Mt. Talamitam
Nasugbu, Batangas
21 May 2016
From the sea to the mountain! After enjoying the long and relaxing road trip to the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan in April, we were back on the trail and this time in Nasugbu Batangas for another weekend adventure - climb Mt. Talamitam.
Mt. Talamitam, according to Pinoy Mountaineer, has an altitude of 630 MASL and a climb difficulty level of 3/9 (9 being the most difficult). Many blog sites and mountaineers recommended Mt. Talamitam for first time hikers. It's a minor climb.
Jeannie and Janice were with me on this trek. Janice is a first timer while Jeannie had climbed 3 peaks already. We agreed to meet at the office in Paranaque at 0300H and leave the place at 0330H so we could start hiking early to avoid the scourging heat of the sun. We planned to start hiking between 0600H and 0700H.
I arrived first at the meeting place at 0305H. We left the office at 0425H.
Just like our previous out-of-town adventures, we had fun. While inside the car, we were thinking of a nice place along the way to have a nice breakfast. Just before hitting domestic road, we had decided to pass through SLEX and have a breakfast at either Shell or Caltex gas station.
At around 0530H, we were at the Shell gas station along SLEX and had a sumptuous breakfast at Caffe France. We left the place at 0610H.
From SLEX we went south passing through Muntinlupa, San Pedro Laguna, Binan Laguna and then exited at Sta. Rosa Laguna. We took Sta. Rosa - Tagaytay Road until we reached Laurel Batangas.
From Laurel, we took Tagaytay - Nasugbu Highway straight to Evercrest Golf Club to meet sir Allan, our guide. From Evercrest, we proceeded further south to Mt. Talamitam jump-off point.
We reached the jump-off point at 0816H, prepared for the trek and registered.
At 0831H, we started trekking.
The trail was generally in order. The old bamboo-made bridge had collapsed according to our guide and so we had to cross the river.
Right after crossing the river, the trail started to ascend. I was actually expecting that Janice would have a little challenge being a first timer, basing from my personal experience when I started trekking about 5 years ago.
I was right, and it is normal for a first time climber.
At 1015H, we had a quick break to rest. We were just about to start the summit assault and we were midway to the summit. There were vendors along the trail selling coconut juice and even "halo-halo".
At 1032H, we started the summit assault. It was so refreshing to see lush green surroundings. We had to stop several times along the trail for Jeannie and Janice to rest, enjoy the trail and the marvelous view down below.
I remembered the time when I had my first trekking experience at Mt. Pinatubo. I never thought that I could make it to the crater. It was only through the words of encouragement from my friends along the trail that made me survived my first hike and made it to the top.
Finally, at 1114H we reached the summit. I was so happy to see both Jeannie and Janice made it to the top. It is always my pleasure to share my passion with friends.
At the summit, we had a glass of halo-halo under a Nipa hut together with fellow climbers and enjoyed the marvelous landscape around us.
We started our descent at 1214H and we were back at the jump-off point at 1345H, tidy up and had a lunch. We left the place at 1415H.
At 1525H, we had a quick snack at Sky Ranch Tagaytay.
We were back home at 1810H.
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