BRGY. MAGALLANES, PROVINCE OF CAVITE
09 February 2013
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| Trail |
I was supposed to trek Mt. Bulusan, however, due to an important activity on Sunday, I had to cancel it and then scouted for a day hike for Saturday.
I saw Mt. Marami and since it was not yet listed on my "done" list of mountain climbs, I signed up for it.
Mt. Marami is located in the province of Cavite. It is somehow near Mt. Pico de Loro.
We left Manila at 0330H bound for the province of Cavite. There were 11 of us. Our climb team lead was Chito Soriano. Travel from Manila to the jump-off point at Brgy. Magallanes took around 2 hours, such that, we were at the jump-off point at around 0530H.
After a while of preparation and short orientation, we started our trek. It was 0630H. The sky was clear and no signs of possible downpour. Everyone was happy and excited.
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| Sunrise |
The trail is generally well maintained and established. We crossed 2 rivers at least 3 times. There were several short and gradual steep climbs along the trail.
The thing is that, from the jump-off point to the peak of Mt. Marami is a very long trail. Some parts of the trail are exposed and some are covered with either trees or bamboos.
We were so lucky of the weather when we started our trek, it was also windy and that made our trek up to the peak generally pleasing.
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| Mt. Marami |
Mt. Marami looked like columns of huge stones seated atop the mountain. Our local guide "Mang Larry" told us that the peak is called "Silyang Bato" by the locals (Stone Chair).
As we draw nearer the peak, its grandeur became more and more noticeable. There is a "bahay kubo" along the trail where we rested for a while.
We passed by two nice camping sites along the way. At around 1030H, we were at the peak of Mt. Marami.
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| Rock Column |
The peak offers a very nice 360 degree view of the province of Cavite. Mt. Pico de Loro can also be seen from the peak.
We had an early lunch at around 1100H. Others explored the pick while some preferred to rest and take a short nap at the place where we had lunch.
Climbing the Rockies of Mt. Marami felt like climbing the rock beak at Mt. Pico de Loro. We had fun and a short adrenalin punch as we climb the other rocky part of the summit jumping across narrow deep slots as we transferred from one point to another.
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| Jack fruits and Mangoes |
We started our descent at around 1200H. At this point, the weather started to get hotter. The trail was dry. Along the way, we met several climbers. Our local guide told us that most of those who climbed Mt. Marami used to spend the night at the mountain.
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| Sitting beside a cliff |
Just before hitting the main road leading to the jump-off point, we met a huge group of motorbike riders who were braving the trail riding on their motor bikes all the way to the summit.
The weather got even hotter and I can still recall our local guide saying "Sana sa kabilang daan ko nalang kayo pinaglakad. Pag doon tayo dumaan, isa't kalahit oras laang, nasa itaas na tayo mg Marami. Dito sa daang 'to, talagang ubos lakas..." as he holds his aching left knee. "I should have lead you to the other trail. If we took that trail, it would only take an hour and a half up to the peak. This trail is truly very tiring..."
At 1530H, we were all back at the jump-off point where a cold iced cola was waiting for us.
We left the jump-off point back to Manila at around 1700H. Along the way, we decided to stop at a nearby Lolo Carlo restaurant and enjoyed a tasty and nicely cooked native chicken.
We were all back to Manila a quarter to 2100H.
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