Mt. Pulag

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2,922m Above Sea-level
Kabayan, Benguet
Cordillera Administrative Region
28 to 29 April 2012
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"The good thing about being a landscape photographer is that you have to seek out the landscape. You've got to be there, you've got to be present."

-- Per Bak Jensen

A friend from work and I had to arrange our schedules months before to secure 2 days rest for this trip. Both of us knew that it WILL be hell for us to go to work immediately after the climb itself so it was necessary that our bodies recuperate from the beating. And we were bloody right.

taken at the campsite

We left Manila for Baguio via the bus terminal at Cubao at around 0130H and arrived there 6 hours later. First thing that greeted us was the colder-than-usual morning weather and, of course, these:

jeeps... XD

Baguio is a city, so it isn't at all surprising to see it bustling with activity.

I've only been to Baguio twice (this is my second time), so I'm not at all familiar with the place. That's why it was practical that we had someone in the group who knows the area. I mean, he's not overly familiar with it but we're all confident that we're not bound to get lost or anything. :)

Anyway, we waited for about a few minutes for the jeep that would take us all the way to Benguet. From Baguio City, travel time will be around 2 hours tops.

pimp mah ride! :D

Long ride ahead so you better be geared with nibbles and water, but don't bring too much because you're bound to regret it. :| In any case that you don't have nibbles (or drinking water), there's this modest canteen halfway through where we stopped by for late breakfast at around 0800H to 0900H. By 1100H, we stopped by the DENR office for registration and a 15-minute mandatory orientation. Souvenirs are also available here, and I even bought a shirt and a pair of (very useful) gloves for the climb.

DENR Office Entrance.

Team ID tags were also handed-out.

For lunch, we had to endure a few bumpy minutes in the jeep to reach a place near the base of the mountain. It was exactly 1200H when we reached our destination. When we did though, this was the first thing that I saw:

no, it's not THE Rice Teraces. Unfortunately. :(

 

straw for the Nipa Hut

gearing up for the trail ahead

 Then after, the real-rough-trail begins. We felt like we were inside a blender while traversing the, otherwise, one-way road towards the Ranger's outpost at the base of the mountain. Lunch was gone in an instant and we had to endure an hour's worth of bumpy ride with a cliff on one side, it was hard not to entertain daunting thoughts of toppling-over. After all that trouble, the jeep stopped. I thought it was the Ranger's Outpost already, but we were informed that it was just the "stop-over".

it is... not as easy as it looks. @_@

We NEED to walk 2 kilometers of steep hill to reach the Ranger's Outpost. Yes, with our heavy packs in-tow. It wasn't easy at all with our heavy loads but endure, we must. There is no turning back now. Halfway-through, I removed my jacket because I was already sweating despite the cold weather. -_-

At the Ranger's Station...

The Team, minus one. XD

 We stayed there for a couple of minutes, arranging things and finding-out which site would we set-up camp. Then we found out that we can hire someone to carry our packs for us. :D Since price was cheap, I decided that it would probably be good for me to hand it over because I'm hopeless with that heavy pack on my back.


From here on, the trail begins.

you'll see plenty of these along the trail...

closest I could get to the real thing. unfortunately, THE Banaue Rice Terraces was
still 2-4 hours away from where we were. :<

Bathala's Gift

yes, travel light please. :)

that grass over there is as good as bermuda. :D

moist! on my lens! *gasp*

again: pack light. travel light.

An hour of trekking later, we finally managed to reach Camp One...

 

Still TOO far from the top. No one stayed here.

rest... rest... rest...

... and onward.

I suggest not paying any heed to these markings.
It gets depressing after a while... XD

Just concentrate on the trail... :)

and finally...

(no edits! swear!) FINALLY. Camp 2!

 ... Or not.


After basking at our accomplishment, we were promptly informed by our team leader that our camp site was on Camp 2- extension. That basically means, we have to climb a steep hill just to reach area. @__@

it was worth it though. :) again, no edits!

Right? :)
(this one... I cheated with instagram. haha.)

We had to hurry with setting-up our tents because sunlight's almost out. Good thing I had prior experiences in setting up a tent (re: Anawangin Cove trip), so I had little to no problem at all. 

... let there be light!

aside for the texts, that black patch to your left was not even edited,
so yes. it was THAT pitch-dark.

 For those planning to go to Mt. Pulag, I'd advise you to bring a portable cooking set and utensils because you're not allowed to search for wood and light up a fire on the ground. It will be disastrous if you did. If not for the ridiculously cold weather than can go down to -3 degrees Centigrade at 2-3am, the ground full of grass can easily be ignited with the smallest spark. And speaking of the cold weather, this is where our jackets became extremely useful. Prepping for sleep and sleeping itself was a chore, so if you have to bring tents, make SURE that there's plenty of room to move around. Bring a sleeping bag too to ward-off dew drops and if you're as strong as a bull, bring a blanket as well. I wish I was exaggerating but it was really THAT cold.


Summit Assault began at 3am. A bottle of water and heavy-duty flashlights are a definite MUST because (1) you'll regret it if you don't bring water and (2) it's a bitch if you bring a weaker type of flash light. Trail's easy enough, but because of the dark, difficulty level gets upgraded tremendously.

this sight negates all the troubles encountered though...

the view behind-- because everyone's busy looking at the sunrise.

 

well, I don't blame them. XD

what's inside the bulky jacket: wool sweat-shirt, thick towel,
and black cotton shirt

improved lighting conditions... :D

and, of course, the obligatory "after" pic:
Miss Funky Socks!

Landscape Photo Shoot...

That's Rina. XD

over-looking Camp 3.

You spend as much time as you want on the summit until everything finally sinks-in. One of the locals will be designated as your guide, and he'll take care of you from the Ranger's outpost to the summit and back again. :)

the looooong way down.

 

see that? we were up there a few minutes ago.

shadow people.

the Akiki Trail: the other, HARDER trail. XD

random person. XD

Back at the camp site...

camp 2 - extension

after breaking camp.

And the loooong way down begins. :)

and the descent begins-- don't worry. it's easier. XD

 

i met a friend along the way... :)

VERDICT: Everything was worth all that trouble.

Know what? I'm actually torn between wanting to go back and not going back after finding out that there are two trails. One reason for my hesitation is because it's hard. Well, not really hard, but it was tiring as heck. I still want to see the water source and the hanging bridge on the other trail but I heard that it was harder to traverse that path than this. Then again, I thought, there were others who were less fit than I am but still managed somehow so I guess I could do it too.

A word of advise to those who are planning to go there: if you have (or a companion has) asthma, hypertension, cardiac problems, altitude sickness or anything, make SURE to bring medications or advise him not to go at all. The trail is not for those who cannot handle stress or strenuous activities. Even if you say trekking is just walking, IT IS STILL strenuous activity. Case in point, we have someone there who is asthmatic; and because my companion and myself are known to the group as emergency nurses, we felt the need to stick by his side all the time, especially when we noticed his pale face and that he already looked as if he was about to faint any moment soon.

The other group had someone who was hypertensive, and she wasn't looking good at all so they had to stop periodically. To make things worse, she did not bring her medicine. Good job. Nothing bad happened, but still it would be troublesome to worry your companions, right? :) Besides, it's not as if they can bring you to a hospital in five minutes. It will take hours to do that, so do yourself a favor if you know you have an illness that can be triggered by stress and too much activity. :)