THE FOGGY ROCKIES SUMMIT | Mt. Maculot (706+)

And so, my adventure continues.

When I started my fascination with mountains, I've always had that urge to climb Mt. Maculot. I love summits with amazing picturesque views and Maculot is one of them.

For a typical newbie, there's always that bucketlist of mountains to climb. Of course, Everest isn't on my list. That's basically hardcore. In my age and for my capacity, I can only do less. So my list of mountains aren't really that amazing. Maculot is on my top 3. I'm really glad I had the chance to climb it.

The summit and its view is literally to die for. 

For the month of September, I tried to convince my friends to hike with me. Any mountain will do. But none responded to my messages. I was seenzoned.

Then I searched for a local Facebook group with active mountaineer members. Someone told me to join the group CLIMBER. And indeed, everyone gave updates on their upcoming climbs, sold gears and even posted great pictures of mountains they hiked. It was that haven of comfort wherein you also see other people who share the same interest. I've been scanning posts for several days, hoping I can join in a group who will do a Mt. Maculot climb. 

Finally, I saw this comment on a post by a guy named Rovie and invited people to join them in Maculot on the weekend. I inquired and immediately, I was added to their FB chat. They were total strangers but everyone on the thread seem to be very jamming, so I felt more excited to do the climb.

Our meet-up was on the morning of September 27 at Cuenca, Batangas. I was supposed to meet them in Cubao but I insisted to ride a bus from a much nearer terminal. I arrived at Cuenca around 9am. The rest of the group arrived an hour after.

The guy I was in contact with (Rovie) overslept and failed to come. So I was left with Bianca, Jimson, Dominic and Louie. 

We registered at the outpost at 10:00 am. We then proceeded to the jumpoff where we took our brunch and took time to get to know each other. Unexpectedly, Dominic was a close friend of my close friends in Bohol. Indeed, it's such a small world! And just that quickly, I felt comfortable with the group.

We started our trek to the Rockies summit at 11:15 am. The trail was a continuous ascent on a lush forest which reminded me of Pico de Loro. Being the oldest in the group, I admit to having blackout moments. Lucky enough, they were all concerned to keep me back on my feet and in no time, I felt better.

At that time, it was raining for a few days and there was even a storm warning. From below, we saw fog all over the summit. It rained as well and made the trail muddy and slippery. After several stops, we reached the peak adjacent to the Rockies at 1:30 pm. We took our lunch and took a rest.

Thinking that the Rockies summit was just a short walk from the hut we were resting in, we decided to walk around. The boys took off their shirts thinking it was just near (explains why all my summit pictures had shirtless boys). When we realized that it was still on another peak, we then decided to go ahead with it. It was also too slippery to go back to the hut. Good thing I brought my phone and selfie stick with me. 

In less than 30 minutes, we reached the foggy Rockies Summit of Mt. Maculot. 

It took a while before we got a clearing. As soon as the clouds disappeared, we hurriedly posed and took photos. I was even brave enough to stand on the end of the rocks for a picture. And there it was, that view which I only saw on blogs. I now had the chance to see it for myself. 

I don't call any mountain safe. But climbing a mountain with fog everywhere and a muddy trail, that's really quite a risk. I am again thankful for the safe travels and adventures. 

All five of us only chose to do the Rockies Summit and no longer do the traverse. We spent two hours being mesmerized by the view of Taal Lake. 

At around 4:30 pm, we started our descent. We safely arrived at the jumpoff at around 6:00 pm. We cleaned up and went on a food trip to get a taste of Cuenca's lomi and goto. 

And then again, I gained another set of friends. I'm blessed to have been part of this group for this climb. I had so much fun with them and laughing along the trail is perhaps the easiest part of the experience. Maculot's summit was breathtaking. To sum it all up, I had such a great time and my love for mountains grew even more. 

Another mountain conquered! 

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Here's our actual itinerary for this climb.

6:45 AM - Left JAM Liner Terminal in Pasay | P117
9:00 AM - Arrived in Cuenca, Batangas | Tricycle to outpost | P30
10:00 AM - Brunch at jumpoff
11:15 AM - Started trek to Rockies Summit
1:30 PM - Lunch
2:00 PM - Reached the Rockies Summit
4:30 PM - Started descent
6:00 PM - Arrived at jumpoff | Clean-up | P20
7:00 PM - Food trip
9:00 PM - Left for Lipa City | Jeep | P20
10:00 PM - Left for Manila

Visit the Pinoy Mountaineer website for more details about Mt. Maculot: PINOYMOUNTAINEER.COM - Mt. Maculot Rockies Summit