Manabo Peak, Mt. Malipunyo (Malipuño) (Sto. Tomas, Batangas) – April 7-8, 2001

Height: 830 m (2723 feet)

The Explorers:

Omar	Xaru	Nardo	Ronald
Troy	Ryanr	Len	Ryan
Rannie	Judy	Elloi	Jane

 The guys assembled at Buendia Jam Terminal at about 6 am, (6 nga ba?) and ride a bus going Batangas, while I’m waiting at Fiesta Mall, Lipa (because I came from Batangas City). They arrived at bus terminal of Lipa at about 9 am (tama ba?). So nagtricycle pa ko pabalik ng bus terminal. Then another ride of tricycle to the jeepney stop bound to Sulok. At about past 10 am, we arrived at jump-off point Sulok, Brgy. Sta. Cruz. We consult the locals before we start the ascent cause none of us knows the trail, it’s really an exploration climb. We arrived at the river system, prepare launch (pack launch daw?) and start eating around 12 noon. We decided to take a rest first at the river system because the sun is up and the weather is really hot. We resume ascent at about 2:30 pm and reach the summit in 2 hours approximately. There are lots of trails in this mountain so it’s really bit confusing one. At the summit, there are lots of cows eating the carabao grasses. I think it took me 15 minutes to pass this cows cause they really look angry to me. The summit is really amazing, you’ve got 360 degrees view of Batangas and nearby places like Laguna, Taal Lake, Quezon and other mountains such as Makiling, Maculot, Banahaw, Cristobal, and other peaks of Malipunyo (which is Bagwis and Malipunyo itself). At top of it, there is a big cross that makes this mountain a holy one. The place is cold especially at night because it’s open and hot on daytime. No potable water supply so bring enough h20 for your consumption. We start descent the next day at 9 am and reach the river system in a half hour (pretty quick one). Take a bath, prepare lunch, and take lunch. We arrived at jump-off point at 12:30 pm and refreshed with buko and halo-halo. The locals are very helpful and kind to us, the others take a bath at one of the local’s house. We depart at 1 pm going to Lipa bus terminal, take a break at McDonalds and all gone home and have a nice exploration climb achievement.

(sorry- pics not yet scanned, kinuha na kc yung scanner naming, wala namang mabait na magpahiram).

(click on individual image to see large size).