Mt. Ayaas - Wawa Dam traverse to Mascap

To climb or not to climb is not the question that we are to answer. Instead we were at that time asking ourselves, where to now? This is what actually transpired when we climbed Mt. Ayaas, a mountain situated in the up-and-coming mountaineering hotbed, that is Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal.

Mt. Ayaas taken from the Bulakan Tree

 Days prior to the planned hike we were endlessly trying to contact Emman, the guide extraordinaire when it comes to the mountains of Montalban, and with supposed contact for our fallback climb being likewise unreachable, we surprisingly have nowhere to go.

Making our way towards the Wawa Dam

It was already 0445H when I was able to fetch the Engineer at our usual meeting place (Mcdonald’s Eton Centris). With a dilemma of having nowhere to climb, we made a last ditch effort of contacting Emman. Providentially, the other line rang. And from then, Emman told us to meet him at the DENR in Sitio Wawa at 0700H. Consequently, we found ourselves buying for additional supplies and eating our favorite breakfast every climb (Jollibee Corned Beef Meal weehee…”nasa Mcdo na nag-Jollibee pa”.). In that regard, it was already 0545H when we left Timog Avenue, Quezon City for Wawa Dam.

Although we took easy on the gas, we arrived in Wawa still 30 minutes early. Thus, we decided to park at the Multi-Purpose Hall in the hope getting additional sleep. But we were roused by a knock in the front passenger seat window by a smiling man, who turned out to be Emman, our guide for the day.

Cape Engaño Lighthouse - Palaui Island

Located in Palaui Island just off the Northeastern Horn of Luzon Island, and within the jurisdiction of Sta. Ana, Cagayan, the Cape Engaño Lighthouse offers a short and simple hike that nonetheless offers the best views that one could ever imagine.

Cape Engaño Lighthouse

The Faro de Cabo Engaño is situated atop the summit of a hill, 92 MASL, and thus provides an unobstructed view of and the Babuyan Islands, Dos Hermanas Island (Two Sisters), The Pacific Ocean and Engaño Cove.

From the white sand beach of Engaño Cove, the registration area is located on the left side. It is mandatory to secure the services of a guide (although it really is not required as the trail is really visible and there are no technical aspects during the climb) at Php400.00, which is good for a group of up to 4 persons.



Cape Engaño

From the registration area, the hike will commence and pass through the trees until you reach the open space where the Welcome Sign is located. Follow the trail up to the concrete-stairs, which will go on until the middle part of the hike. Halfway, the concrete stairs shall give way to a dirt path that will ultimately lead you to the summit where the lighthouse is located.

Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Binacayan - Twinhike

Deciding to keep our next hike close to Metro Manila, we opted to do a twin hike of Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Binacayan in  Rodriguez (formerly known as Montalban), Rizal.

Considered by many as twin mountains, Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Binacayan are located in Sitio Wawa, Brgy. San Rafael Extension, Rodriguez, Rizal. These mountains are regarded as the home of the legendary Bernardo Carpio. Legend has it that Bernardo, a young man with unbelievable strength and power was supposedly trapped between these two mountains. He used his bare hands to push the two mountains apart from each other, thereby making a gap between the mountains in the process. The gap formed is allegedly the spot where Wawa Dam is found.

The Arch in Sitio Wawa just before the Multi-Purpose Hall and the Tourism Office

Km Post

As climb of the month (May 2015), Gani and I decided to do a twin dayhike of these "twin mountains" as they have aroused a lot of attention from both mountaineers and casual hikers since the start of the year.

We left McDonald's Eton Centris at 0520H for Rodriguez, Rizal via Commonwealth Avenue. We arrived in Sitio Wawa at 0630H, where we saw a number of hikers already on their way to Mt. Binacayan. We parked our vehicle near the Multi-Purpose Hall (cum Brgy. Hall) and immediately prepared our gears.



Nearing Sitio Wawa

At the local office of the DENR, we paid the registration fee of Php2.00 per/pax and P20.00 parking fee. The DENR also required us to sign a waiver and they likewise assigned us Alvin Dalida as our guide (He turned out to be a gem of a guide in the end). And after a few more formalities, we commenced hiking at 0730H.

Registration here is also required

The Waiver...at the Office of the DENR

Mt. Pulag Open Climb - Ranger Station to the Sea of Clouds

Straight from our side trip (which we did in reverse to the usual Pulag itinerary)  we headed towards the DENR for us to be able to register and attend the short briefing before we ultimately proceed to the Ranger Station and set up camp.

THE BRIEFING

We finally arrived at the DENR at 1000H. We paid our registration fees and waited for our turn for the short briefing about the to do's and what not's inside the nature reserve. It was actually 1120H when we left the Ranger Station.

Starting February 2015, the DENR has proscribed camping at Camp 2 Extension. Moreso, the DENR has likewise limited the slots (150...?) for campers at Camp 2 and Camp 1 during weekend hikes (Saturday-Sunday). As such, majority of the informal hikers and weekend warriors that troop to Mt. Pulag via Ambangeg (Executive Trail) are now compelled to camp at the Ranger Station.

Busy

Shirts for sale

Sir Espi welcomes you to Mt. Pulag

The main entrance

The DENR...taken from the road

With this setup, the locals at the Ranger Station now enjoy extra income (from camping fees to fees for toilet use). It is also noticeable that more and more enterprising locals have started to sell foodstuff and other goodies. They also rent camping necessities to hikers like earth pads, tents, and cooking utensils.

The DENR has likewise decided to limit the number of hikers at the summit per given time. In this regard, hikers have been assigned to the different peaks (such as Peak 3, Peak 2, and the Tower Station) for the sunrise-viewing and the famous sea of clouds.

Mt Pulag Side Trip - Ambuklao Dam; Jangjang Hanging Bridge; Badekbek Sulfur Spring

Our latest Open Climb in Mt. Pulag (Ambangeg-Ambangeg) turned out to very fruitful. The participating climbers actually were employees of audit firm, Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A). Skookums Allan, Espi, and Oliver acted as Team Leaders and Organizer of the group. They were ably assisted by Ember, otherwise known as the Barack "Mr President" Obama of CB Richard Ellis Philippines.

The all-P&A team was composed by Marco Rivas, Yaz Recta, Rosanna Balotro, Frani Custodio, Jenica Angeles, Klein Cajucom,


THE SIDETRIP

Since we were scheduled to camp at the Ranger's Station in Babadak, we deemed it better for us to spend extra time on the road and visit nearby natural and/or man-made wonders in Bokod. We so thankful to Moi, the driver of the monster jeep that we rented in going to Bokod, Benguet from the City of Pines.

We were the 1st ones to arrive here

Agno River...at the back of Danao Eatery

Aside from the usual sidetrip to the Ambuklao Dam, we also were able to go to and cross the Jangjang Hanging Bridge and endured the rotting stench in Daclan Sulfur Spring.

Mt. Batolusong - Mapatag Plateau, Rangyas Peak traverse to Kay-Ibon Falls

As a practice climb for our hike up Mt. Pulag, I decided to go back to the mountain that I last climbed. But now, I was with my former officemates (and two potential mountaineers) Marco and Cathy.

Mt. Batolusong

It was already 0450H when I was able to fetch them at the LRT2 Cubao Station (McDonalds Gateway Mall). We then continued eastward going to Cogeo. Upon reaching Cogeo, we decided to eat breakfast at an eatery near the junction. We also bought additional provisions here.

As I was already familiar with the way going to Brgy. San Andres, we were able to reach the Brgy. Hall at 0715H. Again, it was Mang Tony who welcomed us and he recognized me from my past climb a couple of weeks ago. I immediately asked him if the "Bangkaan Falls" is already open, unfortunately he said that work still has to be done at the falls before they can finally open it for hikers.

It was so nice chatting with Mang Tony and he offered the perfect idea for us to do the traverse to Kay-Ibon Falls and just hire a tricycle who will wait for us on a pre-agreed time at Marcos highway (Kay-ibon Trail). Finally, we can do the traverse. We paid the P20.00 registration fee at the Barangay Hall, and were then introduced to our very jovial and efficient guide (Wenny).

It was 0815 when we left the Barangay Hall and pushed our way to the trailhead up the Duhatan Ridge. We reached the stairway to the assault to Duhatan at 0830H. While resting, we had some photo-ops and even talked about the trees in the area.

We also took brief rest along the trail, until we reached the 1st water source at 0855H. Here, we met some locals who unfortunately were kaingeros. According to Wennie, the kaingeros plant brown rice which they actually sell at about P90.00 per kilo. While they burn mostly the portions that are planted with cogon and boho, Wennie mentioned that starting next year, the DENR will ultimately prohibit kaingin farming within the area of Mt. Batolusong, and forest rangers will be deployed to guard the mountain and the seedlings that they aim to plant there. (Sigh...1 year is a long way to go.)

Mt. Batolusong - Duhatan Ridge; Mapatag Plateau; Rangyas Peak; and Sangab Cave

Just located within the fringe of Eastern Metro Manila, Mt. Batolusong has slowly gained a well-deserved prominence in the mountaineering circles. Conveniently located in Tanay, Rizal, Mt. Batolusong is actually part of the South-Western portion of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.

Mt. Batolusong's Rangyas Peak...taken from Mapatag Plateau

Mt. Batolusong...just before the landslide

Itching to go on a hike despite their busy schedules, Skookums Oliver and Gani decided to go on a dayhike last March 29, 2015. Since the other Skookums were not available at that time (Skookum Allan was in Mt. Pulag for one of our Open Climbs this summer), we hiking buddies searched for a new tramping ground close to the metropolis. As we were already scheduled later in the day to watch one of the highly-anticipated movie sequels of summer,  we chose to scale Mt. Batolusong.

On board Goldie (one of our usual service vehicles), we left Cubao at 0515H and followed Aurora Boulevard to the East, going straight to Marcos Highway in Antipolo. After buying breakfast at Jollibee (located on the opposite corner of the intersection where Sta. Lucia Mall and Robinsons Metro East is located), we continued towards and went past Cogeo. As we reached the outskirts of Antipolo, we gained more altitude and passed by a number of highland resorts and subdivisions such as the Boso-Boso, Palo Alto and Garden Cottage. A few hundred meters after Kilometer Post 51, we arrived at "Batangasan Junction", which leads to Barangay San Andres.