06 October 2012
We Filipinos are good at superstitions and these superstitions are even extended to mountains. Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal are two ordinary mountains (in fact, Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal are active volcanoes) situated in the Southern Tagalog region (CALABARZON) cloaked with myth: Mt. Banahaw being the "Holy" mountain and Mt. Cristobal, its counterpart, being the "Devil's" mountain.
When Mt. Banahaw was still open, thousands of pilgrims from different places would go up the mountain during Holy week to pray.
Mt. Cristobal on the other hand is the "creepy" version of Mt. Banahaw for many hikers. According to PHIVOLCS, Banahaw and Cristobal are part of three-peak volcano complex, the other peak being Buho Masalakot Domes.
- Mount San Cristobal (on the western sloper)
- Mount Banahaw de Lucban (at northeastern slope)
- Buho Masalakot Domes (at southwestern slope)
Mt. Cristobal stands behind My Banahaw at 1,470+ MASL, according to Pinoy Mountaineer. I had been invited by friends and fellow hikers to trek at Mt. Cristobal several times in the past but did have time to do so.
Gladly on the 6th of October, I was invited by Borz Marquez of Lakas Mountaineers for a Mt. Cristobal traverse day hike.
We traveled from Manila to Laguna early morning and registed at the Tayak Hill located at Barangay Tala, Rizal, Laguna. We were seven.
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| Jump-off Point |
We started trekking at 0930H. The trail is well established. At the side of trail is a white cross marking the start of the stations of the cross leading to Banahaw peak. We took the left trail leading to Mt. Cristobal.
The trail was wet at that time. It is a covered trail and as we moved further, it gets steeper. From the trail-head, we entered into a green forest and we passed by vegetable and banana plantations. We had a short break along the trail at 1130H.
At 1135H, we reached the most steep part of the trail. Grass and tree seedlings started to reclaim the trail - a sign that the trail is not being frequently used.
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| Steep Trail |
We had lunch at 1200H and resumed trekking by 1230H. At 1306H, we were at an exposed part of the trail that allowed us to view the seven crater lakes of Laguna from atop.
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| Exposed Area Overlooking Laguna Crater Lakes |
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| Laguna Crater Lakes |
We resumed or trek towards the Jones peak. Along the way, we passed by the ancient crater of Mt. Cristobal that looked like a swamp and at 1330H, we reached the peak.
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| Jones Peak |
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| Descending from Jones Peak |
The peak looked like an ordinary trail covered with green trees lined up along the side of the trail. It reminded me of the streets at Nami Island in South Korea.
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| Jump-off Point |
From the Jones Peak we took a steep descent towards the jump-off point. We were all at the jump-off point past 1600H and headed back to Manila.
According to other mountaineers, Mt. Cristobal traverse before was a major climb, but with the establishment of shortcut trails, it can now be done as a day hike.
-o0o-
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