Climbing Mt. Maculot's Rockies in Batangas

Climbing was on my list. I never had a chance to do it until I met Jin and Mark. Honestly I don't know what it takes to be called " a mountaineer" all I've got is passion and want to be on top of a mountain.

Last Sunday August 26, 2012, Jin of Jinjiruks.blogspot.com invited me to join his day hike to Mt. Maculot-Rockies. Actually, I really am looking for inexpensive , quick and easy hikes around the nearby provinces of Metro Manila. ( Ayos!) Climbing to Mt. Maculot is a great chance for me to practice my potential hiking skills :)lol Our call time at 7/11 Store LRT-Gil Puyat was 5:30 am. And we boarded a bus bound for Lemery, Batangas as it will pass by our destination, Cuenca, Batangas and it's just about 3 hours ride.

The bus dropped us in front of the Arch of the Town of Cuenca where tricycles are already waiting for potentials Mt. Maculot hikers. Actually Jin and I, really don't know the place until we met veteran mountaineers Ian and Anna ayun sumabay na kami ni Jin sa kanila, diba ang galing talaga ni God. The tricycle brought us first to the registration area and we registered and paid P10 before we headed to the Rockies jump-off.

Around 9:30 am, we started the trek. The trail is totally uphill. It was interesting because it was muddy and very steep to climb the mountain and  I don't have enough exercise and proper training, I feel tired, my foot was shaking but yet, the nature's view just took away all the tiredness.

About 3/4 of the trail, I was amazed when came across some mountaineers were now descending back to the mountain's foot; they told me that I'm nearing the camp site. I walked for about 20 minutes more, and finally I reached the camp site.

After a few minutes of rest, we resumed the climb at the Mt. Maculot- Rockies. At the Rockies , one is offered a breathtaking scenic view, encompassing the whole of Taal Lake including the world-famous Taal volcano; as well as the plains of Batangas. We were very lucky to have a clear weather that day, only strong winds had been our problem. Moving your way from rock to rock is really hard with tough winds. There's always that feeling of being at risk to be blown away by the wind.

Wowowow..

By 12:30 pm, we started the long walk to Lumampaw. From the Rockies Jump-off, we walked along a concrete road, and then down to a thousand of steps.

Omg! It was a test of endurance; I really felt pain in my knees and thigh part. But when we finally reached the Lumampaw and saw Taal Lake up close, I humbly forgot all the pain and tiredness. We stayed on a shed beside the basketball court to relax. There were kids bathing, and birds flying around .

Jump shot  oh!

We climbed back to the road after 40 minutes of resting , up again on the energy challenging steps. This time I decided to count the steps as I go up pero napagod pati utak ko, ayon tumigil ako sa pagbibilang  and I really don't know if exactly 1500 steps as they said. Hmmm... try nyo nalang bilangin pagpunta nyo.hhahahah. And we rode a tricycle back to the main road where we hopped into a jeep bound for Lipa City. Click to view more pics

Furthermore, Thank you to Jin, Ma'am Anna and Sir Ian. 

Sir Ian, ako , Jin at Ma'am Anna

BUDGET excluding Food:

• Bus from Manila to Cuenca, Batangas - P147.00
• Tricycle to Rockies Jump-off - P20.00/head
• Tricycle from Brgy. Don Juan to highway - P25.00/ head
• Jeep to Lipa City - P24.00
• Bus from Lipa City to Manila - P124.00
• Registration Fee - P10.00

Total Budget - P350.00