4th Climb - Rainy Mt. Tibig Climb

At the background is the possible traverse trail to Mt. Lobo. This spot is just a few meters away from Mt. Tibig's summit

MT. TIBIG

Lobo, Batangas 

Jump-off point: Hulong Banalo, Lobo

LLA: 13°40′30.9′′N 121°9′37.2′′ E, 563 MASL

Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 1.5-2.5 hours

Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 2/9, Trail class 1-3

Source: pinoymountaineer.com

Mt. Tibig is known to be an easy hike in the southern tip of Batangas that offers the coastal views of the Island Verde passage and scenic forest of the Tibig-Lobo mountain range. When I pushed through with this climb, there was an incoming storm back then. I remembered that I check the weather forecast and track of the storm and it was steering its way on the Aurora province so I told the other participants that we can proceed with the climb. However, I knew that we will encounter cloudy skies and a little bit of rain. Unfortunately, later will I found out when I got back home that the storm shifted its track downward. Yes, we climb Tibig in a very not so pleasant weather because it is very windy and stormy.

We took a DLTB bus bound to Batangas City. It was already raining when we left Manila but I thought that it will not stay long. After we arrived at Batangas City, we had a hard time finding the correct jeepney going to the Lobo terminal. Fortunately, we were assisted by some locals and finally we boarded the jeep bound to Lobo, Batangas. I did not expected that the ride to Lobo was time consuming. It took us more than an hour then we rode a tricycle to Brgy. Hulong Banalo. It was already raining heavily and I got a long scratch on my leg due to the sharp structure of the seat behind the driver's back. 

The rain continued to pour when we arrived at Brgy. Hulong Banalo. We met our guide and he advised us to let the rain subside a bit. Then, after a few minutes he gave us the signal to start the climb. I do not have any raincoat back then so I just used my umbrella. The trail was steep at the start but became manageable until the rest of the climb., The trail is well maintained and it was really quiet easy but the weather made us nervous and uneasy. The trees were dancing in the tunes of the howling winds and the rain continued to pour erratically. The views of the forested mountains were refreshing though.

The others are walking along the trail with umbrella. 

We continued our journey up until we encountered the Talahib trail. Thankfully, the rain deteriorated a bit so I was able to get some pictures of the trail while we go up. I felt cold but at the same time glad because it was a happy and refreshing feeling to just let yourself get wet and just enjoy the weather thought it was quite scary at the same time.

We continued our ascent through the talahib then suddenly, the weather went calm and a clearing appeared which revealed the view of the Verde Passage from afar and the summit a few meters ahead. We took our time to grab the chance to take some photos since we knew it will not last long. The clearing did not last for long as thick clouds engulfed our view and gusty winds and heavy rains followed thereafter. We pushed through to the summit and rested a bit to see if another clearing would open up. Unfortunately, there was none so we just hurried our descent since the rains and winds intensified.

Our team being battered by fierce winds and heavy rain.

And then, a clearing appeared. Yes!

The summit of Mt. Tibig as seen on the background

The hike down was a little bit difficult because of the muddy trail but we managed to get down safely. The rain continued its downpour until I got home. I definitely enjoyed this easy hike. However, if there's a chance, of course it is much better to hike in a good weather.