#TaleOfTheTrail Tung-Tong Falls (Brgy Cuyambay, Tanay, Rizal)

Posted by Franc on 4. July 2017

#TaleOfTheTrail visits the 10K loop for the upcoming BTR Double Terrain Challenge on August 6, 2017. It’s a run-able loop featuring various views of Mount Paliparan. The route also has a river trail stretch heading to Tung-Tong Falls before it goes on an uphill journey. It’s newbie friendly… for most parts.

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Race Details for: BTR Double Terrain Challenge

Tale Of The Trail

After being away for a week in Taipei, I’m back! The first thing I did was to look for a trail this weekend. I was able to tag along the Be Trail Ready Gang to explore the 10K distance for their upcoming race on August 6, 2017. It starts at Brgy Cuyambay exploring the Paliparan trails heading to Tung-Tong Falls. We did a version of this trail before by climbing Mount Paliparan, which was a bit more technical compared to this one. The trail is newbie friendly and after being busy for a week with work, there’s nothing like a feel good trail to kick my return to the trails.

Map and Elevation

Map and Elevation Powered by Suunto Ambit 3 Sports

The route starts at Brgy Cuyambay Hall in Tanay, Rizal and proceeds directly to wide dirt tracks with rolling terrain to Tuuy at Km 5. The trail shifts to river treks with a mix of dirt tracks, river crossings, rocky paths and stony boulders heading to Tung-Tong Falls at Kilometer 7. The route shifts to a steep uphill climb for a kilometer before going back to rolling terrain heading back to Brgy Cuyambay.

Trekking Tung-Tong Falls

Destination Tung-Tong Falls

I met up with the Be Trail Ready Gang headed by DBB at Jollibee PhilCoa at 6:30 am before heading out to Tanay. They’ll be having a race called Double Terrain Challenge on August 6, 2017 at Brgy Cuyambay, Tanay, Rizal. We made our way to Tanay and arriving at Brgy Cuyambay around 8 am. If you’re taking the main road in Tanay, the road to Barangay Cuyambay is the road downward in front of Pico De Pino.

Wide dirt tracks for most part of the course.

The area is a familiar course for me since we did a reverse of this the last time we did Mount Paliparan. When we passed by this loop before it was muddy and running but it was really run-able. We started our recon mission from Cuyambay Barangay Hall and we immediately entered the trails. It was wide dirt roads for most part of the way. We went at talking pace since we had a lot of common plans with the BTR Gang when it comes to trail running. We do hope that some of those plans become a reality for the benefit of the community.

Tuuy

We barely noticed the time and we have already done half of the distance. We were in Tuuy. I find this place somewhat of a Switzerland kind of a view without the Alps, of course. The background is Mount Paliparan and it was beautiful. 5 kilometers done and I can say this was the run-able section of the trail. There were short climbs but it was still tolerable. We had our break for some food and fresh buko juice before we resumed the recon.

Same view of Tuuy a few months ago.

We resumed our run. This time it was on river treks with a mix of dirt roads, rocky paths, river crossing and some stoney boulders. We were a bit slower here because the surface was more technical and you have to plan out each of our step. There is also a slow ascent already at this point. I like routes being a bit technical because it keeps my mind thinking. It feels like a chess match where you have to plot your moves a few steps at a time. The area is a bit covered and the boulders was bit of a challenge.

A little bit of bouldering.

It took another 2 kilometers of river treks to reach the highlight of the 10K loop which was the Tung-Tong Falls. It’s in the 7th kilometer of the loop and it’s a really nice falls with a large basin of water for a dip. You can even jump at the top of the falls if you’re brave enough.

Tung-Tong falls.

We took a dip here and some even dived from the top of the falls. The water in the basin is cold, which is just perfect if you want to get refreshed from the heat of the sun. It’s also an excellent place to rest as the next kilometer would be a climb.

After a short swim in the basin of Tung-Tong falls, we went back to the trail. The first 7 kilometer was a breeze and this was the part that the route would slow down as the 7th kilometer is a really steep climb. It’s one steep climb after another so we took this one slowly but surely. It’s called Double Terrain Challenge after all.

Steep Climb

Anytime, you’re coming from a river or a falls, expect the the trail to go upwards. The steep climb is the section I love to hate yet somehow, I always look forward to this challenges. It defines the race and gives it a more lasting imprint. I take it one effort after another as I would rest after surpassing a steep section of the trail.

One effort after another

It took several efforts of digging deep and pushing myself. That was an exhausting climb but I do enjoy those huffing and puffing moments. The best views comes after the difficult part and I’ll let the photo below do the talking.

The scenic view after the climb.

We rested in a hut while awaiting the rest of the group. After the hut, it was back to the rolling wide dirt roads. We then headed back to the Barangay Hall to wrap up the recon. Yes, I can say that this one is a newbie friendly course. It has its share of challenges but it’s a doable course for the newbies just get ready to dig deep at kilometer 7. We finished it at around 2:30 and their cut-off time is 4 hours. We were in talking pace the whole time.

See you at BTR – Double Terrain Challenge

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Posted under My Travels and tagged with August 6, Cuyambay, Double Terrain Challenge, Tale Of The Trails, Tanay
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