Hiking in the Phils

[Topper]

Thanks again, Katie!

[katie23]

^^cheers, mike/ toots and ^topper.

I forgot to say in my 1st post about this hike that it was a 2-day hike, that's why we carried large backpacks. It was 1 day each for ascent & descent. It was a major hike and so far, it's my largest elevation gain: 1,400 meters in 1 day.

Re: packed lunch on the 1st day, I had to settle for a McD burger since I didn't have time to prepare my own sandwiches. I left my flat on a Friday evening and had work that day. Dinner for Day 1 and the Day 2 breakfast was prepared by the organizer & her friend. They brought rice, viands, butane canisters & cooksets. The 2 meals are part of the hike fee, as well as the guide & environmental fees + transport. We didn't hire porters.

For the descent, I arrived at the jump-off point around 1:30 pm (6.5 hrs descent). Lunch was at a canteen near the municipal hall (at own expense, not part of the hike fee). Shower fee of P20 - crude showers, no hot water. At that elevation (1,300 meters), the tap water was cold!

Re: the lead group hiking earlier than others, for me it's OK. We all hike at our own pace and I can't keep up with the pace of the super athletic guys in my group. There were 5 of us in the sweeper group and we had a guide with us, so I felt safe. In some of my hikes, the guides have 2-way radios so that they can contact each other and the town center (for help) , if needed. Our group was composed of 15 people and we had 3 guides (lead, middle and sweeper).

Prior to the hike, we had registered at the town hall (and our organizer paid the environmental fees). In organized hikes such as these, the organizer coordinates with the town/ village officials beforehand and guides are assigned. The town/ village official or the guides give us a short orientation before the hike.

During major/ overnight hikes like this, it's assumed that one is not a newbie hiker and has participated in major dayhikes before embarking on a major overnight hike.

For this hike, the lead group was urged to be fast and reserve space for our group at the campsite. We had word that there were other groups who also planned to hike the same mountain that weekend. I think there were 3 hike groups (including ours) at the summit. Each hike grp is composed of ~15 ppl (1 full minivan), so around 45 hikers (plus their guides) were at the summit that weekend.

Our group left the town of Barlig, Ifugao province at around 1500H (Sunday). We had a brief stop-over for dinner in the town of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya province. I think it was at a Chow King (Chinese style fast food). We arrived in Quezon City (north of Metro Manila) at around 0030H or 0100H on Monday. Most of us had work on Monday morning.

I think it will be some time before I join a major/ overnight hike again, since I have to build up my strength and endurance. I do miss the sea of clouds and sunrise at the summit. One day...

[malmomike77]

Re: the lead group hiking earlier than others, for me it's OK. We all hike at our own pace and I can't keep up with the pace of the super athletic guys in my group.

ah they were in groups not strung out, that is different.

Re: packed lunch on the 1st day, I had to settle for a McD burger since I didn't have time to prepare my own sandwiches.

its a close run thing, cold McD or an Omelette sarnie

A full weekend, fair play no time to relax before work.

[katie23]

^It's either omelette or SPAM sandwich (if I'm feeling posh).

For the omelette, I usually put spinach or other greens in it so that I have some veg during my lunch. Sometimes I bring an apple or other fruits as trail food. Cheers.

[Mendip]

^ SPAM or tongue sandwiches were always my first choice when I used to go on fishing trips in the UK. Maybe with a smidgens of ketchup.

[malmomike77]

^ I think if Katie had a bit of tongue she'd never look at SPAM again.

[DrWilly]

fabulous pic! deserves to be full size!

Those stairs looked lethal!

[katie23]

Time for another thread update.

Last Sunday, 28 Aug, I joined another organized hike to Mt. Damas in the town of San Clemente, Tarlac province, which is located ~3 hrs north of Metro Manila.

Mt. Damas' summit is at 685 MASL (meters above sea level). It's classified as a major climb with a difficulty level of 6/9, with trail classes 1 to 4. It's not a high mountain but it was indeed a major climb!

Trail classes:

1 - walking/ easy stroll
2 - hiking along a path/ rugged terrain
3 - scrambling/ using hands for balance
4 - climbing easy cliffs but with enough drop off, beginners should be roped

There was a lot of river/ stream crossing and we had to rappell in 2 short sections.

Here's the map of the jump off point of San Clemente, Tarlac relative to Manila.



Mt. Damas/Traverse (685+) in San Clemente, Tarlac – Pinoy Mountaineer

New system of classifying mountains – Pinoy Mountaineer

[malmomike77]

Time for another thread update.

Katie, thank God. Save us from these miserable middle/old aged moaners on here. Post a Yoga move, a happy deep fried meal or cold McD's or a Victory sign atop a volcanic hill.

[katie23]

This was my post birthday climb. I purposely didn't schedule a hike for 1.5 momths and waited for my natal anniversary to pass. I wanted to join a major hike and hikes (especially major ones) always involve some risks, and I waited for the day to pasd before embarking on another hike.

Anyway, for this hike the meet-up was at 2230H at a Jollibee in the south of Metro Manila. My lunch for the next day was a cold Jollibee burger and omelette sandwiches - the usual!



There were 2 other pick-up points (middle & north of Metro Manila), then on we went to the north. Our group consisted of 2 minivans, 24 people total (12 per van). This was a major climb and not for beginners - all members had prior hiking experience.

We arrived at the jump-off point around 0345H. Some had coffee, breakfast, toilet breaks, ciggy/ vape breaks, etc. We also had to write/ register on a logbook. The registration fee was paid by our organizer (it's included in our event fee).

We had the orientation around 0445H and started the hike ~0500H.

Orientation - we had 4 guides.

[katie23]

^^there's a Jollibee for you, toots!

Some "action" pics too - later in this thread.

[katie23]

We started hiking around 5 am and it was stil dark - we had flashlights or head lamps. After ~1 hour of mostly chill hiking (not much elevation), we came upon this rest station.



There was a small puppy, maybe 1 month old? I fed it with some of my sandwiches. I didn't get a decent pic since it was so active.



Since it was still dark, we didn't see most of the surroundings. It turned out that we passed by ricefields ields and some village houses - saw them on the way back.

[katie23]

After that short break, on with the hike.

[katie23]

After ~30 min, another rest station.

[katie23]

The only complete group pic. Since our group was a large one (24 pax), the lead group didn't wait for the others at the summit. They took pics and left shortly after (with one of the guides). For this hike, I was in the sweeper (last) group.

[katie23]

After the 1st hour of chill hiking/ walking, then came the challenging part - the river/ stream crossings. The rocks were slippery and some of us lost our footing at one time or another. I think I slipped and fell on my bum 3x for this hike. No injuries, thank goodness.




^since there were river crossings, I wore sandals instead of hiking shoes.

My hiking pole was still straight in that pic. At the end of the hike, it was bent already & I couldn't retract/ shorten it. I happened to land on the metal pole when I fell and the metal got bent from the weight of my bum.

[katie23]

More river/ stream crossings





^those pics are from the organizer's camera

[katie23]

At times, we had to walk on the ledge and hold the (slippery) rocks for support. It was a bit tough since it rained the previous day & the rocks were wet.





^pics are from the organizer

[katie23]

There was a part where we had to rappel. I took these pics while waiting for my turn to rappel. Fortunately, I had experience in rappelling in my high school days (as a girl scout).

[katie23]

This mini-falls was near that 1st rappel point




^waiting for others to finish rappelling

[katie23]

More river crossing, then another rappel point




^That's one of my hike mates

[katie23]

More rappel pics

^from my camera/ phone


^from the organizer's camera

[malmomike77]

There was a part where we had to rappel.

well done, that's fun and proves the benefit of scouts. My kids did scouts (boys) and guides (girls), really gave them confidence and helped them develop.

[katie23]

After the rappel, it's time for some photos

[Topper]

Wow, I'd have broken an ankle on those rocks.