Sunday, July 29, 2012

Rizal: Day Hike at Mount Sembrano

Mount Sembrano Craggy Trail
The passion for hiking can still draw people together across differences of whatever kind. And in this case, people of different department - audit, accounting, purhasing and tax. For all our differences, hiking provides us a common thrill of adventure, a flash of wildness that binds us together.

Nothing But Grass
One Sunday morning, a group of office folks decided to climb Mount Sembrano in Pililla, Rizal. A couple of them have climbed it before while the rest of us will be climbing it for the first time. It was just a day hike so we packed light.
Town View at the Top
After a three hour drive from Manila, we parked at the Barangay Hall of Malaya and register. A minimum token amount served as our registration fee.
Shady Trail
Hiking Mount Sembrano is a two-part series. The first part will be an easy trek from the jump-off point to the Manggahan. In this part of the trek, you will pass by communities on a paved road that becomes scarce as you continue to hike up.
Manggahan Hut
And in a steady phase, you will reach Manggahan in a little less than an hour. Manggahan serves as a pit stop of the hike. in here, you can either pitch a tent or spread your picnic pads. On some days, fresh coconut juice are sold for around twenty bucks. Manggahan also serves as a campsite to those who will stay overnight.
Sembrano Summit
On summer days, Sembrano tends to be very hot speacially on the summit because it is fully exposed to the sun sans any trees for your cover. The upside however is that the trail up there will be dry, thus, less slippery and easier to climb.
Mini Falls and Swimming Area
Come rainy weather, the trail to the summit will be a perilous one because there are parts there that have 45 degrees angle amidst sharp rocks and steep ravines. The upside however is that it will be much cooler at the summit.
Kabayo Falls
Also, one thing good about this Mountain is the presence of a small but refreshing falls just five minutes from Manggahan. Some calls this Manggahan Falls because, well it's located in Manggahan Campsite while some refers to this as Kabayo Falls. I just do not know if it is named after a horse 'coz I see no horse in there. These series of Falls serve as the water source for the campsite and the bathing area for the weary-soled travelers.
Motortrade Hikers
Mount Sembrano is a fun climb -made more fun with the people you go up with. This is my first climb with people at my work place and this will definitely be not our last. Until the next climb!

12 comments:

  1. wow nice, hndi ko pa nahike ang mt.Sembrano. I wanna climb it soon.

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  2. Terrific capture as always, Oman, and I do agree with what you've written! It is wonderful indeed to find a common ground/adventure with others! Hope you've had a great weekend!

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  3. Fantastic photo! Beautiful green light.
    K

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  4. My friend had a bad experience while camping there in Sembrano. His tent was slashed and some of his valuables were stolen. From what I have heard, some locals there stole campers things so better be careful.

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  5. Talaga Jancy? Sayang naman pala magpunta dyan kung mawawalan ka lang. Ano ginagawa ng mga authorities dyan? Kaya ingat dapat tayo at wag na magdala mamahalin mga bagay.

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  6. i like that 'nothing but grass' photo. the sight of green has calming & soothing effect (actually healing, that's why most hospitals frequently use that hue).

    you won't believe me, atty, pero sa paanan ng mt sembrana kami nag-soil & vegetation sampling para sa thesis namin back in college. sa jala-jala kami noon that made me think mt. sembrano stretches from pililia to jala-jala (?)

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  7. I do not know if my legs will be sturdy enough to climb mountains. But your photos are the next best things on actually being there.

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  8. Di ba parang unfair naman yata sa mga locals na mapagbintangan sila na mga magnanakaw? Baka naman mga hikers din ang tumitira ng mga gamit dyan.

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  9. @ Batang Lakwatsero- at the rate you are going, i am sure maaakyat mo din agad itong sembrano. go lang ng go yvan but always stay safe :)

    @ Sylvia K - thank you and it is really a blessing to find people in the workplace to have the same interests that i have :0

    @ Kay l. Davies - I love the effect of ray on the foliage below too. Thanks for visiting.

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  10. @ Jancy -I was also informed by my comrades about that so we just need to heed extra caution because it is always better to be safe than sorry.

    @ Uno - I agree, valuable things must be left at home and siguro it is better to have an alternating look-out. Wag iiwan ang gamit ng walang bantay.

    @ Vanessa -Thanks :)

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  11. @ docgelo - i just remembered a clinic who used my beach photo as a wallpaper on her clinic. di pa pala ako bayad dun haha. and yeah, ang haba din ng line ng sembrano which encompasses rizal and laguna areas.

    @ zen - kaya yan, just a step at a time. :)

    @ kiko - that is possible pero based on my experience, hindi talaga nawawala yung mga ganyan kahit saang lugar. pwedeng locals at pwede rin fellow hikers, pero ang bottomline is, dapat talaga tayong maging extra careful sa mga lugar na talamak ang nakawan.

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