Mt. Batolusong adventure

I saw photos of actress Angel Locsin showing all the mountains she has climbed thus far. I remember looking at those photos and picking a mountain that I wanted to climb. This is how my Mt. Batolusong adventure came about: a climb that was inspired by Angel Locsin.

Mt. Batolusong background

Mt. Batolusong is located in Tanay, Rizal, and the jump-off point is in Barangay San Andres. It’s about two hours away from Manila. There are three peaks that you can climb in this mountain: Duhatan Ridge, Mapatag Plateau, and Rangyas Peak. Difficulty is set at 3/9 and trail class of 1-3.

Getting there

Based on my research, time is crucial to catch the sea of clouds. You have to be there at the crack of dawn because the climb takes two hours, and the sea of clouds disappears as the sun rises. So I was very adamant that we all leave on time. Our meeting place was set at McDonald’s in Cubao at 2:30 AM. I told my friends that we would leave on time and not wait for the latecomers. I was so serious about it that there was one person who got left behind.

We left for Cogeo at 3:00 AM. What happened next was a series of mishaps. First, we took a shuttle that went to Cogeo and alighted at a gas station where we were all left wondering what to do next.

A group of men talked to us, trying to get us to rent a jeepney. There was this older guy who was trying to join in the conversation, but he spoke in such gibberish, nobody was able to decode what he was saying. We realized he was drunk and that he was the driver of the jeep that the younger guy was trying to promote to us.

Nothing came out of this discussion because the young guy was trying to cut a deal without even informing the driver. That was 20 minutes of our time wasted.

One of us, Miriam, had the mind to open the itinerary that I created on her phone. That’s when I remembered that I created an itinerary for this trip, which I even posted on our Facebook event. How the hell did I miss it?

We walked the length of Marcos Highway until we reached an intersection. We continued our walk along Ulalia Road and saw a terminal of jeepneys on the corner of NHA Ave. These are the jeepneys that go to Barangay San Andres.

What came next was almost an hour of traveling in the cold. The wind was blowing through the open window of the jeep, freezing everyone inside. We took off at Barangay San Andres and rode tricycles to reach the jump-off point.

Jump-off point

Registration is at the barangay hall with a fee of PHP 40 (USD 0.80) each. I told everyone that we should climb as quickly as we could so we wouldn’t miss the sea of clouds. Upon hearing this, our guide was quick to burst my bubble.

“There’s no sea of clouds at this time of the year. You should have gone in April.”

And just like that, my dream shattered; my disappointment echoed by the rest of the group, who were encouraged to go on this climb for the same purpose.

With no more sea of clouds waiting for us, we trekked at our own pace. The climb was fairly easy, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t question myself for doing this. I think I have gotten better with time, and I also listen to my body. If I had to catch my breath, I would stop. This is not a race. Even if it takes me forever to get there, it’s better than forcing myself.

Because I took my time, I was able to appreciate the view along the way.

Duhatan Ridge

There are three summits on Mt. Batolusong. The first summit is the Duhatan Ridge (590 m), where you can go camping. Here we saw climbers resting inside their tents, taking photos, or eating some snacks. Reaching the first summit takes an hour or so, depending on your pace.

Mapatag Plateau

It would take another hour to reach the second summit. Here, the wind blew harder, hence it was not ideal for camping. Half of our group stopped to take a rest while the others continued to the third peak. I decided to stay because, according to the guide, the path to the third summit was perilous and quite difficult to climb. I remembered my failed attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Pico de Loro and thought I’d save myself the trouble. We didn’t have a tent, so we pitched our umbrellas instead and waited in what little shade it could offer.

Rangyas Peak

The third and last summit is Rangyas Peak. I can only show you how it looks from Mapatag because, as I said, I skipped this part of the climb. After 30 minutes, our friends have returned. They all said that the path to the 3rd summit was nothing compared to the Mt. Pico de Loro summit, and that anyone can easily reach it. You have to wait for your turn, though, because the area is small. Had I known that it would be easy, I wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity.

Kay-ibon Falls

Kay-Ibon Falls is the usual side trip when climbing Batolusong, and that’s where I wanted to go. But the guides insisted we go to the base camp. I truly believe that the base camp is a tourist trap. First of all, they would take all tourists there at the beginning of the climb. I mean it should be a side trip, not a destination. Why would you take climbers there before the trek? My companions didn’t mind checking out the base camp, but I did. I told our guide that we would check it out after the climb, not before. The guide had no choice but to follow my wishes.

Up in the mountain, I told them that we want to go to Kay-Ibon. One of the guides reports that Kay-Ibon is closed off from tourists. The other guide, on the other hand, reasoned that Kay-Ibon doesn’t look as good as the cave, which is what they recommend. See what I mean by tourist trap? They want to promote the base camp so bad that they would even lie to us. I find it ridiculous that they were not even aligned with their stories.

I told them that I’d still prefer to go to Kay-Ibon. But do you know where the guides took us? To the base camp!  Our decision they deliberately ignored! And the cave that they are so proud of? It’s very small and the water is so dark that nobody in our group goes for a dip.

Base Camp

The base camp itself is not all that bad. If you want to eat, rest, or take a shower, this place has the amenities. If I were you, though, I’d skip this place. You can just shower at home. Rizal is not that far from Manila anyway. Also, you can eat better food outside.

There goes the story of my first mountain climb in 2017. Notwithstanding the fact that we didn’t see the sea of clouds, the beautiful view of the mountains, the grassland, and the company of my friends made it all worth it.