Mt. Daguldol climb

I’ve been longing to go back to the mountain for quite some time so I accepted an invitation from, fellow climber Ruby of MFPI to climb Mt. Daguldol in San Juan, Batangas. Still weary-eyed from lack of sleep, I packed my bags around 4 am Saturday morning and quickly set off to sleep. Good thing our assembly was at noon time in Buendia where our Vans would pick us up. Don’t know much of the guys who will be coming along, but I saw some guys mostly with “daypacks” and large sleeping bags. Some girls even have shoulder bags with them. Are they going to a mall? Probably, first-time climbers, I thought. We were around 18 people inside the Van, but a good thing, it was spacious, cool, and comfortable.

We had a smooth ride going to Batangas but had to ask some people to make sure we were in the right direction. Around 5 pm we reached Barangay Hugom in Batangas and parked by the HEGA station where you have to register and acquire a mandatory guide. Shortly after the group have organized, we hiked along the beach coast and headed to our campsite. We passed along some nice resorts like La Luz and I forgot the other. It was a gloomy afternoon but the beach seems A-Ok. Further, towards the jump-off point, there were some scenic rocks along the shoreline, and the water is really clear and inviting on those parts.

We had a beach camp for the night and would start our assault in the morning. It was a nice dinner, we almost had a not-so-cooked rice thanks to me, but it worked out in the end with the help of a sprinkle of salt. Hehehe. The socials were interesting, and as I thought earlier, a lot of them are first-time climbers. After the initial socials, I didn’t stay long for their drinking session and told Ruby that I’d like to catch up on my sleep. I didn’t put my flysheet on since it was a bit warm in my tent already.

We started our assault before 7 am. Generally, the long trail to the summit was good. I thought it was well taken care of. Only the first 30 minutes could have been difficult if you have your packs on, good thing, there were guys below who were there to watch over our things so our climb was much faster. There were numerous stops along the way with matching Buko or Softdrink vendors so there are a lot of opportunities to rest. I must admit that I enjoyed the trail as the scenery was quite good. Lots of greens and interesting boulders along the trail. Can be quite hot though when the sun is at its peak so it is recommended to hike either early morning or late in the afternoon. We reached the summit 3 and a half hours later. The summit was a wide expanse region with numerous campsites with a breathtaking view of the Batangas landscape and nearby you could see the peaks of Mt. Lobo.

We explored the other campsites like Anahaw and Niyogan. I decided to skip the Biliran ng Limatik since I could feel my knees have reached their limit and the recurring pain is back (as with my previous post) So I decided to head down before them to avoid slowing down the group. It was a torture test for me as every time I bend my knees, I would curse from the seething pain. I taped my knees with my bandana to make it more bearable and headed down as fast as I can. I caught up with the other group who made camp at the summit. There were even these two guys who got lost in the trail and didn’t see the trail signs. After 3 hours I got back to the beach camp and waited for the others.

It was on our way home that we encountered some unexpected hindrances. Our van managed to find a way to our campsite. Since it rained late that afternoon the road got slippery and soft. There were 4 of us in the van at that time along with the other’s baggage to give weight at the back. The other guys have to take the boat since it couldn’t accommodate all of us on the said road. At the final uphill climb, our Van got stuck and could no longer reach the elevated part of the road. We had to push the back of the van little by little but the left tire was already scratched from the friction. We were only a short distance from the flat road but we couldn’t push anymore. The other two guys went straight ahead to try to get some help. I tried capturing the sporadic cellphone signal and was finally successful to call one of the guys from the other half of the group to ask for help. Half an hour later the guys came by for some added power and after a few pushes the van finally came through. What a relief!

We left Bgy. Hugom around 6 pm and everyone were in full spirits. Despite the delay, it was good that everyone was ok. It was a fun climb and met other people who are really enthusiastic about mountain climbing and those new ones with budding interests. It was fun and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to the place again if given the chance.