It was almost a month since my last article and today, I bring you my top favorite climb (for now), Pantingan Peak.
Regarded as the highest peak of the crater rim of Mt. Mariveles and known to locals as Banayan Peak, this silent beauty was our main goal (5 hikers including me) to summit last January 10.
Thirty minutes before 12am of January 9 when we left the not so busy road of EDSA to Balanga. We arrived past 2 AM in Balanga and had a quick fix of 'lugaw' (rice porridge) before going to the nearby terminal.
Since we arrived early, we waited till 5 AM before jumping at the mini bus bound for Morong. After an hour, we arrived at Friendship Tower in Bagac where our pre-arranged tricycle ride awaits.
It was a short 20-minute ride but the cool breeze of the early morning was just too much. Finally, we arrived at Barangay Saysain where Sir Rey Jimenez (our guide) welcomed us.
We left some stuff at Sir Rey's house before starting our trek at 7 AM. By 8:30 AM, we reached the grassland which locals and hikers tagged as the 'Marlboro country.' We took at least a good 15-minute rest from there while snapping pictures of the scenic beauty of the nearby beaches and mountain ranges.
An hour after that, we reached Danny's gate. Took some pics and prepared for battle with the limatiks :) True enough, sightings of limatik were experienced as we reached higher grounds. The assault came as a surpise but glad that we're inside such healthy forest that monkey trailing was an advantage.
By 11:20 AM, we reached Subangan campsite. Took another 10-minute rest while removing limatik slithering our shoes and pants. According to Sir Rey, with our pacing we can reach the summit past 12 in the afternoon.
Around 12:46 when we reached Pantingan Peak. The summit was foggy, cold and covered with thick and overgrown plants and bonsai trees. Exhausted and sad that a clearing was nowhere to be found, we still congratulated one another as we ate our lunch and threw banters (not to mention removing limatiks from time to time...yup, they're at the summit as well)
But luck of all luck, we heard Sir Rey shouting at us on the other side...'Bumubuka na!' (It's opening... referring to the clearing.)
And yes...our patience paid off. We had a clearing after almost an hour of waiting and boy was it marvelous! The entire caldera of Mt. Mariveles and other peaks of the crater rim are well pronounced. Thank God for the best view!
We decided to start our descent by 2:30 PM as we have to be at the jumpoff before 6 PM to have ample time for wash up and dinner before hitting the road back to Manila. After more than 2 hours of nonstop descent, we arrived at the captivating beauty of the grassland....and it was over....
Needless to say,we arrived at the jumpoff past 6 in the evening....and the rest was an overnight history.
Below itinerary are based on my personal climb and time tracks.
Pantingan Peak Itinerary (extended dayhike turned overnight)
Major jumpoff: Gabon, Sitio Duhatan, Brgy. Saysain, Bagac
LLA: 1,388 MASL
Days required / hours to summit: 1-2 days / 6-9 hours
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 6/9, Trail class 2-4
DAY 0
2200 Assembly at Bataan Transit Bus Terminal
2330 ETD Cubao to Balanga
DAY 1
0230 ETA Balanga terminal
0300 Early breakfast
0500 ETD Balanga to Friendship Tower in Bagac (ride Morong bound bus) Php 35.00
0600 ETA Friendship Tower. Ride trike (Php 200.00/trike max of 3)
0620 ETA Gabon (Aeta community). Guide service from Sir Rey Jimenez (Php 1,000.00)
0700 Start trek
0738 ETA River
0810 ETA Nursery
0830 ETA grassland (Marlboro country)
0926 ETA Danny's gate
1120 ETA Subangan campsite. Take 10.
1246 ETA Pantingan Peak. Rest. Lunch. Wait for clearing.
1430 Start descent
1635 ETA grassland. Nonstop photo opt.
1800 ETA River
1838 Back at jumpoff. Wash up. Dinner. Rest for the night.
DAY 2
0500 Wake up call
0530 ETD Gabon to Tower
0600 ETA Tower. Ride jeep back to Balanga.
0700 ETA Balanga. Breakfast.
0800 ETD Balanga to Cubao
1100 ETA Cubao
1130 Home :)
NOTES: Last trip back to Balanga is around 7:30 to 8pm. If you're not confident that you'll make it on time, better stay at Saysain for the night. Sir Rey is a very accommodating person. Also, his wife sells food (dinner) at a very reasonable price and the quantity is good for sharing of 2-3 people.
Till then!
Regarded as the highest peak of the crater rim of Mt. Mariveles and known to locals as Banayan Peak, this silent beauty was our main goal (5 hikers including me) to summit last January 10.
Thirty minutes before 12am of January 9 when we left the not so busy road of EDSA to Balanga. We arrived past 2 AM in Balanga and had a quick fix of 'lugaw' (rice porridge) before going to the nearby terminal.
Since we arrived early, we waited till 5 AM before jumping at the mini bus bound for Morong. After an hour, we arrived at Friendship Tower in Bagac where our pre-arranged tricycle ride awaits.
 |
| The transpo marathon |
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| The weekend warriors and Sir Rey's family |
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| Mountain ranges, the group rest and the river before grassland |
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| Flora, fauna and the likes.... |
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| The saddest view along the trail. |
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| Top pic: Danny's gate. Bottom pic: Subangan (for wild boars) |
 |
| while waiting for the clearing.... |
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| 'Groupie' before clearing and after clearing 'selfie' |
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| Magnificent or what?! Mt. Mariveles at it's finest. |
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| The beautiful 'culprit' of our 'overnight' hike |
Needless to say,we arrived at the jumpoff past 6 in the evening....and the rest was an overnight history.
Below itinerary are based on my personal climb and time tracks.
Pantingan Peak Itinerary (extended dayhike turned overnight)
Major jumpoff: Gabon, Sitio Duhatan, Brgy. Saysain, Bagac
LLA: 1,388 MASL
Days required / hours to summit: 1-2 days / 6-9 hours
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 6/9, Trail class 2-4
DAY 0
2200 Assembly at Bataan Transit Bus Terminal
2330 ETD Cubao to Balanga
DAY 1
0230 ETA Balanga terminal
0300 Early breakfast
0500 ETD Balanga to Friendship Tower in Bagac (ride Morong bound bus) Php 35.00
0600 ETA Friendship Tower. Ride trike (Php 200.00/trike max of 3)
0620 ETA Gabon (Aeta community). Guide service from Sir Rey Jimenez (Php 1,000.00)
0700 Start trek
0738 ETA River
0810 ETA Nursery
0830 ETA grassland (Marlboro country)
0926 ETA Danny's gate
1120 ETA Subangan campsite. Take 10.
1246 ETA Pantingan Peak. Rest. Lunch. Wait for clearing.
1430 Start descent
1635 ETA grassland. Nonstop photo opt.
1800 ETA River
1838 Back at jumpoff. Wash up. Dinner. Rest for the night.
DAY 2
0500 Wake up call
0530 ETD Gabon to Tower
0600 ETA Tower. Ride jeep back to Balanga.
0700 ETA Balanga. Breakfast.
0800 ETD Balanga to Cubao
1100 ETA Cubao
1130 Home :)
NOTES: Last trip back to Balanga is around 7:30 to 8pm. If you're not confident that you'll make it on time, better stay at Saysain for the night. Sir Rey is a very accommodating person. Also, his wife sells food (dinner) at a very reasonable price and the quantity is good for sharing of 2-3 people.
Till then!
