My Climbs & Treks in 2013

     2013 changed my life.  From being monotonous, boring, robotic and uneventful, 2013 found me breathing in fresh alkaline air, sweating out in natural environment, meeting new friends, reaching altitudes I've never been to before, and rediscovering my old bundokera self.

    Here is a list of the mountains and places I've trekked in 2013.  

    1.  Mt. Pulag. Ambangeg Trail; Bokod, Benguet; 2922 MASL. January 26-27, 2013;  2 days, 1 night. Ascent-3 hours; Descent 2 hours. With Atty Jubil Surmieda and his group.  It was here where I met Sir Pareng Neil Bernas and Atty. and Mrs. Alvin Moraña and the other foster sons of Jubil for the first time. Rewards: Breathtaking moonset & sunrise, the overwhelming sight of the sea of clouds, new friends.  Challenges: freezing cold; wasn't able to sleep because of the freezing temperature; I didnt have my own tent then; no appropriate earth pads, thermal wear, sleeping bag. 

      2. Mt. Maculot. Cuenca, Batangas. 930 MASL.February 16-17, 2013.  2 days, 1 night.  Ascent 4 hours; Descent 3 hours.  With My Son Kyle, Papoy Ramores, Rogie Alba, Bokbok de Asis, Niño Reyes, Josie Asidao, Eayore Torres, Song Peralta.  Rewards: Scenic view atop the Rockies, Starry night; Cool evening breeze; Many among the group were first time climbers; Bokbok cooked crispy dilis, ang sarap!! Rogie the Clown was there so full of laughters!; Challenges: noisy neighboring campers; so many commercial establishments; new trail so very slippery.

     

       3. Mt. Manalmon, San Miguel, Bulacan. 196 MASL.  March 10, 2013.  Dayhike.  Ascent 2 hours; descent 1 hour. With Kyle, Meowchie, Eayore, and the comelekkerz. Rewards: A beautiful tree at the top of the rocky summit; it looked like a cherry blossom tree in autumn; perfect for dramatic photography; monkey bridge adventure; caves/spelunking !!; very nice and efficient guides!; accessible food source (stores); beautiful 360 degrees view of the Sierra Madre mountain range as well as Mt. Arayat; very near Manila; Challenges: none that I remember.

       4.  Mt. Banahaw, Zoologists' Trail somewhere along the north-eastern slopes. 2158 MASL but we only reached 1700 MASL. April 7, 2013.  Dayhike; Exploration Climb. Rewards: Virgin forest; pure air; evergreen surroundings; refreshing spring water; Challenges:  very difficult, slippery trails; thorny plants everywhere along the trail; Limatiks present; very long exhausting walk.

       
      5. Mauritius Treks (to be discussed in a separate blog.)

      6. Mt. Manalmon & Mt. Gola 49th Birthday Climb, June 1-2, 2013, San Miguel, Bulacan. With the Comelec Trekkers and my children.  Rewards: relaxed pace. it was more of a celebration than a climb.  We camped by the river (knowing that it was super summer and no rain forecast).  We did BMC 2 the ff day. Challenges: almost none.

        7. Mt. Daguldol, Laiya, San Juan, Batangas.  672 MASL; July 6-7, 2013;  2 days 1 night; Ascent 4-5 hours (puro kwentuhan at pahinga); Descent 3 hours.  BMC 3.  Rainy camping and descent.  With Atty. Shugar & Bang; Botetch Miranda, and the rest of the Comelec Trekkers there were about 20+; 4 teams with color-coded uniforms; 4 kitchens too with matching cookfest; Rewards: Actual BMC 3 (Camp Management); We experienced a stormy camping.  Challenges: Our tents became evacuation tents with 5 of us curling up in my two-person tent. Lesson learned: Invest on proper rain gear when trekking on rainy months.

       8.- 9. Mt. Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas, July 21 and August 10-11, 2013; 811 MASL; Dayhike; Ascent: 4 hours; Descent 3 hours. With the comelec trekkerz. Rewards: Beautiful view, beautiful mountain! Challenges: too many registration fees; unsightly comfort rooms near campsite; too many vendors and stores; very muddy road before the mountain.

     

        10. Mt. Tapulao, Palauig, Zambales; 2037 MASL; August 24-25; 2 days 1 night; Ascent 12 hours; Descent 11 hours. With Sir Neil Bernas, Atty. Alvin Moraña, and their other friends; Meowchy, Gracey, Eayore Torres,.  It is here where we met Ryan Glen Aclore and his group. Rewards: Pulag-like features: sea of clouds; pine trees at higher altitudes; mystical summit with bonsai vegetation; very supportive comelec colleagues who welcomed us after the climb with food and accomodation fiesta-mode!; We were formally inducted by Atty. Alvin into the mountaineering circle during the Post-Climb Meeting yehey!!; Challenges: very long trek with monotonous environment (that very long rocky road that never ends); Limatiks along the way; rainy climb (well, if it didnt rain, it might have been more difficult because the trail is exposed); the night trek part was scary; some of us smelled different scary scents. One of our native guides almost fainted due to hunger and hypothermia.

      11. Mt. Manabu, Sto. Tomas, Batangas. 760 MASL; October 20, 2013.  Halfday Hike; With Bokbok de Asis, Meowchy and Song Peralta.  Ascent: 2 hours (we got lost for 15 minutes because it was very dark; that includes the Alamid Coffee stopover at the Nipa Hut of Ka Perying; it was nice chatting with him; we started at 4am; Descent: 1 hour.  Rewards: Easy climb; The Civet Cat Coffee of Ka Perying is beyond compare! not to mention his warm hospitality to all mountaineers passing by his hut; Nice view at the summit; Challenges: muddy trail; too many tourists you meet along the trail.

    

        12. Mt. Pulag, Ambangeg Trail (2nd climb), November 9-10, 2013. 2922 MASL; Bokod, Benguet.  2 days 1 night but it became a Dayhike because we were held at the Ranger Station and stayed there for the night in view of the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda which we didnt expect to be slamming far-reaching winds up north; Ascent: 4 hours; Descent 3 hours. We met and climbed with the Antipolo Nature Explorers Group and Malabon Rescuers for the first time: Sir Joel Cruz, Egay, Ricky, Popoy... My son Kyle was with us, Meowchy, Maiko, Josie, Pat Pareja Aquino... We almost lost hope that we could climb; Thankfully Maam Mering allowed us to do a dayhike the following day.  The wind was still strong. Rewards: A rainbow that followed us wherever we go and the never-fading eternal beauty of Mt. Pulag and its surrounding mountains; A dog named TelTel climbed with us and we were so amazed by her guiding capability; Challenges: very cold temperature because of the typhoon; (and severe hangover for those who drank to death the night before).

     13. Tinipak River, Daraitan, Tanay, Rizal.  (no climb; just river trek). November 17, 2013.  Dayhike.  With Sir Joel, Eayore, Jonalyn, my cousin Nelson Gonzales and my son Kyle.  This was the first time I saw Daraitan and I fell in love with the place.

        14.  Mt. Pulag, Ambangeg Trail (3rd Climb) December 6-7, 2013; with camping; 2 days 1 night; Ascent 3 hours; Descent 2 hours; With Aj Ramos, Eayore; Song Peralta. Rewards: Camp 2 was almost exclusively ours;  we discovered the advantages of climbing in very small group; unconditional support of Maam Gina Epe; Challenges: the scary monster habal-habal rides! 

        

    There you go, my 2013 treks!! I hope to be writing my longer and more detailed stories on each of the abovementioned climbs, work and time allowing.

    2014 and 2015 Treks forthcoming!! abangan po.