Bob Tongco’s detailed article on Talim written 28 Feb 2001
Here is the article I wrote about our escapade, or was it an escape? Anyway, I don’t know how many of the details you want the world to know so you can just delete portions as you see fit. In any case, I hope all those who read this story and are inspired by it also practice low-impact mountaineering. Thanks for the great learning experience. When’s our next trip? Don’t forget my pasalubong from the US! - Bob
P.S. I wonder if some size 11 CoolMax socks would be comfortable (hint, hint).
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A Weekend in Nature’s Bosom
(Susong Dalaga, Talim Island)
I never imagined I’d be on top of a peak named after a woman’s most noticeable body feature. Definitely not on the third weekend of February, only a few days after Valentine’s. The mountain was Susong Dalaga, the highest point on Talim Island, which is in the middle of Laguna de Bay.
I was in the proverbial right place at the right time, and I knew the right person. In this case, he was Chito. His kind of adventure is a little different from most mountaineers. Instead of going to well-established trails and campsites, he looks for new mountains to explore. On that Thursday evening, we met at Estor Pang Outdoor (free plug!) and told us he was going to Talim Island and reestablishing the Susong Dalaga trail. So I asked if I could bring another friend, Lawrence Dy, and he said yes.
Chito, Lawrence, and I met at Burger King Libis 7AM the following Saturday soon followed by Wilbert Chua. Lawrence offered his van and we accepted, the on-board TV and VCD player was an unexpected bonus. We picked up the last member of our party, Larry Honoridez, whom I had met at Edsa Dos along with Chito and Wilbert. We must have been a pretty motley group since we had a semi-retired businessman in Lawrence, a marketing guru in Chito, a metallurgical engineer in Larry Larry Hillboy Honoridez, a recently liberated computer jock in Wilbert Wilbert Chua, and of course, an equally outgoing biology student in yours truly.
Backpacks loaded, we proceeded to the Cardona wharf to check the banca trip schedule. These fiberglass boats are the only means of getting to Talim Island. They are practically jeepneys and can be flagged down anytime. We parked the van at Sta. Ursula Parish in Binangonan then commuted back to Cardona. The banca we rode was filled with friendly locals all eager to describe the trail, the terrain, and the names of the barangays we would pass. Talim Island is a beautiful place to visit mainly because of its people. They were all very warm and accommodating to us trekkers.
As we left the pier, the weather was sunny and windy; fortunately, it was not very hot. After a thirty-minute boat ride, we arrived at Barangay Lambac at about noon. We were immediately greeted by the self-proclaimed kapitan of the area who was sitting on the “Welcome to Lambac” sign with three of his friends. He asked us if we had permits, what we intended to do on the mountain, and even offered us girls when he found out we were all guys. We didn’t take him seriously since they smelled of gin already. So we proceeded to follow the main eskinita which was a gently sloping, cemented path. And while looking for a sari-sari store, we met Mang Roi, a born-and-bred Lambac native who gave us helpful instructions. He said that the last time anyone was up Susong Dalaga was the year before, and they were all locals. This only made us more excited since it confirmed that the mountain was indeed one of the more forgotten destinations in Luzon.
We stopped to eat lunch under one of the many mango trees on the island. Mang Roi walked up to us again and offered to lead us up to the main trail. As Chito put it, this was a stroke of good fortune and we accepted his offer. The trail was established, but definitely not overused. It was a moderately sloping, rock-strewn path and it was beautiful since there were trees everywhere. We took several rest stops but mostly to look at the view, which, even halfway up the slope, was already breathtaking. At this time, we really began to feel the sun but the wind was up to the challenge. We continued up until we reached a fence erected to keep cows from grazing too far up. Mang Roi then told us we could climb the rest of the way by ourselves. We thanked him and were about to leave when another friendly Talim native came along. This time, he was Mang Rolly on his way to a barangay on the other side of the island. Mang Roi told us Mang Rolly could lead us to the shoulder and show us the way to the peak. Mang Rolly then led us up the increasingly steep trail which soon tired Lawrence out until he volunteered to follow later. Of course, we didn’t let that happen and we finally reached the shoulder together.
It was a small flat area sheltered by a mango tree with an inviting shade. From that vantagepoint, we could already see the Southeastern coast of the bay. Visible were Mt. Sembrano, Mt. Makiling, and a good portion of Talim Island. Lawrence immediately fell asleep while the rest of us discussed the trail and stared at the other peaks on the island. Mang Rolly showed us where the trail to the top of the mountain was and told us that it would be a lot more difficult than the previous trail. We then thanked him and he went on his way down to the other barangay.
We spent about an hour just lying under that big tree. It was a worthy alternative campsite being well shaded and very windy. The view was rewarding and staying there only made us want to (get to the) summit sooner. At about 4PM or so, we decided to go for the peak. It was already visible beyond the treetops and we were sure it wouldn’t take us more than 15 minutes to get there. We followed the trail as best as we could. In some areas, Larry (our pointman extraordinaire) had to scout while the rest of us caught our breath. Eventually, we reached a point where the trail was completely overgrown with tall cogon. Since we could still see the summit and had a vague idea of where the trail was supposed to be, we decided to press on. From that point on, we were bushwhacking our way up the mountain. We tolerated the numerous thorns that pressed on our hands, arms, and legs. It was very slow going and the small shrubs were our only anchors on the mountain’s slope.
Once we were all gasping and Wilbert was getting his legs all wounded, we stopped on a very steep incline to rest. After about thirty minutes more of difficult climbing, we rejoined the trail. This time, we could follow the route even as bamboo had taken over it. We clambered over several clumps and crawled under several others, this was a lot of fun. Another long bushwhack through cogon and we knew we summited when we heard Larry scream with joy.
The summit itself was small, but untouched. There was no proof that others had camped there before us aside from the trail marks. We spent a lot of time looking at the vistas from each side of the peak before we finally decided to set up camp. Our campsite was well organized and very well equipped. Chito, the hardware master, brought a tarp along providing us with a separate cooking and eating area. We also had two tents, a socials area with a view of Metro Manila in the distance, and a lot of space to sit and enjoy the landscape.
We all slept well and were greeted with Larry’s fine breakfast that Wilbert and I failed to enjoy since we had some stomach problems, again due to the fermented sugarcane beverages. It rained just as we were about to leave. Not a strong rain, but a gentle reminder that the campsite wasn’t really ours.
To complete our true traverse of the mountain and the island, we went down another trail leading to Barangay Lanosa. This trail was less steep but was twice as long as the previous day’s hike. It was even more beautiful, as we went through grasslands, several other campsites, a bamboo grove, a forest, and the final half-kilometer was through a rock-strewn waterway that was dry at that time. We finally reached our destination at 1PM and headed straight to this sari-sari store for much needed refreshments. We got on another banca that stopped so many times for passengers. It would leave a barangay dock only to be waved back moments later by latecomers. The boat ride was almost an hour long and provided us with a look at the other side of the island. The houses on this side were smaller and spaced closer together so that the barangays lost their boundaries. We got to Binangonan and prayed in the beautiful and very old Sta. Ursula Church before we left. We stopped by Danny Balandra’s Danny Balandra house in Angono where we had fried itik and gourmet pancit canton while enjoying his hospitality before finally heading to Manila.
The week before, Chito, Larry, Wilbert, and Danny, attempted to reach Susong Dalaga but had to settle for one of the other peaks on Talim. We were lucky to finally be able to reach the highest point on the island. The lessons I learned on that climb will never equal the sheer exhilaration of reaching the summit after a challenging ascent. The quiet on that mountaintop was as rare as the clean air and the brisk, cool wind. On the way down, the weather was as perfect as the climb, the company, and the memories of the weekend spent away from the world. I would wish that more exciting events happened while we were at the summit, but nothing could have been more exciting than sitting down and absorbing nature.
[The kapitan turned out to be the Barangay Captain of another barangay. What he was doing in Lambac and why he was drunk by lunchtime remains a mystery.]
Bob Tongco
Outdoor Enthusiast
February 28, 2001
