#RADventure Time: Day Hike at Mt. Talamitam, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines

It happened on a not-so-clear Saturday morning (December 6, 2014). This hike wouldn't even be possible because of the pending typhoon Ruby that will hit Batangas. But this hike was already written in my fate. (HAHAHA) Rain or shine, this was bound to happen. And it was worth it. Even though some of my friends weren't able to come which is a shame. Even though it was really tiring as I'm not conditioned to climb.

Mt. Talamitam Summit with Kuya Rene, our guide.

Climbing Mt. Talamitam is my first official #RADventuretime experience. Mt. Talimitam is found in Nasugbu, Batangas. With 630 metres above sea level, it has a minor climb specification with difficulty of 3/9. Ascend to summit takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours, just right for beginners like me.


I went with my Advent senior colleagues/experienced hikers/elderly friends (hihi), Yu and Topet. We planned on meeting at Coastal Mall Terminal (Southwest Integrated Provincial Transport terminal) in Paranaque area at 5:00 AM. When we were completed, we took a bus bound to Nasugbu. We informed the driver and conductor to drop us off to KM. 83. Travel time from Coastal Mall to KM. 83 is 2 hours.

Ka Topet, Yucay and me :)

We arrived at the main jump-off point and registration area at around 7:00 AM. The registration area has a small sari-sari store. You can buy your water there along with snacks. They are also selling breakfast so we helped ourselves with ‘sopas’ with egg.

After eating out breakfast, we registered our names and asked for a guide. We were accompanied by Kuya Rene. Registration fee is 20.00. We started our hike at 8:00 AM.

The start of the trek was okay. You will pass many houses and also locals doing their daily and normal routine. We passed the Talamitam river and also a bamboo-made bridge. After the “very easy walk”, the next trail was a short trek to the forestry area. You will also notice that the trail is becoming steep so I made a lot of stopovers to catch my breath :). 

This forest area will lead you to the grassland hill. At this part of Mt. Talamitam, you could see Mt. Batulao from afar. Another mountain that is famous among mountaineers.

Mt. Batulao Bow..

Grassland with cows.

Haha.

There are different trails to reach the summit. We used the left side of the mountain. It was a very exhausting hike for me as it was very steep assaulting the summit. But it was worth it.

The first time I used these awesome shoes.

Kuya Rene.

We reached the summit at 10:00 AM. At the summit, we celebrated and enjoyed the nice view of Nasugbu. We took a lot of pictures, of course. And my jumpshot!!

We descended at around 10:30 AM. We told Kuya Rene that we wanted to go Layong Bilog, others it's Layong Bato. But before that, we first had a taste of fresh buko.

Yum yum yum...

Layong Bilog is a river with really cold water on the foot of Mt. Talamitam. It's a good sidetrip after a very hot and tiring trek to Mt. Talamitam.

After Yu and Topet finished dipping in the cold water, we head back to the registration area and ate our lunch (courtesy of the sari-sari store).

It was a really tiring climb. But I will surely come back...

AWESOME!!

OUR ITINERARY:

04:00 am - Assembly Time - Coastal Mall, Paranaque
05:00 am - ETD Bus to Nasugbu
07:00 am - ETA KM.83
08:00 am - Start Trek
10:00 am - ETA Summit
10:30 am - Start Descent
12:00 pm - ETA Jump-off

EXPENSES (Fare as of December 2014):

Bus to KM 83: 120.00
Registration Fee: 20.00
Sopas with egg: 20.00
Water (1L): 35.00
The most delicious popsicle at the summit: 30.00
Lunch: 180.00 for 3 persons
Tour Guide: Negotiable :D