Mt. Makiling Traverse (Maktrav) - The Ultimate Comeback Climb

After 7 month since Mt. Batulao climb, I'm back in my mountaineering career.

Mt. Makiling Traverse, also known as "Maktrav", is a 1090+ MASL climb, with rope segments and breathtaking assault with amaizing view. Entry point at Santo Tomas, Batangas and exit point at UPLB, Los Banos, Laguna.



We set the climb March 9, 2014. 3am ang meet up sa Terminal ng JAM. Despite the fact na 30 minutes delay kami. (3:30am yung dapat na departure pero umalis kami ng 4am) nakarating kami sa Santo Tomas ng 5:30am. Para maka-start kami mag-trek ng 6:30am, umarkila na kami ng Jeep para magpa-register. 6am (mas maaga sa pinag-usapang plano na 6:30am) nagsimula na kaming umakyat. At first, gradual accent ang trail, then nakarating kami sa station 3 para ma-set namin ang radio frequency for the entire climb for updates. Since ako yung sweeper, ako na din ang naging radioman ng climb.

Station 3

After station 3, nag-start uli kami, 8am nakarating na kami sa Station 7, here wala na kaming guide pero the trail going to summit is manageable, wala ng ligaw na trail from Station 7 to summit.

From station 7, bumaba ang trail patungo sa "mossy" forest kung saan may mga limatik na sasalubong sa amin. FORTUNATELY, dahil mainit, walang limatik na umatake sa amin despite the fact na we are already prepared for their attack. before going to Melkas Ridge (30 minutes mula sa position namin) kumain na kami. Later, we reach the Melkas Ridge, also known as Haring Bato.

Here are some pictures sa Melkas Ridge (Haring Bato).

After photo op, it's time to face the "rope climbing" going to peak 3 which is 30 minutes away from Melkas ridge. 30 minutes later, peak 3 na kami. Here are some pictures.

Rope segments

From peak 3, another descent going to summit. this will take 2 hours 30 minutes. medyo "dramatic descent" ang mangyayari because, some trail (especially dun sa "Tumbang Puno") kailangan mag-rope pababa. after the dramatic descent. going up uli, deretso na yun pa-summit, wala ng rope segment. but watch your head because of some trees, kailangan yumuko para makalusot. at 2pm (in my case: na-injure ako, 2:20pm) narating na rin ang SUMMIT ng Mt. Makiling.

SUMMIT

Despite na na-injure ako, nakarating pa rin ako ng summit. Although wala masyadong view because of the trees, still it is a great achievement para sa akin na narating ko ang summit. For the record: Mountains Climb: 10, Reach the Summit: 4, Backtracked: 3.

Here are some pictures sa summit.

After photo op sa summit. It's time to descent going to Los Banos, Laguna. 3pm umalis na kami sa summit.

LOS BANOS TRAIL

From summit, "dramatic descent" and malambot ang lupa, so take extra caution pababa. after reaching the Los Banos trail campsite, medyo steep pa rin pababa at unti unti nagiging gradual pababa ng pababa. 5pm nakarating kami sa sakayan ng Habal-Habal. Here, may tindahan dun at nag-break kami dun. 

After a short break, we continue to trek down to the UPLB. 6pm ang arrival namin sa Mt. Makiling Exit point at dun na naligo

Trekking down to UPLB

After taking a bath, sumakay na kami ng jeep patungong Los Banos town proper para kumain ng dinner.

After kainan, we went home. The problem is wala ng bus pabalik Manila, so we went to Turbina for Cubao-bound bus. Fortunately meron so we rode back home to Manila.

---Some unforgetable quotes during the climb---------------------------------------------------------------

"Imagine there's no rope... which is I can't" -- Arp-arp (ako)

"I want you!" -- Arp-Arp

"Makiling's Ultimate Selfie!" -- Arp-Arp

"Kasama namin yung anak ni General" -- Dan Samarita

"Naghanda pa tayo sa Limatik, wala naman pala" -- Isa sa mga kasama namin

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This is the unforgetable "Ultimate Comeback Climb" kahit nahirapan at pinulikat ako. They say mahirap pero kinaya ko kahit na-injure ako. We expect the unexpected (especially sa mga limatik na hindi kami inatake). Lastly, nagamit yung ROTC skills ko when it comes to rope climbing, This is the Ultimate Climb I will never forget.

Video by: Dan Samarita

Photo credits to:

Arp-Arp Villarazo

Dan Samarita

Kenjie Villafuerte

Kit Caisip