Gone South: Mt. Gulugod Baboy - Sombrero Island tour

Mt. Gulugod Baboy is 525+ MASL and my second Minor Climb next to Mt. Maculot. So ibang-iba sya sa iba pang bundok na "2/9 Difficulty" and for me, THIS is the true 2/9 Difficulty Mountain.

So we set-up this climb ng Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 3 days before my birthday. So nagkitaan kami sa Jollibee sa Pasay ng 3AM -Yes, 3 in a morning and to wait for the van. Mas matipid mag-rent ng van instead of riding a bus going to Batangas City then rent a jeep going to jump-off. 4AM umalis na kami sa Manila via Van. After a very loooong travel, 7am nasa Philpan Resort na kami (Jump-off). Then we start a trek going to Mt. Gulugod Baboy

So the trail is steepy enough na mapagod ako sa first leg pa lang. Sementado hanggang sa souvenir shop. Pagkarating sa souvenir shop, nag-stop over muna kami.

We continue our trek papuntang summit. Along the trail (halfway to summit)  may mga locals na nakatira mismo doon. We're glad na they welcome us na mamahinga na kami at kumain.

Hachiko

So after a 30 minute break, its time to push through to summit. Mula dun sa stop-over, 15 minutes na to Grassland.

Here are some pictures mula sa Grassland

"Banishment, This World!!!" -- Takanashi Rikka

So here we are at the Grassland. Marami kang maiisip dito, for instance, Dito ba ginanap yung ending ng Walang Hanggan o yung commercial ng Highlands Corned Beef?, because of a very nice view, the grass at may nag-iisang puno sa grassland, may mga baka sa taas including landmines (o yung dumi ng baka) so be careful ; ). The summit is just a minutes away so we continue trekking to summit.

Summit

So here we are at the summit. So pagdating sa summit, hindi mawawala ang PICTURAN sa taas. Here are some pictures sa summit ng Mt. Gulugod baboy.

We have a special guest - The youngest mountaineer in our group

So after an hour na nasa summit, naglaro ng Frisbee at nagharutan. It's time to go down back to Philpan Jump-off and going to Sombrero Island. Some of our groupmates tinakbo pababa. then 2:30pm nasa Philpan Resort na kami.

Sombrero Island

Sombrero Island - view from the banca

So from Philpan, sasakay kami ng banka going to Sombrero Island. Sombrero Island because of its shape. According dun sa namamangka, it is now private-owned island so may entrance fee kami dyan na Php 150.

Waiting for the Banka

 For the safety of all the passengers na bumabyahe, "Bantay-Dagat" is only allow 8 passengers bawat banka. So 14 kami, kaya nag-dalawang bangka kami going to the Island. It is a 20 minute travel to Sombrero Island

Banka - Going to Sombrero Island

After 20 miuntes, nakarating na kami sa Sombrero Island, and its time to swim

So the sand is white, the problem is dun sa tubig, mabato so masakit sa paa and the current, malakas so hangga't maari, Huwag na huwag lalayo sa shoreline. 5pm umalis na kami sa Isla because malapit nang umulan, so we travel head back to Philpan.

Mula sa Philpan, nag-shower kami and preparing to head back home to Manila. Dahil yung iba sa amin ay nagdala na ng sariling sasakyan at may pasok kinabukasan, they headed back home first.

Overall

This is not my first time bumiyahe ng South Luzon but this is the first post ng NorTrav about South Luzon. NorTrav's goal is to travel wherever we go, North Luzon, South Luzon, Vis-Min, kahit International. The climb and the tour is very wonderful. Marerelax ka and mag-eenjoy ka and this is a "journey you will never forget".

Photo Credits to:

Dan Samarita

Maryleen Beltran