I sent Rovie a message and asked him to accompany me on the weekend for a day climb. He suggested to climb Mt. Talamitam. He's that one friend of mine whom I've met online in a mountaineer group in Facebook. He is also the same guy who was supposed to be part of the Maculot climb in September. He overslept and missed out on all the fun. This time, I was too makulit and made sure he does not oversleep again.
Anyway, the day came and thank goodness, Rovie showed up!
He and another guy (Ghor) met up with me and we started the day with a bus ride from Coastal Mall to Nasugbu, Batangas. Unfortunately, we rode a bus with a very inattentive driver. We can already see Mt. Talamitam outside the window, but the driver continued driving despite being told to stop at the jump-off. We noticed that he drove further and further away from the mountain, so we stood up and confronted the driver. Indeed, we were a few meters away from the jump-off already. We went off the bus and took another jeepney ride to the jump-off.
We arrived at Km. 83 Sitio Bayabasan in Nasugbu at 8:20 AM. We registered at the jump-off and hired a guide named Joel. We started trekking at 8:40 AM and reached the summit at 11:00 AM.
The trail starts in a man-made bamboo bridge and into a forest for about an hour. As soon as we reached the top of the hill, everything we saw were open fields of green. It may have taken us 2 hours to reach the summit but it's not like the trail was so hard. It was easy actually, but we had to stop and take several minutes to enjoy the views both behind and infront of us.
Even when we were still in the bus, Talamitam already seemed very tantalizing. It looked so beautiful from afar, and it even looks a lot better up close. It's another one of those painting-like images that got stuck in my head for a couple of minutes. Green in all shades can be seen on every angle. That's the amazing view we had to appreciate while we were on the way to the summit.
Just when I thought that the view infront of me was spectacular, it was even just as amazing when I turn around. From afar, I saw the first mountain I fell in love with-- Mt. Batulao!
That other view behind us was so beautiful, I was mostly lost for words.
This is why I love mountains. It gives me that feeling of peace that I don't normally get elsewhere.
We spent about an hour and a half on the summit. My companions took a nap while I was busy taking selfies.
It was just so beautiful. Perfect weather, perfect day!
Took us an hour for our descent. Along the way, I can't help but fall in love with everything my eyes laid upon. Nature is definitely an art of God! We have such a beautiful world.
And that's my last mountain for 2015. Mt. Talamitam, you were lovely!
I will certainly be back.
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ACTUAL ITINERARY
6:00 AM - Bus left from Coastal Mall to Km. 83 Sitio Bayabasan, Nasugbu, Batangas | P120
8:20 AM - Registered at the jump-off point | P40
8:40 AM - Start trek | P400 for the Guide (minimum of P300)
11:00 AM - Arrived at the summit
12:30 PM - Started descent
1:30 PM - Arrived back at the jump-off and took our lunch
2:30 PM - Left for Pasay Rotunda | P120
5:30 PM - Arrived at Pasay
Visit the Pinoy Mountaineer website for more details about Mt. Talamitam: PINOYMOUNTAINEER.COM - Mt. Talamitam
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