After living nearby this mountain for several years, seeing it daily from my office and driving past it, I finally got around to hiking to it’s North peak. Although it’s not really the “mountaineering adventure” I am used to climbing in Scottish winter conditions and rock climbing in North Wales, it provides a different type of challenge Not least the tropical heat and humidity, dehydration issues and various jungle nasties. The NPA, the maoist/communist “army” of the Philippines sometimes caused trouble in this area camping and hiding out in the heavily forested areas, there are now Police and military patrols in the national park so it’s quite safe these days.
As maps both road and wilderness, maps in the Philippines are pretty sketchy and inaccurate I rely very much on google earth and GPS tracks from others and my own gut instinct to find the way. On this occasion however I had a friend with me who had hiked the North Peak of Arayat many times before.
The route tot he highest peak, North Peak, starts on the Magallang not Arayat side of the mountain. the nearest god landmark I could mention is the agricultural college just outside of Magallang town. We parked close to the trail head where a newly concreted road leads up to a dead end where the jungle takes over and the hike for real starts.
There is a small sari sari store that sells some snacks and drinks known locally and to regular hikers on Arayat as “7-11″. We however were carrying enough water and food for our day hike so no need to fill up there. However if you want to save a few kilos on the first 30 minutes of the walk you can buy here.
THe trail continues through the heavily forested virgin jungle. There’s plenty of bird and animal sounds to listen to on the way. There are supposed to be monkeys living in the jungle here also although I never heard or saw signs of any. There’s a few places you could go wrong along the way, in general you should keep tot he right side paths. Another tip, if you don’t see any trash on the floor for a few minutes you are probably off route. Unfortunately there is a lot of trash littering the way such as empty chocolate wrappers etc. Around half way up there is a fresh spring with a plastic pipe from where you can refill with water if necessary.
From there the route gets a little steeper winding past some interesting looking trees. You will come to a small clearing and a fallen tree rather like a bench. Here you can turn off and make a 7 minute detour to white rock. I can recommend this, as it gives great views and a good place to stop and enjoy the atmosphere before the final steep part to the summit. There is also a statue of the Virgin Mary cemented into the rock here.
Back on the main trail things get much steeper. You may find it necessary to use your hands in places for balance as you climb up short sections of trees roots. It’s around 35-40 minutes of steep hiking to the North Peak. At the North peak there is a small radio mast and a building that houses some PNP (Philippine National Police) who patrol the area. Fill in their log book (no charge) to say you were there and that’s it. There is a cleared flat area that gives good views across tot he South Peak, the Pinnacle and the ridge joining them. This cleared area was a helicopter pad in days gone by. Now however the PNP staff told me that everything is hand carried up there.
I explored a little bit of the route going down to the ridge that joins the North and South Peaks. This is now on my list of things to do, the Arayat traverse from North to South.
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