Mount Maculot’s Irony

It has been my practice that when I blog about a particular mountain I conquered, what I always, if not usually, do is to just note the events or my reasons from pushing albeit the narration in my blog entry entitled, “Why Do I Love Mountain Climbing?“. In this particular post, I only had two major notes. The first is, the word maculot, which means curly or unattractive in English, is an irony. Mount Maculot is absolutely paradisiacal. Subsequent to that is this was my “reunion climb” with Sir Bart Lee, who’s from Taiwan and whom I and my hiking buddies (HBs) made social acquaintance with during pinoymountaineer’s Second Annual Charity Climb at Mount Tirad Pass in Ilocos Sur last 05-07 February 2011.

The reason why I instantly said yes when I was invited to traverse this mountain was I want to know if this mountain is, to some extent, unattractive because it’s not that popular in the mountaineering society and because of the word maculot. Hence, the first note and the title.

Allow me to make an illustration by using the photos I took from our MACTRAV (Maculot Traverse) as I try to commentate after or before each photo to, at least, blow this post up.

Let’s start with the group pic minus me before the ascent.

The Crew (From Left: Kat, Sir Bart, Matet, Our New Friend From Korea, Ma'am Amy, Cha, Paul, and Ness)

Passing Through the Steepest Part of this Mountain requires roping up for the final ascent.

After the grueling climb on that vertical trail leading to the summit facing the north, the exceedingly pleasing views atop somehow put back the exact amount of energy I consumed from the bustle.

I Was Amazed at How the Two Dragonflies Stole the Scene in this Pic Albeit their Microscopic Sizes

Facing the south, I asked one of my HBs to take a photograph of me on the edge of one of the jagged peaks.

According to hard-core mountaineers, MACTRAV is not complete without making it to The Rockies. So we, or should I say I, did.

I thought the views at 706 MASL were the nicest up to a time I reached the rockies. I was totally breathless upon looking at the landscapes around me. Take a peek at the furtive view of the most famous destination in this mountain: the rockies.

What lies behind and on top was an extreme surprise … or make that surprises, with these photos. The Rockies creates breathtaking views of Taal Volcano and the lake circumscribing it, Mt. Makiling and Tagaytay Highlands.

The rain was already nearing our locus by the time I shot the photos in this series. That explains the caliginous guise of the pictures.

A Closer View of Taal Volcano

Mount Makiling

This is the Product of the Panoramic Feature Malfunction Which I Like Anyway

The globules of the rain were thrown upon by the wind’s blow a couple of minutes after I took the last photo in this series. So I prayed to the Aura that it be stopped because it will compromise our descent. And it did! This instance is another asseveration of how truly powerful a prayer is.

After a few minutes, Mr. Sunshine loomed over the horizon again giving another opportunity to take more beautiful photos.

Point(ing)-and-Shoot(ing) the cam towards the left side gives you this view:

And this one at the opposite:

While zooming the lens alternately towards both sides, produces these photos:

To the Left

To the Right

And when I pointed the lens to the center, our Dear Friend from Taiwan (R.O.C.), Sir Bart Lee, emerged.

This photoblog wouldn’t be perfect (at least for me) without taking a photo of my new sandals enveloping the true adventurer in me.

The Real Adventurers

Before I compose this blog post, I actually researched on why the mountain is named after the word maculot. I found out that curly-haired aborigines (Aetas) once lived in this mountain. It was named Maculot from “kulot“, meaning curly in honor to the inhabitants of the mountains (Aetas). I also learned that it’s not connected, in any way, to ugliness.

For more information (how to get to the place, trivia, special concerns, climbing notes, etc.), click this website: www.pinoymountaineer.com.

- Mount Maculot is my seventh conquered mountain (03 October 2010).

PS: GE X5

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