20140330. Maranat Falls and Tree planting.
This is day 2 of our Mt. Balagbag loop, Maranat Falls and tree planting activity. Click here for day 1.
Day 2
0700
Woke up feeling refreshed. Spending overnight on a mountain is really a
great experience. The air and the view is always so refreshing. Tatay
Nestor keeps a hot pot burning for people who wants to drink their
morning coffee. And I just like having my coffee with a beautiful sight. True enough, there is nothing much to see at the campsite, but the sky, the lush forest and the cool winds was enough for me. The picture below is the view from my tent. The view is better on other parts of the camp but we were forced to camp at the nearest place we could because it started to rain as soon as we got to the camp.
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| View from my tent |
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| Tatay Nestor's Hut |
0745 ETD to check out the falls. You can either go back to the boulders or go to the falls above the campsite.
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| Tatay Nestor's Hut from the trail to the waterfalls |
0800 ETA falls above the campsite. From the end of the trail, you can already see the falls to your left. And as the ever excited one, yours truly run to the falls to touch the revitalizing water and the beautiful view. I'll tell you about the different level of the falls later when we go back here.
We didn’t want to miss breakfast and tree planting activity so we strengthen our resolve to resist jumping and taking a dip at the cool waters of the falls and just took a few pictures here and there. Most of the day is reserved for enjoying the falls afterall.
930 Breakfast. Have you ever heard of Breaded Tocino? Trying new things comes with meeting new people! New friends. The cool people you meet on the road are people who share the same interest and passion as you.
And even better are the people with more fire than you. These people have made climbing mountains and photography a part of their weekly, if not daily, lifestyle.
As part of our breakfast fun, it was announced that the reggae-themed hammock was going to be raffled. Everyone was either loud and shouting their desire to get this prize or was extremely quiet wishing to win. I can’t blame them, it was a really a nice hammock. That’s the interesting part of Travel Tipid. They just know how to make things exciting.
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| Breakfast. The alcohol is for lunch. |
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| New Friends. |
And even better are the people with more fire than you. These people have made climbing mountains and photography a part of their weekly, if not daily, lifestyle.
As part of our breakfast fun, it was announced that the reggae-themed hammock was going to be raffled. Everyone was either loud and shouting their desire to get this prize or was extremely quiet wishing to win. I can’t blame them, it was a really a nice hammock. That’s the interesting part of Travel Tipid. They just know how to make things exciting.
1000 Prepare for
Tree Planting. First out, first in. I was informed that that’s basically the rule of tree
planting. The earth near the surface is healthier because it gets the
benefits from the sun and elements and such. Something like that. I'm not really sure. It sounded right at the time. We were
also told to hold our respective plants as we would handle a baby because
the earth moulded around it might collapse. Planting trees should be
around a meter far from each other, this is actually depending on the
tree that you are planting. It was basically a list of Do’s and Don’t
when planting a tree. Listen carefully, after all, we don’t want any
efforts to be wasted.
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| Picture taking before tree planting |
1015
Tree Planting. Trowels, shovels, pick ax and fertilizers are your main
weapons. Trees and clouds are your main defenses. It was nice
planting a tree. I hope I could’ve taken care of it. But with this,
there will be more reasons to go back to Maranat.
1130 Swim and explore waterfalls. I just went to the right first to see the view from the edge of the cliff.
There are a lot of mini-falls and pools where you can enjoy your stay in Maranat. The first pool is where most of the people decided to stay because the basin was wide enough to swim. There is also a shade in the corner where you can sit and feel the cold water up to your waist. They also use this to keep the drinks cold. The third level had a very long but shallow pool. It was a nice place where you can all just lie down and rest in the water. We’ve only went until the fifth or sixth level. I particularly like the last one because the pool is very deep and you can jump from a huge boulder to the pool.
1230 Lunch. Chill.
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| View of the right side from the trail |
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| View from below the edge |
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| View of the right side from the trail |
There are a lot of mini-falls and pools where you can enjoy your stay in Maranat. The first pool is where most of the people decided to stay because the basin was wide enough to swim. There is also a shade in the corner where you can sit and feel the cold water up to your waist. They also use this to keep the drinks cold. The third level had a very long but shallow pool. It was a nice place where you can all just lie down and rest in the water. We’ve only went until the fifth or sixth level. I particularly like the last one because the pool is very deep and you can jump from a huge boulder to the pool.
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| First and second level of the falls from the trail above the campsite |
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| The lady of the falls. Deep in thought. |
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| I love this secret nook that was only made for those who wish to stay there |
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| Happy girls are the prettiest |
1230 Lunch. Chill.
1600
Descend back to Jump-off Via Traditional or Highway Trail. The plan was
to descend at around 1-2 PM but the heat was unbearable at the time so we opted to wait until it dialed down.
1615 River crossing. I was informed that the rope for the river rappel is normally there when it’s not summer. They said that constant exposure to the heat and the sun would wear the rope faster. You can cross using the boulders if you don’t want to get wet.
1700 First water source
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| Start of descent |
1615 River crossing. I was informed that the rope for the river rappel is normally there when it’s not summer. They said that constant exposure to the heat and the sun would wear the rope faster. You can cross using the boulders if you don’t want to get wet.
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| Maranat Twin Falls viewed from the conventional trail |
1700 First water source
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| First water source |
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| View of the trail from the first to the second water source |
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| View of the trail from the first to the second water source |
1730 Second water source near the highest peak of the trail.
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| Second water source |
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| Highest peak of the trail |
1800 Third water source near a lone hut with a nice view of Mt. Arayat. We just rested here for a while, watched a beautiful sunset and prepared our headlamps and flashlight.
1830 Store that sells very delicious rice cakes and snacks
1900 ETA Store at the intersection of Mt. Balagbag and Maranat Trail.
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| Back at the intersection |
2015 ETA Arrival at the Jump-off (Licao Licao). Wash up.
2200 ETA Tungko Jolibee. Dinner.
2245 ETD Tungko to Cubao. There are buses just outside Jolibee going to Cubao and Pasay.
2400 ETA Cubao.
Itinerary
Day 1
0430 AM Meet up at Edsa
0530 Meet-up at Tungko Jollibee
0615 Take Jeep to Licao ( Jump-off ).
0715 Arrival at Licao-Licao.
07:45 Stark trek
0830 Arrival at San Isidro Health Center.
0900
Arrival at the intersection of Mt. Balagbag and Mt. Maranat trail.
There is also a nice store here where you can drink cold mountain dew or
have a halo halo. Going left would lead you to the
normal trail of Mt. Maranat and going straight would lead you to Mt. Balagbag.
0920 Resumed trek.
1000
Another intersection, going left would take you to the highest point of
Mt. Balagbag. The right trail leads the way back to Mt. Maranat.
1035 We proceeded to go left, entering the gate to get to the peak of Mt. Balagbag
10:50 ETA Helipad Summit of Mt. Balagbag.
1130 Back to the intersection.
1145
ETA small fork. I was told that going straight would lead you to some
town but I didn’t have to worry about that since you would need to take
the left trail to the falls.
1200 ETA small store
1310 ETA small fork in the road. Go left.
1410 Once you reach a spot where the river ends to a falls, find an ascending trail on your right.
1445 You will be able to see Maranat Falls by now. We climb the huge boulders to get to the campsite.
1530 ETA Campsite ( Tatay Nestor Campsite ).
1900 Dinner.
2000 Socials.
Day 2
0700 Wake Up Call. Enjoy the view. Explore waterfalls. Relax.
930 Breakfast.
1000 Prepare for Tree Planting.
930 Breakfast.
1000 Prepare for Tree Planting.
1015 Tree Planting.
1100
Swim and explore waterfalls. There are a lot of mini-falls and pools
where you can enjoy your stay in Maranat. We’ve only went until the
fourth or fifth level. I particularly like the last one because the pool
is very deep and you can jump from a huge boulder to the pool.
1230 Lunch. Chill.
1600 Descend back to Jump-off Via Traditional or Highway Trail. The plan was to descend at around 1-2 PM but the heat was unbearable at the time.
1600 Descend back to Jump-off Via Traditional or Highway Trail. The plan was to descend at around 1-2 PM but the heat was unbearable at the time.
1615
River crossing. I was informed that the rope for the river rappel is
normally there when it’s not summer. They said that constant exposure to
the heat and the sun would wear the rope faster. You can cross using
the boulders if you don’t want to get wet.
1700 First water source
1700 First water source
1730 Second water source near the highest peak of the trail.
1800 Third water source near a lone hut wit a nice view of Mt. Arayat.
1830 Store that sells very delicious rice cakes and snacks
1830 Store that sells very delicious rice cakes and snacks
1900 ETA Store at the intersection of Mt. Balagbag and Maranat Trail.
2015 ETA Arrival at the Jump-off (Licao Licao). Wash up.
2200 ETA Tungko Jolibee. Dinner.
2245 ETD Tungko to Cubao. There are busses just outside Jolibee going to Cubao and Pasay.
2400 ETA Cubao.
Budget in peso:
67 Bus. AC. Pioneer to Tungko
67 Bus. AC. Tungko to Pioneer
99 Breakfast and coffee at Jolibee
40 Pack Lunch
22 Snack
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295 + 849 Travel Tipid fee
Inclusion
Jeep. Tungko to Jump-off to Tungko.
Event T-Shirt ( Dry-fit )
Bag-tag/ID
3 Hosted Meal.
( Dinner 1st day )
( Breakfast 2nd Day )
( Lunch 2nd Day )
Event T-Shirt ( Dry-fit )
Bag-tag/ID
3 Hosted Meal.
( Dinner 1st day )
( Breakfast 2nd Day )
( Lunch 2nd Day )
ACTIVITY.
Tree Planting
Bouldering
Swimming (sa mga falls)
Bouldering
Swimming (sa mga falls)
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