Rodriguez, Rizal: Mascap Twin Hike

posted on Monday, June 4, 2018

It was a trilogy turned twin hike during the first week of June 2018 with Sid and Tna, both core members in our mountaineering group, Horizon Extreme Adventure Team or HEAT. It was our second climb together this year after our Mt. Pigingan climb last February.

After doing versions 1 and 2 of the Wawa Trilogy last March and April 2018, we planned to conquer the nearby barangay of Mascap’s trio next: Mt. Ayaas-Mt. Espadang Bato-Mt. Sipit Ulang. We assembled by 3 am in front of Farmer’s Plaza, where the terminal of vans bound for Rodriguez, Rizal is located. Afterwards, expect a long, bumpy tricycle ride going to Barangay Mascap with P150 fixed fare. The barangay registration was very well organized that after paying the registration fee of P50/person, we were assigned to our local guide, Marcelino. Guide fee is pegged at P500/mountain. I requested for an Indigenous People or IP guide but the barangay apparently doesn’t have one. They have around 40 local guides in Mascap.

We started ascent of Mt. Ayaas at 5:30 am. It is the tallest mountain in Rodriguez, Rizal and also a minor climb with 3 out of 9 level of difficulty. Ayaas was coined from the Filipino word, Ahas, as the mountain was believed to be home to snakes years ago. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any during our climb. Due to overnight rain, the trail was muddy as hell and very slippery. We trekked past a river and assaulted wood and grasslands. We reached the summit by 7 am. The challenging climb made the 360-degree view of the Rizal and Sierra Madre mountain range very much worth it.

We were up our second mountain, Mt. Espadang Bato, by 8:30 am. It is also considered a minor climb with 3 out of 9 level of difficulty. Based on experience conquering Wawa Trilogy versions 1 and 2, the trek up Mt. Espadang Bato is quite similar to Mt. Lagyo with banana and bamboo trees lining up the trail. The rock formations, however, are steeper and more defined in Mt. Lagyo. Though we experienced rainfall while climbing Mt. Lagyo, we weren’t pestered by mud like what we experienced in Mt. Espadang Bato. The mud simply made each step heavier. But the summit view made up for the challenging muddy climb. The rock formation likened to a knife or espada in Filipino was the hike’s highlight.

Our trilogy was cut short when we experienced heavy downpour while descending Mt. Espadang Bato. The muddy experience in our back-to-back climbs made us abort our trek up our third mountain. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the day’s twin hike.

For Mascap climbs, you can contact Marcelino, our local guide: 0991-682-1554, 0907-418-9629.

See also our climb up Mt. Apo, Mt. Oro-Mt. Sipit Ulang, Mt. Arayat, Wawa Trilogy 2, Wawa Trilogy 1, Laiban Trilogy, Maynuba Circuit, Mt. Batolusong, Mt. Binutasan, Nagpatong-Mt. Masungki, Mt. Balagbag and Mt. Tagapo.