Loving Gulugod-Baboy

‘Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.’

Its name may sound funny and even confusing, but my journey to this mountain was seriously one of my most memorable, shortest and easiest climb ever. It’s was on a Valentine’s Day. For this trip, we were composed of four passenger vans, that’s double than our usual two vans whenever we had a dayhike. Maybe the significance of that day had something to do with the larger number of participants. It made me wonder though why young people like us preferred to climb mountain than enjoying a private moment with their love ones during this special day. Then I realized that most of us were single with only a few of us that were actually in a relationship. It also made sense that Gulugod-Baboy, which is being considered as a hill rather than a mountain is a very easy climb and that explains the huge turn-up of participants that day.

The trip to Anilao in Batangas took almost three hours, but what came next more than compensates for all the angst and boredom. Anilao is a famous scuba diving destination. Its coastline is different from other beaches I had ever seen. We arrive at Philpan Dive Resort which served as our jump-off point. The place was a small area just beside the main road. It seemed that we are the only group with a scheduled hike that day. It was still early and we still had lots of time to prepare so we grabbed the chance to change outfits, eat breakfast, and attend to other personal matters. After everybody was ready, someone in the group led the prayer and then an individual introduction by all the participants. A photo op followed and shortly after, the trek began.

We walked across the road just in front of the jump-off point and follow a path of paved road going uphill. The assault was a bit challenging because even though the road was made of concrete, it was still steep. After about a kilometer of walking, we turned left to what seemed to be the start of the trail to Gulugod-Baboy. The initial part of the trail was tedious because of the steep ascent but it is so comforting to know that there were resting areas along the way. These resting areas also had stores selling refreshments like cold beverages and the summer staple halo-halo.

We were in our usual slow pace and trailing behind the whole group. We were in a casual mood that day and seemed to be enjoying the trek. We took the opportunity to take a rest in every resting area we passed and to take pictures while taking a breather. After about an hour we finally reached what looked like rolling hills covered in grass. I notice that there were three peaks with the third peak being the highest among them and which others said was the summit. From that point it was an easy trek because of the gradual assault and wide and open trail.

As we went along the rolling hills of the grassy landscape, we saw groups of grazing cows around. It was no surprise at all to see animal manures scattered along the trail because the grassland served as pasture land for cows and goats alike. I noticed the existence of a structure not far from the summit. I then realized that there were other trails leading to the summit of Gulugod-Baboy. We encountered hikers on their way down the mountain and I was a bit amazed to see and meet children trekking with their families. The easy trail of Gulugod-Baboy made it possible to everybody, even for children. It was funny seeing these kids in all their hiking attire and gear. With our constant stopovers to take pictures, we finally arrived at the third peak.

Just so others may know, Gulugod-Baboy when literally translated in English means "pig's spine". The name comes from the contours of the mountain or hills which somehow resembles the back of a wild boar as seen from Janao Bay. Another thing worth mentioning is regarding the three peaks of the range. One would normally assume that the highest peak is Gulugod-Baboy’s summit; however, the highest peak is actually Mount Pinagbanderahan and the leftmost or first peak is Gulugod-Baboy. Thus, there are three peaks, Gulugod-Baboy, Gitna and Pinagbanderahan. Gulugod-Baboy came to be the general term used to describe all the three peaks.

The summit is bare, mostly covered with perennial grass. From there, you can see the stunning view of West Philippine Sea, Batangas and Balayan Bays, and surrounding mountains like Batulao, Dagulgol and Maculot. There was a cool breeze in the summit so we didn’t mind the heat of the sun. We did the usual photo op, taking advantage of the stunning view from the summit.

After consuming a considerate amount of time in the summit we finally decided to head back back to the jump-off point.  It took us only less than an hour to get back at the jump-off point. We then headed down to the Philpan Dive Resort which was only a few steps away from the jump-off point. We had a reservation there thus we immediately occupied one of the few cottages there. When lunch time came, the resort personnel served us soup and some fried fish. It was nothing fancy really; nevertheless, it satisfied our hunger after hours of trekking.

After everyone was done eating, we all moved to the cottage near the sea shore. It was a gloomy afternoon and I felt the urge to lie down and sleep. Unfortunately, they start bringing out alcoholic beverages they bought and a boozing spree ensued. I don’t drink hard liquor but I had to give in to their requests at some point. We had a lot of time ahead of us so we just enjoyed the rest of the day. Each of us did our own activity that day. Some made their way to the beach and tried scuba diving, snorkeling and boat riding. Others chose to do island hopping. We stayed at the cottage to drink and play card games seemingly enjoying each other’s company. When we got bored we even tried doing photo shoots along the beach. It seems to be a long day as we tirelessly did a lot of things that day.

It was five in the afternoon when we started preparing to leave the place. We still had one destination to visit. Included in our itinerary was a trip to Tagaytay City. We will be having our dinner at Beanleaf Tea House which is owned by one of our group member. It was a long trip to Tagaytay City and it was one scary ride. On our way to Tagaytay City we suddenly entered a road that seemed to be a short cut. The path was dim and very few vehicles were passing. The road was also very steep that in one case the engine of our van died abruptly while going uphill. We had to come out of the van to let the driver maneuver the vehicle. We walked a few feet away and waited for the van if it will make the steep climb. Fortunately, the van made it so we boarded again and the travel continued. I was relieved that nothing unfortunate happened again until we reached Tagaytay City.

We headed to Beanleaf Tea House where we were welcomed by the owner. We went inside and the inside of the cafe was crowded. On my part, I was not particularly starving that time but still we ordered our food that came with complimentary drinks. We enjoyed our dinner with the accompanying band playing. The night seemed endless as we chatted and savored every moment of our stay there. It was almost midnight when we left the café and Tagaytay.

It was Valentine’s Day but I hardly noticed the significance of that day because we did a lot of interesting activities commencing our dayhike. We ended up climbing two mountains, we hit the beach, we did crazy things, and we capped the night with a sumptuous dinner. We had a lot of fun and I am sure all of us enjoyed every minute of our journey to Anilao. I didn’t even realize that it was already midnight and I still had to travel for another three hours to the north to get home. It was morning when I finally made it home. And with little time left, I slept with a smile on my face. I felt relieved and satisfied with the turn of events of my Gulugod-Baboy dayhike. The memory of my climb kept lingering in my mind until finally I fell into oblivion. The short and easy trek to Gulugod-Baboy came to be special because of the innate beauty of the place and the moments spent with new found friends, sharing food, drinks and wonderful stories. I will forever treasure the memories of that day. Valentine’s Day will never be the same again.