, we decided to start our descend along with the other group of hiker with us. At this time I was already pretty confident with myself, seeing as to how I made it to the top, I was sure that going down would no longer be a problem but that was until I slipped a couple of times and my nerves got the best of me.... again. One thing I learned about hiking is that the the trip up is relatively easier and less risky than that of the trip going down. This was proven true since my companions also did slip a couple of times.
We hiked continuously until we reached the second hut wherein the whole adventure started. The group with us had their lunch and there, our group was given time to rest too. After our rest, we again continued our journey and walked until we reached the jump-off point, meeting a few hikers who were just about to start their journey along the way. When I reached to jump-off point it came as no shock to everyone that I was the very last to arrive. It may not be a big deal to others since it was considered as an easy climb, a hike for beginners but to me it was a huge milestone, I felt happy and proud, I can say that I survived Mt. Batulao.
 |
| Our group along with two of our tour guides upon going back at the jump-off point. |
My thoughts on the whole adventure that is hiking:
It is without a doubt that Mt. Batulao is an absolute beauty, a place that most people recommend when it comes to hiking. A couple of the hikers that I got to talk to were even repeat climbers since the view was something you'd love to see again and again.
It was said that Mt. Batulao is perfect for beginner hikers, is it true? I guess it is since I was able to go through with the whole thing, I might have enjoyed it more if it weren't for me being afraid after every two seconds that I'd fall to my death. My friends who weren't such scaredy-cats like me enjoyed it though. The first part was relatively easy even for me, but upon reaching peak 8 that's when the difficulty increases a whole lot.
Our whole going up to the summit and returning to the jump-off point took us 7 hours, so I guess it would've taken others (without someone like me to slow them down) a maximum of 4 to 5hrs.
As were were descending, I got to talk to the other tour guides and was informed that the hikers start as early as 3am to make the hike more bearable in terms of the heat but I guess the best time to start would be at 6am since it isn't to early and it isn't to late either.
How to get there:
By Car – Follow the way going to Tagaytay via SLEX. At the intersection in Olivares, follow the way going to Nasugbu. Turn left at Evercrest which is a few minutes away from the Nasugbu Welcome arc. Take the first right after then drive straight until you see the parking area.
What to bring:
- Water! Gatorade, propel or anything which could fuel you up for the hike
- Food that is easy to eat, doesn't need cooking, doesn't require alot of time to eat too.
- Umbrella, incase of rain (Don't use it at the windy parts though, unless you want to be like Nanny McPhee and descend from the mountains along with it.)
- Cap for sun protection!
- Sunblock, again, for sun protection!
- Extra clothes, wet wipes, tissues, small soaps, to wash up after the hike (I swear you'll need this).
- Garbage bag
Expenses:
- Registration fee: P60.00/head
- Tour Guide fee: P500.00/group
- Toilet & Bath (at the parking area): P20.00 (for ligo) P5.00 (for ihi)
- Tricycle (either towards the jump-off from the parking lot or from the jump-off towards the parking lot): P30.00/head
- Parking: P50.00
- Optional: Food -
Halo-halo at the hut P35.00
Water P50.00
Sample Itenerary
0400: ETD to Nasugbu
0600: ETA Evercrest Batangas
0630: Start Trek to Jumpoff Point. Start Trek to Registration site
0730: 1st Hut. Rest. Proceed to new trail
0830: Arrival at new Trail Registration site. Rest
0900: Start trek to summit
1030: ETA Summit take Pictures
1130: ETD to CAMP 8 NEW Trail
1230: Camp 8 NEW Trail. Rest
1300: ETD Evercrest
1530: ETA Evercrest. Take Shower. Eat.
1700 – 1730: Leave for Manila
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment! :)