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Monday, December 20, 2010

Mt. Tagapo (Talim Island, (Laguna de Bay) Rizal)

A Birthday Climb
by lakwatserong tatay

This will be my last climb for the year 2010, and at the sametime this climb will the birthday celebrations of our 3 members from our recent batch induction last freedom climb, im really sorry to forgot their batch name....hehehehe.... All of them are girls. So lets get back on my story.....I was the first climber who arrive at Pritil port, because i just live at Antipolo. So what did i do i just explore the area, infact my first stop is there church, Sta. Ursula Parish Church, that is part of the history of Binangonan. Of course, photo opps in the place is one of my goal. After visiting the church of Binangonan, i proceed to our meet up place, the Pritil Port, i just stayed infront of the port at the Public Hospital of Binangonan, as i stayed on that place, i found some kids playing and swimming on the lake. In fact, im really envy that time because i want to experience also swimming by the lake but not with that outfit as you will see below......hehehehehe.....

Kids that are playing and swimming on the lake
The time of meet up at SPI Paranaque was 0600 in the morning, but due to their busy schedules at work, it was moved to 7am. Infact eventhough i lived at the house exactly 730 am in the morning, im still the 1st person to arrived on Binangonan.

Here is the itinerary that we used for this climb:

DAY 1:

0700 meet up at SPI
0730 ETD for EDSA-Crossing Terminal
0800 ETD to Binangonan, Rizal
0930 ETA Pritil Port, Binangonan, take passenger ferry to Brgy. Janosa (courtesy of Kuya Archie Anain)
1100 ETA Brgy. Janosa; arrange for guides and registry at Brgy. Hall
1200 lunch; start trek
1400 ETA for campsite; relax and setup camp
1600 summit assault, pictorial session
1730 back at camp; prepare dinner
1900 dinner time
2000 socials
2200 lights out; optional...hehehehe...

DAY 2:

0500 wake-up; sunrise attempt and summit pictorial again...
0600 back at camp; prepare breakfast
0700 breakfast
0900 break camp
1000 start descent
1130 back at jump-off, chillax and take a bath @ Brgy. Hall, some of the houses offered free usage of bathroom
1400 ETA Pritil Port, Binangonan
1600 ETA EDSA- Crossing Terminal

Here some of the photos courtesy of yours truly and some shots are by my climbing buddy...vhixie....
Pritil Port
Another ferry that came from Brgy. Janosa
It was really relaxing seeing different views of Laguna de Bay. Seeing different fish pond with different sizes. Different sizes of boat where also present, some fishermen that are harvesting their fishes on their ponds. And where also thankful that time because we had a calm lake water and very nice weather that time.

i would like to try this one...if i will be given a chance
bagay ba?
We arrived at Brgy Janosa around 11am. Our group proceed to registration area (brgy hall) and take a rest for a while. Arrange for our guide and some porter where also been hired. Around 1pm we started our hike up to the campsite of Mt. Tagapo.

Welcome Signage of Brgy. Janosa

Brgy. Hall and Chapel of Brgy. Janosa

Upon curiosity i wander what is the use of this board....and do you see what different on this board...hehehe
 Mt. Tagapo (Talim Apo)
Major Jump-off: Brgy. Janosa (Talim Island) Binangonan, Rizal
Days Required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 2- 3 hours
Specs: Minor Climb. Difficulty 2/9, Trail class 1-2
LLA 14.32° N 121.23° E, 438 MASL
Activities: Hiking, picture taking and socials

Mt. Tagapo overview: The peak and terrain of Mt. Tagapo is very similar to Mt. Talamitam in that it is bare and quite hot. But with both, the view is spectacular! Tagapo's peak gives hikers a view of entire island in all its beauty.

This 2-hr trek is made on a semi-steep path that leads to the peak where a breath-taking view of Laguna Lake and nearby mountains can be seen. Pictorials are a must!

Things to consider about Mt. Tagapo:

. Climbing this mountain is not physically demanding, but it is not a popular destination. The campsite will most likely be overgrown with cogon grass when you climb, especially during off season months (off season months/rainy season: July- Nov).
. The mountain is between two Rizal towns: Binangonan and Cardona.
. There is no water source on this mountain.
. Buy necessary items before taking the boat trip (at the Binangonan public market), resources on the island is limited.
. Campsite can fit about 10-15 tents.
. There is a deep pit on the summit (a result of treasure hunt digging in the past), climbing the summit at night is not recommended.
. The summit offers a 360-degree view of Laguna de Bay surrounding the island.
. The trailhead can be found behind the Sto. Domingo Church and Janosa High School.
. Bamboo trees line the forest trail before reaching the grassy campsite.
. Last boat trip from the island is 7:00PM.

Mt. Tagapo
Here are some options that can be considered on visiting this place:

. There is also a boat coming from Laguna towns, you might wanna check those if you are coming from South.
. You may request for a guide from the barangay. A very good option to contact (Kuya Archie Anain: 09216530089). He will take care of your boat ride and he will also be your guide.
. You may hire a boat if your group is big, just make sure you contact the boat man ahead of time.
. If you stay overnight, you will see fantastic city lights of Rizal (Mt. Sembrano), Ortigas, Makati and Laguna. No stunning sunset view though. Adjust the IT by adding about 30-min to 1-hr trek time going up and down the mountain because you'll be carrying heavier packs.
. When you get back to Barangay Janosa, drop by the local manufacturers of bamboo products to get cheap, but of good
 quality home furnishings and accessories.


Sunset views of the Campsite
Upon arriving on the campsite, and set up our own tents, we started photo opps....hehehe...and some also caught sleeping and even our guides has their own socials...hehehehe....We started also our drinking session in the afternoon...hehehe...As you can see below.

SPI Mountaineering Club
Next time i close dapat ang tent...hehehe...sorry buddy...
Here our guides, in the center is Kuya Archie, our boatman, & guide. 
We prepare our dinner around 530 pm because it the place really darken really fast......we thought it just brought by few raindrops, but in few minutes it was just past 5 in the afternoon very small raindrop started. So we started to prepare food for 27 climbers.....Below were some of the photos taken that night from food preparation, and social night and at the same time bday celebration. That night we had pork stew, one fiesta ham, stir-fryed vegetables and a creamy mushroom soup..hehehe....sarap talaga mamundok...



Photo opps in our socials
pls. dont to this if your in drunk....hehehehe...
On our 2nd day, our group supposed to wake up early for a sunset summit assault but due to some reasons...the sun was really up when i think it was around 630 am. When almost of the summiteers where already up...So some of the early birds including me prepared 1st our breakfast...It take around 15-20 minutes hike up to the summit depending on your group...be sure to have arm guard because the cogon grass is really tall....
1st photo opps in the morning...hehehe...
the trail up to the summit
Our campsite view from the Summit
My buddy...vhixie....

photo opps along the trail up to summit
The flag that you can see when you reach the summit of Mt. Tagapo...yours truly photo opps....
View of Laguna de Bay together with Big & Small Fish ponds
The other side view of Talim Island
So masarap talaga maging senior sa grupo...hahahaha !!!!!!
It was late afternoon, all were freshen up and ready to depart Brgy. Janosa and started to go and board our ferry to bring us back Pritil Port. It will again a 1 - 1.5 hour ferry ride back.
we were starting to board
Photo opps on our ferry ride back to Pritil Port
Our trip and climb ended very well. All of the participants had a very nice experience and added happy memories of the mountains again. To end this climb, i would like to thank again our Club Pres. Pilar "Pia" Manzano, for another successful monthly club activity. For the groups activity, this month was an outreach activity on Tarlac. I was not able to join this activity but as i've seen the pictures and happy faces of the participant. I think it was another successful moment/event for our group.
The SPI MC Mt. Tagapo summiteers

Budget: around P400 per pax.


(Php45/P) - EDSA Crossing Terminal to Binangonan Pier (Pritil Port)
(Php60/P) - Ferry Boat fare (~P30 one-way)
(Php20/P) - Registration fee
(Php100-300) - Guide/Porter fee
(Php150/P) - Food, other miscellaneous

4 comments:

  1. wow ang ganda , hindi ko pa natry to , sana balang araw makasama din ako sa ganitong klaseng paglalakbay =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. hi chinchan,

    sige po invite kita by next year na activity ng group ko.
    cguro mas maganda para maupdate po kayo exchange po tau ng blogrolls and you could also be one of my followers.
    para po updated kayo...nagpopost din po kasi ako ng invites.

    ReplyDelete
  3. highly recommended si Kuya Archie, cya din ang nag guide sa amin when we climbed Mt. Tagapo few months ago...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Үour mеans of explaіning all in this article
    is really goоԁ, evеry onе be ablе to еasily be aωare
    of it, Thаnks а lot.

    Feеl freе to vіsit myy pagе: hotel booking

    ReplyDelete

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