Hiking in the Phils

[katie23]

^hi toot. Yes, fortunately I'm one of those people who can sleep on a bus, van, car, ferry, etc. (Yes, I slept in the van on the way to Zambales & back to Manila.)

We reached Peak 3 ~ 0530H.



^The West Philippine Sea/ South China Sea is in the horizon.

[katie23]

Our grp reached Peak 4 by ~0600H

[katie23]

We reached the summit (Peak 5) by ~0620H.




By this time, I wore my fisherman's hat which had a hole at the back (for the ponytail).

[katie23]

Btw, the mountain is called Mt Mareglem/ Mariglem. These were my hike-mates for that day.

[katie23]

More mountain scenes




^these were taken ~0700H and it was so hot already

[katie23]

We did a "back trail" (returned to where we came from). We stopped at Peak 1 for photo ops.

[katie23]

By the time we reached the foot of the mountain, this lady's store was open. She sold some food & cold drinks. Pics taken ~0830H.



We stopped to rest & some chitchat.

[katie23]

After that, we walked a bit to reach Agbobotilya River. Pics taken ~0900H.

[katie23]

We took a dip in the water. There were other people who arrived ahead of us (locals & hikers).




Water was blessedly cool & refreshing.

[katie23]

To return to the jump-off point (where our van was parked), we rode these tricycles w/o roof. It was ~1 hr walk in the hot sun (if we didn't ride). It was ~1000H by then.

[Topper]

The weather looks perfect! Very nice Katie!

How "technical" was the hike?

[NamPikToot]

^hi toot. Yes, fortunately I'm one of those people who can sleep on a bus, van, car, ferry, etc. (Yes, I slept in the van on the way to Zambales & back to Manila.)

many years ago on my first visits to India and SE Asia and buses were really the only option, long hours spent on grindingly uncomfortable buses all with locals oblivious to the bumping, hsard braking, horns, clanking and blaring music whilst they slept - i used to sit there unable to get a wink of sleep developing an irrational hatred of every other passenger on the bus.

[NamPikToot]

We reached the summit (Peak 5) by ~0620H.

.

there's the shot i have to say it all looks a bit barren.

just how many portions of cold mcdonalds did you pack

[kingwilly]

Great pics Katie

[Joe 90]

Cool pics Katie, this one is my favourite..

[Looper]

Awesome toe socks, Katie.



You should get the finger-less ones, like your gloves, so you can paint your toenails for the summit money shot.

Would match up with the ponytail hat-hole theme too

[katie23]

@looper - lol. I wore socks w/ sandals because there were river crossings after the mountain hike. I didn't want to get soggy shoes. Depending on the mountain (if there are rivers or not), I'll wear trek shoes or sandals. Those socks are the ones with toe separators.

@joe - yes, I thought that was a good Pic & location. After I had my Pic taken there, other hikers followed.

@willy - glad you liked the pics!

@topper - the hike wasn't too technical nor difficult. It's considered as a minor hike (3/9 difficulty) and I agree w/ the rating. There were no roped segments, no rappelling, no cliffs or knife edges. The main problem was the heat (since it was super exposed). On the descent, around 7 am, we met a group which was on their way up. They asked if it was still far and they were complaining abt the heat already. We finished the hike proper in 5.5 hrs (could've been done in 5 if less rest breaks) , which is fairly fast for these hikes. (The mountain near my hometown, it's a 4/9 and takes 8 to 10 hrs to hike, depending on pace & weather.)

Thanks for the greens, guys. Cheers!

[katie23]

@toots - I only brought 1 Jollibee burger with me, plus a couple of egg sandwiches. I also had some salted nuts and candies for trail food. (The pickup pt was a Jollibee, so no McD that time.)

[katie23]

We had the option to have lunch cooked by the locals at the jump off point (price wasn't included in the hike fee). We all opted to get it. Choice was either rice plus chicken adobo or pork sinigang. (Sinigang is a soup w/ veggies & tamarind.) I chose the pork sinigang.

I didn't take a pic of it since I was tired & hungry by then.

After eating & showering (shower fee was P50, was formerly P20 usually = inflation!), we rode the van & went on a side trip to Liwliwa Beach (a public beach). That was at ~1200H and we got there ~40 min.

[katie23]

Continuation: we had a side trip to Liwliwa Beach, which is a public beach. One can rent sunbeds & umbrellas on the beach. There's also ATV rentals.

[katie23]

We got there around 1300H and it was so hot, so none of our group swam in the beach. Others got iced coffees. My gang got "ice scramble", which is a snack made of crushed ice, powdered milk, etc.




^taco joint. One of my gang wanted tacos but when she found out that it would take 30 to 40 min (there was a queue), she got an iced coffee instead.

[katie23]

Coffee stand


Menu & prices from a local resto/ eatery at the beach.

^Spamsilog (Spam, egg & fried rice) is P110. (less than 2 USD) "Inihaw" means grilled.

[NamPikToot]

Spamsilog (Spam, egg & fried rice) is P110

[katie23]

We stayed at Liwliwa beach for only an hour (1300H to 1400H) then we went back to the van to go home. The van dropped off people in Cubao (north of Metro Manila) and various points along the way. The van reached Jollibee Alabang (south of Metro Manila) around 1900H, so it was ~5 hrs of travel. Our hike time was ~5.5 hrs. It was a nice, relatively easy hike.

[Topper]

Those prices seem a touch expensive. Did you bust out your bikini on the beach?