This is becoming a yearly tradition and I'm thinking it's a good way to start the year! 2012, I think you're going to be just as awesome as this first weekend of the year in Pico de Loro. Last year, we trekked to Mt Pulag on the first weekend of 2011, and now this... Life is indeed GOOD. Every climb (haha, well I've only climbed 2 as of the moment) is different even if you climb the same mountain over and over again, according to our guide Kuya Jala, who has been here 10 times(!) , because the land scape is ever changing.
Blogs on Pico de Loro, described the trail as EASY (1) but for an amateur like me I'd rank it 5 in a scale of 1-10 (10 is the hardest). And I was thinking that if I climbed this mountain before Mt Pulag, I might have backed out on Pulag.
What I think gave me a hard time was my heavy backpack despite "packing light." It just wasn't light enough. And my endurance was at its lowest, having no training in the past month, my only exercise was yoga.
Rock climbing was expected but I never thought I'd go through with it but I did!
Easy or Hard it was FUN.
We, more or less, followed this itinerary:
DAYHIKE
0330 ETD Diliman, QC for Baclaran
0430 ETA Max’s, Baclaran; board bus to Ternate, Cavite
0730 ETA Ternate. Ride tricycle to Magnetic Hill, DENR
0800 ETA DENR / jump-off point. (P20 registration)
0815 Start trek. Note that jump-off point is 5 minutes' walk away from DENR.
0845 ETA rest station, Basecamp 1 – Softdrinks/Water (P20 registration)
0430 ETA Max’s, Baclaran; board bus to Ternate, Cavite
0730 ETA Ternate. Ride tricycle to Magnetic Hill, DENR
0800 ETA DENR / jump-off point. (P20 registration)
0815 Start trek. Note that jump-off point is 5 minutes' walk away from DENR.
0845 ETA rest station, Basecamp 1 – Softdrinks/Water (P20 registration)
1200 ETA summit. Lunch.
From this point, take either Option A (Backtrail) or B (Traverse)
Backtrail to Ternate
0100 Start Descent
0300 ETA Waterfalls.
0330 Start descent to Magnetic Hill, DENR
0100 Start Descent
0300 ETA Waterfalls.
0330 Start descent to Magnetic Hill, DENR
0500 ETA DENR. Wash up. Take Trike back to Ternate then take bus back to Manila
0830 ETA Baclaran. Dinner. J
Things to Bring
1. Packed Lunch + Trail Food
1. Packed Lunch + Trail Food
2. Drinking Water
3. Poncho (Raincoat)
4. Flashlight/Headlamp (in case of emergency)
5. Camera
6. Sunblock
7. Personal medicine kit + insect repellent
8. Plastic bags for wet clothes and garbage
I think it is important to start early (the earliest possible, as in the break of dawn). We were blessed with good timing during the weekend because we were the first group on the trail and we were able to enjoy the "solitude" at the summit, the rock and the waterfalls (where we took a 30 minute nap :) ). On our way back to base camp we met a lot of campers going up and I thought it would be so crowded up there. A day trip is sufficient enough to give you a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape and enjoy the lush forest.
