Historical "Kasumuran" Hike

Sa kasaysayan ng bansa pinaniniwalaang ang “Rehiyon Kasumuran” ay ang mga bayan mula  Nagcarlan sa Laguna hanggang Mauban sa Quezon kung saan may malakas na daloy ng tubig mula sa “Volcan de Agua” na kilala ngayon bilang Bundok Banahaw. At dahil nga sa ganda at naguumapaw na likas yaman ng mga lugar sa “Rehiyon Kasumuran”, sa bayan ng Nagcarlan angkop na ipinatayo ang isa sa mga kaunaunahang hydro electric power plant sa Pilipinas. Sinimulan noong 1933 at natapos ng taong 1938 sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng Philippine Power Development Corporation o kilala sa Nagcarlan bilang PHILPODECO. Nasa sitio Balugbog, brgy. Palina, ang enerhiya mula sa planta ang nagbigay tanglaw sa mga bayan ng Liliw at Nagcarlan mula ng pinasimulan ang operasyon nito hanggang taong 1983.

Sa kasalukuyan, bagaman ipinaubaya na ng PHILPODECO ang lokal na pangangasiwa at and direktang pagbibili ng kuryente para sa mga bayan ng LIliw at Nagcarlan, nananatili pa rin ang operasyon ng planta at patuloy na lumilinang ng enerhiya upang ipasa sa National Power Corporation.

Maaaring lingid sa kamalayan ng maraming mamamayan na ang Balugbog Hydroelectric Power Plant ay isang kayamanang naghihintay lamang mapansin, malinang at ipagmalaki.  Ang lugar ay may mayamang kasaysayang makapagbibigay ng karagdagang pagkilala sa bayan ng Nagcarlan.”

Our assembly will be in CGMES in front of Candido Cariaga Bldg. at 5:30 in the morning. While waiting for other participants we can have some warm-up exercises before we proceed to our hike destination at exactly 6:00.

Upon our descend to the banks of the infamous Talahibing River, we will have glimpses of  the nostalgic “Burubok” and “Tu-ong” which were famous picnic spots to our older kababayans. We continue our hike going north east until reaching an aqueduct leading to the plant.  Please ready yourselves for some splashes of water when crossing the river. Hiking the trail going to the plant is extra exciting for some “bayawaks” roaming along the canal so have your camera handy and ready. At one portion of the canal is a good viewpoint of the great Mt. Banahaw side by side with equally beautiful Mt. San Cristobal.  Participants may stop for a while and have some good souvenir pictures.  The area is also a fishing spot of “bakuli” and “patlay” so expect to see some folks with their traditional “baliswasnan at tigad” catching fish for their family’s consumption. We will have our group picture at a spot near the plant entrance. Then upon approval we will get to see the plant and its turbines still operating and producing energy. After some good pictures, participants may opt to climb back to the fore bay area where there still have lots of good spots for picture taking.  Others may take their snacks or have some time talking to other participants.

Please take our rubbish with us and respect the environment.

When everybody is ready, we then regroup and prepare ourselves for the hike back to town taking the other trail towards brgy. Palina proper.  The hike back to town is a 2km easy hike where you get to see more of Nagcarlan countryside before we cross the concrete Talahibing bridge to wrap up our Historical Kasumuran Hike.

Elevation is from about 196 masl to about 258 masl and is recommended for beginners or inexperienced hikers.