Sea and Summit Seekers: December 2013

Mt. Batulao Traverse Chronicles

The itinerary that we have is for people who simply like to relax and enjoy the view and the fresh air that climbing a mountain brings. We walk leisurely and don’t rush the climb especially when it's not a major trail and not pressed to find a camp or we're not rushing to see the sunset. That being said, here's Mt. Batulao Traverse. Thank you to our Master Climber Eric for arranging this.

Day 1

0815 ETA Taft Bus Station. This is near the MRT station. There is a canteen here with a good range of meals and a lot of stores to buy food or water for the road. We checked out the schedules and had our breakfast (P50) while waiting for departure.

0845 ETD Taft to Evercrest, Nasugbo. (P106 for a regular AC bus). I just slept most of the time because I haven't slept a wink prior to this. Believe it or not, we actually met at 0500 hour and just lazed the morning away, we went around Cubao Wet and Dry market for stuff that we might need and things that might protect them from the scorching sun. There is little to no shade at Mt. Batulao, afterall.

1200 ETA Evercrest. And so the trek begins. We walked to the jump off. This would serve as a warm up for the actual trek. You can also opt to ride a tricycle.


Evercrest Golf Club Resort Emblem Eric the Master Climber, Andrew the Freelancing Hardnoy and Andrew the Hatorian

You will encounter a big fork, turning right would bring you to Caleruaga Church. I've been there twice and have enjoyed the peace and quiet in that place. I'm sometimes tempted to go there for a night or two just to relax, reflect and commune with nature. But today is not that day. Today we go left to continue our ascend. You will encounter another fork, this time you go right. There would be a few people around so you can ask them if you feel like you are unsure of things.

A peek at Caleruaga Church from 2011

1215 The environs from Evercrest to here were food stalls and stores. We stopped at the largest one of them in hopes of being able to buy meat and other supplies. We were able to buy spices, canned goods, eggs and hotdogs. They didn't sell perishable goods other than tocino and longanisa.

Trail to jump off

1250 Buko Stopover. I'm not sure if this can be considered as the jump off. But after this place and 2 stores, the real trek will begin. And you would be leaving the comforts of the city and easy access to food and drinks.


Buko Stopover

1315 Or so I thought... Apparently, there is a refreshment stall here every 15 or 30 minutes. No wonder it's a leisurely place for someone who wants to start a career on climbing mountains. ETA stopover 0 and the fork where the New and Old Trail meet. They have a small store here where they sell Mountain Dew, Halo-Halo and Buko. Took left trail to Old Trail.

The fork where the New and Old Trail meet

As early as here, you would already be rewarded with the great view of the mountain range of Mount Batulao. If you proceed through the new trail, then that same mountain range is where you would be walking exposed in the sun for approximately an hour and a half. The old trail would require going down and around the mountain, through camps and shades, and would take you approximately 2 hours and a half.

The view from the fork to fuel the excitement

1330 ETA Old Trail stopover 1. All stopover sells either Buko or a Mountain Dew. Almost any mountains around Batangas has at least a Mountain Dew vendor lurking about. Go figure.

Old Trail stopover 1

1350 ETA small bridge and Mt. Batulao sign

I hate stating the obvious

But sometimes, it's necessary

1410 ETA Camp 1. Register. Buy souvenir shirt for P200. There's also a small store and a CR here. Camp 1 looks like it's a nice and safe place to camp. But we wanted a better view of the summit above and the city below us. So we resolved to camp at Camp 5.

Souvenir Store at Old Trail Camp 1

Camp 1

Camp 3

Camp 4

1420 ETA Camp 5. Set-up Camp. Camp 5 has a very great view of the summit, the ridges and the city. It also has a lot of space and can accommodate up to 3 tents with out being crowded. We just prepared and ate lunch and explored the place.

Camp 5. Andrew and Eric preparing the tent

Just at the side of Camp 5 is Camp 14. There is a nice shade here and a better view of the city. And is a great place to wait for the sunset or sunrise. But you have to give up the view of the summit if you are staying here. It's also more peaceful here since it can only accommodate a single tent and all of the other camps are situated in the Old Trail itself and you'll have frequent visitors if you camp there. Both has its own purpose and beauty. To each his own.

Camp 14

It wasn't raining at the time but the atmosphere can get chilly. This can easily be remedied by a simple jacket, walking around, and Emperador Brandy. Better come prepared.

Event at night, the scenery was still an spectacle and held wonder

Day 2

0530 Wake up call. I've already checked online to see what time the sunrise and have alarmed while it's dark so I can catch it. I don't have any DSLR, so you can just imagine how magnificent it can look like with a more superior camera. In any event, witnessing anything straight with your own eyes is still the best way to go. I waited for the sunrise and glanced at the peak every now and then while preparing our coffee. And thus, the next couple of scroll downs will only be a series of pictures.

That's Hator, the friendly neighbor, saying hello to other campers

0600 Breakfast. Rest. Break Camp.

All ready for the trek

0750 ETA Camp 7

Going down

And climbing up

Camp 7

0810 ETA Camp 8. The trail to camp 8 is a prelude to the rest of the trail that you will be encountering in the New trail. It's a series of ascent and descent , over and over again and over again, with a view of tall Cogon grass all around which was nice to watch especially when they sway with the wind. After minutes of steeper ascent, if you are lucky, you will be greeted by a vendor that sells, yet again, Mountain Dew.

Clear skies up ahead.

Mountain Dew at Camp 8

Raising it to the sun

View from Camp 8

Signature pose: The Hatorian

View of Camp 8

The magnificent scenery of Mt. Batulao

0825 ETA slightly steep slope with rope. I think that this can get muddy and will be difficult to climb on a rainy day.

This might...

... be difficult ...

... on a rainy day

But not on a sunny day.

Just like the picture tells you. This isn't difficult on a sunny day and you can climb it with out a rope even with heavy technical packs. But you must admin, the rope does add a sort of drama to the climb. We just have to use it.

0830 ETA summit. A magnificent 360 degree view of Nasugbo, Batangas. It was nice to look at the trail and see all of the spots that you've been through, since there were little to no shade, even the camp sites and the lone trees that act as their shade were visible from here. It was beautiful and peaceful at the top. You can even see mountains from the distance. And since we just went to Mt. Pico De Loro the other month, Hator went out of his way to spot it from the summit. I couldn't catch it with my camera, and it took me about 3 minutes to find it, it was so small from here, but it was there, waiting to be climb. It was still gorgeous from a distance. There were a lot of people that converges at the summit. People coming from the Old and New trail meet here and exchange whatever information or stories they have.

Hator, Eric, Andoy and me at the summit of Mt. Batulao

View from the summit

0900 Start descent through new trail.

And once again with the drama

I couldn't help it

0920 ETA stopover.

0940 ETA one of the peaks with a very nice view.

0950 ETA New trail camp. Register. There's a small store and a CR here.

1000 Explore. We settled down at a shaded area and prepared our lunch. We just rested and enjoyed the view since we were a few hours away from ending our trip.

1230 Packed our gears and resumed descent.