MT. BALAGBAG

  ACTION MOVIE S MT. BALAGBAG

   September 29-30, 2010

SEPTEMBER 2010

It dawned on me that September of 2010 was nearly over and I still had no out of the city adventure. One reason was I got really sick during the first two weeks and the third week was spent partying with friends. I saw an opening when two of my friends luckily agreed to join me on an adventure to Mt. Balagbag.

I was supposed to attend the Mt. Balagbag Friendship climb two weeks ago but because I was sick, I was left resting in my abode in Bulacan. So I was excited to be able to set foot and have a chance to conquer this mountain.

SITIO LICAO LICAO

Mon and Jessie were with me and our first stop was at the Tungko market in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. We bought our needed supplies and rode a jeepney going to Sitio Licao Licao, the boundary of San Jose del Monte and Rodriguez, Rizal. I was not too happy to learn that Mt. Balagbag is actually under the jurisdiction of the province of Rizal because I thought along that it was in my hometown, Bulacan. But nonetheless, the jeepney ride to Sitio Licao Licao made me anxious and excited as the place is so rustic and it was just full of ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ around. Once again, I was leaving my comfort zone and the modern civilization to enjoy the simple things in life and appreciate nature.

After alighting from the jeepney, we stopped over to a store where we asked for instructions on the way to Mt. Balagbag. The locals were very surprised to see that we were only three in the group and hiking on a weekday. But I was not really expecting a fellow camper that day. After all, from my Mt. Batulao climb last month, I learned that hiking in a small group is more fulfilling and less dangerous.

We took a picture on the borderline of Bulacan and Rizal and trekked our way with some schoolboys and girls going to the mountain. We passed by the ‘fulls’ entrance and decided to just check it the next day after the climb. We reached the last Barangay before going up the mountain, registered our names and mingled with the locals before the ascent.

SIERRA MADRE

Going up the trail was exhausting but exhilarating! I was left in awe from the view of the mountain range that was Sierra Madre. The view of the towns above was just astounding. When we were almost at the top, and no more houses in sight, the view just struck me on how small my beautiful country is. I know and love my geography so I recognized the nearby provinces that in sight. I saw my home province. I saw the towns of Pampanga marked by the boasting Mt. Arayat. I saw Bataan on the other side of Manila Bay, marked by the tall mountain of Mariveles.

I spotted the mountainous Zambales, specifically Olongapo City which I came to love. On my right were the provinces of Rizal and Laguna. And I know that behind the tall mountains at the back lies Quezon Province. Aside th from the provinces, Metro Manila was also prominent, specifically the towering skyscrapers of Makati and Ortigas. I just love the Philippines so much.

BEAUTY AND POVERTY

The summit of Mt. Balagbag is known as the Helipad. By the time we reached the end of the wide trail, we reached a summit-like area where a small eroded hill was present. We thought it was the Helipad but when a local passed by, he pointed out the way to the Helipad, going through the grassy area on the left. But since the place was nice enough we decided to spend the night there and ascend to the summit the next day.

Mt. Balabag boasts of the scenic views and the beauty of its trail. It is arid and has no forest, at least on the trail that we took. It is so rural and accessible that many townsfolk passed by our campsite. But what struck me was seeing two children dressed in uniforms treading the path towards our campsite. We were surprised and interviewed the kids. We learned that they pass by the same path everyday twice, before and after going to school. It will take them at least three to four hours to complete the routine therefore they needed to start traversing the mountain at four in the morning to avoid arriving late in school.  It just amazed me and crushed me at the same time. It is true that in mountaineering, you will see beauty, but you will also see the predicament that our countrymen are experiencing.

We camped and started preparing for dinner. When the sky turned dark, the scene from below started to amaze us more as the lights from the towns and cities, especially from the Metro, started to gleam like Christmas Lights. We saw the stretch of the North Luzon Expressway and that’s when I realized that Mt. Balagbag is one of those mountains that I see every time I pass by the expressway.

THE BAD GUYS

When our scrumptious dinner was served, it looked like the adventure was turning as sweet and smooth as possible. We were lying down, telling personal tales and stories when we heard some voices going up the mountain.

A light flashed from the dark to our tent, a guy finally spoke when Mon came out, asking our headcount. I was pissed when Mon told the man that we were only three inside the tent.  The men and Mon had a conversation outside while Jessie and I stayed inside the tent trying to overhear their conversation. Several minutes later, Mon came back and ordered me to come with him outside the tent, He sounded nervous and uneasy. He told us that his feeling was not good because the men who passed by, some were drunk, did not leave the area. When he went to check, one of the men immediately turned his light off making Mon more alert and weary. Mon said the men were just at the hill area, standing and whispering to each other.

We went out of the tent, discretely and as careful as possible. We did not want the men to hear that we went out of the tent to observe them. Because Ii did not have my lens on, I could not see a thing from the hill because Mon instructed us to not open any light. But because the vantage point from our position gave us a clearer image from the opaque objects above, Jessie and Mon were positive that they spotted the men also discrete in making any movements. That is when Mon was really convinced that something bad will happen if we stay there overnight. We hurriedly went back to camp and carefully dismantled our tent and packed our things as quietly as possible.

ADRENALINE RUSH

It was a rush of blood to the head when we started to scramble on our way down the mountain. The instruction from Mon was clear: do not open our flashlight because if his intuition was correct, the bad guys would make a run for us when they detected that we left the campsite. We learned from our Mt. Romelo experience to be cautious and alert at all times. Although I did not feel as strongly as Mon did, I also trusted his instincts.

Going down the mountain with no lights on, carrying the tent and all other stuffs was an epitome of an action movie coming to life. We were the heroes and we were being chased by the villains. Although there were no signs that someone or something was chasing us, we always tend to glance back, fearing that a bolo or a big knife will make its way on our heads or bodies. The trail down the mountain seemed endless. We walked down hand in hand.

At last we reached the gate marking the start of the houses of the locals. However, because the place is very bucolic that everyone seemed asleep but it was only 8:30PM that time. We felt helpless. The idea that the whole town was involved and everything was a conspiracy ran in my creative mind. I was the director of my own action-slash-suspense movie. And I loved it.

NANAY MELBA

When we reached the Barangay, we immediately looked for the liaison that made us register before the climb. My target for our small group of three was to reach Sitio Licao Licao before 9PM so that we can stay at the store, camp and wait there until the first jeepney to Tungko arrives. We were all ready to end our Mt. Balagbag adventure although it kills me that we did not reach the summit yet.

Standing in the waiting shed, an old lady and a man approached us and Mon stated what happened up the mountain. When the old lady learned that we wanted to still walk for one hour for Sitio Licao Licao, she discouraged us and offered her house to accommodate us. But we were all shy to accept it, we just asked if we can camp outside her spacious lot. After we reported the incident, we then gave in to her sweet offer and stayed in her house.

Nanay Melba is a sweet old woman who is living in the Barangay with her husband. Their kids and grandchildren are in Manila and some are overseas. She was very accommodating and treated us like her kids. We slept at their sala.

HELIPAD

Our goal was to wake up at 5 in the morning to go up the mountain again to watch the sunrise at the Helipad summit. Nanay Melba woke me up at 5AM but I think I was half asleep mumbling a response to her which I could not remember. It was already past 7 when I woke up; Jessie and Mon were still asleep. I woke them up and we all readied ourselves to hike the mountain for the second time! After taking a sip of herbal tea courtesy of Nanay Melba and borrowing her Larga Vista, we hiked up again.

After a grueling hike to the familiar path, we passed by our campsite. We saw the very spot and imagined the horror of the events that might have taken place in the area if we stayed overnight there. We turned left to the grassy lands and since then it was a straight path to the Helipad summit. We reached the summit and saw pretty much the same view as yesterday. But here, I got a glimpse of Mt. Oriol, the highest mountain not only in Bulacan, but in the whole of Central Luzon. I do not know what scares me about Mt. Oriol but viewing it a hundred meters from Mt. Balagbag (Mt. Oriol is next to Mt. Balagbag in the Eastern Sierra Madre range), I still feel chilly and creepy about this mountain. It looked like fairies and various monsters thrive in its dense forest.

We stayed and picnicked at the Helipad summit, and of course took some pictures. After some time, we transferred to the veranda, a wooden hut built on top of a mountain, how cool is that! Here, we saw Ipo Dam from my hometown, Norzagaray, Bulacan. After some peaceful moments, we started the descent down to Nanay Melba’s house.

FULLS OR NOT

When we got back, I immediately headed to the comfort room, stripped and washed the dirt off my body. Then we were treated a free lunch by Nanay Melba and let me just say, the viand was so good. The vegetables they used were freshly picked. I loved the hospitality of the Filipinos!

At the backyard, Nanay Melba showed us again the land that she offered to us for a price of 25,000Php. I was not personally interested but I just made it sound like I was enthused with the idea of buying a land in the mountain for 25K. Our original plan was to get to the falls but it started to rain hard.

We just hang out in the backyard and played cards with Nanay Melba. And man, she was very good! She won all of Jessie’s coins and mine. Although we were having a good time, I was still hoping that rain would stop so that we can visit the falls, or should I say ‘fulls’. But it did not. It was already late in the afternoon when we bade goodbye to Nanay Melba and her husband and trekked our way back as there was no tricycle around. We promised to be back on her birthday to celebrate it with her, along with a gift, a birthday cake.

BACK TO THE STORE

After walking for at least an hour again, passing the marker that says ‘fulls’, we finally reached the store again. We immediately grabbed for our phones and asked the store owner if we can charge our phones there. We ate post lunch and mingled with Nanay Vilma, the store owner. Jessie expressed that she was happy with the accommodation and hospitality of the locals there. She pointed out that we met two great nanays in our adventure, Nanay Melba and Nanay Vilma.

Our Mt. Balagbag adventure did not fail me. I got to star in my own action movie and met incredible people during our two days stay at the Bulacan-Rizal border. It was my only out of town in September and it did not fail to deliver.