Mt. Batulao (3rd official climb)

by Daryll Santos

October 28-29 2011

October 28 marked the date for the UE Mountaineers' third official climb for the 2011-2012 school year.  A Mt. Tapulao major climb, scheduled on October 24-26, petered out due to an armed NPA conflict in the Zambales province. Although the original major climb was cancelled, not all was lost as the UE Mountaineers were able to climb Mt. Batulao to serve as October's climb. Mt. Batulao, at 811 meters above sea level,  is considered a starter climb by Philippine mountaineers. It gets its name from its
abundance of rocky features, especially near the summit. Mt. Batulao has an expected climbing time of 2-4 hours.

This event marked the first time that UEM climbed with the newly-formed Pulilan Mountaineers (PM), courtesy of vice-president Jojemar "Biboy" Banag. He joined president Grace Ann "Grexa" Agon, auditor Jules Icban,
probationaries Bryan Tamayo and Erica Joy Reyes, and applicants Charles Flores, Ivee Fernandez, Daryll Santos, and John Erisse "Jepoy" Polo. Florence Angelo Fajardo, Jarish Dave Fajardo, Paul Michael Santiago, Dianne Irene Soliman, and Anj Ong, all childhood and high school friends of Biboy, represented the Pulilan Mountaineers, with Sheila Lee joining as a guest.

The group took off from Cubao's Philtranco Terminal a few minutes before noon and reached the Evercrest drop-off point by about three-thirty in the afternoon. A fifteen minute walk along the Evercrest golf course preceded the climb proper itself. Jules led the 14-member team, with Biboy serving as the middle and Grexa holding the rear. The UE Mountaineers chose the older of the two trails on their ascent.

Ms. President and Mr. VP

Mt. Batulao has ten designated camps; the group targetted Camp Six as its resting grounds for the night. Distributed along the trail were several stalls selling coconuts and other liquids, and several adjacent mountains served as the backdrop.  As fortune put it, nightfall came two hours into the hike. This was not an inconvenience, though, as all the climbers were prepared with flashlights and headlamps.

The group reached Camp Six a few minutes after six in the evening. After setting up camp, dinner was prepared and eaten together. The members cooked sisig, while the Pulilan Mountaineers made sinampalukang manok. Everyone was silent while eating - clearly the climb had taken its toll.

Of course, silence is not synonymous with the UE Mountaineers, and shortly after dinner was finished did socials began. Friendships were formed as each of the participating climbers introduced themselves. As the merryment continued, some chose to brave the outdoors and literally sleep outside. Jules and Bryan slept in the comfort of the grass. While they were dozing off, some of the others, including Grexa, Biboy, EJ, and Jepoy of UEM and Florence, Jarish, and Paul of PM took the opportunity to bond with each other. This was done over a delicious midnight meal of adobo and sopas. As the night turned into morning and the wind blew harder, everyone slept.

Sunrise came and as the mountaineers were greeted by a breathtaking sight as they prepared their ascent towards the summit. The trek to the top takes just thirty minutes, but it has a more technical feel to it. Rocks, tall grass, and even a rope section challenged the group, but eventually they made it to the top. After paying homage to the mountain and taking what seemed to be a million pictures, the group pitched down their tents and made their way down.

The trek down was pretty straightforward; as everyone wanted to get back to civilization and a shower! It was also considerably shorter - about an hour and a half - than the ascent. On the way down, the group stopped to take a buko juice break on one of the locals' stalls. For a few more moments, the members tasted a slice of idyllic country life, until they got back to the jump-off point, anyway.

At this point, everyone had a hankering for some food, and since Tagaytay was on the way home anyway, the UE Mountaineers hailed a jeep in order to eat some bulalo. As everyone chowed down on the succulent bone marrow and meat, some took the opportunity to grab a bunch of bananas for their loved ones. The trip home passed through several Cavite cities, and it spanned roughly three ours.

Though UEM and PM separated before the restaurant visit, the joint Batulao climb was a success. Both groups made new friends - and both knew that surely this would not be their last climb together.