pamitinan

Mt. Pamitinan. one of the perks of hiking, you have breathtaking view.

I invited three of my friends to join me in a weekend swimming escape at Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal. I told them to bring extra clothes for change. Without much hassle, my plan was accepted. They all agreed to meet me one early Sunday morning. Budget: P500.

Only to end up with a totally different itinerary. And me, receiving quite a plenty of “kasalanan mo ‘to, pinasubo mo kami.” :D

I admit, I did not do my research well. I have long planned to see the dam because a friend lives near the site but apart from the dam, I did no further research what other activities our group can engage in.  Well, I know of a mountain that can be hiked but I thought it was a simple hike. So when our tour guide offered option to hike one of the three mountains, I immediately agreed to hike Mt. Pamitinan.  I was able to convince my friends and without much protest they agreed, believing in me when I say, it is for beginners (which the young tour guide seconded. But the soonest we started the assault, we knew then we are up for a serious battle. And true enough.

Mt. Pamitinan is a steep climb (and worse are the other two mountains, Mt. Binacayan and Hapunang Banoy). It is also worth noting that this is a serious rock climb! 75% of the activity is painful, grueling rock climb which at some point are 80-90% angle! (Only when were up did we realize why the tour guide advised us to buy gloves before we started the trek. With gloves on, hands are less bugbog. Grabe lang.) We struggled. LOL. We were not ready, no warm ups. All of us did not anticipate we are up for a whole day rock climbing activity. For me, it is bearable. But we have a girl in our group and she is not the hiker type. She suffered. Hahaha. The estimated time to complete the course is 4 hours (up and down) but it took us a total of 9 hours! (That was 9 hours my friends!) The weekend we were there, there were large number of hikers so, of the total of 9 hours, we spent 3 hours waiting for our turn at the summit (yes, that much queueing).  

We started the climb 8AM and we were back at the base 5PM. Para lang kaming pumasok sa office. LOL. And because it was already late and we were too tired, our plan to swim at the dam did not materialize.  We just dropped by to see the dam and well, swimming is not that tempting. We took shower at shower rooms available for a small fee, settled our dues and left the place.

The hike was not easy but the experience was great. The rock climb was a pleasant first time experience for me (and boy, what an experience it was!). From the summit, the sight of Montalban river laced down is a gem. The view of the two neighboring mountains is thrilling. The rest of the ranges further add to the exhilarating view from the summit. Such experience is something I would not easily forget.

boulders at Wawa River.

NOTES:

1. The tour guide assigned to us is a young college student taking up a degree in Agriculture at the nearest state university. Being a tour guide during weekends is his source of income so he can have his allowance for school. We gave him reasonable tip because he worked hard to assist us, especially the girl in our company. Bukod sa luging-lugi siya sa oras na nagamit namin. LOL

2. I have a serious concern on the process of receiving tourists. It is not well organized and you are asked to pay for fees without issuing receipts. And you will be asked for donations separately. Local Tourism office should regulate this. The fees collected are very minimal but considering the volume of tourists they receive, the sum is substantial. I wonder how they account for the income from visitors. I highly doubt it is truthfully or accurately reported. I shared my comments and notes to the tour guide. I hope he shared it with the officers in charge.

3. Also, the cleanliness of the area (the community near the dam) is a big turn off for me. We are promoting local tourism and nature attractions and yet the garbage in the area is a serious threat to sanitation, the promotion of the place and in preserving the beauty of nature. I seriously hope it is addressed the soonest and that more visitors take active role in keeping the cleanliness of the area (especially that they also allowed stores to be put up at certain areas/ resting areas in the mountain).

4. The area is part of a national park protecting the forests and mountains, at the same time preserving the historical value of the place. It is worth noting that there is a cave in the area which is also said to be a refuge to revolutionaries. The twin mountains of Pamitinan and Binacayan, with Wawa Dam/Montalban River separating them, is said to the be famed legend of Bernardo Carpio because the mountains do look like "dalawang nag-uumpugang mga bato". This mountainous area is part of the sierra madre ranges.