u/bogoa2

DIY with my friends, kumuha kami ng local guide.

Unli patag at 13 ilog bago paakyat n unli ahon.

Maganda yung lugar tho, sobrang shaded lahat nung paahon na part yung patag lang talaga na open lahat.

Pero pwede nyo maskip halos lahat ng ilog kung 4x4 kayong sasakyan or motor at mababa syempre yung ilog.

Sobrang bait mg guide namin dito at mabait mga tao, nakalibre pa kami ng lunch!

Guide: C Jay Lucio

Messenger.

Edit: I forgot about the falls, sorry. Nasa 9th river sya pagkakaalala ko don sa may falls pwede mag camp don bago pumasok sa may falls. Sobrang lamig at refreshing ng tubig don, sakto pa na mainit yung weather neto.

Sobrang ganda dito!!

Mainit lang talaga sya hahah lalo na yung patanghali. 6/9 na difficulty at di gaano sya napupuntahan ngayon pero madami daw before. Madaming fruits dito like manga, duhat at bayabas na pwede gawing trail foods hahaha.

Wala syang water supply since dry season ngayon kahit umulan sya ng gabi raw. Mahirap lang dito ay 2nd peak pero lahat ok naman. May open trails rin, kung mag cicircuit kayo, yung pababa neto ang mahirap masteep sya so need maging maingat don pababa at medyo need pumasok sa masisikip na daan na may mga puno at dahon dahon sa trail, pero pag trilogy madali lang at mag habal habal lang kayo or trike pa balik ng jump off.

Sobrang ganda dito! 360 views may river rin pero maliit lang, magaganda ang landscapes rin, unti ang tao kami lng 5 ang nandito, nag DIY lang kaming 5. Open trail din sya mostly so mainit talaga sya.

3:30am to 3:26pm.

1st peak - ahon at pababa sya na madali lang pag akyat nyo sa peak pero pag pababa na, steep sya na walang hawalan.

2nd peak - muntik na kming di matuloy since umulan sya at mas mahirap daw pababa neto mabuti humupa na ng 6am. Sa start nya flat lang halos pero maganda ang view tas may madadaanan kayong small community na may maliit na sari sari store. After ng store ay yung paahon na lahat na hanggang sa peak, nakailang hinto ay pahinga rin kami. Mapuno naman dito. At ang ganda ng peak 2 tho may mga parts na sunog sunog na mga grass at puno. Pero maganda pa rin.

3rd peak to 4th peak - chill lang sya na may akyat baba rin, tas may madadaanan kayo madaming duhat na trees kada 10 mins meron nanaman, at swerte namin kasi may bunga at mababa lang sya. Masarap sya at abot kamay lang pero ingat lang rin kasi baka maacid kayo rin, muntik na ako hahaha pero naramdaman ko na sya. Mapuno sya sa dulo lang may open trail. Magkalapit lang sila kaya wala masyadong kwento sa 3rd to 4th, tho nag lunch lang kami sa isang mapuno na area. Ang ganda ng peak pa rin dito at mas tanaw mo yung 5th peak at kung saan kayo bababa pero di lahat kita kung saan talaga bababa.

5th peak - mostly open trail sya, medyo malapit lang rin at banayad mostly ang trail nya. Maganda pa rin ang view dito at tanaw rin ang next na daanan nyo pababa pero di lahat. Tas pabalik sa jump off mix ng open trail at hindi pero sa dulo mga 2km open sya at masakit yung relfect ng soil sa skin mo.

Ganda ng trail, mahirap at mahaba sya nasa 20+ km daw sya base sa watch ng kasama namin. Naka 37k steps kami, dont know if it helps.

I love this experience!! It's challenging, but the climbs up and down with ropes are fun. I just don't like the steep walking because I'm not good at that haha, but I enjoy the climbing part and rappelling; it's a great experience. The view from the peaks is beautiful, especially in the shaded area. You really need to bring at least 4 to 5 liters of water. And without my group, it might have been even harder; they made it fun.

The trail has 4 peaks.

Jump off to peak 1, there's an ascent, and mostly it's just walking. When you reach the junction, you can leave your things there to go to peak 1; the view there is great, and you can see the next 3 peaks. Then head back to the junction.

From peak 1 to peak 2, it's downhill to the creek (no water), and then from the creek to peak 2, it's all uphill like there's no end. At peak 2, there are only limited shaded areas and it's kind of open, so it's tough if there are many of you. You can see peak 3 from there.

Peak 2 to peak 3 is, for me, the start of the fun part where there are ropes for ascent and descent; this is the hardest part for me. As always, the views are still beautiful, but it's a bit scary because just a tiny mistake and you'll really fall. It's also a bit shorter than you think based on peak 2, but it's actually short. When you reach peak 3, it's a vast shaded area with tarps where you can have a picnic or lie down and sleep for a few hours. This is also where they check if you can proceed or not based on the time and water you have left. So we had lunch and rested there for almost 2 hours.

From peak 3 to peak 4, this part is also hard, but not the same as peak 3 where the ascent is really high. This one has parts that are all uphill and some climbing, but there are parts with a little uphill that are flat where we rested. This was also the time when we weren't really conserving water anymore because the checkpoint was over, and we knew there would be a place to buy soft drinks and water at peak 4. On the way to peak 4, there's the last set of blue ropes for the ascent, and after those ropes, it's really peak 4. And that's where the tower is that they say has soldiers who stay there selling drinks. We rested there for almost an hour, and that's the highest peak where you can see the flat land of Pampanga, and I think Nueva Ecija as well.

From peak 4 to Magalang, it's a long downhill with a slight ascent that's negligible. But the downhill part is a long walk. There are still ropes on the way down, but it's not too hard and manageable, and this is also the part where the trees are getting taller. The atmosphere is really nice, and then when you're on flat ground, there are mostly open trails, but it's short, just about 5 to 8 minutes total.

Edit: Overall experience 8/10, masaya sya dahil mga ascend at descend na may mga ropes, tho delikado sya dahil mabangin talaga yung lugar. Hindi rin sya mainit na trail at mahangin sya during ng akyat namin. Maganda rin yung view ng peak at ng trail. Coordinated rin ang mga tour guides na if need ng tulong or info ng isa may radio sila lagi. At need mo ng condition ng katawan dito at maayos na experience sa pag hihike long hike sya kaya need ng maraming water rin.