Hiking Philippines: Pico de Loro

As I have mentioned, we have been avid hikers in most places we have lived (or visited, like San Diego), but have only managed to hike Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. February 18 was an American holiday so we set out with 3 colleagues to hike Pico de Loro in Ternate, Cavite. First, without GPS we may not have made it. The jump-off or trailhead is on the Ternate road. Basically take the Cavitex until it ends and then follow the major coastal roads until you get there. And by there, I mean a faded "DENR" sign, which according to other blogs says, "Magnetic Hill." Maybe it's in Tagalog because I did not see it. Luckily, The Shark recognized the DENR symbol and we pulled into a little dirt lot. A very old woman, who apparently has been working for DENR for decades, charged us about 50 cents per person and had us write our names on a sheet of paper. Presumably to alert someone if we never returned. Then we were off.

The trail is well-marked with random strings (or sometimes garbage) tied to trees. Seriously. We knew we were going the right way when we could see a red ribbon tied to a tree trunk in the distance. Many other blogs mentioned getting lost, but we managed to stay on the trail. And luckily we did because we got to see a dead cow on the trail. Yes, on public land managed by the government, there was a giant dead cow. The great thing was that before we looped back, someone chopped it into pieces and carried it out of the forest. Who needs ribbons when you can follow the trail of blood?

Also, interesting to note, was the tin structure along that was manned by god-knows-who, where we had to "register" (again) and pay 50 cents (again). According to the DENR woman, these people charge illegally but "there is no way to stop them." Like kick them off government-protected land? No, couldn't do that. 

It took about 3 hours to reach the summit and about 2 to get back down. Luckily it was a Monday wo we only saw a few people and had the peak to ourselves, as well as the base camp for lunch. The DENR lady keeps a stock of cold drinks. Sprite never tasted better.

Leave a comment or email me at paceyogawellness@gmail.com if you have questions!