Day Trip: Mt. Gulugod Baboy at Anilao, Mabini, Batangas

I'm lucky since I have a lot of adventurous friends who make me do things I otherwise wouldn't have done (but with a lot of prodding and convincing on their part). That means, hiking! I shoved it off my thoughts for years, thinking it wasn't really my thing. But hey, I wouldn't know unless I tried.

My friend picked Mt. Gulugod Baboy, located at Anilao, Mabini, Batangas City, for our first hiking adventure - perfect for beginners since the rated difficulty of the hike was 2/9. I thought a 2/9 difficulty rating would mean baby hills ala Chocolate Hills, but boy was I wrong! It was still challenging, but first timers can manage. :D

Jump-off point: Philpan Dive Resort, Anilao, Mabini

First group photo, before we all got haggard!

Trivia: Mt. Gulugod Baboy has 3 peaks (the first is 470 MASL, the second is 485 MASL, and the third is 525 MASL), and is named as such because of its unique shape which resembles pigs' spine. No, we didn't see any pigs here. Just a lot of carabaos and a couple of friendly (?) dogs.

Mt. Gulugod Baboy has trails that lead you up to the summits, but I advise you to never detach from your group (#clingy). Our group split into 2 at one point and almost got lost (just almost - for less than 5 minutes). The trail has no handles or roots for support, and it could get slippery at times (even if its dry) so be extra careful.

Because we were getting old, we rested whenever we saw resting places like this which sold softdrinks and other cold treats like ice candy and halo halo.

During the hike, my friend encounter these! I don't know what these are, but they will sting the skin and cause minor blisters (?) when you remove them. :o No, that's not my hand.

The resting places are usually private properties, where the locals would sell drinks and refreshments to the hikers. Usually they have pets like dogs and goats. This one's really cute! :D

It almost felt like forever reaching the summit. Thirty minutes, my friends! (Haha, that's an inside joke of ours.)

New friends! This one's our first complete group photo taken by a kind stranger. :D

Attendance: Raymond, Pan, Benny, Helen, Niko, Gen, Tope, Gilly, Tim, Richard, and Neil

Of course, there's the mandatory mountain jump shot! More to come later. ;)

And then, it was lunch break already!

We all brought along packed lunch, but I think it's more advisable to bring along a sandwich. The flying insects hovered around my friend's rice meal. :o

Girls Team: Pan, Gen, and I

We had lunch picnic style to this view:

Beautiful right? I bet it would be nicer if the grass weren't all dried up. Summer eh!

When in the mountains, it pays to be an environmentalist. "While we were trekking the mountain, this guy was picking up trashes along the way. Kudos to you, Mr. Chan!" -Benny

KIDDING! But what's true is that Mr. Chan planned our trip and itinerary (and took most of the photos for this post), so we are very proud of him!

And finally...we reached the summit! :D The view was so nice from the top. We had to take wacky, semi-wacky, and regular photos.

Wacky: Group jump shot

Semi-wacky: Ako lang

Regular: Prim and proper

Group shadow selfie, where I'm sure we were smiling as the photo of our shadows were taken.

Solo shadow selfie, guess who? :D

I mentioned earlier that I thought a beginners-level hike was just like the cute hills, but Mt. Gulugod Baboy is steep like this.

After the summit, we began to head back, but not before this photo op with our (celebrity) friend, Benny. Just like the old times! :D

At our descent, we passed by the same trail we took on our way up, and encountered a lot of hikers along the way. They were going to spend the night on the mountains! :D At one of our last stopover, my friends enjoyed a big serving of halo halo as a reward for a hike well done. 

We started around 11:45AM and finished at around 5:45PM. Pro hikers could finish this in around 2 hours? Haha! Told ya, getting old! But that's because we had lots of rest, photos, and chika along the way. Less serious, more fun! But hey, this hike was challenging and tiring, too.

During our hike, I learned 4 very valuable lessons:

(1) Sunblock and sleeves are your BFFs when it comes to hiking.

(2) The more, the merrier (and safer).

- It helped that our group were composed of a lot of strong men (yesss, kayo na strong) who helped guide the first-timers and kept them from falling and slipping on the challenging parts of the trail.

(3) If possible, don't separate from your group so you don't risk getting lost.

- Especially at night!

(4) Okay lang makahawak ng tae, basta hindi madapa.

- We encounter a lot of (sun-dried) carabao dung along the trail. Gross, but we'd (or maybe I'd) rather accidentally touch that when I fall on the ground than slip off into the bangin and bid my friends goodbye forever. Hahaha!

Beautiful sunset to end our day.

Actual Costs:
Tollgate NIC/C5 to Calamba - P214
Gas Expense (First Load) - P1,000
Star Tollway Sto. Tomas to Batangas - P67
Star Tollway Batangas to Sto. Tomas - P67
Sto. Tomas SLEX entry - P25
Calamba to NIC/C5 - P214
Chowking Chicken Lauriat for driver - P160
Gas Expense (Second Load) - P700
Van Rental Fee - P3,500

Total: P5,947 (Budget - P550 x 11pax = P6,050)

Mt. Gulugod Baboy is ideal for first time hikers. It may not be as popular and difficult (and cold!) like Mt. Pulag, but it does showcase a beautiful view of Batangas, and is a very rewarding experience in itself. Take this opportunity to challenge yourself and to have a new perspective on exploring our beautiful country, Philippines!

This trip was brought to you by #TopeTravelandTours.

Love,

Helen

Photo Credits: Christopher Chan and Helen Blas
Photos from this post may not have watermarks, but you may not use them without permission.