Tarak Ridge

I was introduced to Tarak Ridge when one of my friends went there last year. He told me that its main feature is the strong wind. Blogs affirm to the claim. And I was given the chance to confirm it amidst heavy rain brought about by the tail of typhoon Falcon.

A view of the mountain under the spell of typhoon Falcon.

When I got off from the bus at the jump-off point in Alasasin (pronounced as Alas-asin), it was raining hard. When the weather got worse, I thought of going back home to enjoy the comfort that my bed can offer. But knowing myself, there was nothing to worry about rain-trekking. In my mind, as long as I am in a group, there is nothing to think about.

Louie, Bong and Dindo in front of the landmark at the jump-off to Tarak Ridge in Alasasin, Mariveles, Bataan.

Together with Dindo and Bong, we had sisig at Erlinda’s Eatery. After thirty minutes, Louie arrived. The rain kept on pouring. It was getting hard. And my enthusiasm was slowly going down with the water in the drainage. The two sides of the main street looked like a waterway. People kept looking at us, which bothered me, not with their stares but with their thoughts. When Rey got off from the bus, I knew that we had to proceed. From the words of Dindo, “makulit ang akyat na ‘to.”



After registration at the barangay hall (40pesos), we then proceeded in high spirit. We put on and off our ponchos because the rain was also on and off like the lights in most red rooms. What is nice with Tarak is the nearness of the jump-off point to the main street. There are houses along the way at the commencement of the trek. So, expect that people would tend to ask you things, which they know already or that the answers are pretty obvious. Queries like “Aakyat kayo?” and “Magta-Tarak kayo?” are common.

When we reached the DENR station cum Nanay Daldal’s nook cum stop-over, the rain had temporarily stopped. We were treated to a sight of dead python. Nanay Daldal claimed that she was the one who single-handedly killed the snake. Bong playfully posed with it. And I never went near to it. You can see here banners of different mountaineering groups. After leaving Nanay’s nook, the rain started to pour again. Owing to the fluidity of water, it made the trails their home. There was no other option but to soak our shoes and sandals to get moving.

In the forest, the colours of our ponchos seemed like moving cartels of kiddie playgrounds: yellow for Bong, violet for Louie, grey (which is a bit dull) for Dindo, green for me, lucid yellow for Rey (with, of course, his red umbrella). The clouds were stubborn; they kept on blocking the view. Though the trail was a bit easy at the start, it became seemingly impenetrable after the first open area. Coronitas (Lantana camara) and rattan throng the area, with the thorny stems thwarting the excitement of trekking.

Small falls adorn the trail up to the summit. According to Rey, some of these are not as nice looking as they are in the rainy season. With the water flowing like shawls, the falls provided lots of pretty background for picture-taking. Just be careful as the water current might be strong, enough to cause swaying or imbalance on your position. Be sure to have your own trekking pole or anything that would make you stable throughout the course of crossing the catchments. The Papaya River, which is one of the highlights of Tarak Ridge, was raging like a roaring lion. The sound of the falling water filled up my sense of hearing that I could not almost hear when they talk to me, except when they shout.

A short past distance from the mighty Papaya River, we decided to eat our packed lunch. When it was about time to proceed, I realised that I have lost my eyeglasses. And I was telling them that I put it on the log, which was felled by nature. Minutes ago while they were eating, Bong noticed that rice kept falling from his container. He did not attribute that to clumsiness, he believed that something paranormal was going on.

As my sight was significantly assuaged, I trailed behind the group. It was getting dark because of the weather and the dense canopy. Rey told us to prepare our headlamps. Dindo acted us my eyes and guided me through the mini-labyrinths of Tarak Ridge. Bong led us to the monkey-trail part. Rey and Louie formed the head, Bong as the mid-man, and Dindo and me as the tail. The three waited for us at the grassy part near the summit. Rey showed us the part where the gustiness of the wind is unbearable. Because of the extremely strong winds, we decided to camp at the forested part not-so-far from the summit.

We brought four tents, but we decided to install only three. Bong had his sturdy tadpole tent, Louie in his tent, and Rey and Dindo in my tent. Rey ensured my tent's durability and sturdiness against Tarak's winds by binding the poles with lots of pegs and ties, in addition to his flysheet as the vestibule.

Rey cooked sinigang na baboy with chops of chicken and gabi. I brought suka na may sili (6-month old) but we never used it. During their face-to-face match with 1-litre GSM Blue, Rey and Dindo talked about almost everything, from family matters to Bakun Trio, from luminous eyes to avian tweets. Louie refused to drink with them. I served as their audience, enough to affirm or reject statements in times when they needed a third-party opinion.

I have done rain-trekking in Mt Daguldul but I never experienced hypothermia (mild or serious). In Tarak, I chilled twice: right after the booze session and dawn the following day. While I was chilling, I got scared because I did not know what to do. I could not move my body because I was really shivering like an earthquake shaking the Hyatt Hotel.

The following day, the weather was still not good. Since the four of us (except Rey) were first-timers, we tried our best to go to the peak and not mind the strong wind. Rey was left at the campsite to cook for our breakfast. We had our lunch at 1100H and hiked down at 1200H. We wanted to stay longer but we needed to go down because the local people might think that something had happened to us. We met Eric, Casey and another Dexter at the Papaya River. Rain had stopped. The python at Nanay Daldal's nook was already trashed out. But the dogs near the mini-Baguio part were still there. We left Mariveles at 1730H with the thought of "Fairy Godmother" and "Faster" playing in the small screen of the bus. Fare is 222pesos for students (Mariveles to Pasay).