Rediscovering Maculot

Last July 15 (Sun), I once again trekked Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas. This would be my 5th climb for the year, and the 1st time that I revisited a mountain. In my mind, I tagged Maculot as the easiest of all the mountains that I have climbed. Well, that's because the last time I trekked it, we didn't even reach the summit. We just visited the rockies area, which is, as pinoymountaineer explains, the greatest draw of Mt Maculot. This would also be the largest trekking group I've been with - we totaled 35 for that day.

In this particular climb, I learned that Mt Maculot is not an easy climb as I have programmed in my mind since my first ascent. We did a traverse, starting off at the grotto side, and ending at the rocky trail (the trail near the rockies). All in all, from the starting to the exit point, I think it took us 5 1/2 hours of walking, more or less:
45 mins from entry point to grotto;
2hrs 45 mins from grotto to summit, then straight down to the rockies camp area;
30 mins from camp area to rockies, and back to camp;

1hr and 30 mins from rockies camp area to exit point.

Of course, we spent some time resting at the grotto, at the rockies camp, and the top of the rockies. The Maculot traverse is really fitting for a day hike, since you can complete all the trekking, resting/eating, and taking pictures in 8 hrs.

Grotto

Going to the grotto is, well, challenging. Some parts of the trail had cemented steps, while some parts of the trail just had bare soil. Taking in from the story of our guide, I think the trail had all cemented steps before when it was first opened in 1979. It is not the lack of concreted trail that was challenging, but the steep ascent. There are 14 stations leading to the grotto which the religious devouts flock during the Holy Week with the grotto itself being the 15th station.

Grotto - Summit - Rockies Camp

After the grotto is a much more muddy and exciting trail. There were two parts of the trail where ropes where installed to help climbers ascend/descend. One was installed in a steep stony part, while the other in a steep muddy one. Either way, the ropes really helped a lot.

Also at this part of this trek, we got lost twice, since we went ahead of our guides. We got lost after the second rope, after following a false trail. Upon reaching the summit, we also followed a false trail going down, which just lead to camping grounds near the summit. Thankfully, we found the correct trail and trekked down to the rockies.

Photo credits to hradcanska,  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hradcanska/3426824930/ 

From the summit to the rockies, we encountered a mossy forest. Some of the foliage blocked the path, but you know you are in the right track with the cleared trail upon your feet. From the forest, you will encounter the ridge to the rockies camp. But since it is the rainy season already, this ridge is covered with tall "talahib", most of which are taller than people. I was almost half-expecting to see a pokemon and engage in a battle.

Photo credits to  http://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/palpark.shtml 

Rockies
The camp near the rockies was a welcome sight after walking almost non-stop from the grotto for more than 2 1/2 hours. The last time I visited Maculot, I bought softdrinks from the "7-11" at this site. Too bad, they were not open that day. We stopped by at the rockies, and another disappointment as it started to rain lightly, obscuring the view of Taal lake and volcano. The farther Mt Makiling (oh, how my heart breaks) cannot be seen because of the drizzle, unlike in my first visit during the summer. Nonetheless, I still love the rockies. And a trivia (as verified by our guide), Chuck Norris shot some scenes of Delta Force in Mt Maculot. A revolving joke among us was that the rockies wasn't there until Chuck Norris pushed it off the side of the mountain.

Rocky Trail

There were just two open buko juice stands among the many that are situated at the rocky trail. This has got to do with the rainy season. In my last visit during the summer, I think only one stand was closed during that time. Even the stand at the edge of the trail where fresh coconuts were sold was unmanned in this trek. Good thing, there was a halo-halo stand just before the exit point. Another opportunity to rest and just talk about anything. The unexpected topic for that afternoon - Anabelle Rama and her ruckus at a wake.

Post Trek

At the site where the cars were parked, everyone took a bath and rested. The P15 water per large pail was fair enough, and the bathrooms were clean. Also, the people were friendly. After everyone cleaned up, we parked at the 7-11 in the town proper (a real 7-11, unlike the one at the rockies camp, haha), and walked to Ogie's for authentic Batangas lomi and goto. In my first Maculot trek, we had lomi at Lomi King in Lipa. I think, a Maculot trek is not complete without sampling real Batangas delicacies.