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| Sunrise at Mt. Batolusong |
Last Saturday, my work friends and I hiked Mt. Batolusong. We're all beginners and for most of the group it was their first time to hike. I've had the interest and desire to hike more ever since my Mt. Pinatubo hike with high school friends, so I'm glad we were able to organize this one and this time with a much bigger group. My body is still aching as I write this blog entry, but it's the kind of ache I wouldn't mind having if I were to do it all over again <3 Allow me to share our experience in long form~
My work friends and I were searching for a good mountain that would be easy for beginners and close enough to Manila. Mt. Batolusong in Tanay, Rizal was on the top of our list since it was near and it had great views of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. After reaching a consensus, we then booked our trip with GA Outdoors. We coordinated with them regarding pick-up points and things to bring and such. They also took care of the guide fee and environmental fee!
I was excited for this hike, sooo excited that I didn't have proper sleep prior. We were all scheduled to meet at our respective pick-up points wherein our van would fetch us from. After picking us all up, our van left Manila at 2:00AM.
We were all pretty lively and chatty, although eventually our conversations took a pause since we tried to get some sleep.. albeit unsuccessfully. We arrived at Tanay, Rizal at 3:00AM, which was earlier than we all expected. I do love how we were early though, since we were able to take care of the necessary paperworks, payments, and we even got to stretch.
Before we headed out for our hike, our guide explained to us a few important things about the mountain. Mt. Batolusong has a total of 3 summits: Duhatan Ridge (442 MASL), Mapatag Plateau (645 MASL), and Rangyas Peak (883 MASL). It also has a 3/9 difficulty as rated by Pinoy Mountaineer.
The goal is to reach the summits and return to base camp before lunch time because the sun's rays would be so painful by then.
1st Summit: Duhatan Ridge (442 MASL)
We started our hike at 4:00AM. It was still dark so we used our headlamps as our light source. Our guide explained to us that we needed to go through 4 Phases before we could reach Duhatan Ridge. It was mostly manageable at first, until we crossed the stream and after that it was mostly uphill from there. We knew then that it was the start of Phase 1. The trail is very much established so hikers won't have any problem with navigation.
The ascent was quite a challenge. I consider myself a baby hiker, having only hiked Mt. Pinatubo before this one. It was steep and I think the fact that we couldn't see much of the surrounding forest made it feel like the ascent was never-ending. We would only hear from our guide that there's a rest stop nearby, and that would serve as our motivation to power through. Our breaks were merely just for drinking water and catching our breath. There were also other groups before and after us, so we all had to take turns and be mindful to let the next group take their break.
It was such a relief every time we got to take a break. We were all in our twenties yet we all felt like our hearts could burst from exhaustion! At the beginning of the hike, everyone was still chatting, but the group certainly got more silent the further up we went. At some point I began to feel conscious about my breathing, because that was all I could hear. I was beginning to think maybe everyone else could hear my gasps for breath.. but turns out everyone was the same-- we were all hearing our own breathing. Pacing yourself and taking breaks is very important.
After an hour and a half (5:30AM), we finally reached Duhatan Ridge. It was still dark so we couldn't see much, but the breeze was cold and it felt rewarding after going through the 4 Phases. After reaching the first summit, there would be Phase 5-6, although our guide shared that they were going to be shorter. Yay!
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| 5:00AM at Duhatan Ridge |
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| Proof that we hiked in the dark haha |
2nd Summit: Mapatag Plateau (645 MASL)
We rested a bit then decided to go through Phase 5 which would then lead us to Mapatag Plateau. This part was much much easier than the first 4 Phases. Although it was uphill, this time we were surrounded by tall weeds and grass. I then knew that we were headed towards the grasslands, which is by far my favorite part of hikes and treks. During this time the sun was rising so we no longer needed our headlamps. It was much better seeing our surroundings while hiking because seeing nature made us feel like the exhaustion was very much worth it. After less than an hour, we arrived at a rest stop which had a store and picturesque views of the surrounding mountain ranges.
We spent a good amount of time here taking photos and eating our trail food. I felt like I burned all of the meals I ate the day prior! It's a funny feeling but we all needed to recover from all the energy spent. We were all running on pure adrenaline since we all had no decent hours of sleep.
The grasslands were comforting to see. I like seeing the grass dance as the wind blows. I also observed that the wind tends to sound like a bird. At some point I was asking my fellow hikers if they were making the sounds, but apparently it really was just the wind.
The way to Mapatag Plateau was simply beautiful everywhere we looked. We eventually reached our second summit at 7:00AM.
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| Horse spotted! |
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| Mandatory shot with the signage to mark every milestone of the hike |
3rd Summit: Rangyas Peak (883 MASL)
After taking photos and admiring the view, we set out for another ascent (Phase 6) to Rangyas Peak. It's the last summit and the way to it was much like what we experienced in the first 4 Phases, although this time it was shorter. By this time, whenever I looked back, I could see more and more of the mountain ranges and grasslands from above and it was an exciting feeling knowing that we were already near.
There were ropes we had to hold onto, and since we already experienced something like this at the beginning, we somehow had an idea of what to do and expect. Eventually there came the technical part of the climb which was pretty much rock climbing. It was honestly daunting, because I've never done it before and it was steep. But I knew I had to do it. I was already there and I was determined to reach the peak!!!
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| Tricky part, but we all made it! |
And so I did it, with the help of our guide and my fellow hiker friends who were already at the top, cheering me on. I just kept looking up and did not look down at all as much as possible. It was windy and sunny and I knew I had to keep going. After a while, we all finally reached the top at around 8:00AM.
It was windy and sunny at the highest peak, and I couldn't help but feel so lucky and blessed that we were able to do this with good weather. We took lots of photos and stayed there for a while because we wanted to imprint the view in our minds. I think it's a must-do, to just sit at the peak and stare at nature. It truly was a sight to behold.
I felt grateful to be there, to be alive and be in good health to climb mountains *tears up*
Eventually, we had to go down since it was already almost 10:00AM. We went down the same way we went up and the views were equally just as rewarding. Going down was a challenge as well, because we were all careful not to slip. There were times when I had to squat just to make sure I would go down unscathed.
We no longer took breaks, although we did take a good long one at the store and drank water and ate the rest of our trail food. We were all in good spirits, but very much tired.. we were mustering up all the strength we had left as we descended the mountain. On our way back, we got to see the trail for the 4 Phases. It was a forest with a lot of bamboo trees. It was so much nicer seeing our surroundings in the daylight.
We were able to reach base camp by 11:00AM. Not bad at all for a group of beginners! We then hopped in the van and were on our way to our drop off points which were the same as our respective pick up points.
Some learnings from this hike
♡ A beginner mountain does not necessarily mean it will be an easy hike and no preparation will be needed for it. I think every hike (or even a trek) needs preparation beforehand. This could range from physical to mental preparation such as doing the research about the mountain. While you may not always know every single thing you will encounter on the hike, it's always best to gather information online or ask someone you know who may have hiked there before.♡ It's ideal to hike in the months of December - February since you wouldn't have to worry so much about the weather. It's not rainy and it's not too hot during these months in the Philippines, so it's best to consider hiking in these months.
♡ My hiking pole was a life-saver. There were many times when I thought I was going to slip when we were going down the mountain, but my hiking pole helped me with my balance. If you're a beginner hiker, I would suggest Decathlon's trekking poles!
♡ I highly recommend GA Outdoors :-) Our coordination went smoothly and they were always early.
♡ Hiking with my work friends was a great experience because we shared through all the suffering, laughter, and victories. In a way it strengthened our bond even more since this hike became a core memory for all of us. :-)
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