Akyat: Mt. Batolusong

Thursday
April 30, 2015

There are some days when I feel that enough is enough and just do something spontaneous. The most recent would have to be accepting an invitation to climb a mountain during a work day. Usually, I climb or do something outdoorsy during the weekends only, but since this is a rare opportunity to climb another beauty of nature, I took a leave off from work. This is my Mt. Batolusong experience. (Pictures ahead, wooo)

I don’t really remember much of the itinerary because I was just tagging along with my group. But Mt. Batolusong is a fairly easy climb, with a very refreshing side-trip to a waterfall right before the end.

After paying the fees and securing a guide, the trail starts with a quick walk through some rice fields and even a cave that you can swim in!

The intimidating mouth of Sangab Cave

Once you get past the houses though, the assault is pretty tough but bearable. It will really work out your legs and it’s a steady climb to some rest stops where you can take water breaks. Along the way were also lots of trees and rocks that you can have photo ops with.

One of the rock formations along the trail

Take note that the trail leading to the summit isn’t covered by trees so just like Mt. Batulao, prepare for the heat to bear down on you as you climb. We took lots of breaks and I had to ration my water because I was already halfway empty just on the ascent.

Wide open trails under the sun

Somewhere by the Mapatag plateau, there were two trails to choose from, one leading to the summit, and the other leading to the falls. Our group separated into two because some of the hikers were already tired and wanted to take a rest by the waterfalls instead.

Some parts of the trail were already kissed by fire

I was a part of the group that continued the ascent towards the first summit. There are actually other summits after the first one, but because our group had a deadline, we didn’t get to visit all of them. So we just took pictures wherever we could.

After some extensive picture-taking, we finally decided to go down the waterfalls to catch up with our friends. At the falls, we ate our lunch and had some swimming sessions as well as more pictures! I was actually able to relax a bit and fall asleep while lying down on a rock.

Fun at the waterfall

After the swim, it was just a quick traverse and descent back down to the side of the highway where we will be picked up by a jeep bound back to Manila. While waiting for the jeep, we had some fun in the almost empty highway.

Highway Trippings

It was a pretty straightforward climb. If we had more time, then we would’ve been able to scale up the other summits. Nevertheless, I was still satisfied with the result. I was able to get home early and was asleep almost immediately after arriving. 4th mountain conquered! Thank you to my friends who invited me and to God for blessing us with a wonderful day and a wonderful mountain to hike.

-jgzn