Mt. Guiting-Guiting (The climb)

Related posts:

• Travel to Mt. Guiting-guiting
• Mt. Guiting-guiting side-trips

Very early the next day (Monday, April 06), we started our trek to G2. Our goal is to reach Mayos peak as early as possible. Mayos peak is the campsite were hikers camp-out before proceeding to the summit. From the information I gathered, the distance from the basecamp up to Mayo's Peak is 11KM. The trail is mostly steep ascents with around 20% flat to semi-flat. The most inclined part of the hike is after Bulod Spring (the only water source), and is also very slippery. The trees grows big near the foot of the mountain, as the climb progress it becomes mossy with the roots protruding on the trail. When your almost at Mayo's peak the trail becomes exposed, the trees are still there but they are small with only a few leaves. Along the way we met hikers going down, they told us they have a failed summit ascent due to bad weather, proof that in G2, failure is always a possibility. It was raining for several days, luckily the sun is peeking this day.
We reach Mayo's peak after around 10 hour hike with very little rest except for lunch. We wanted to be early at Mayo's for there are around 50 hikers (maximum allowed) that registered, we wanted to be at the best camping ground possible. Describing Mayo's peak, its densely covered with trees that sheild the campers from the wind breeze specially during the night. Most of the time also drizzles early in the morning, sometimes early at night.

G2 Towering from afar.








Bulod's son (Cocoy, our guide) in Bulod spring.




Campsite at Mayo's peak. We woke up early again (Tuesday, April 09) to finally do the summit assault. Surprisingly and luckily the weather is on our side. It didnt rain yesterday and the sun is still shining today. You need to move out of the tree cover to be able to start the hike. From here you will see the start of the trail, its a jaw droppingly beautiful and also a bit scary sight. You'll have a view of the jaggedly mountainous trail. we can also see hikers who went ahead of us. Ant size, you can see them scrambling unto the rocks. The trail from here are composed of ridges and steep ascents (sometime descents) on rock formations. The trail is difficult and technical that several parts have been given names: "Knife ridge", "Camel Back", "Kiss the Wall", "Peak of Deception", "Hillary step" (similarity to the real one) and "Walk of Fame". Upper body is used althroughout the hike. There are two parts of the trail that is worth detailing, first is a "Kiss the wall" in which you need to walk on a 2-3 meters long, 2-3 inches wide step holding only to the crack on wall. The other one is "Hillary Step" in which you need to hang on a small crack on wall and the step is about a meter away from you, chest high. A cut-off-time is given to the "Peak of Deception", you should be able to reach this place before 12NN, else you should turn back. But we were able to get to this place with much time than required. We reach the summit with a handful of climbers already there and celebrating. We also celebrated, congratulated ourselves for a feat not most climbers dared or even able to accomplish. Then, we took our lunch, take some pictures and also congratulate the rest of the climbers specially those that arrived after us.


Knife Ridge






Cliffs on both sides.





Mayon volcano can be seen from on the trail













Last leg to the summit


Summit at the background.



The next Pinay summitter? Shes only 9 =O 

Summit group shot. Hiking this terrain in the dark is a big no no, so after a short stay on the summit we decided to head down. Opposite to the ascent, the surrounding suddenly turned foggy and later on it drizzled, proof that the weather here is so volatile. The trek going back is almost as difficult as going up. The fatigue factor is already present plus with the trail and rocks being wet. Slowly and surely we head back to Mayo's peak. I also recall an instance when one of our companion grab on a rock that I guess was not so durable, the rock chipped off. All of his weight was on this rock so he fell, fortunately he landed on the flat surface beside cliff. Close call, whew! The complete assault (and back) took us 12 hours stopping only to drink and take some pictures, Again, from the information I gathered the distance between from Mayo's peak up to the summit is around 5KM.
If the first two days are difficult, the trek from Mayo's to jumpoff is taken on a much lighter pace and mood (Wednesday, April 08). The only thing that made the trek difficult is that half of the climbers went down ahead of us, making trail muddy, slippery and beaten. Arriving at the jumpoff, We took a dip again on the dam and after which we went back to Manong Lee's place. Then took a hearty dinner of different Lapu-lapu recipes (and other fish), cooked by Nonos Mom. =D

No visibility

Having said so, is the climb to G2 difficult?
You bet! Now I know why this is considered one if not the most difficult climb in the Philippines. Patience, stamina, endurance, strength, climbing skills and perseverance are put to the limits. The rock formations are not identical that getting through them is just like solving a jig-saw puzzle, everyone has their own solution. And solving it going up and is different from solving it going down. For those who are planning to climb G2, my advice is to train and have a good diet. It works well for me, eventhough I'm tired at the end of the day, Im not totally burn-out.

Related posts:

• Travel to Mt. Guiting-guiting
• Mt. Guiting-guiting side-trips

Mt. Guiting-Guiting (The trip)

For the Holyweek, my group (PALMC) had a long scheduled climb for Mt. Guiting-Guiting (G2 on Mountaneering Lingo) in Sibuyan island of Romblon , there are 10 of us for this climb. I had been to some parts of the Philippines throughout my climbing career and I had never thought that the travel to this part of the country could be so difficult and is a challenge. My travel going to Sibuyan will be discuss on this part of this blog which entirely is about the Mt. Guiting-Guiting climb plus the sidetrips.

There is only one boat going to Romblon per day, and since its the holyweek it is expected that great number of people will take this ride. The boat company does'nt give reservation so its a first come-first serve basis, our EL opted to go to Batangas pier early to buy tickets. She arrived there at around 8-8:30am (Saturday, April 4) but unfortunately all the tickets for the 1st class (supposedly) rooms are sold out. It turns out that there are also scalpers (and I thought these only happens on concerts and sporting events) who later sold these tickets at a higher price. In the end we purchased tickets for the economy rooms, rooms that have reclining chairs for the passengers. Most of us were at the terminal at around noon and the boat leaves at 5:00pm. Most of the time we stayed at the Batangas port terminal repeatedly hearing women shouting services for 'Manicure - Pedicure'. Think of the boredome we bear.
Fortunately, the boat arrives on time. I was wondering why the passengers were scrambling to go ahead when there were actually numbers on the seats. Entering the boat, there are already some vehicles (for transport) making the passage to the 2nd floor using the single person size stairs difficult. Seeing the room, my question is now answered. There's are a lot of chance passengers, but since there are limited seats most of them wants to be first on the most comportable space available. The isle, the cafeteria, even above the luggage boards. They are even irritated if you pass-by where they are staying, eventhough its the walkway. I even met some of my climbing acquaintances staying above the ship. The ship is overloaded. Everything seems to be good because we had reserve seats, oh so we thought. Our leftmost seat was occupied by an old man, actually he is reserving it for his wife (all of us are seated side by side). I kindly told the man that that seat is reserved to us, but he wont budge. I still inisted and later on he started cursing me, and we had an argument. When it was already heating up my colleague who is also from Romblon said just to chill down and that we'll just take the seat that the old man have (ours is 110 his is 112). To make the matters worst another man is also occupying seat 112! To make the story short, my colleague ended up taking seat 116(?). Early that night, being tired of waking up early morning, I decided to go to sleep. The boat was starting to rock side to side. Later the boat was swaying the hardest, I'm not sure if its because I'm sleeping or I'm just good at it that I did'nt get dizzy. From all of my sides I can hear people throwing up. Then I realized the boat stop, we were now at Odiongan Port, also at the island of Romblon. Most of the people alighted. It is also then that I heard the news that the air-conditioning for the 1st class room broke down, luck were still on our side. The next day(Sunday, April 5) we arrived at Romblon, Romblon, the Capital. I'm so relieved to be on the ground again.

The name seems familiar.

Sardines is an understatement



Sweet Dreams



There are two schedule of boat rides from here to sibuyan 9 and 12pm, we decided to take the latter so that we can spend some time checking the place. Describing the island, it looks like a port city that blends the old and new. Fort San Andres is located in this city. Theres also an old spanish church were the bell tower was restored with most parts still from the old materials. For those whos not familiar, Romblon is the marble capital of the Philippines. Hence, when your walking at the cemented roads, you will see bits and pieces of marbles (I think they use crushed marble instead of gravel).

Purely solid marble
.


Old Manila?


Then hurriedly we took the boat ride going to Sibuyan, its another two long hours ride. =) When we arrived at Manong Lees residence (the jumpoff), we were greeeted by his wife and Nono his son. Nono is the barangay captain of this place and also the head of the guides. Its good to know that hes a PALMC member! We were allowed to have our packs inside the house, use their kitchen and dining place. We later even slept on their sala. =D. But before that we also took a dip to barangays river/dam, we havent took a bath since yesterday. Imagine our smell.




12 people are on board.

Feel so good to take a dip.

G2 View from the Dam.

Related posts:

• Mt. Guiting-guiting  climb
• Mt. Guiting-guiting side-trips

Mt. Maculot Traverse

Its our climb to Guiting-guiting next week (holyweek) and as a part of our training regimen, we need to do a training climb. We decided to take a dayhike in Mt. Maculot but with a twist, well gonna do a traverse (my first time doing this).
The start of the trek of course does'nt start on the traditional route. For one you have to start at the trail that will take you to the pilgrimage site of the 'Grotto'. The locals were very adamant to let us proceed, one reason is that a rescue operation is going on. For 5 days rescuers are trying to find a lost 71 year old man who climb Mt. Maculot alone. Also, eventhough its summer its raining for several days in Cuenca. They are discouraging us, saying the path is slippery, we have to pass a very narrow trail and that there are women in our group (if they only knew what my women colleagues have already been to!). To make the story short we were able to go on but opted to take two guides, since this trail is the one less traveled.
The trail to grotto is exposed and occasionally have cemented stairs. A few meters from the Actual Grotto site are huts of merchants who are taking advantage of the influx of pilgrims for the holyweek. Here is were we took our lunch.


At the Grotto, with our French friend Louis

After Grotto, you will greeted by a steep ascent in a densely covered forrest. There are two locations were you need to use the stationed ropes. Its a good thing that rain came after this area or else its going to be difficult to climb. After a few more hours you will reach the summit. Mind you that the summit is also densely covered so there is no view at all. We stayed here for a few minutes then we decided to go down to the rockies. The descent is also steep and very muddy, then you will reach the grassland (kugon-an) saddle that will take you to the huts that sell halo-halo. From here its on to the rockies. We took some pictures and then we decided to head back down going the traditional route. We reach the traditional route jumpoff (mountaineers store) at around 7:00pm.


(sorry, blurry pics. madilim eh)


wet de la summit!

Mt. Maculot is one of the easiest to climb but is also one of the most rewarding because of the view from the rockies, the reason that this is a must for beginners. But for those who want to take Maculot to next level, traversing is a very good idea.
And BTW, as expected the locals were over describing the trail. Yep, its true that its muddy, steep and you indeed a rope is some parts. But not as difficult as they were saying.


taal lake at the background (almost slipped here. wet rocks. )


UPDATE : We left Cuenca, Batangas with still no word of the lost 71 year old man. Hoping he can still be found and nothing bad/serious happened to him.

Mt. Malasimbo

February 28, 2009. Its my second time to go to Puerto Galera, but this time its not for beach or nightlife but to climb the mountain beside it. Mt. Malasimbo. The jumpoff of Mt. Malasimbo is just a tricycle away from the white beach. First thing I wonder about the trail is that why is it so steep, slippery and directly straight. Upon examining, this is not just the trail for hikers for also for logs! Yes, illegally cut logs that are slided down on this path. Its kindda silly since theres a big sign at the jumpoff that illegal loggers are not welcome. sus! Trapo talaga!
I've read from blogs that this mountain is also infested by limatiks. Ive encountered some, but not as many as the one in Makiling. Along the trail, we were also able to meet a few locals of this mountain, the Mangyans.
The trail is mostly the same along the way upto the campsite. Campsite is very exposed, and since its near the ocean, the wind is blowing very hard. From this place, you have a complete view of the beach and the islands nearby. Our plan is to summit after arriving at the campsite but since we missed our schedule and its getting dark, we shelved the plan for early tommorow morning. As night went on the wind was blowing harder, worst, look like its going to rain. The wind was blowing so hard the my buddys tent (our tent) was flattened. It turned out that his pole bended. We cut our 'socials' short and opted to sleep. And then it rain. The flapping of the flysheet and rain woke me up several times.
Sadly, we woke up to the sound of rain. We decided to cancel our summit assault to due bad weather. If the climb was very steep, imagine the descent with rain. Very very slippery. There are also expose parts were we need to cover our face coz it hurts when the raging rain hits you. In the middle of our descent rain stops, it turns out that its only raining on top of the mountain.
We reach the beach around noon time. Some of us took a dip, then clean up. After which we decided to head back home.

MSR 4L Dromedary bag.

Since I decided to go LightPacking, I need to free-up as much space as possible to my bag. This is one of the reason I bought this hydration equipment. The main benifit of this bag is that its a space saver. It normally molds to the space inside the backpack where you put it, unlike water bottles that create gaps. It is also very durable, abration resistant. I have tried putting hot water, cold water, used it as a pillow and even hanged it in a tree, still no problem was encountered. You can even interchange the cap of a Nalgene 1L water bottle with this one.
One downside though is that when new, water has a plastic after taste. But there is a remedy, I ask MSR customer service and they emailed me the simple procedure. But it could have been better if this was included in the manual.

PROS
- Very Durable
- Space Saver
- Frees space in your bag as water is consumed
- Light

CONS
- Water has plastic after taste when new

Mt. Pundaquit traverse to Anawangin

I had been longing to go to the fast becoming popular backpacking haven beach called Anawangin. The place is located in San Antonio, Zambales. And I guess the best way to do it is to bring some of my officemates who are also into nature.I know its difficult to organize a climb, but we should always share the experience.
Since its just gonna be on a weekend and to maximize the time we have, we left on a friday night. The bus left Manila at around 11pm, and arrived in San Antonio early in the morning of Saturday (4am). There are two ways to go to Anawangin beach, one is by via boat, the other is by trekking and traversing Mt. Pundaquit. We decided to take the latter. I could consider the trek easy. We started still dark and opted to take a guide. According to the blogs I saw on the net, the traverse would take 6-7 hours. It took us 5 hours, not bad.





Arriving at the beach, you will be greeted by pine trees. The sand (which is actually lahar) is very white and fine. The beach is very nice and the water is warm. You can go far into the water and is still not too deep. The pine trees are situated close to each other that you can place a hammock. There are also several bamboo tables you can use for preparing food. The beach is perfect for pitching tents, swimming/dipping, and even bonfire during the night.






The next morning we went to a hill beside the beach to have a birds eyeview of the place, very good place for taking pictures. Theres also a river beside the hill, also a perfect place for dipping. The water is crystal clear and is surrounded by pine trees too.




We break camp around noon and for the last leg of our trip, we dropped by Capones Island. This island has an old lighthouse that I believe was created during the spanish era. After spending some time travel, we went back to San Antonio then back to Manila.






Our trip is tiring but is very much satisfying. Compressing three major points (trek, beach and lighthouse) in just two days is already feat. Already looking forward to our next trip.

Lowe Alpine Beartooth 45

After spending some time in Limbo, I finally gotten hold of this bag. I was a bit reluctant about this bag, but after using it once, it exceeds my expectations. The bag is very good built, just what we should expect of a Lowe Alpine quality. The bag has two main features, the first one is the Centro Adjustment System, which is a very easy adjustment of the back length of the bag depending on the torso of user. It is color coded and is very easy to understand. The other one is the Pure AirZone back ventilation, unlike other bags which has mesh to ventilate your back, this bag has a complete gap with the users back that keeps the airflow continous for less sweat and heat. The space is just enough for light packing. I used to own 60 liter bag which is made locally, I could say that moving to a smaller bag is quite hard at the beginning but later on will give you lots of benefits. Light packing is now the way to go.
The hip belt and shoulder strap is comfortable yet very sturdy, when worn properly is just like the bag is hugging my back. The top cover has an outside and inside pocket for keeping things that you need quick access to. It has two side pockets that can be compressed to lessen the space of the bag for shorter trips. The wand pockets are small but can be use for trekking poles or tent poles. It also comes with a raincover that is durable. The strap in front is only for one trekking pole but can handle two. It also comes with a hydration pocket(but I dont use those, I prefer drinking in bottes)
So far I can give this bag 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Pros
- well built
- easy to adjust torso length
- space is just right
- good back ventilation
- good back support, very comfortable
- compared to my previous bag, Im less tired after a trek.


Cons
- a bit heavy for a lighpacking bag (3lbs according to net)
- side pockets when use may interfere with wand pockets

Columbia Storm Dry Jacket.

When I was in Minnesota, my second month was the start of winter. Coming from a tropical country, I dont have any insulation clothes for this kind of weather. Thats the reason I decided to buy this gear. There are lots of winter clothing available in the stores, but I want something I can still use when I go back to the Philippines. As a primer this jacket is 3-in-1, it can be use as fleece, rain jacket and when you combine the two, it turns into a winter jacket. As a fleece its very warm and comfy, as a winter jacket it also serves its purpose well. The pocket is even insulated that will make your hands warm. I havent tried as a rain gear yet. But so far I think it also good on this part, when I was washing it the water over the jacket turns into beads. So far I think this is a good buy.

Pros
- very warm as a winter jacket
- easy to set up
- comfortable
- good built

Cons
- a bit heavy
- As with any 3in1 jacket its bulky, might take a lot of space of your bag

Columbia Pagora

I'm not really a big fan of Columbia shoes, but after seeing the discounted price. I decided to buy this one. But of course the shoes is also of good quality. Its a breathable but not water proof (im not a fan of goretex shoes), light and cushion trekking shoes. Its so comfy that it doesnt need breaking in. It has the new techlite midsole technology. The main sole is columbia omni-grip. In the two recent climbs that I used this shoe, so far it meets my expections. I just hope it will the same for my upcoming major climb. If theres one thing I want more is that the sole was made of Vibram.

Pros
-light
-cushioned and comfy -breathable, so you feet always stay cool.
-nice shoe string adjusment, hugs your feet well.

Cons
-sole is a bit soft, might encountered problems on hard ground.

-sole has tendency to slip on was floors, might also slide on wet rocks.

Hiking Minnesota

The Weather here in Minnesota had been going down tremendously as the winter approaches. But last sunday miraculously it was sunny and the temperature was about 20C. So I decided to take my long planned hike to a nature trail found here in Eden Prairie(purgatory creek). Long planned but I was not that prepared, I was thinking I might not be able to do this anymore because of the weather and logistics. So hurriedly I logon to google earth and took my directions and note everything I could find, prepared my stuff and began my hike/walk. It took me almost 2 hours just to reach the site, passing by main roads intersections and village houses. There was even a time I went under the bridge to pass the main highway.
Upon reaching the place first thing I notice was there are lots of birds, lots of birds means lots of trees. I was expecting a place were there is an establish trail. But to my surprise, its a very thick forrest with lots of tall bushes and grass. It was just like Im doing an exploration of a mountain in the Philippines, theres no clear path and you can easily get lost (kindda like the forrest in Blair Witch movie). As I enter and went deep into the place I got several bruises on my left arm. I usually bend on small paths that can be found on several bushes. I think these are paths of animals that roam here, coz I can see their tracks and droppings on this trail. I was able to see two squirrels eating tree flowers. I also see a Doe, but thinking it was a wolf I was caught by surprise ( I also saw paw prints, maybe from a dog or wolf). The Doe ran and jump so fast I was not able to take a picture of it. I also reach the brook that was all along this trail. Water is clear but the look is not that pretty. Just like a small river in the province in our country. As the sun started to set, I decided to go back. Its a good thing I have my compass watch which help find my way back.
Though Im not that fulfilled as I was not able to fully explore the place, my curiosity was quench as how is it to do a Hiking Minnesota.
If I may add, arriving home and looking at the pdf file on the website was dated 2005. Hence the change in the place, maybe not to many locals are accesing this place.
More pictures here Passing a lake on my way


Blair Witch Forrest

Squirrels getting food


Deer tracks