THELOSTOPPA

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen.” – René Daumal

I always wanted to go for a hike but no one tries to invite me until my sister did. Unhesitatingly I joined to their hike of Mt. 387 at Brgy. Puncan, Caranglan, Nueva Ecija headed by J Flores for 850 pesos mandatory fee all in.

The name Mt. 387 was given to Batong Amats (Ghost Rock) because the area covers about 387.9 hectares. The Kalinga sa Kalikasan ng Puncan adopted the mountain. They entered into a memorandum of agreement with the DENR in order to protect and preserve the mountain. They opened it to mountaineers last January 2017. It was considered as the chocolate hills of the north.

Mountain Status
Name of Mountain: Mount 387
Location: Puncan, Caranglan, Nueva Ecija
Entry point: Mr. Roy Manuzon Residence
Entry point coordinates: LAT 15.90506 LONG 120.99212
Summit Coordinates: LAT 15.89990 LONG 120.97460
Elevation: 724 MASL
Hours to Summit: 3 Hours
Specs: Minor Climb, Trail Class 1
Difficulty Level: Backtrail (2/9); Traverse (4/9)
Phone Signal: +++
Sample Itinerary from Cubao

10:00 PM: MEET UP  @CUBAO

11:00 PM : ETD TO NUEVA ECIJA

03:00 AM: ETA TO BRGY. PUNCAN, CARRANGLAN NUEVA ECIJA (LANDMARK INC CHURCH)

04:00 AM: START ASCEND

05:30 AM: VIEW DECK

07:00 AM: ETA SUMMIT

08:30 AM: LOVERS TREE

09:00 AM: START DESCEND

10:30 AM: PACKED LUNCH

11:30AM : START TRECK ALOHA FALLS

12:30 PM: ETA ALOHA FALLS

02:00 PM: ETD ALOHA FALLS

03:00 PM: BACK OFF JUMP OFF

04:00PM : ETD NUEVA ECIJA TO MANILA

08:00 PM: ETA CUBAO 

Sample Itinerary from Tarlac

12:00AM : MEET UP  METRO TARLAC

12:30AM : ETD TO NUEVA ECIJA
03:00 AM: ETA TO BRGY. PUNCAN, CARRANGLAN NUEVA ECIJA (LANDMARK INC CHURCH)
04:00 AM: START ASCEND
05:30 AM: VIEW DECK
07:00 AM: ETA SUMMIT
08:30 AM: LOVERS TREE
09:00 AM: START DESCEND
10:30 AM: PACKED LUNCH
11:30AM : START TRECK ALOHA FALLS
12:30 PM: ETA ALOHA FALLS
02:00 PM: ETD ALOHA FALLS
03:00 PM: BACK OFF JUMP OFF
04:00PM : ETD NUEVA ECIJA TO TARLAC
06:00 PM: ETA TARLAC
Things to bring

✔️HEADLAMPS

✔️EXTRA CLOTHES

✔️SHOES/SLIPPERS/SANDALS

✔️TRAIL FOOD

✔️WATER (2 liters of water is recommended)

✔️CAMERA

✔️POWER BANK

✔️EXTRA MONEY

✔️EMERGENCY PONCHO

✔️PERSONAL TOILETRIES

✔️PERSONAL MED KIT

✔️SUNBLOCK/REPELLANT

Trail To Summit

At exactly 3 AM we have arrived at the jump-off site. Upon arrival at the jump-off site, registration is required and a short history and orientation will be given by Mr. Roy. We are asked to bring 1 bottle of water per person to water the trees that the old hikers planted in the mountain. Our trail guide was Kuya Rodrigo and Joseph. Before we start the trail we had a group prayer and an introduction to each other about who are we and what is our mother mountain. We start to ascend at 4 AM as planned.

JUMP OFF POINT (MR. ROY ON THE LEFT PHOTO)

The View Deck, Summit & The Lovers Tree

We were just in time to watch the sunrise behind the mountains when we reach the summit. The ascent was kinda challenging but fun. The view of the mountain range was truly awesome and worth the climb. Here are some of our photos at the summit and view deck.

After reaching the summit we went to this tree called "Lover's Tree".  

This tree is the only pine tree on the summit.  They believe that whoever climbs the tree will find their love. After the photo ops at the lover's tree, we stayed and rest under the pine trees near the lover's tree.

While everyone is relaxing in this area I remembered the movie Bird Box because of its location so I quickly asked my sister to take me a photo like I'm at the Bird Box movie and here's how it end up.

The trail to Aloha Falls
After an hour of stay under the pine trees, we begin our adventure to Aloha falls. This was the most challenging and fun part of trekking. You need to climb, rappel, and/or slide before you reach the Aloha Falls.

After a long stay at the falls, we continue the trekking until we reached the waiting area where the truck would take us to the jump-off point. Riding on a truck feels like a roller coaster ride. 

As we reached the jump-off point. We had our boodle fight.

 

 

Steep trails, rolling slopes, and never-ending inclined terrains, everything was worth the climb. I am ready for my next adventure.

 

NOTE!!
*Hike at your own risk
*Itinerary is just a basis and not absolute or will not be 100% perfect due to many factors such as weather condition, participants pacing, traffic, etc.

REMINDER!!!
*Kill nothing but time
*Take nothing but pictures
*Leave nothing but footprints.