Mt. Gulugod Baboy

After the Bloggers Climb at Mt. Batulao, where I met the other travel bloggers, this will be the part two plus a post birthday climb for Lonely Travelogue.  We planned it for two months, and we allotted these special dates just for this event.  Mt. Gulugod Baboy and Mt. Pinagbanderahan are both in Batangas.  According to Pinoy Mountaineer, it measures 525+ MASL so it's really perfect for newbie and first timers.  These two ranges has an open a wide space that serves as the camp site.

Our story started at Buendia Bus Terminal where I arrived late.  When I've reached the fast food that was our meeting place, the other participants were already there and waiting for me, even my packed lunch was already prepared.   I didn't asked them what they felt about me - being late!  when I've entered the entrance of the resto, I just said hi and hello then went to the wash room, I badly needed that place that time.  And when I am done, we easily proceeded to the bus terminal, DLTB Transit.

From Buendia to Diversion is 125 pesos for more two and a half hours travel period.  When we arrived at Diversion, we met the other bloggers.  Then we prepared ourselves, distributed our things to the other participants just to be fair.  When everything was settle, we then took a jeep going to PhilPan.  The jeepney terminal is just few meters from the waiting area.  Regular fee for the jeep is 80 pesos, but on our case, we were 9 people, and we had a contract with the driver, for only 600 pesos he will be going drop us at PhilPan, so no need to take a tricycle - and that's it!
Of course we were still together with the regular passengers, so the driver was still following his original route.  Of course we can't forget the " nagmamadali??" portion.  When all the passengers we already with their destinations, time to occupy the whole jeep, so it was one seat apart.  We also bought our water, lighter and brandy for our the birthday celebration and for the socials.

Anilao the first diving part being developed here in the country is really great.  We were able to see why this place had been a tourist attraction for diving enthusiasts.  The wind was cool, the sky was blue, the beach and the water were clean, it's really perfect for summer. 

It's almost lunch time when we arrived at PhilPan, first thing we've did was to secure the entrance fee and planned our sidetrip to Sombrero Island.  Kuya, I forget his name, he was very talkative and he knows how to play with the tourists because it's his job.  He was like a walking google, I don't know, because it seemed that he knows everything. 

It was a hot noon time, so we decided to take our lunch there in the cottage then at around 2PM, we'll start ascending. So while having our lunch, we've been talking about everything that just came  into our minds, educational and mostly not.  hahaha.  Picture taking can't be removed in every climb, so we had much time posing and taking photos than walking on the trail.  We were also talking about the history of this place, the how, why, what and where were brought out in every topic, of course kuya can answer it for us.

2PM just ticked on our watches, so time to pack up and time to ascend.  As usual, picture taking before doing our first step to ascend, so therefore, expect for more while on the trail.  It was not a good idea ascending by this time, it was really hot, the sun rays were penetrating our jackets and arm warmer.  I was using my brown umbrella sponsored by my friend, but the rays were still penetrating it, I don't know if the sun was hot that time, or I added the hotness while walking, I really can't conclude, let's ask the others. 

It was less than an hour when we've reached our first stop, the area which I saw the cute guy sitting on the bench by the mango tree.  I was wearing my shades that time, so he can't recognize that I was staring to him the whole time.  It was a give and take, because I also noticed him starring on me while I was starring to somewhere else.  I can call myself as assumptionista, but you can't blame me in behaving like this, blame my parents for making me hot like the sun shine.  Just to give you a hint, that was the first stop over, then there was a tarpaulin with Mt. Gulugod Baboy photo and his face was also there.

Okay, let's stop the kalandian portion, after the few minutes rest, we decided to proceed to the next stop over - Naynay Ester's store.  When we arrived at her store, everything was really simple, we were like the son and daughter of Nanay Ester.  She was very accommodating, she even prepared a halo-halo for us, of course it's not for free.  She also informed us about the dogs who act like the thief on the camp site.  I missed Nanay Ester so much! she was like my mother.  But that's only our second stop over, so we needed to proceed to our next stop - another halo-halo store.  We left the store with tears (just adding some drama)

Just few meters away from the store was the entrance trail of Mt. Gulugod Baboy, you can easily notice it because of the board visible to everyone.  After passing near the board, we just started walking the real trail.  The trail was just a simple one, newbie can follow it even without guides.  But the problem that time was really the sun rays, really HOT.  Some parts of the trail were covered with the trees but some were totally open, so sun block is really needed. 

Another resident's house who sells halo-halo was our next stop.  Here, we met the other mountaineers while they were taking a short rest.  We bought ice candy and cold ice water, wait . . . is there a hot ice water??  For me, it will depend on the person who's drinking the water . . with pleasure and art!! Anyways, we were there for few minutes, because we were still waiting for the sun set. 

So when the sun was already hiding on the clouds, we begun to take the trail, hoping that the clouds will protect us from sunlight.  But it's just a dream, and it didn't happened, so we kept on taking a rest every time that we saw a tree that can protect us from the harmful UV Rays.  Did you know that UV Rays can damage your skin a lot, and it can make your skin more older looking if you're not using sun block??  At least now, you already know, and another fact, if you're not using a sun glasses, it can also damage the retina of your eyes, so better to use a sun glasses that has a UV protection, all those products are available in super markets, NATIONWIDE . . . don't use SPF for your eyes, okay, it's for your skin! 

The next part of the trail is within the resident's house, so better to say "ola nanay, buenas dias nanay" and you need to have the  accent of Dora - the Explorer.  Remember that we need to have a courteous manner in every mountains that we explore.  Right after saying those words, we proceeded to the next part.

The next part was the house being destroyed by . . I don't know.  Look at the picture above.  Just few meters from this location was the house of Tatay.  Tatay was also kind, he even informed us about the facts in the area.  We talked about the temperature every BER months in his area.  We also talked about the trail if it's rainy day, so at least we already have the idea about the face of the trail if it's rainy day. According to Tatay, it's few meters more and we'll gonna be reaching the summit.

The whole area has green grass so expect for the cattle pastured just beside the trail.  So if you are scared to the cows, you need to ask tatay to help you.  The next part of the trail was open, but the sun was hiding that time, so we walked hurriedly.  Sharon and I encountered a Y trail, we saw the stone marked on the left side, we knew that it's the correct one, but then we tried to follow the right side, just to explore, and we found out that the two sides were both correct, but the right side part of the trail was longer compared on the left, but the left is steeper than the right side, so your free to select what you want.

So right after that challenge, we saw the clean area, with some coco trees that added a great shadow effects in the photos.  The area was very rewarding, after what we've encountered while we were ascending the trail.  This place is perfect for those people who currently experiencing stress in their lives, because the whole area was really stunning.  The cool wind, fresh air, relaxing ambiance - everything was really perfect!  Take note, this is not yet the summit or the camp site, it's just the additional reward for us.

Few meters after this photo was taken, was another rewarding moment.  The whole area was covered with green grass with trees that gives an amazing accent to the view.  In this part we saw Mt. Batulao and Mt. Maculot which were in the nearby villages.  This time, the sun rays were not striking, but it gave a relaxing, golden shadow effects to each of the trees and the contours of the mountain. 

The summit has an amazing 360 degree view of the entire province of Batangas.  The horizon created by the calm sea water and the brilliant blue skies were unforgettable.  Let's give a round of applause because the clouds were playing with us, created different shapes and sizes that amuses us.  Look at the photos below:

The sun set was really beautiful.  Everyone of us were so excited if how will the horizon can create an amazing view while the sun is doing it's sun set.  While on the summit of Mt. Pinagbaderahan, we were taking jump shots, fhm shots and other shorts which I don't know.  The other group also doing the same thing - well we don't care about them, there was a competition going on that time, hahaha. 

The wind that time was strong, so we decided to leave the summit then built our camp site just few meters away from the summit.  Our camp site was clean (except the cow's poops) that added a unique flavor and challenge.  Since the darkness appeared, some of us decided to pitch our tents while the others were still doing their photo shoots.  Here are some of the photos I captured using my phone:

After pitching our tents on the camp site, we cooked our rice for our dinner.  We ensured that our adobo was hot.  While eating, we noticed the group of wolf, I mean dogs, walking around our place.  So we secured everything that they might get from us.  Imagine the movie Twilight then we were vampires doing a camping on the mountain.  When were done in cooking, time to eat . . . . we were so busy, nobody was talking while eating.  Remember the word manners while eating??  That's it!

After eating, of course time for socials and a birthday celebration. It's a brandy party that night, but  the most unforgettable that night was the topics (showbiz chismis, politics, educational and everything)  We also enjoyed the game which until right now, I don't know what was the instructions. hahaha.  That night was full of fog so I decided to wear my blue jacket with orange lining.  We took a sleep at around 2AM - not sure about it.

The next day, we woke up at around 5:30AM, while the fog was really thick. After going out my tent, I saw the clouds looks like the Sea of Clouds in Mt. Pulag.  While the sky was orange, the fog was becoming thicker, resulting to a world of fog.  We can't even see the summit, nor Batangas area.  Look at the photos below:

First thing we did was grabbed our cameras to capture that moment.  When we were all awake, we then prepared our breakfast.  Coffee, bread, sausage and everything were prepared for our breakfast.  So again, while eating, we were like reminiscing what happened last night, what we've been talked about. 

After breakfast, we went to the summit again to see if what can we do in there, but same thing, after the orange sun rise for few minutes, the fog just came in and occupied every corner of the mountain.  When we were up on the summit, we didn't see the camp site because of the thick fog.  The scene was like we were inside the ball of fog, which we can only see those things four meters apart from us.

When we went back to the camp site, few minutes of conversation then we decided to breakcamp even the fog was still thick.  So by 8AM, we left the camp site.  There was a group few meters from our camp site, as what I've saw, some plastics were left in their site - which is a NO NO.  That's really frustrating to see that the there are still people who are trying to be mountaineer but doesn't care about nature.  I think we need to have lesson that should develop the minds and hearts of those kind of people.  Before leaving, we prayed first!

Since the ambiance of the mountain was nice, we enjoyed a lot walking on the trail.  The wind was blowing us and seemed like they want us to leave the mountain - so we did.  While we were descending, we also met some other mountaineers who'll be doing a day hike that day.  Descending is more easier because the sun was friendly.

We had an hour break at the house of kuya, the talkative kuya we  met the day before, remember him?  In fairness he was very kind to us, he even opened his house for us; we took a bath, used comfort rooms and slept in his house for FREE.  We also prepared for our next adventure which is Sombrero Island.

In going back to the terminal, we took the same jeep, since we had a contract with the driver, same amount, same destination - the terminal.  But before going back to the terminal, we took our dinner first at Bulaluhan nearby.  We had a great experience in this climb.  Everyone of us enjoyed a lot!  This climb will be a remarkable climb for me.  I am hoping for the Part III