Mt. Batulao - Revisited

Climbing Mt. Batulao for the second time made me hungry for more of its gradual slopes and dusty trails. Even under the heat of the Philippine summer sun, we still made it to the summit with big grins specially after making new friends who danced to the tune of Teach Me How to Dougie without further ado. We climbed with Reuel and Jepay - our climbing buddies in Mt. Maculot who were so game. So game that even if the climb schedule entitled them no sleep, they still said yes to our invitation (thanks guys!).

We took the 3AM bus trip to Nasugbu, Batangas at BSC Pasay Terminal after a quick breakfast and arrived at the Evercrest Golf and Country Club at 4:30 in the morning. Equipped with our headlights, we started walking towards the "jump off" (we don't really know which is the official one) until we saw the familiar hut where we rested before descending down the old trail. 

 Mt. Batulao in all its morning glory

Like our guide said the first time we were there, it is easier to ascend via the old trail even if it is longer because of the easier path which is mostly composed of steep rocky mini assaults. Going down through it  will require you to sit and grab the rocks to support your weight that's why it is more advisable to descend via the new trail. We reached Camp 1 at 7:10am and rested.

Mr. and Mrs. Delez

Camp 1

After 25 minutes, we continued our ascend and met a lot of climbers who spent their night there. Almost each of the camps (2-8) had a number of tents and their own share of litter from the night before. Upon reaching camp 8, we heard a megaphone - like - voice and was surprised to know that it is from one of the climbers who was at the summit. The guy at one of the camps said that those were his "trainees". I won't explain any further and I know you get the point but it was a major boo boo for me. 

Anyway, the heat was starting to burn our skin so rest stops were not really likely. The constant gusts of wind can make the dust literally flying thus eye protection is a must. It hasn't rained in days and everything was very, very dry. After refueling our bodies with water, we pushed ourselves to Camp 9 and did our final assault.

the "trainer" with all his accessories

 

We reached the summit at 9am and we were greeted with a group of climbers who just passed by before their descent. After an hour, we made our way down the new trail (where we registered again) to have lunch.

 

new friends batch 1 - Binagyo Outdoor Club / Team Buwag

new friends batch 2 - Sir Alfstrong and his crew

  

We arrived at the fork from the new trail at 12:55 and took a really long time resting because the sun was unforgiving. This is my hottest climb as of yet. You can actually feel the reflecting heat of the soil in each step and by this time, our water supply was already running out. We again convened with Sir Alfstrong's group who very much filled our weary bodies with laughter and gamely danced for us. See video at the end of the post.

forgive me but I had a little too much fun with Lightroom 2 :P

We arrived at the little community at 3:40 in the afternoon, took our baths and went home after a very filling dinner at Mang Inasal at Tagaytay City. We are planning to go back to Mt. Batulao to experience the sunrise at the summit. I don't know when yet, but I know its for sure. :)

I will be posting a separate entry for the expenses and itinerary. You can also check Reuel's blog for a more technical and detailed post about Mt. Batulao. Also, meet our Kid of the Trip here. :)

Here is a video from all our cameras. Thanks to Reuel for editing it.

PS: thanks to Reuel and Jepay for some of the pictures.

Hasta luego!