A month after our Maculot hike, we found ourselves at the foot of Mt. Romelo located in the depths of Siniloan, Laguna to chase some waterfalls. Mt. Romelo is the home to seven waterfalls. However, due to time constraints we aimed only for two waterfalls: Buruwisan falls and Lanzones falls. 

It has a refreshing contrast to the warm beachy climate we have at our hometown. Gloomy weather, cool breeze, and afternoon drizzles. Somehow reminded me of our fieldwork days in Mt. Makiling and Mt. Cristobal. All those morning hikes, data gatherings and rewarding waterfall jumps. Ahh, nostalgic.

Compared to the mountains that I have dared to conquer, Mt. Romelo thus far has the most confusing trail. There’s just so many diverging paths. Really, the mountain is like a buffet of forks. Ha-ha. Confusing, yes, but advantageous as well. Forks and or alternative trails can be  efficient trail traffic minimizers and time savers. If you know what I mean.  i.e  When we went, more or less a hundred high school students were also off to the falls that day, so as to avoid traffic, we used an alternative trail.

I'm not sure, though, which trail is easier and and or shorter,theirs or ours. Kuya Paul, our climb coordinator, said that we had a good pacing. Could it be that we took a shortcut? I didn't thought of asking our guide. Or perhaps we were just that excited? Ha-ha.

The trail, in general, is muddy beyond belief. If you've read other entries or heard rants about Mt. Romelo being extremely muddy, believe them, they're not exaggerating. I was fascinated how the mud easily built up on my soles. A few steps and  it already felt like I'm on heels. My companions had to stop once in a while and scrape the mud off their soles but personally I could use some additional weight  so I left my soles as muddy as they are.  The mud would eventually come off on their own anyway when it gets too thick. Also, donkeys serve as porters here so just a friendly reminder, watch your steps. Some poops might be camouflaging on the mud. Haha. I didn't know donkeys to be good hikers.

We assumed that the other hikers would root for Buruwisan falls first so we opted to visit its humble neighbor first, Lanzones falls. Its a small waterfall in a corner of a stone wall. This two-storey high waterfall has a small and shallow catch basin. We had the falls to ourselves. It's like having your own personalized waterfall pool. We had our early lunch here as we watched the falls and allowed the gushing waters so soothe our ears.

Next up is the main event --- Buruwisan Falls. Surprisingly, there weren't anyone there but us. We took our time admiring the surroundings and taking pictures. The place is enchanting! We were all in awe and for a moment thought that we're in another realm. Until the others arrived and ruined the silence. They were all shouting and laughing like they own the place and they looked drunk. Good thing they didn't stayed for long. He-he.

The summit wasn't originally part of our itinerary but since we're still way ahead of it, we decided to go for the summit. It doesn't look as elevated as a summit should and there wasn't much to see but overlooking such a lush vegetation was refreshing to the eyes.

Once again, kudos to the Barefoot Travels team for making this day hike possible. This was Kate and I’s second time to join their day hike and also the second time to be in their pioneer team. As expected, another awesome experience with them. I’m looking forward for more awesome trips with Barefoot Travels. Hopefully, next time will be a camping trip. He-he. 

P.S Try the buko ice candy in the mountain store and the halo-halo  by the registration office, they're soo good. Credits to Ms. My and Aisha for the group photos. :)


 xxx

Barefoot Mt. Maculot pioneer batch (c) Ms. My

In an earlier post, I've made it clear that I'm not a mountain-climbing type of person. Last January, however, I decided to give it another try. What changed you ask? Well,  Mt. Maculot happened, that's why. As simple as that. 

I fell in love as soon as I saw a photo of Mt. Maculot on the internet. It's nothing like I've seen before, really. Located at Cuenca, Batangas, it is one of the few mountains in the Philippines overlooking a lake, or water for that matter. 

With months of inactivity, an all-ascend trail (well, most if not all) is certainly not the first thing you'd like to try, which otherwise happened to me. Bummer. So to divert my attention from  the challenging trail and the pain that's starting to linger in my thighs,  I let my mind wander from time to time. Thus, I give you eight of my realizations (which are applicable both in real life and in this climb)  in Mt. Maculot. For the record, I was supposed to give you guys ten, believe me, I tried to make it ten but I guess eight's all I got. Ha-ha!

En route to the Rockies.

Anywho, let's begin with the obvious. (1) There's no glamorous path to success. Figuratively and literally. There's are no easy paths and shortcuts to anything. One has to work hard, in one way or another. The same applies for this climb.

(2) Strangers are not the strangest people you'll meet on earth. Another thing that I noticed from this experience was that whenever hikers come across each other on the trail, they greet each other regardless if whether or not they're from the same group. I don't know if its customary or those people are just courteous.

(3) No matter how prepared you think you are, life always has its way to surprise you. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. For this climb, I wasn't physically prepared, as I have mentioned earlier, but some of us were. To my surprise though, they too found the trail challenging. 

The next one hit me as soon as we reached the so-called 711 in Maculot. (4) Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest. Don't believe me? Try having pancit canton (instant noodles), halo-halo (shaved ice with milk, fruits and sweet beans), or even a humble buko (coconut) juice after a tiring hike. Trust me, you'll get a taste of heaven. 

(5) Learn when to hold on and when to let go. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to dozens of tall grasses and yards of vines that I pulled just to keep myself from rolling downhill. Haha. 

Earth, Air and Water

(6) Keep your gaze forward and never look back. Things are behind us for a reason. Focus on what's ahead and not what's behind you. Remember this whenever the past hunts you or when you take your final ascend to the Rockies.  :)

(7) When you're one with nature you'll never be truly alone. Of course, I'm not really alone during the hike but you get the gist. 

Ms. My of Barefoot Travels doing her headstand. 

(8) The hardest paths are the most rewarding. Inhale. Exhale. They are not exaggerating. The view is truly breathtaking! All those ascends are totally worth it. 

We survived the rockies! Well done! (c) Patty Platon

Note:

For this climb my cousins and I joined  Barefoot Travels day hike to Maculot. This, I must say, is the best public group tour I've ever joined. They truly deliver a hassle free trip and their coordinators were sooo accommodating and fun to be with. Are their group tours solo friendly? Yes, actually we had three solo travelers in the group. Would I join their group tours again? Definitely! For more details and destinations, please visit their page.  xxx