8th Climb - Mt. Pamitinan

Mt. Pamitinan

Rodriguez, Rizal

Major jumpoff: Brgy. Wawa, Rodriguez, Rizal

LLA (Pamitinan): 14°43′51.7′′N 121°11′29.2′′ E 426 MASL

Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 1.5-3 hours (P)

Specs: Minor, Difficulty 4/9 / Trail class 1-4

Features: Limestone formations, scenic views of Sierra Madre and Rizal province

Source: pinoymountaineer.com

I was not able to slept soundly the night before our scheduled hike. I was quite nervous because of the hardship I experienced during our Mt. Binacayan day hike. I don't want to underestimate this mountain even though based on the blogs that I have read, Mt. Pamitinan is easier compared to Binacayan. Our meeting place and time was still the same, 4 am at Mcdo, Gateway Cubao. I did not noticed that I set my alarm at 3:45 am (probably due to nervousness) so I woke up late haha. I was agitated because I knew that I won't be able to arrive at the scheduled time. Of course, it was quite disgraceful since I was the one who reminded them to arrive as early as possible. Moreover, I felt that a storm was brewing in my belly haha. I was able to reduce some of my heavy baggage but I felt that it still wasn't enough haha.

I started my journey thinking that all was going to be well. Firstly, I went to Sm San Lazaro to fetch ate Jean Kaye because we were going to the meeting place at the same time. I felt uncomfortable while we were on the road but I just told myself that I'll be able to make it to Mcdo. Every second seemed so long so I was silent and just tried my best to focus and conserve energy and not think about my hidden problem haha. We arrived after almost 30 minutes at Mcdo and went directly to the cashier to order some food. I opened my bag and noticed that my cellphone was missing. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen so I searched every corner of my bag but to my disappointment, it wasn't there. My mind went into panic mode so I immediately went to our table and started to search my bag over and over again until I realized that I left it on the taxi we rode. I'm glad that ate Jean Kaye was there to help me calm down. I was really depressed that time because I have already lost two things years ago. I lost my ipod touch the first time when I went home early morning due to overtime at work. Then, I lost another one, my samsung s4 to bad guys. I was already thinking to stop the hike because of the misfortunes that early morning until the taxi driver answered our call. The heaven suddenly opened up when the taxi driver told us that he will return my cellphone. We immediately went outside to the place where the taxi driver dropped us off. The taxi arrived several minutes later and we raised our hands joyfully to welcome the taxi driver. I hastily approached the taxi, opened the front door, said lots of thank you to him and paid his good deed. I immediately thanked the Lord that there are still good people out there. We went back inside Mcdo and waited for the others.

Wilhelm arrived several minutes later. Then, Ebol and her bf Eric came.

We went to queue up for the fx across the street since we were all there and then our long trip began. Our trip took us almost 2 hours to Eastwood, Rizal because of traffic. It was palm Sunday so many devotees were flocking to churches and conducting religious processions. I felt that the storm in my stomach was intensifying due to the long trip.

It was almost past 8 am when we arrived at the DENR outpost in Brgy. Wawa. I swiftly went to the bathroom but was horrified to see lots of females queued up. I cannot paint my face back then due to the pain I felt. At last, my glorious moment arrived when I was next in line. I executed my evil plan and went out of the bathroom gasping for air haha. At last, I felt okay and ready to start the hike.

The officer in charge told me that kuya Gerry already went up Pamitinan so she gave us another guide by the name of Alvin. He is quite young and I think he is only older than me by a few years. He is also a DENR guide but he is quite new to the business. 

We started our hike at aroung 8:30 am. The left way is to Pamitinan while the right is bound to Binacayan. We passed by some houses until we arrived at a hanging bridge. Alvin told us to pray first, one thing that I forgot to do. After a brief prayer, we started to cross the bridge. This is the place where you could take a photo of both Binacayan and Pamitinan. They said that these depicts the old tale of Bernardo Carpio, a man that was crushed by two boulders. The left, easier and higher one is Mt. Pamitinan while the right, lower and more difficult one is Mt. Binacayan.

The next part of this trail are concrete stairs all the way up that served as a warm up for all of us. The trail was quite easy and more comfortable as there were lots of trees to protect us from the rays of sun. We continued walking with a quick rests along the way since Ebol is panting already. This was maybe due to the heavy backpack she had. Eric volunteered to carry her backpack all the way. How sweet hehe :) Actually, I prefer to have lots of break since it wasn't that hot back then and so that we can have a relaxing pace.

We arrived at a place where a grand balete tree stands. According to Alvin, this is the sturdiest and tallest tree in the place.

We continued our journey after a brief picture taking on the grand balete tree, as seen on the above picture. We reached the area with huge limestone formations where lots of people can do rock climbing.

There were a lot of climbers on this mountain because it is much easier compared to Binacayan so you'll encounter more traffic on this area. We soon entered an open area where you can already witness the beauty of the surrounding areas. This is the starting point where you should start wearing gloves and take more cautious steps at all times.

The picture above is Mt. Banoi. Our guide told us that it is climbable but the trail is long.

We continued our way up pass the boulders until we reached a picturesque area. We stayed here to take photos since there were still climbers ahead of us.

Ate Jean Kaye doing her signature pose. 

Me while searching for stable path haha.

The weather was fine and the scenery was good. Just perfect for a good adventure and picture :) 

That is our guide Alvin. I'm thankful that he is very skilled and does not hesitate to help us climb those unforgiving rocks haha. Traffic continued to build up as we head near the summit. After this open area, we were back again under the shades of the trees. There is a vertical rock formations that you will encounter afterwards. This is my most favorite part of the trail. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a picture of it. We stopped for quite some time because the next area for picture taking is quite narrow. The group ahead of us spent lots of time there so we were able to get plenty of rest. We also met the group of Sir Gerry. He was surprised because he thought that we will not continue our hike that day. He told us that he left his cellphone so he was not able to confirm to me that he will be our guide. After quite some time, the group ahead went forward so it was now our time to enjoy another breathtaking and death defying picture taking area.

All I can say is that this was the most perilous photo spot that I had been to haha. My legs did not stop shaking especially when I looked down below. This area is quite narrow and I think it can only accommodate few people at a time. Super extra caution must be taken when going to this strip of rock. I was supposed to do some daredevil poses in this area but decided to just go in the safe zone haha.

The summit is just a few meters away from this area so we packed up and move forward. There were many hikers waiting in line just below the summit to escape the intense heat of the sun. We spent our time underneath some boulder of rocks.

There it is the summit of Mt. Pamitinan :)

We are currently waiting for our turn to the summit of Pamitinan. This is a good place to sleep haha the air is cold in this place.

Behold the cordilerra mountain ranges :) I was supposed to stand on the rock formations on the above picture but the wind was too strong. I feared that I'll stumble so I did not pushed through with my plan.

Freedom! :) This is exactly the reason why I love climbing mountains. The feeling of getting out of your comfort zone. The feeling of being alive.

And at last, the last group descended on the summit and it's now our turn to taste the sweet victory of this climb :) Just a little bit of rock climbing and voila! we are now on the summit of Mt. Pamitinan. Cheers for a successful climb guys!

Yes, that is Mt. Binacayan. The mountain that made me feel like a lame duck haha. We descended the summit at around 1 pm and continued to make our way back down quickly since it was already getting late. We still have to go to Wawa Dam as a side trip for this climb. We safely arrived at the jump off point to eat lunch. My legs cramped when we were on our way to Wawa Dam so I decided to just stay at the tourism office with ate Jean Kaye. Our three peers continued the side trip. We took our last shot before saying goodbye to Brgy. Wawa and the two gorgeous mountains.

Thank you guys for accompanying me to this trip :)

See you on April for more adventures :)

Actual expenses excluding food:

FX to Eastwood, Rizal and back - 100 pesos

Tricycle to Brgy Wawa - 10 pesos

Guide Fee - 200 pesos (discretionary payment)

Jeep back to Eastwood, Rizal - 8 pesos

Total expenses - 318 pesos

7th Climb - Mt. Binacayan

Mt. Binacayan

Major jump-off: Brgy. Wawa, Rodriguez, Rizal

LLA: 14°43′30.5′′N 121°11′26.1′′ E 424 MASL

Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 2-3 Hours

Specs: Minor Climb, Difficulty: 5/9 Trail Class 1-4

Features: Limestone Formations, scenic views of Sierra Madre and Rizal Province

Source: pinoymountaineer.com

Our hike was supposed to be on March 21 but due to the tedious tax season, I decided to move it to March 22. I really thought that I'll be doing a solo climb since most of my invites backed out because it is a Sunday. I'm grateful that my batch mate in college, Wilhelm accompanied me on this trip. It was such a relief that I'm not alone since later on the climb, I found myself grasping for air for the most difficult minor climb i had experienced as of date.

To start the story, I woke up at 3 am with lots of excitement in my mind. I took a taxi bound to Mcdo, Gateway Cubao. Our meeting time was 4 am. Unfortunately, the taxi I rode blew one of its tire. Thus, I arrived late at around 4:20 am. You can easily find a long line of FX bound to Rodriguez/Montalban, Rizal beside Mcdo. The trip took us almost 1 hour to arrive at Eastwood, Montalban, Rizal. From this point onward, you have two options on how to go to Brgy Wawa. Either ride a tricycle which should only costs 10 pesos or take a jeepney costing 8 pesos. As a tip, don't entertain tricycle drivers who will charged you for more than 10 pesos.

After 10-15 minutes, we arrived at the DENR outpost via tricycle. Initially, I thought that there will be less hikers during this day (family day). But that was only a thought, for I found myself in the middle of flock of hikers waiting for their assigned guides.  Most of them will do a twin dayhike but in our case, our only goal for that day was to conquer the summit of Mt. Binacayan. We approached the officer of the day, and they told us that there will be a two pesos individual fee . They  let us sign a waiver, log in a big notebook, and let us wait for our moment to come.

While waiting, I manage to wander my eyes through the place in which I notice a few things. First thing was the systematic process of registration. In addition, there was a good outpost with plenty of water and clean bathroom for all of us to use. Lastly, and the most important for me is that they have skilled and capable guides with no fixed fee.

After I told the officer in charge that our only destination is Mt. Binacayan, they told me to wait for a little bit since the guides are quite scarce for most of them are bound to Pamitinan. Luckily, a pair of individual arrives. They will be doing a twin day hike but since there are only two of them, the officer in charge decided to pair us with them. The two individuals agreed to hike first Binacayan so that we can tag along with them.

The officer in charge presented us our guide by the name of Sir Gerry. He is a DENR guide and has been guiding mountaineers for quite some time now. I can easily tell that he is a good guide based on his clothing and physique.

On the other hand, I started to observe the two individuals who will be going up with us. Based on their physique and the "Mt.Cinco Picos" print out on the shirt of the girl, I can easily tell that they have been climbing for an ample time. I started to doubt myself if I can really keep up with them haha.

Minutes after, we reached out our hand to them.

They are ate Jahmie and kuya Jomar. At an instant, we were able to know that ate Jahmie was a nurse and kuya Jomar was an employee of Pag-Ibig fund. They are both physically fit. Well, that is to expect with the two of them being runners.

We started the climb at around 6:30 am. We experienced first a long warm up on a concrete road. Then after 15 minutes, the real trail commenced. The trail was not hard yet since it was just straight and easy ascent but due to lack of exercise, I had to catch my breath. I looked back at ate Jahmie and kuya Jomar and noticed that they are not yet sweating as hard as I am haha. Oh boy, I really hoped that I'll soon develop the stamina that they have.

It was around 7:15 when we arrived at a small house which serves as a rest stop for us mountaineers. What's surprising about this  place was the cold drinks not being too pricey compared to the other mountains that I had been to.We rested for about 10 minutes and then pushed forward.

We saw a group of mountaineer passed our group so our guide decided to let them proceed first. This was the start of the continued ascent.

After a while, we arrived at the so called "boulder trail" because of the large, and pointed rocks as you can see on the picture below. This area depicts that we have made it halfway to the summit. This was the starting point on which gloves would be usable.

This was a good area to take some photos with the boulders as your background so we spent a few time here. Then, we continued our ascent in a slow manner to avoid tripping into these huge rocks.

The trail was quite narrow and since there were many climbers, we have to fall in line as seen on the picture below.

The trail was a non stop rock scrambling and you'll have to use all your hidden strength since this was a physically demanding activity especially for me. Please be informed that this was my first time to do some rock scrambling. I do not know if I'm on the correct position, if the rocks I'm stepping to is stable or not or if I'm gripping the correct rock. I am not physically fit so I was really struggling to get myself up on these rocks. Kuya Gerry noticed that I'm slowing down so he presented to carry my backpack all the way up. After he took away my heavy rucksack, my pace went back to normal. I really admired ate Jahmie and kuya Jomar since it was like nothing for them haha.

We reached the first viewpoint after a while. I was amazed by the beauty of the place. There were many climbers ahead taking their time to grab some pictures so we also took lengthy time on this area. At first, I'm hesitant to do some risky posing but when I saw what kuya Jomar did , my doubts turned into courage.

Caution must be exercised at all times even when posing or taking photos since all the rocks are sharp. Every part of this area were good for photo ops. I'm quite glad that there were many climbers ahead so we had a great time in this area.

The only thing that I don't like about this mountain was the fact that there were only few shady areas to protect you from the sunlight specially during summer season. This was the primary reason why my energy went down drastically until the end of the hike. The only reason I managed to push through was because of this scenic views.

The picture depicted above is my most favorite picture of all time. The feeling of just sitting there watching the clouds move freely while feeling the cold air is just superb. 

Ate Jahmie doing the sweet girl pose. Peace ate :D I admire and respect all the lady mountaineers out there for being courageous to embark on these journeys. Kudos to all of you out there :) Stay safe on the trails!

After scaling the large rock as seen from above, we decided to push through to the summit. On our way to the summit, there was a portion of the trail that is so narrow and you literally have to "kiss the wall" or "hug the wall" whatever you have to call it haha because there is a deep cliff at your back when you reach this area. I think this is the most dangerous portion of the trail. I got quite nervous but I eventually pass through. Wilhelm on the other hand has been stuck for quite some time because he is concerned with the weight of his backpack that might lead to him to stumble backwards. I got his backpack and we were able to get passed this area. We took a very deep breath and move forward. 

The summit was just a few meters away but due to the intense heat and aching legs, I was the last in line to reach the summit. I decided to just sit down and regain my strength while the three of them took turns to have a good picture. Cheers to all of us!

I gathered all my strength to have one last shot before I leave the summit.

My favorite motto in mountaineering is "Going up is optional, Going down is MANDATORY". The long and gruesome way down was about to start. I personally dislike going down because based on statistics, lots of accidents happen when going down. We are blessed that we did not encounter such event, though my legs gave up on me haha. I was so fucking tired (sorry for my words), this is just a small mountain but it depleted all my energy. Honestly, I felt kinda lame because I was the weakest on this climb. We had a lot of stop over because of me and negativity started to find its way in my mind. I'm really glad that they extended their patience and understanding for me. My only motivation back then was the cold and juicy buko juice that is waiting for me. Thankfully, I managed to get down this hellish mountain haha with the help of my comrades. Overall, I do not recommend this mountain for beginners haha. 

Looking forward to see you on the trails again ate Jahmie and kuya Jomar! I do hope that I'll be a lot stronger by then :) Stay safe always and thank you for letting us tag along :D

I also do thank Wilhelm for accompanying me to this trip and to kua Gerry for being a great, patient guide and for carrying my backpack all the way down.

Actual Expenses:

FX to Eastwood, Rodriguez, Rizal and back - 100 (50 pesos per trip)

Tricycle to Brgy Wawa - 35 (70 pesos for 2 persons)

Guide Fee - 300 (discretionary payment)

Jeep back to Eastwood, Rizal - 8

Total expenses excluding food - 443 pesos