Sinumpa ko na tong bundok na to after ng unang akyat ko na never will I return dahil sa sobrang kapagod ang traverse to Silanguin Cove. I guess nagkamali na naman ako, same sa Mt. Arayat na binalikan ko din after few weeks.


The reason why I joined this climb primary for 2 reasons: The Itinerary was tempting and This time I'm with PACKERS. It's been a while na hindi ako nakakasama sa mga climbs ng group na to....... 'kinna miss these peeps.

Dahil medyo may idea na ako sa trail kaya I packed light, light because this time may dala na akong tent. Hindi na ako nagdala ng trail food and focused more on water and Gatorade. This time, hindi na ako nagshorts and nagfivefingers.

The usual route, sakay ng Victory liner sa may Edsa-Taft then baba sa Victory Terminal - Olongapo. We waited para sa hired jeep and the rest of the team. By the way, majority ng sumama dito ay first time ko nakasama sa climb, namely Elyn and Ryan (Nakasama ko from Manila to Olongapo) then sina sir Edwin, sir Jo and mam Neg.

Up until now, Hindi pa ako nakapag Mt. Pulag kahit Amba-Amba trail man lang. Every mountaineers knew that Mt. Pulag offers a fantastic view of "The Sea of Clouds", however I am not yet physically and equipment ready so I tried choosing other mountain, Mt. Damas. 

Few of my fellow climbers mentioned that this mountain offers such view kaya am excited for the climb. 5 of us. from Stormchaser Group, joined 20 other participants of the said climb which was hosted by Green Advocates for Mother Earth - Nature Explorers Society of Tarlac (GAME-NEST).

Gearing up for the climb, I prepared 2 packed meals (breakfast and lunch), 2 liters of water, 2 liters of Gatorade and 1 500ml of Powerade. I also bought my first Apexus Tadpole Tent, Trek Pole, 2 pairs of clothes and my climb body Chocobo.

This was my first time to participate on a climb wherein I have no idea what's instore for the 2 day activity since I did not received any itinerary.  

We left Manila via Five Star Bus (Cubao Terminal) around 7.30am heading to Camiling, Tarlac. No idea about the distance, we were a bit shocked because we paid 200+ for the fare, indeed it was a long ride.... no wonder ganoon kamahal ang pamasahe. 

Mt. Talamitam
Nasugbu, Batangas
Jump-off point: Sitio Bayabasan, Brgy. Aga, Nasugbu (KM. 83)
LLA: 14.1158° N; 120.7577° N; 630 MASL
Days required/ Hours to summit: 1 day / 2 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 1-3 with steep assault (100m)

(Source: www.pinoymountaineer.com)

- Mt. Talamitam, name derive from Talamitam Trees used to grow  on the area.

This is a Sabit Climb. Sabit ako sa group nila Grace. Grace was a former office of mine, matagal na namin plan na umakyat noong nasa previous company pa ako, hindi nga lang mapush thru dahil hindi tumutugma schedule namin noon.

She invited me sa akyat na to since matagal na din yong group nya hindi nakakaakyat ng bundok, kaso marami nagbackout kaya we ended up 4 ang natuloy. Grace, Franz, Justin and Me.

Hindi ko masyado nadocument ang lakad na to kaya hindi magiging detailed ako.... hehehehe.

Mt. Talamitam is sometimes called Sister mountain of Mt. Batulao dahil sa open-field type na trail. Clue na natin yan na maghanda ng pananga kay haring araw.

We took a bus, yung terminal sa may MRT-Taft (Likod ng McDo), bound for Nasugbu, Batangas around 7.30am drop off point is KM 88.

We paid 25 pesos each for registration. Since the four of us were new sa Mt. Talamitam, we hired a guide for 300.00. 

After registration, pinakilala kami nung guide namin kay Sir Ted (caretaker ng Mt. Talamitam). He gave us a short orientation about sa area, on going ang reforestation sa area ang currently there are 800 seedlings planted and needs adequate water supply. What Sir Ted and his group does is, aside sa regular akyat nila para diligan ang mga seedlings, nagrerequest siya sa mga mountaineers na magdala ng water (mineral water na container). 

Bubutasan niya yung cap (serves as the sprinkler once squeezed)  then he let the mountaineers left it sa taas. Nice idea, isn't it?!   

Just a few weeks after my first Mt. Arayat Traverse, nasundan kaagad eto. This time I'm with my 2 former akyat buddies, the last time we climbed together noong nagMt. Cristobal pa, sobrang tagal na noon.

I led the group paakyat since fresh pa sa isipan ko ang trail. We left Manila around 3.30am para magkapagstart ng maaga since we wanted na by the time magtraverse na kami around 11:00am - 12:00pm namin gawin to avoid to much exposure sa araw, iba na kasi ang temperature nowadays, sobrang init.

Luckily, hinatid kami mismo ng Bus sa SM San Fernando,  then hired a tricycle going to Jump off point (Bgry, Ayala, Magalang). This time hindi na ako nakipaghaggle ng price kasi when the driver asked for PhP 400.00 na fare, I said fair enough since 400.00 din naman yung hiningi sa amin noong unang climb ko. 

Madilim pa noong narating namin ang Jump Off point, good thing nagdala si Anlyn ng "malaking" lamp because Thyrone and I forgot to bring our headlamps. (tsk tsk tsk)

The usual, kailangan magregister sa may Police Station, unluckily we need to call their attention para magising sila..... mga 20 mins din kami naghintay para magising sila. By the way, hindi na kami kumuha ng guide (dahil sa mga reasons 1. dahil hindi na kami dumaan sa Brgy. Hall 2. Brgy. Hall opens around 8:00am 3. Fresh pa naman sa akin ang trail going up kaya ako nalang ang Guide sa group) 

This time malaki na ang progress ng mga "Stations of the Cross". I think hindi nila eto mahabol for this year's lent since marami pang major construction. During the first 2 hours ng hike, marami kami nakasabay sa daan (cemented pavements), may mga nagjojog at nagbibike.