SI AYANG ANG ESKAPO : Mt. Maculot Cuenca Batangas

I have been into different places in Batangas and I always see this mountain. It can be seen anywhere in Batangas. If only my classmates back in College accompanied me to climb Mt. Maculot this would be my first serious climb and first Mountain.

When I was in Taal Volcano I got amazed with the view of Mt. Maculot. If I am not mistaken this is the highest peak in Batangas.

For the 8th Mountain of ESKAPO MOUNTAINEERS after the long and tiring trek in Makiling we had set Mt. Maculot as the next mountain to climb. During this time Mt. Maculot was very famous because of what had happened to our co-mountaineer Sir Vinson Ayson who fell from the Rockies of Maculot during the Holy Week. Rest in Peace Sir!

Mt. Maculot is Located in Cuenca Batangas. This is one of the prominent mountain in Batangas because it offers an enticing view of Taal Volcano and the Taal Lake from the Rockies side of Mt. Maculot which most mountaineers claimed to be their favorite spot.

"TEAM MACULOT" For me this is the best line-up of my group. Halimaw!!!!

The day that we climb Maculot was totally raining. We were blessed because we waited for the rain to stop and fortunately when we reached the Jump Off the rain stopped but the trail was so wet and muddy which affected our group pacing.

We started the climb 5:30pm since we waited for the rain to stop. On our journey from Manila to Laguna the weather was really good. It was sunny and the sky was clear. But when we reached Batangas City the sky turned into dark and drizzle started to fall. When we were in the bus I can hear thunders which made me panic because I was watching the news and it said that there would be a storm coming to Luzon which the southern part would be affected. It was even zero visibility along the way when we entered Cuenca Batangas. The bus droppped us off at Seven-Eleven 7-11 near the Cuenca Market. We stayed in the store and the rain even poured badly. The mountain was covered by thick fog and we cannot even see its silhouette. I called my mentor Sir Jeff if we can come up with Plan B. He suggested that if the rain would continue we can change the plan. He said instead of Mt. Maculot we can climb Mt. Manabu since this is an easy mountain to climb, the trail is manageable even its raining and this is the nearest mountain that we can go from Mt. Maculot. But when everyone came to the meeting place, the rain subside and we headed right away to the registration by taking tricycle. We waited for another one hour. And in that one hour it did not rain so we decided to pursue conquering Mt. Maculot.

Sad to say but we don't have pictures on our assault because it was dark and we were focused on the trail because it was dangerous since the trail was steep, wet and muddy. A good line-up of my group made the assault safe and fast. Very Good ESKAPO MOUNTAINEERS!

After 2 hours we reached the Maculot Campsite

Other group from Cavite who joined our Socials

The socials that we had was one of the memorable socials of ESKAPO. We were drinking while raining. We did not feel the coldness because the "kuwentuhan" at "kasiyahan" was the best. We had puchero for our dinner, maling, adobo, danggit, soup, coffee, chicharon, and even cake because Sir Raim celebrated his birthday a week before the climb and it was also the send off party of Sir Esbee before going to Europe for work. Everyone was drunk and I dont know why everytime that we drown ourselves of "Empe Lights" we tend to be emotional. Kapag sobrang laseng na eh nag" te-thank you sa isat-isa para sa pag kakabigan at mga adventures at nire-reminisce ang mga unang climbs at unang pagkikita at sabay iayakan lahat. This means that our hearts are connected to each other. We are not just a mountaineering group but because of all the things that we have been through we established a great foundation of a loving family. I LOVE MY ESKAPO FAMILY.

Rainy Morning at Mt. Maculot

The Mt. Maculot Campsite- On that day the campsite was crowded even it was raining badly there were several groups who still climbed the mountain. The Campsite got flooded during early morning because of a strong rain and you would see thick mud around the area.

This is the way to Rockies(left side)

This is the way to Maculot Peak(right side)

Breakfast Preparation

TEAM BREAKFAST

To rockies.....

We went to Rockies cautiously because the trail was so slippery.If you would be out of balance"lalangoy ka sa putik at mag slide pababa"

The Foggy Rockies

A few seconds clearing

Before I ascend to the Rockies. I stopped at the ridge that connects the Rockies and the other side of Maculot. When I faced the left side I was amazed because the build up of fog made like a high wall of fog. I did not see anything except that wall before my eyes. I got goose bumps when I saw it and I felt I want to jump towards that wall which was a cliff. I dont know if "naenkanto ako"(sort of) but since I was not alone and I can hear voices hindi ako nadala sa naiisip ko.