Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Climb 2013: Pico De Loro

This is my second time in Pico De Loro but this is the first time that I've climbed Pico while there's a typhoon signal raised in the area. Thus there are very few photos I've captured due to heavy downpour and wind. If you want to see scenic view from the summit, I suggest you visit my first blog entry about Pico.


Ternate, Cavite
Major jump-off: Magnetic Hill, Ternate
LLA: 14° 12.855 N; 120° 38.785 E; 664 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1-2 days / 4-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 1-3

Centuries ago, the Spaniards aboard their galleons to Manila Bay noticed the form of a giant parrot, perched in the forested mountains in Cavite. They named it "Pico de Loro" - "Parrot's Peak" Today, mountaineers who visit Pico de Loro discover that it is as enchanting as its name. High on Cavite's highest point, they could behold the rocky tower that the Spanish sailors once saw as the parrot's beak, and they could gaze towards South China Sea where the galleons once sailed, all the way to the historic island fort of Corregidor. Gusts of sea breeze reach the peak, refreshing hikers after a four-hour climb. The peak's rocky outcropping is dramatic, and sharply contrasts with the plains of Cavite and the waters of South China Sea.













When the weather improved a little, we decided to climb up the summit. However, a few moments when we reached the summit, a new dark clouds were moving on our direction and a few seconds after the clouds enveloped us, heavy chilly rain fell together with high winds. We decided to just climb down from the summit and got ready to go down the mountain.

On our way down the summit, there was a mountaineer shouting to her friends who were up in the summit to get back to her. We found out that she was holding her friend's camera and she didn't have a dry bag to keep it from getting wet. Good thing that I had an extra Ziploc in my dry bag which I gave her. Lesson learned, always have an extra ziploc or plastic with you for water proofing.



This is how the summit looks like when the dark clouds engulfed it.

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