DESTINATION: Mt. Romelo 300 MASL
JUMP-OFF POINT: Brgy. Macatad, Upland Siniloan, Laguna
SPECS: Minor Climb, Difficulty 2/9, Trail class 1
CLIMB DATES: April 27-28, 2013
PRELOGUE: Ito ang kaganapan ng aking pagiging "mountaineer." Bagaman at nakapag-Apo na ako, di pa rin daw ako maituturing na isang montenara sapagkat upang matawag na tunay na mountaineer, ay nangangahulugang nakapag-Romelo at Maculot na. Tatlong taon kong plinano--ngunit, subalit, datapwat--dahil sa iilang narirnig kong nakawan at pananambang sa mga mamumundok sa lugar na ito ay makailang beses akong nabigo...
We were supposed to meet up at Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas before lunch time, but due to the fact that packing takes time and I came from a night shift, we met up at Alabang after lunch, instead.
We arrived at Los Baños around 3pm and we decided to eat while waiting for the jeepney that will get us to Siniloan. We rode the jeepney at 4pm and arrived at the jump-off point around 5:30pm.
It was going to be the first time for the six of us to climb Mt. Romelo. We hired a guide to help us find the campsite in a night trek. We only had one headlamp and a flashlight to help all seven of us find the trail. At the first ascent, our full stomachs made it difficult for us, so we had to take few rests.
After 3 hours of petiks climb, we heard noises and knew that we were nearing campsite. I hurriedly found my way to the small community. I was greeted by many with this question: "Ikaw ba si Ella?" and was guided to the hut in which I had earlier reserved a slot.
At the front of the hut, a group of Barangay Tanods and mountaineers and guides greeted us and invited us for a drink. We excused ourselves to have some decent dinner. After dinner, I went to the group to have socials with them. Before the night was over, I got an invite for our group to join the falls exploration the following day by a mountaineer named Rommel, a seaman who bought most of the pieces of land in the area. He also owns a nipa near the trail that is willing to accommodate mountaineers who had to do an e-camp.
We started for the falls exploration around 8:30am. We planned to go fishing at Sampaloc Falls. While the others went through the traditional trail, I went with the few who were headed for the more difficult one. We passed along Batya-Batya Falls and rock scrambled through the strong currents of the waterfalls in Batya-Batya. We arrived at the fishing area around 10am.
We headed back to the campsite around 11:30 to wash up, pack up and leave. Around 1pm, we were climbing down Mt. Romelo under the scorching heat of the sun. I hated the fact that we had to climb down too soon as I wanted to stay a little longer. Buruwisan was dried up, so I told myself that I will go back there to rappel and when the waterfalls was "working."
Rode an FX taxi from Siniloan to Ortigas. The road was winding and it churned my stomach upside down. I forced myself to sleep to prevent myself from puking in the poorly-ventilated vehicle. Got to Ortigas around 6:30pm. The sun was still up, must be part of the summer solstice, wherein the daytime was longer than the nighttime.
