Bataan - Mt. Tarak Ridge Climb - July 31 - August 1, 2010

My very first major climb. With me are my Sosyal Klaymer friends - Ayie and Julius. Together with the Tribung Kalat, Hyago and Ate Bhen we successfully conquered Mt. Tarak Ridge last July 31 - August 1, 2010.

TARAK RIDGE
Mariveles, Bataan
Jump off point: Brgy. Alas-asin, Mariveles
LLA: 14°30.357′N, 120°30′E, 1,006 MASL (ridge); 1,130 MASL (peak)
Days required / Hours to summit: 2 days, 5-6 hours
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 4/9, Trail class 3
*Source: PinoyMountaineer.com

THE ITINERARY
Day 1- July 31, 2010
0800 Assembly Time – SM MALL OF ASIA
0900 ETD: SM Mall of Asia via Supercat (250php)
1030 ETA: Orion, Bataan
1045 ETD: Orion to Mariveles (800php - van rental)
1145 ETA: Mariveles, Bataan (Alas asin)
Register at brgy hall (40php)
1200 Lunch
1230 Start Trek
1530 ETA Papaya River – Trek to woodlands
1730 ETA Tarak Ridge, Set up camp
1800 Explore the summit
1830 Prepare for dinner
1930 Dinner
2100 Socials
2400 Lights out

Day 2 – August 01, 2010
0600 Breakfast; break camp
0700 Start descent
0730 ETA Papaya river
1000 Back at jump-off point.
1100 ETA Orion Bataan
1200 Swmming; Lunch
1600 Prepare to pack
1730 ETD for SM Mall of Asia
1900 ETA Manila

We arrived at the jetty port of Mall of Asia at around 8:30 AM after a quick breakfast at Mc Donald's E-com Center. After waiting for a few minutes, we were advised to board the ferry boat.

At exactly 9:09 AM, our journey to Orion Bataan started. It was a very comfortable ride going to Bataan. Medyo nakatulog pa nga ako eh sa sobrang pagka-komportable... hahaha!!! In no time, we're already in Orion port after an hour.
From there, we took a van that we rented for 800 pesos going to Brgy. Alas-asin. Prepare 40 pesos each for the registration at the barangay hall. Do not skip this, as it is important to register before any climb. Don't worry, people there are very accomodating. Thanks po! =D

And the 6-hour climb began... Wahhhhhh!!!! At first, I was hesitant if I can do it. Sabi ko nga kina Ayie at Julius, I am preparing myself psychologically. Hahahaha!!! Pero sige, kasubuan na eh... Kaya ko 'to!!!

The long trek started on a concrete road na parang sa Gulugod Baboy... Hahahaha!!! Then it led to a grassland and then into the woods, this my favorite part of the trail - ang ganda talaga!

Patuloy kaming naglakad kahit nagbabanta na ang pagbuhos ng ulan. Cge lang! Wala namang bagyo eh... Gow lang... Hahaha!!! After 30 minutes, rest muna ulit kami. We're all tired and sweaty. Push! Push! Push! Hehehe!!!

We continued the climb, to the grassland and then to the woods again. Until to a point where there is a steep cliff. This is one of the hardest parts of the trek, you have to go down the cliff then push yourself up the cliff. Hay... Kapagod ha... Hehehe!!!

Until we reached the papaya river, grabe, pagod nako ha! Nakaka-four hours na kaming naglalakad. We checked on the river at nagbasa ako ng mga paa, ang sarap ng tubig... ang lamig! Ingat lang, may linta daw sabi ng isa sa mga climbmates ko...

The trail is kinda straight-forward. Just always look for the trail marks. Remember to take the trail to the left of the river. Do not cross the river.

At bago kami umalis ng papaya river ay nag-umpisa ng bumuhos ang malakas na ulan. Mabuti nalang at prepared na ako this time, unlike sa Mt. Kalisungan na wala akong dalang raincoat. Hahaha!!! Dala ko na ngayon ang aking dilaw na raincoat. Hahaha!!! At kahit malakas ang ulan, nag-patuloy kami sa pag-akyat. Mas mahirap bumalik diba? Tuloy lang ang akyat! Go! Push! Push! Push! In the end, basa pa rin ako sa pinaghalong pawis at tubig ulan... Hehehe!!!

Dito na nag-uumpisa ang totoong akyatan. Eto na yung part na kailangan mo na talagang humawak sa mga ugat, sa mga bato at baging. Kahit ano, basta pwede mong hawakan para hindi ka mahulog sa bangin. Sobrang pagod na rin ako, I had to rest every 5 steps. My legs were already aching and I am now using my arms to push myself up. I've let my friends go ahead, as I want to do this on my own pace. Nag-uumpisa na rin dumilim, ngunit hindi ako nagpatalo sa pagod ko. Pinilit kong umakyat kahit giniginaw na ako dahil basa na ang suot kong damit. Kaya ko 'to! Di ako susuko! Malapit na...

Until I reached the clearing na malapit na sa campsite. It's already 6:00 PM, all of my climbmates, except for Ate Bhen, were already at the campsite. Nagpahinga ako saglit sa clearing na yun habang kumakain at nakikipag-kwentuhan kay Ate Bhen. Then I decided to proceed to the campsite.

I changed with my dry clothes and helped Ayie and Jols in cooking the dinner. We had sinigang na baboy, sarap!

While waiting for the dinner to be cooked, inumpinsahan ko na ang "Socials" with 2 bottles of The Bar, with mini wanton as pulutan. Wahahahaha!!! Ako ang tanggero, taga tangge sa tagay. Hahaha!!!

The sinigang is just right for a windy and cold night at the campsite. Ang dami namin nakain... Sarap!!! After the dinner, we resumed the drinking session, until the rain started to pour again. Five of us rushed in to Hyago's tent and continued the drinking, while the others slept.

It wasn't easy getting up the next morning. Pagod at puyat pa kasi... and the campsite was so cold and covered with fog. But we have to get up, prepare breakfast and start the descend.

Picture picture, rest, kulitan, asaran, and roam around... yan ang ginawa namin... Sayang naman ang moment eh... Hahaha!!!

After breakfast, we started the descent. Mas madali sa akin bumaba kasi the gravity is pulling me down. It was a fast-paced trek going down.

After the lunch, tuloy-tuloy na ulit sa pag-baba. Mga 4 hours pa ulit pagbaba. From Brgy. Alas-asin, it will still take us 30 minutes to reach the Orion Port. We have to hurry up because the SuperCat bound for Manila will leave at exactly 5:30 PM. Fortunately, we got a van that brought us to the port on time. Hay salamat... Mahirap mag bus noh!

Thanks to our new climbing friends - The Tribung Kalat (Wilson, Elle, Rommel, Kim, Jason, Jonah and Tommy) and the Freelancers - Hyago and Ate Bhen. See you in our next climbs.

Congratulations to all of us for a successful climb!