Almost a year ago, Mt. Batulao in Batangas was my first training climb to get into GAC. It was a tough climb for me, I even had to do night trek for that supposed day-hike. Now, I'm back as what they call the Team Lead for our open/fun climb for the year. ^_^ This will be one of my favorite climbs simply because it's the least stressful one.
Prelude:
I was sad that all the people I invited could not make it. But I was hopeful I'd still get to enjoy the climb - reunion with some old folks, meet new friends, and take some nice photos. The day before was quite stressful because I had to do some shopping for the food we'll cook at the campsite. I forgot our tent at the office so I had to go back for that, only to realize that a regular backpack won't do so I had to rush back to the office early morning to get my mountaineering backpack sitting idly under my desk.
On a Saturday, Jan. 29, at 9:00am we met up at Crow Bus Station, EDSA-Taft. I forgot to buy salt and patis, but the lady from the carinderia, where some of us had breakfast, was kind enough to give some. :) At 10, as indicated in our itinerary, we lined up for the bus bound for Nasugbu. The line was quite long, with some other mountaineers headed for Mt. Talamitam. 30 minutes later we got on board to a 2.5 hour ride to Evercrest Golf Course, our initial jumpoff.
We had lunch at the carinderia near Evercrest. Then we rode a tricycle to get to the starting point of our trek 15-20 min. away. We were 1 hour behind our itinerary but since this was a fun climb, I guess it's ok. After a brief prayer, we started our trek. 20 minutes later, we saw a nipa hut where buko juice is being sold. I decided to take a quick stop (Yes, one of the perks of being TL is you get to decide when the group stops or continues. Hehe). But what was intended to be a quick water break turned out to be longer moments of kwentuhan and photo ops.
At around 4:20pm, we reached the 1st campsite. We registered and rested for little while. See why I love fun climbs, hehe.
Finally after passing 5 more campsites, at around 5:00pm, we reached camp 7. This is where we'd stay for the night. We immediately pitched our tents, settled our belongings, then off to trek towards the summit for some sunset shots.
We reached halfway towards the summit, while the others were already on their way. And I decided it was enough for me, who forgot to bring her headlamp for some night-trek. After some shots, we headed back to campsite. The trail was more difficult on descent than assault. My girl friend and I were unprepared for a night trek. But good thing we survived it, while catching up with some stories on our way down.
Barely catching some breath, right after reaching our base, we started to prepare for dinner. We had sinigang, (which was really delicious), lumpiang shanghai, and sisig. After dinner, it rained a little so I decided to get inside our tent to have some rest as well. When the rain seemed to have stopped, I decided to come out and join the socials. Things started to get crazy funny. We slept at around 11.
At 6am, we woke up to prepare breakfast and catch the sunrise at 6:25. It was a pretty good breakfast that took around 2 hours to prepare. It seemed we all took our time, enjoyed each moment. I especially loved the soup; the wind was too strong I didn't want to think what other ingredients got into it. :p
At 10am, we started to trek towards the summit (again) en route to the new trail back to jumpoff. Here are some snaps taken at the summit. The guy who took our group shots usually uploads stuff almost a year later. Guess I didn't want to wait for that. Haha. The P25 bottle of Mountain Dew was soooo worth it.
Before lunchtime, we started our descent back to jumpoff. I finished at around 1:30pm. I could've done better. I don't know if it was my lack of physical training, or severe dedication to go home to my family alive and uninjured that made me slow or rather cowardly. :))
Just when I thought the day was over. After having lunch, taking a bath, our ride home was still one heck of a ride. For one, to someone who had motion-sickness, it was on a jeepney. Another was the shots of the bar being passed on. So I felt dizzy, but fortunately I did not puke. Many thanks to all the guests, members who were part of this journey.
Lessons Learned:
1. Fun climb is fun (and funny) indeed. Less time pressure, I really got to enjoy each moment.
2. There are far more important things than comfort and convenience.
2. There are far more important things than comfort and convenience.
3. On being lazy and submissive: learn to explicitly say no esp. when threshold is reached.
4. What is a friend? Someone who tells you what you need rather than what you want to hear. Someone who'll never leave you astray. Someone who'll protect you even from yourself. Well I think I've found these traits from my siblings in GAC. :)
Expenses Guide:
| cost per group | cost per head | |
| bus to nasugbu | 106 | |
| tricycle ride (Evercrest-jumpoff and v.v.) | 120 (/3) | |
| water, trail food, toiletries | 250 | |
| lunch , day 1 | 60 | |
| dinner, breakfast (day2) | 1800 (/14) | |
| lunch, day 2 | 50 | |
| mountain dew | 25 | |
| bathroom rental | 20 | |
| buko juice | 30 | |
| mt. batulao reg fee | 20 | |
| mt. batulao reg fee (traverse) | 20 | |
| guide fee (2) | 500 | |
| iwatani (3) | 180 | |
| jeepney rental to manila | 2000 |
P.S.
At some point my family will get to read this entry. So let me end by saying I'm sorry for breaking a promise. I'm going to have some explaining to do so I'm going to save it 'til then. ;)
To the folks out there (of course, those who don't have that strict parents), I highly recommend for you to join a fun climb at least once in your life. A great feat, it would feel awesome to have conquered yourself through that mountain.
To the folks out there (of course, those who don't have that strict parents), I highly recommend for you to join a fun climb at least once in your life. A great feat, it would feel awesome to have conquered yourself through that mountain.
