The Mt. Batulao Traverse

Last weekend, I went climbing in Mt. Batulao with my friends Jay-Z and Mira, and I just finished washing my heavily soiled shoes . There’s still some mud on my legs which I did not bother to remove since I’m taking a bath tomorrow morning anyway. Since Batulao is a relatively easy climb, I feel normal, except that my hair stinks. Poor pillow of mine will need a pillowcase change tomorrow.
This is my fourth time here since college. This mountain was our venue for training climbs but this is the first time I can remember that I fully enjoyed the scenery and found appreciation for this beautiful mountain. It’s because the only memories I have of Batulao prior to this climb was the scorching heat, the overly muddy trails and the steep trails near the summit. I guess it was due to the pressure of undergoing training and looking after the neophytes of my former mountaineering club that I don’t have any fond recollection of amazing landscapes such as these:


We decided to do a traverse ascending from the old trail and descending to the new trail. The new trail provided a refreshing change from all the grass and open landscapes that you see in the old trail. Here, you will encounter some interesting huge boulders, cross over a short wooden bridge, enter a forest and pass by a steep trail with ravines on both sides (where I crawled my way through due to acrophobia). It’s also shorter than the old trail. If you've been to Mt. Batulao several times and haven't tried the new trail which was just established February 2008 - you may want to give it a shot. You'd have to pay a separate registration fee though (it's another 20 pesos) but it's all worth it.

By the way, if you need an itinerary, you may drop by this site:
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/08/mt-batulao-811.html
This was where we got most of the information we needed. By the way, if you’re riding a car and need to find Evercrest Golf and Country Club (your take-off point on your way to the jump-off), you may visit their website at : http://www.evercrestgolfclubresort.com/location.php
I uploaded the rest of the pictures here. (If there's a problem with the link - you can just type this on your browser :http://soccerprincess.multiply.com/photos/album/62/Mt._Batulao_Dayhike_Traverse_-_November_9_2008)

Me and JayZ had a weird experience while climbing Batulao but I'll write it some other time because I'm still baffled as of now. It's both a funny and freaky story.














Past adventures

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