A Muddy Lesson: Mt. Sembrano

The rainy season in the Philippines has always frustrated me as a traveler. Plans get canceled and it’s quite difficult to find another schedule where the weather is clear and my companions are available. The uncertain answer to the question will it rain tomorrow? makes me anxious. I will just have to trust the weather forecast and hope for the best.

I hiked Mt. Talamitan in Nasugbu a few weeks prior and the experience left me wanting to hike more. Due to the rainy season, we cannot immediately find a weekend where the weather is clear and there is no typhoon. Fortunately, one Saturday opened an opportunity—one day before typhoon Karding made landfall in the Philippines. Of course, the daily afternoon rain was a staple during the rainy season, but the itch of climbing another mountain was so strong that we thought a little mud underneath our shoes while hiking was tolerable enough.

Travelling to Pililia, Rizal

We started our journey with a clear sky at around 4AM in the morning of September 24, 2022, with our friend kindly picking us up from our respective homes before arriving at Barangay Malaya in Pilillia, Rizal at around 6:30AM. We contacted the Barangay through their Facebook page a day before so they were expecting us when we arrived. We were greeted with friendly barangay personnel who assisted us with the registration. Conveniently, there was parking space within the barangay premises so we did not have to look around for a place to park. Registration fee was Php 50 per person, and the guide fee was Php 500 for a day hike which is good for a maximum of 10 people. 

Climbing Mt. Sembrano

We started our hike to Mt. Sembrano at around 6:45AM and as typical with other hikes, the trail starts on a cemented road. After a few minutes of walking and as the cemented trail ended, we were welcomed by soft muddy terrain. We learned that it rained the night before and thus the soil was still wet. Some portion of the trail was a bit inclined and I found the mud to be quite loose that my shoes were sinking in it as I slowly walked. The mud was also stickier than what was sufferable – my shoes were clinging to the mud while I lifted my feet. It was then that I realized that my shoelaces weren’t tied so tightly. Chunks of mud would continuously stick to our shoes while we walked and at some point, our shoes became heavy due to the mud. This went on for a few minutes before we entered the “forest” part of the trail.

We later learned that the muddy trail was actually a recently excavated path that will soon be paved as new road.

  

Some time into the hike, we switched guides with another group as their guide wasn’t wearing any sleeves and their planned trail included more talahib (aka tall grasses) than the trail we’re going into. From here on, we were accompanied by our new guide, Kenneth, who was also amazingly barefooted.

Mud didn’t leave us as the entire trail was full of it, and though cumbersome, we just had to endure along with the uphill trek. A portion of the trail was large step-like rocks which we had to climb on all fours. Gloves proved to be useful as the rocks were wet and it would’ve been slippery with just bare hands. 

We reached Mt. Sembrano’s first peak at 9:40AM after trekking through tall grass and absorbing much sunlight. My arms were already getting more tan as I forgot to wear my arm sleeves prior.

At the first peak of Mt. Sembrano

The view was beautiful and Mt. Sembrano’s top peak was already in sight and looked so near. Only a little bit more hiking and we’d soon conquer this 745 MASL mountain.

The path between the two peaks became tiring as it was once again a continuous ascending trek to the top. All the while, we were trying to shield ourselves from the soaring talahib which were relentless in slamming our faces and sides with its sharp blades. Kenneth cut through the tall talahib with his itak but the mountain’s rest from lack of tourists due to the pandemic let the talahib grow to wild number and height. I finally wore my arm sleeves and we all wore a towel below our hats to protect our faces from being cut.

The sun was unforgiving, the scorching heat piercing our skin as we finally reached the summit before 11AM. There was no sign board indicating that we were at the summit of Mt. Sembrano, but it was alright.

At the summit of Mt. Sembrano

I was glad to sit down for a moment, eat the rest of our food, and quench my thirst while I admire the view and enjoy the moment of conquering this mountain. We didn’t stay for too long as the sun’s heat was too much. 

I found the trip down the mountain to be more difficult than the trip up. Yes, my heart isn’t straining as the way up, but going down is always more painful to my feet and knees while I try to balance my body and not fall down. I have not yet learned how to properly position my feet during a descent so as not to ache when the toes continuously hammer to the tip of the shoes. 

Due to the sun’s heat and the strain of hiking up, we have consumed most of our food and water on our way up. The dehydration and lack of food caught up to me as I felt my head aching and my legs cramping up. I was conserving the little water I had left as we trekked back down.

I’ve always been the slow and steady and slowly but surely type of hiker, but pair that with the dehydration and the foot pain, our trip back to the jump off point took us more than 4.5 hours. We took the same route down as the trail wasn’t a traverse. Fortunately, the entire day’s sun dried up the trail of mud we trekked through in the morning. I was already walking slowly, inching my way through the toe pain and when we reached the town back down, we immediately bought soft drinks from the first sari-sari store we encountered. It was the most heavenly and delicious Royal I’ve drank in my entire life. The measly bottle of cold sugary liquid quenched my thirst at that moment like no other drink has, and helped me power through walking back up to the barangay hall.

Wrapping Up

It was already around 3:45PM when we arrived back at the barangay. The barangay personnel were waiting for us so she could go home, and we washed up before leaving. There was a bathroom within the premises and I took a shower to wash off all the sweat and dirt, leaving me feeling refreshed as we rode our way to our much awaited lunch/merienda/dinner. 

Hearty meal at Bulawan floating restaurant

We ate to our hearts’ content at Bulawan Floating Restaurant in Pilillia, Rizal. Either the food was really good or we were extremely hungry, but we left feeling very satisfied. All the struggle in conquering Mt. Sembrano was worth it. We learned our lesson – don’t skimp on the water and food. I have the feeling I’ll return to this mountain in the future, when it’s not the rainy season, of course.