I consider myself lucky for having been able to climb Mt Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas both in rainy and sunny weather. Mt Batulao's rolling trail is mostly open and exposed. Closer to the summit are grasslands on its flowing slopes, while in the lower hills are farmlands tilled by the local farmers.
On beautiful sunny weather, the trail can be hot and scorching. The cool Tagaytay wind makes up for the heat but it's enough to give anyone a nice tan. On rainy days, the trail gets terribly muddy because the same lower part of the trail is used by farmers in transporting their produce on horseback. While the higher parts of the trail are not frequented by livestock, certain parts are steep and can be very slippery.
For this hiking destination, I decided to make two blog entries- one for the rainy hike, and another for the sunny day. Rain or shine, Mt Batulao is always worth the trip.
The Rainy Dayhike
On a holiday in August 2012, we scheduled a dayhike to Mt Batulao with our then 12-year-old daughter, Gianne. She's been on a few hiking trips with us but this was going to be her first dayhike. She was on her first year in a Science high school and we figured it would be a good way for her to forget her academic load and free her mind from the pressures of school. It was also an excellent bonding opportunity for us as a family.
This trip was our first time to drive to the jump-off because we usually take public transportation. We drove from Manila to the jumpoff right outside Evercrest Golf Club in Nasugbu, Batangas but we planned to spend the night at hubby's parents' house in nearby Silang, Cavite and this meant hubby would not have to drive all the way back to Manila after a potentially tiring 6-7 hour hike.
It was raining when we left Makati. There was news of a possible storm coming in but it has not entered Philippine territory. Since we live in the tropics, rain does not usually deter us from hiking, but we never hesitate to call off a climb during a typhoon. On this day we had rain and fog, but that was it and it was all okay.
There were five of us in our group- three guys, including my hubby, my daughter Gianne, and me. Hubby and his two other buddies are members of PAL Mountaineering Club. One was preparing for a trek to Mt Apo, while the other was just answering to the call of the wild, just as the rest of us were.
We started our trek at around 9:00 AM. The rain has stopped but the trail was extremely muddy as expected. The wind was cool but not chilly, it was just nice and comfortable. The view was limited as the fog came and went but it added to the beauty of the place, it makes one feel closer to the clouds, closer to heaven, if I may say.
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| Approaching the start of the trail coming from Evercrest Golf Club |
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| Muddy trail |
We took the new trail going up, then descended through the old trail. Both trails require a P20.00 registration fee so we paid twice.
We got to the trickier parts as the trail got steeper and the fog continued to get thicker. My maternal instincts kicked in and I feared Gianne might lose balance but she was surprisingly calm and very brave. She knew how to get a good foothold and a strong grip as we scrambled through the steep parts. She did not complain at all. She was glad she was out in the mountains instead of playing video games at home. She delighted in the sound of the wind, the feel of the rain, and the sight of insects and all sorts of animals, mostly livestock, that we encountered in the trails.
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| Foggy rolling trail |
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| Steel slopes |
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| steep assault |
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| Poor snake, somebody killed it. I have no idea whether it's poisonous or not, though. |
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| More steep slopes |
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| Scary ridge, but my kiddo manages to flash me a reassuring smile. |
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| Millipede? |
We got to the summit around 1:00 PM after a quick lunch break at a campsite.
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| Left to right: Hubby Naldy, me, Gianne, Mynard, Sir Art |
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| Who wouldn't want a hug at the summit? |
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| The family that hikes together |
We descended via the old trail.
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| Another tricky part. Good thing the rope's kept there permanently. |
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| Brave Gianne |
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| We were surprised to see this cat sleeping soundly despite the strong winds. |
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| More steep trail, more fog |
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| Jump shot! |
Coming down, we saw some liquor bottles at the old trail and the guys picked them up to be taken off the mountain. It is always disappointing to see how irresponsible hikers can get. Leaving an empty bottle is just illogical at worst, irresponsible at best. Either way, the bottles just had no business being there.
The rain poured in as we made our way up from the old trail and back to the trailhead. We were all drenched by the end of the hike. The winds also started to come in and it felt chilly by the time we got closer to the jumpoff. When we get to the house where we parked our car, we cleaned up and got into our comfy dry clothes. It was around 4:00 PM by then.
By past 5:00 PM we headed for Mendez in Tagaytay, looking forward to a bulalo dinner at the Mahogany Market. Much to our frustration, we found ourselves stuck in traffic. There were no fender-benders, no ugly vehicular accidents, there were just too many vehicles in the Tagaytay-Nasugbu highway all bottlenecked in Tagaytay. Hubby found the drive even more exhausting than the hike itself!
After more than an hour, we finally got to Mahogany Market. We enjoyed our hot bulalo and crispy tawilis. Soon after, we parted at the bus stop in Aguinaldo Highway where our two companions took a bus headed for Manila, and we then drove home to Silang, Cavite.
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| Bulalo! |
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| Crispy Tawilis. We couldn't get enough of it! |
For a family of hikers, it was quite an adventure. We were glad Gianne enjoyed it despite the discomfort of trekking in mud and hiking in the rain. We did not get to see the panoramic view at the summit, but there will always be a next time. Gianne wears glasses and the rain blurred her vision at times but she managed to stay safe. She hiked with the big guys, never complaining of exhaustion. And we are grateful that she saw the value of this trip- that it was a time for us to spend together as a family, enjoying God's beautiful creation.
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