Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Mt. Daguldol + Ambon-Ambon Falls + Laiya Beach

“Hiking is a bit like life:
The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again.
And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek,
you will witness beauty every step of the way,
not just at the summit”




As our plan to go on an extended hike up North failed to materialize, we decided to go down South for a dayhike. So we decided to drive all the way to San Juan, Batangas and climb Mt. Daguldol. It was practically a drive of about three (3) hours from Quezon City to the quaint Sitio Biga in Hugom, San Juan, Batangas.

While we were paying the registration fees and securing our local guide for the hike, we were forewarned by the locals that there seems to be brewing problem among the local guides. According to our guide, a guide from the Lobo (the summit and campsite is supposedly within the jurisdiction of the town of Lobo) was prevented from leading a group of hikers the past weekend owing to the fact that he was drunks at that time. Trouble erupted among them since those from Lobo claimed (which is supposedly true) that a guide from San Juan (the jumpoff is within the jurisdiction of the town of San Juan) was allegedly previously allowed to act as such even though such guide was similarly intoxicated at that time.