This morning, my friends Coby and Ryan and I went to San Pablo to check it out. From the national highway from Calauan to San Pablo, we made a left turn to a narrow road in Brgy. San Mateo, and started hiking where the road ended. From there, we followed an existing trail that went straight up, passing through light woodlands with coconuts and patches of pineapple; in just 30 minutes, we were at the top.
At the summit, there are at least two walled structures where the communication towers are housed; these are off-limits. However, on the northwest side of the peak, there is an open area where one can rest by the shade of the trees. Because the peak is flat (or flattened), almost like a small plateau, a 360-degree view is not possible, but you can piece together images from various vantage points to assemble many Southern Tagalog mountains.
Indeed, since it was a very sunny, clear day, we saw Mt. Tagapo and Mt. Sembrano (N) upon Laguna de Bay; there was also the succession of Calauan-Nagcarlan mountains: Mt. Prinza, Mt. Kalisungan, and Mt. Atimla (NE); the Banahaw Trilogy (ENE), Sampaloc Lake (SE), Mt. Malipunyo and oblique to it, Mt. Maculot (SW), and finally, Mt. Makiling (NW). The views of these geographic features, I think, make this short hike a worthy sidetrip after a Kalisungan hike, or a hike-in-itself for those seeking a short but scenic hike. I will let the pictures speak for themselves:
