August 29~30, 2009
Everyone was expecting a walk in the park mountain trek to this popular climbing destination but it turned out to be the other way around. A lot of us were surprised with the kind of difficulty that we got unto. Some of our team members caught unprepared which exposed their lack of physical fitness. We were actually negotiating into an all assault trail which reminded me of Tarak Ridge (Papaya River to the campsite) with an added a half degree of difficulty. We knew that this was not the right way but we were having doubts since there were a lot of signs and ribbons that served us our guide up to the campsite. The rest stations were not really rest stations because it was inclined for about 50 to 60 degrees. The only way to feel comfortable was to lean on the trees or embraced it. There were parts of the trail where we needed to pause and think what to do next since there was nothing to hold on to. Sometimes I needed to focus unto something and did some yoga techniques while holding to plant leaves in order to ascend the steep trail (over na to). One misstep then goodbye! It took me almost 2 hours of heart pounding ascend to reach the campsite with heavy pack which started at the foot of Mt. Maculot. We found out later that this challenging new trail was created August 16, 2009 by the Philippine Air Force as the alternative route to the campsite.
Our team was divided into two groups, the
super saiyon which I lead, succeeded the exhausting steep assault of the air force trail and the
cuties which found a way to cross the non-establish trail going the old and easy path but still cannot kept up with our pace. They arrived an hour later after we reached the camp site. The reason why we were drawn into the new air force trail was that our team wanted to be ahead of the other group mountaineers for the precious camp space. We were surprised because there were no mountaineers following us… finally I got a chance to talk (shout) to other mountaineers who were on the other side of the trail. Well, we were actually following a trail which was unknown to others... a new trail. As expected, the campsite was very crowded and a loud disco music was on air. The area was very noisy and it didn’t feel like were on the mountain… not to mention our group which was the noisiest of them all… hehehe. Before we had our dinner, it rained so hard that we set our emergency shelter at once. The rain never stops until the morning and thus transforming our tent into a mini pond. It was a tough night for us… I actually wore my rain coat just to be comfortable in my sleep. My night was a very long one… but I still managed to get an hour of sleep.
The views from the campsite were obstructed by the tall grasses and the fog that covered the whole area. It was already six in the morning and the rain just won’t stop. Finally (I thought), the camp area was peaceful. There were less activities from other campers since it was not a good day for site seeing. I actually resigned the fact of going to the
Rockies since it was very foggy and to get a good clearing was near to impossible. We broke camp at past eight in the morning as the rain subsided. While everyone was busy fixing their things, I went to check the
Rockies. As I came near the edge of the mountain shoulder, I was greeted with a very fascinating view of
Taal Lake. Wow, I should not miss this! I went back to the camp site and asked the team to have a closer look at the
Rockies. Well, only Rommel and Allan responded… a few minutes after we were assaulting the 90 degrees trail going to the
Rockies. The trail was actually difficult and frightening when viewed from afar but as we came near to it, it wasn’t as difficult as it looked. At the
Rockies, it felt like I was on the top of the world. The views were awesome… even though we have to wait for several minutes to get a good clearing (thick fog obstructs the view)… our efforts were actually worth it.
Our trek back to the jump off was an easy one and finally we were following the old trail.
From the jump off, we hiked for another 20 minutes going to the resort where we parked our car service. We took a dip at the pool for an hour of swimming then hit back home.
Our Mt Maculot hike could have been great if it were a sunny day… I will be back! A summer day hike would be great.
Until my next adventure… God bless!
