Now for this hike, I have heard a lot about this mountain before especially from friends who have been here already. They all have many great things to say about this mountain like "the views are just different from your regular hike", "the trip will be worth all the effort", and "you'll recommend it to others especially for the first-timers".. Did our experience live to those expectations? Well, then let's find out now..
Mt. Maculot side cliff
The original dayhike group met at a fast-food chain restaurant around 1:00 AM to settle. Not that long, we departed 30 mins after when all the members arrived and were ready for the trip. We were 10 in the van and some of our friends have a separate car carrying 4 people inside (Kiko & Ramil with acquaintances). We met with them at a gas station on the way before heading straight to the jump-off point of the mountain. And after around 2-3 hours of travel, we arrived at the foot of Mt. Maculot here at Cuenca, Batangas.
Luis coordinating about our registration and guides
We only paid P20 each for the registration fee and started hiking after a few reminders and a prayer was done.
jump-off point
Comparing this to the Antipolo-Rizal mountains, this hike is a more commercialized one because there were more stopover areas where the group can rest. I think that is one of the few things which makes this hike a beginner-friendly one aside from the stores present along the way..
Unfortunately, our friend's acquaintance had a hard time breathing after a few stops. She said she already conditioned herself days before the trip but with her vision kind of fading and was feeling light-headed even after resting for quite some time.. One of the guides and the whole group recommended her to go back down already as safety is always the priority. Good thing she was accompanied by her friend as well on their way down and stayed with her for the rest of the morning..
Moving forward, as we continued the hike, the wind was with us but was blowing hard. We all appreciated it because it refreshes us in some way but there were times that it was really blowing strong that the noise of the trees was so loud that it will affect you already. Well, it depends how you'll react about it but for me "I like it more haha!"
the morning sky is starting to light up
With the light starting to travel with us, we were immediately stunned with the first moving view of the morning.
morning sight at Mt. Maculot
It was a refreshing sight to see. I actually thought I can only see such views abroad but I was wrong. We have it here as well and it is teeming with greenies which makes it more appealing. Man, Batangas is my mother's province but this is the first time I knew there was something like this in here.
The views get better and better as we go along and we are all excited to see it.
more views from the side cliff at Mt. Maculot
We went to the rockies area as per the guide's itinerary. It is the first area where the queue starts as people take their time taking pictures here. I think this is the best area the mountain can offer as you get the view of everything from here.. the sea, the clouds, the horizon, the cliffs, the edge, even the summit can already be seen from here.. Watch the video below to see them in action.
Here are a few of the pictures we got from this area:
Kuya Eus conquering the rockies cliff
Kiko chilling at the edge
Patrick trying to fly? haha!
You guys interpret this photo lol Kuya Ramil
Eric enjoying the winds
Justin feeling it
Sup luis!
Feeling kewl! haha
The fog curling up from below and was evaporating right before our eyes while the clouds hovering the summit going towards us was just a sight to experience. Again, watch the video below if you want to see that.
By the way, our guide was always reminding us to be cautious at all times as most of the accidents that happen on this hike are mostly in this area. We were actually super extra cautious (lol) when we were here as the wind was blowing extremely strong (as in no joke) and at unexpectedly times since it is the start of the colder season here in our country. There were even times that we were blown unbalanced by the strong winds on the safe positions so what more when you go to the edge and cliff parts.
Not far from here which is just across the other side of it is another cliff that has the same beautiful scenery but more windy part of the "rockies area". "Seryoso, kung may pakpak ka siguro malayo na narating mo pag tumake-off ka galing dito haha!"
other side of the rockies area
From the rockies area we go to the summit! Well, we did have a glance of the mountain's peak being covered by the clouds from here but the question remains if the situation will be the same once we reach it. But as we go along the foggy trail.. well, we got our answer..
We are literally in the clouds people!
If you experienced a snow blizzard before (which I did on our last Japan trip), it is something similar to that. The wind is blowing heavily carrying some water droplets coming from different directions. But this time, not from above to below but from where the wind blows. The last time I experienced the same situation was way back our Mt. Daraitan climb. It's actually kind of cool to see in person as it's like seeing someone doing the secret wind bending technique in reality haha!
Just like at the rockies area, you have to wait for your turn to take that accustomed picture-taking here at the summit signage as everyone wants to have that as well. Here is our version after our cold-shaking wait was over.
Dayhike group at Mt. Maculot summit
I know you know what's coming next right, everyone's favorite part! Haha! The going back down part. By far, this was my most memorable one as I can't move my legs properly for the first time when I reached home around 5:30 PM. We went through rappelling parts of the mountain to walking down like a thousand stairs before reaching back to the jump-off area.
If you watch the video below, you'll see some of us walking backward already just to ease the pain we were all feeling especially when we were near the bottom haha!
The "still smile even when you are tired" look - Dayhike group
See you on our next hike? Yes? Oh, before I forgot, our total expense for this trip was less than P1,000 each. For the general computation, here it is:
Van rental (back and forth with toll fees): P600/each
Tour guide (P800 per guide): P160/each
Registration fee: P20/each
TOTAL: P780/each
(excluding food and other expenses)
Here is the video I was talking about earlier. Hopefully, this lives to the expectation you guys have after reading this blog. Enjoy!
