"Great things are done when men and mountains meet."
- William Blake -
Mt. Batulao has been known in the mountaineering circle as one of the better climbs near Metro Manila. It offers a challenging hike that offers a lot of rewards to aspiring hikers that would wish to practice some technical facets of climbing. Hence, it is not uncommon for mountaineers to have their baptism of fire in this mountain.
This popularity of Mt. Batulao has reared its ugly head. Controversies and issues regarding registrations and rules on climbing and guides resulted to climbers shying away from tramping in this hub of Philippine mountaineering.
Previously, in any given holiday or weekend, hikers would come in droves, 300 hikers tramping on its picturesque peaks and ridges would be an understatement. Foot traffic at the roped segments is comparable to EDSA and the summit is jam-packed at any given time of the day. But now, according to the local that I talked to, a lucky day would mean about a hundred or so hikers passing through the registration areas. I admit, I am one of those who were disenchanted and eventually became indifferent to climbing this popular tramping ground because of the so many issues that supposedly cropped up from the personal interests of some people.
