Mt. Sipit Ulang and Mt. Ayaas Twin Hike: Doable but not recommended, why?
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| Mt. Ayaas, Barangay Mascap, Rodriguez Rizal Photo by @iamrej_ru |
Twin Hiking Mt. Sipit Ulang and Mt. Ayaas
Located in Barangay Mascap, Rodriguez, Rizal, Sipit Ulang and Ayaas are two mountains with a different trekking experience. The later showcases long walks and some occasional ascend thru soil and exposed roots while the other is primarily dominated by rocks for scrambling and caverns for spelunking. Both requires this sets of skills, endurance and agility.
Well, if you add in rain and mud, you will definitely need both an enduring fighting spirit and agile disposition to conquer these two mountains.
Our Itinerary
5:00 AM - Meet up at Cubao and Ride Jeep going to Mascap
6:30 AM - Barangay Hall of Mascap for registration and hiring guides
7:00 AM - Start Strek for Mt. Sipit Ulang
7:45 AM - Arrived at 17 Steps Cavern
8:00 AM - Arrived at Baby Ulang Rock Formation
8:45 AM - Arrived at Super Trail Rock Formation
9:30 AM - Arrived at Mt. Sipit Ulang Summit
11:00 AM - Start descend and going to Mt. Ayaas Jump Off
12:00 NN - Arrived at Jump Off going to Mt. Ayaas
2:00 PM - Arrived at Summit of Mt. Ayaas
3:00 PM - Start Descend going back to Mascap Barangay Hall
4:45PM - Arrived at Mascap Barangay Hall for cleaning up
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| Cubao Terminal Ride Van going to Mascap |
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| The road ahead shows a great ordeal be folding in front of us |
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| Barangay Mascap, Rodriguez Rizal |
Well, basing on our IT, everything seems a breeze. Behind those minutes passing by were countless slips thru the muddy trail. Cautiously averting being dirty and also looking a goof in front of your hiking buddies. All is well, since a lot of it was filled with laughter and shared experiences.
What made it Doable but not recommended Twin Hike? Well, for starters, it was raining and the trail was wet from the previous days of cloudy-rainy weather. Second, we did traverse almost the whole Mascap Rodriguez territory, never walked on the same trail again - pressing forward circumventing the whole area! Third, we had been aching to hike with each other. You see, I haven't traveled with them for the longest time, can't even remember the last time we have seen each other. But thru it all, we are still friends and forever will be, AMEN! There were fresh faces of course and new budding love team. ehem. but more of it later.
Mt. Sipit Ulang
It is characterized by karst stones similar to that of Taraw Cliff in El Nido. But this rock formation features a crab-like stone, hence Sipit - means claws in english. The hike here is quite challenging since you need to squeeze thru caverns and climb up walls and ladders. It was a little difficult for me to fit in the spaces because of my size lol. BTW I'm 5'10'', around 78 KG. Do your estimations.
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| Rock scrambling greeted us |
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| Well, spelunking came right after. Pretty acrobatic feat indeed |
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| Needing to squeeze and climb at the same time, something thrill seekers might enjoy |
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| Getting our butts up slippery wall of rocks. Suko na ba? |
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| 17 slippery steps Baby girl takes on the lead on this one |
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| Road less traveled, we set off a different path from the Baby Ulang Rock Formation |
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| Pretty Basic Rock Scrambling with a ravine below you feet. |
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| The reward though is Epic Super Trail Rock Formations Probably called thus because of the trail was mainly karst stones all the way up like a snake haha |
About halfway, we did not go the popular trail going to the Summit. Instead you followed the less traveled, and the previous old trail - Super Trail. It was called Super trail because of the difficulty , but it was breathtaking even with the cloudy skies. The view showcases the Sierra Madre range while you stand on karst stones maintaining balance while strong cold wind brush your being. The Super Trail is all Karst Stones reminiscent of its sister mountains' Mt. Pamitinan and Binacayan.
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| Trek continues with squeezing through crevices to get to Mt. Sipit Ulang Summit |
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| Arrived Mt. Sipit Ulang |
Mt. Ayaas
This mountain on the other hand, is a chill hike IF it wasn't raining and the trail isn't muddy. Because of it, it was hard to keep yourself standing straight due to loose soil and slippery stones waiting to trip you. The exhausting ascend is prevalent in this mountain.
The summit though is a 360 degree view of the Rodriguez - Bulacan mountain range. It also features a sneak peak of the Metro Manila Skyline. The summit is a grass covered terrain. This mountain is also a go-to trail running venue. We were there when a trail running event was happening. We met with some of the runners who were steadfast in their pace, minding the cut off time.
For this part of the hike, I wasn't able to take photo so much. I was to exhausted. I wasn't able to sleep the night before. So all my energy was drained by the mud in Sipit.
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| Well, more mud skipping and sliding |
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| And started raining. Perfect! |
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| After nearly 3hours, we are approaching Mt. Ayaas Summit |
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| Poof Girls On Top! #StrongWomen of Mt. Ayaas Salute! |
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| I don't mind getting dirty to get things done! Even without the sun, the view was amazing to say the least |
I'll add the breakdown of damages for this hike. Too lazy to browse my google keep. sorry readers
The Twin hike team
Most of them, I know them and have been in my blogs since day one, and some, I just met. Thanks guys for reconnecting physically in this virtually run world we live in today. More hike and travels soon please!
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| Team Dose: Some of these foot wear will never set on any mountain tops again. R.I.P |
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| Team Dose at Mt. Sipit Ulang |
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| 17 steps Cavern of Mt. Sipit Ulang |
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