Anniversary Hike: Mt. Binacayan
- Czariina Mae E. Gaspar
- Jan 21, 2018
- 8 min read
Hey Hey Nookfinders!
It’s me again! Well it’s past 10:30 PM, I just came home from work but I am still energetic that I could write a blog entry. It’s a new year, which means audit season is approaching yet there’s absolutely nothing, not even a stressful inter-company recon, could cease this accountant from imparting with you her current adventures.
It is a pleasure to share with you our anniversary hike for 2018. Yes, Robin and I just celebrated our 6th anniversary last January 3 <insert party poppers> . I requested that we do a hike like we did last year. It was a hasty and random pick; we chose to hike Mt. Binacayan in Rodriguez/Montalban Rizal . We did Mt. Pamitinan last year which I haven’t blogged about yet so I suggested we do another one there since it’s near Robin’s residence and secondly, I wanted to remember how much it cost to get there so I could blog about the former. Hitting two birds with one stone right? Haha.
Here's an overview of the climb:
Climb: Mt. Binacayan
Height: 424 MASL
Location: Sitio Wawa, Rodriguez/Montalban Rizal
Difficulty: 2/9
Guide: Not mandatory (I saw a group of girls without one)
Mt. Binacayan is one out of the well-loved trilogy hikes in Rodriguez, the others namely, Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Hapunang Banoy. I haven't hiked the last one yet but this blog will tell you why this is my favorite so far.
We were suppose to go on a Saturday but Robin had a review until 11 PM for his I.T. certification the night before so we moved it to a Sunday. I woke up at 4:30 am and got ready. We took our time fixing our things and suitably ate breakfast because Robin’s home is just near Montalban.
What we brought:
Lipstick and foundation- indeed on top of my priority!
Extra Shirt
Rubber shoes- I recommend you use closed shoes instead of hiking sandals to protect your feet from those sharp limestones.
3 Liters of water for the both of us.
Slippers- Just in case it rains upon descent.
Comb and Hair tie
Shawl
Extra-undies and socks for emergency purposes
Emergency cash
My Canon point and shoot camera
Go pro 5
What you could bring:
Trail food
Lunch pack - although there are alot of Canteens and stall in the area.
Off lotion
A tip for the lady hiker
When going on a hike I make sure to blow-dry and iron my hair because manageable hair is your best friend when hiking mainly if you want to let it down the whole time. <just a tip ladies; unless you are gifted with manageable hair just ignore this>
We walked to the guardhouse, which served as our pre-hike exercise and rode a San Mateo-bound jeepney at 8 AM sharp then alighted at SM san Mateo. Jeepney fare is 8 Php. If you’re from Manila, you could ride a jeep going to Fairview, alight at Ever Commonwealth or Philcoa and ride a Maly-San Mateo- Banaba Jeepney to reach SM San Mateo. I think there are also UVs coming from Cubao and Commonwealth market near Litex Afterwhich, we rode a UV express heading to Montalban which cost us 25 Php each.
We then bought 3 liters of water at a store upon arrival in Rodriguez and then rode another tricycle to reach the registration point in Sitio Wawa. The trike fare is 60 pesos for the two of us. I believe the fare is good for 4 people.
The trike was so small and the wind was definitely cold given that it's still early.
All the commuting we did were only for 40 minutes. We arrived at the DENR registration in Sitio Wawa at exactly 8:40 AM. I bought a new pair of gloves for 40 pesos. Hiking in Montalban requires the use of protective gloves because stones in the area are definitely rough and sharp. They have that coral-ish feel to it. I always buy from this store below. They're lucky with their location because it's the first store you'll see upon arrival catering for the lazy ones like me. LOL
I suggest you pee before beginning the hike to avoid the need to find an alternative restroom in the mountains. I took a photo of the list of restroom prices, which vary depending on usage.
The store where you need to pay your restroom fees also offers the following:
Near the tourism hall, there is a huge parking space under a neighborhood of acasia trees if you want to bring your car with you. I took a photo just because it looks nice (yes i have a thing for acasia trees) and might as well inform you that parking won't be a problem.
Finally, we registered our names and timed-in at exactly 8:56 AM paying 50 Php each for the trekking fee. Upon paying you also have to sign a waiver for any possible lost belonging which will fully be on your account.
We were assigned our tour guide, Kuya Ernesto who to our luck, turned out to be a veteran hiker and guide. After registering your name, you'll have to proceed to the town’s multi-purpose building to register and donate any amount. We donated our change which totaled to 20 Php.
Habitually during the hike, Robin carries everything. I only have with me my kikay kit and camera; but this time, we carried our own belongings which I was not used to. It was okay; I could help Robin out and besides, I am an independent woman. <say whut??> I also forgot to mention that It was the 2nd day of my period. I was honestly using 2 pads that time.
We started the hike. For 15 minutes we did a 2 kilometer walk gradually ascending on a concrete road as we passed by the local’s residences. I must say the walking was pretty much more tiring than the climb itself. It was quite a walk and the climb hasn’t even started yet.
Finally, we reached some soft earth arrived at our first stop and ahhh..I could finally sit down, collect the energy that I need, gulp some water and carry on!
The first ¼ part of the climb was honestly hard for me. I was not physically okay given my “condition” but I prayed I could get the hang of it like I usually do. There were no longer any stops to the top but we occasionally sat down (twice to be specific) for a few minutes to take a breath or enjoy the scenery. This mountain is a bit smaller than Pamitinan but it was particularly harder to climb given the longer trail and terrain which is a mix of long walks at the start and in between the then rocky climbs. Even kuya Ernesto said, it easier to climb rocks than do a long walk which could be more physically straining. I agree with him.
After a while, I was suddenly energized that I felt like galloping from one rock to another! I was so thankful the weak-feels of my period left me. Along the way, there are already photo worthy spots to do some dare devil and cutiepatootie poses which is so me. We barely used the go pro, Kuya Ernesto used his own phone and my camera most of the time.
At one point just minutes before reaching the summit, I had to do this dare devil pose. I was so scared because it was literally a cliff--no tricks included. I had to stand in this small space and held on for dear life until kuya Ernesto encouraged me to turn around and face the cliff. I was so mortified , I said no while turning around to do it anyway. Haha
Another one is when kuya asked me to sit at the edge of a rock formation. It was dope but nevertheless nerve cracking.
As stated on my other blog entry, Robin has a fear of heights so there was no way he would do it. I was glad he supported me though. He didn’t stop me whilst joking that he’d easily find someone else if I fall. We thought it was going to rain but glad it didn’t. Given the trail we we went through, it could be dangerous. My only tip is that you shouldn't do these poses if you don't feel like doing it or you feel like you just can't. Safety first nookfinder!
Finally we reached the summit at 11:15 am after just 2 hours! Ahh.. the view of the mountains of Siearra madre and wawa river, the fresh air and the solitude it could all bring. The summit was ours alone. It was a good thing that we came late since climbers clogged the summit earlier in the morning which was why we met all of them during our way up. We zipped locked the view in our memory where we’ll forever keep it. It was amazing to enjoy it with my guy two days after our anniversary.
After maximizing our stay with a few pics here and there, we decided to descend. We were given the option to use the shortcut and we chose it. The catch was it was a steep rocky shortcut meaning, it was harder. We did it so that we could see a different view of the Binacayan environment.
The shortcut leads you to the same exact first stop you had when you climbed up. In there, we bought one guyabano shake which you could buy for 25pesos. I only took a sip from Robin’s.
We finished and timed out at the registration at exactly 1:08 PM. The climb was approximately 4 hours. Kuya Ernesto sent our pics from his phone via share it and we bid our goodbyes. We were supposed to pay 500 Tour guide fee but we gave him 600 pesos instead because he was such a great guide and photographer as well.
We then ate at a goto booth which cost us a total of 110 pesos. Goto costS 30 pesos a bowl, we orded three plus an additional tokwat baboy. After which we ate fishball and fries costing us 20 pesos each.
It rained right after we ate so we were thankful we didn’t get caught in it while climbing.We went home after eating without changing. 30 php Trike again to Eastwood subdivision, Rodriquez where Cubao bound UV’s are waiting to be filled . That’s 50 pesos to SM San Mateo. It is a bit pricier maybe because there are less people coming in than out and they have to give a share to the barkers. Then we paid another 8 Php for the jeep going to Robins subdivision.
To those who would like to try this climb or any mountain in Montalban you could contact Sir Ernesto Zata in his fb account. If you're interested, click here. He also organizes climbing events such as Mt. Ulap hike at a reasonable price and with free shirts and bag tags.
COST PER HEAD
Here's a summary of all our expenses in this hike. Those in red are optional expenses that you may choose not to incur.
Over all , the hike was intense but memorable. What we missed and look forward to doing in the future is chasing the sea of clouds in Mt. Binacayan, checking out wawa dam and hiking Mt. Hapunang Banoy which is the tallest of the three. It was an anniversary hike and it served its purpose. Well that’s our version of a romantic yet thrilling anniversary date on a budget. Try it out too!
MT. PAMITINAN HIKE PUBLISHING SOON!
MT. DAGULDOL-Click here
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