On the stormy early morning of July 5, 2015; I left my home in Dasmariñas City to climb Mt. Kalisungan in Calauan, Laguna as an alternative to the postponed (due to the typhoon Egay) Mt. Ugo adventure. I took the van from Palapala terminal and reached Masapang (Victoria), Laguna at around 8:49 AM. Then, I proceeded to Barangay Lamot 2 via tricycle (from Masapang, mountaineers may also proceed to Lamot via jeepney) and reached the barangay hall at around 8:57 AM. Immediately, I registered upon arriving and met Kuya Bino (who could be reached @ 09994100991), the one who prearranged my guide.
The very passionate and enthusiastic Ate Mercy, Kuya Bino’s wife guided me to the mountain. We headed to the trail head (old trail) at exactly 9:00 AM. When we reached the trail head, the rain poured "torrentially" and was accompanied by strong wind. As expected the trail became quite slippery. Luckily “mutty” (my shoes that is on its retirement hike after almost 8 years in service) has good spikes.
We reached the halfway after 45 minutes of almost non-stop trekking along farmland and eventually along citrus and coffee farms. After an hour and a half, we reached the second kubo where we briefly rested and had our snacks. We then proceeded to the summit and reached the third peak at 11:03 AM. There was no clear view due to the weather condition but what made me enjoy is the good trail condition and the clean campsite and summit of the mountain. Obviously, the mountain is well-maintained.
After a short conversation with fellow hikers at the campsite, we started our downhill trek at around 11:45 via new and much steeper trail. The trail was very slippery as a matter of fact, it required our “hiking creativity” to avoid any fall or accident. Rain poured harder as we reached the steepest part of the new trail but luckily, we reached the base of the mountain safely. We reached the Barangay Hall where Kuya Bino is waiting for us at around 1:27 PM.
Although wet like a whale the hike was very fulfilling and memorable… with zealous guide, hospitable people, clean mountain and challenging trail; I found my adventure complete that day!
Although wet like a whale the hike was very fulfilling and memorable… with zealous guide, hospitable people, clean mountain and challenging trail; I found my adventure complete that day!