This will be the second adventure for the Year 2014. Destination is Mt. Romelo situated in Sinaloan Laguna. Participants for today are Belle, Charlie, Eliza, Chelle, GF and BF (due to some unfortunate event GF and BF were no longer able to join.)
Mt. Romelo is a very easy adventure with a 2-3 hours trail, easy access to public transportation and over all a great Hike and Swim experience.
Meetup point is at Robinson Galleria. Recommended Call time is at 5am to be able to enjoy the hike and go to the waterfalls. We all met at around 7am since some of the participants still had work until 6am.
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| Laguna bound |
We were lucky enough to get a Van that ply the Antipolo, Tanay route. There were 7 of us in the van so it was quite roomy and felt like we rented the whole van since the driver was nice enough to drop us of at the Jump of point itself.
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| Jump Off point |
If you are riding Raymond bus (Infanta Bound), just advise the conductor to drop you at Trois Restaurant or Buruwisan Falls of Brgy Macatad they will know where to drop you off. If you road a Fami bound Van, your drop off point is at their terminal in Fami and then ride a trycle to Brgy Macatad.
Once you reach the Jump off point, you will be greeted by locals who act at guides for Mt. Romelo. You have the option of getting a guide or not since the trail is very easy and you just need to follow the main trail. Ask around where the registration area is located.
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| Registration area |
Once you have registered, you may begin your trek. I asked if there was a number for the registration area so that I can provide at home just incase anything happens but was advised that they don't have any number.
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| Stream that marks the start of the trek |
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A stream marks the start of the trek itself. It would be recommended to wear sandals (the one that has a slot for your big toe) or waterbased shoes since it will always be a muddy trail in Mt. Romelo no matter what happens. Be advised that in the rainy season it will be particularly muddy along with knee deep quicksand like mud.
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| just the usual trail at Mt Romelo |
It will be a very easy trail with just a few ascents and so long as you don't get bothered by the mud, it will be just like a walk in the park. It rained a bit the night before that's why the trail is a little wet. You will experience several slight rain showers especially in the morning so please make sure to waterproof your items and bring rain wear.
There are about 6 stores or checkpoints scattered along the trail that you will pass by. They sell buko and softdrinks among other items.All the store are open during weekends since troops of hikers go to Mt. Romelo for a quick getaway. During weekdays only the first store will be open since it is also the drop of point for the Buko that was harvested. There are several benches here to rest and relax and take some pictures.
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| The buko store |
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| Eating buko after you finish the juice |
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Once you finish drinking the juice, the manong can create a makeshift spoon out of the husk of the buko so that you can eat start eating.
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| "Add caption" |
Once you are well rested already, you may again start your ascent to the summit of Mt. Romelo. You can also bring buko to drink along the way. Since there are several buko stations, you may opt to bring just 1-2L of trail water to keep a light pack.
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| Lots of horses in Mt. Romelo |
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| Mostly a flat trail |
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| Slight ascents |
The trail is again very easy and flat with slight ascents goint to the peak of the mountain. Do be careful when the trail gets muddy, it becomes a challenge to get a good grip.
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| Summit pics |
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| Peak: Peakture Time! |
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| Thats me! |
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| Chelle |
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| Eliza |
Once you reach the tall grass area, its the mark that you are almost at the summit. At the summit, for sure it will be "Peak"ture time. Here, you get a 360 degree image of Laguna. You will be able to see laguna lake in the background. Make sure to get those group pics and solo pics for your profile.
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| Buko juice hut |
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| Erik the guide AKA "Many Pekyaw" |
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| Ice water for sale |
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| Tindahan ni Aling Maliit |
Again there are several stores and resting areas, you may opt to rest here and enjoy the scenery or just continue trekking towards Buruwisan Falls.
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| Down to Buruwisan Falls |
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| Pls follow the signs |
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| Lots of care when going down |
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| Path to Buruwisan Falls |
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The path going down to the falls gets a little steep and dangerous so proper care is needed when descending, there is also another way going down but you need to hike a little farther to go down. Decide if you want the quick steep way or the longer safer route.
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| Buruwisan Falls |
Once you have descended, you will be greeted by the Majestic Buruwisan Falls. There are several Falls in total: Buruwisan Falls, Lansones Falls, Sampaloc Falls, Batya-Batya Falls, Old Buruwisan Falls, Twin Falls, and Sapang Labo Falls. We only stayed in Buruwisan Falls since it was only a day hike and we did a lot of stop overs and the like. The team felt that it was good enough accomplishment to visit Buruwisan Falls. For the other Falls, I shall return.
We cooked lunch at the falls and made some new found friends. The water was freezing so it was hard to stay in the water for a prolonged period of time. Thankfully our new found friends gave us some shot of Gin to counter the cold. After eating and swimming, it was time to freshen up and head back to civilization.
To finish our trip, we ate at Manay's Eatery just a few minutes walk from the Famy station. A good way to end an adventure is a good hearty meal. Manay's Eatery was able to provide us with a "Busog Lusog" send over to complete our journey.
Mission accomplished! Mt Romelo & Buruwisan Falls congquered.
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