Nature-ral High: Mt. Arayat Traverse. Perception of a mountain can change.

May 12, 2018

Mt. Arayat Traverse. Perception of a mountain can change.

Ever since I came back to climbing, from memory there are 2 mountains I had been avoiding.

Mt. Tapulao- located in Zambales, the summit of this mountain is near a mine. And trail created was for mining trucks. The trail is full of stones and pebbles, which I am not fond of.
Mt. Arayat - the sole mountain in Pampanga. The place is infamously known for fees from swindlers. And this mountain is not properly regulated.

But a few years back, Arayat slowly earned the right to be called a good hiking destination. The DENR took control and now has a base in the foot of the mountain.

Having said so, a few months ago I finally took the "courage" to give it a try.

The mountain can actually be put as a combination of Tarak ridge and Mount Makiling as the trail resembles the similarity of both. The trail is very dry (not sure if its because it's summer) or else the trail is more like Mt. Makiling. The trail is very straight forward, if not for the DENR requirement, you may forgo hiring the guide. Main points for interest are North and South peak and the White Rock plateu. It took us around 9-10 hours to complete the traverse on a moderate pace.

I was actually amazed that I loved the place. The trail was totally covered that you dont need much of sun protection except near the exit part of the trail to the other side.