Rodriguez, Rizal: Wawa Trilogy Version 2

posted on Tuesday, May 1, 2018

After conquering Wawa Trilogy version 1 in late March 2018, Ling and I were back on the trail late April 2018 with Jeff, also a core member in our mountaineering group, Horizon Extreme Adventure Team or HEAT, along with his wife. My cousin’s partner, Darwin, also tagged along.

Compared to our previous Wawa Trilogy climb, we assembled an hour earlier at 3 am in front of Farmer’s Plaza, where the terminal of vans bound for Rodriguez, Rizal is situated. After riding a tricycle from the municipal proper, the whole trip to Barangay San Rafael only took us around 30-45 minutes. We registered and paid P50/person for the registration fee. Barangay registration was very well organized that upon arrival, we also requested for Mhar Cruz, our previous Wawa Trilogy guide. Unfortunately, Mang Mhar wasn’t around so we requested for another local guide who belongs to the Indigenous tribe of Dumagat Remontado. It turned out that we were assigned to Mang Mhar’s uncle, Rolando Cruz, and also 1 of 11 tribal leaders in Rizal. Guide fee for the Wawa Trilogy version 2 is pegged at P800/mountain.

We started ascending Mt. Parawagan at 4:30 am. We chose the steeper and faster route up our first mountain, which is a minor climb with 3 out of 9 level of difficulty. It is highly recommended to start early for Wawa Trilogy climbs especially at this time of year that gets really hot and humid. We reached the summit an hour after and just in time for an amazing sunrise view. Mt. Parawagan’s summit boasts of a 360-degree view of the Rizal and Sierra Madre mountain range along with the urban landscape of Makati and Ortigas.

Our second mountain, Mt. Lagyo, is more similar with the Wawa Trilogy version 1 mountains we scaled last March 2018. They similarly have distinct rock and limestone formations. As a minor climb, it has the same level of difficulty as Mt. Parawagan. We experienced light rains upon our ascent around 7 am. We reached the summit an hour after. The sun then unforgivingly shone her glory at the peak. Though quite challenging, it was fun to traverse the rock formations in the summit. This really helped me get over my fear of crossing steep or knife-edge trails. Also don’t miss exploring the cave near the summit! The underground view is one for the books.

We were off to our third and final mountain, Mt. Susong Dalaga, at around 9 am. It is one notch lower than the two mountains in terms of level of difficulty at 2/9. The trail up Mt. Susong Dalaga is quite exposed to sunlight so expect the heat to somehow slow you down. It took us an hour to reach the summit. Like Mt. Parawagan, Mt. Susong dalaga’s peak also offers an amazing overlooking view of the Rizal and Sierra Madre mountain range. The steep descent down was just the perfect finale for another very rewarding trilogy.

Tip: If you’re planning to do a trilogy, climbs usually start at 4 am. I also highly recommend to get IP guides because they deeply promote responsible tourism. Mhar Cruz, 0996-612-0352. Rolando Cruz, 0912-669-9901.

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