My Travel Blog: Mount Pulag, the second highest- second to me.

Being born in Baguio City, I always wanted to one day climb the highest mountain around here. Unfortunately, the opportunity never presented itself…until last January 2013. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was given time off from work and had enough time to finally realize my dream of climbing the highest mountain in Luzon, Mt. Pulag.

The timing couldn’t have been better! Most of the old troops are available, and we often talked about one day conquering this mighty highland. So I decided to take the next available trip up to Baguio City and meet up with the gang, saddle up, and get it started!

We packed up our gears, tents, clothing, and food…lots of food- from canned goods to bread to water. This is our first time climbing together, we wanted to be organized and ready- but nothing could prepare us from what was in stored for us.

We went early to the “Slaughter House” bus station for the ride to Bokod but was informed that the bus would be leaving 10:00 am which was too late for us. There are vans available which can leave earlier and the fare is around P120 so we took one after a quick breakfast. For those who plan to eat near the bus station and are under a tight budget, ask and check the prices first. We made the wrong choice of eating at what we thought would be a regular carinderia but the prices reflected otherwise.

Our van left before 9AM and took the Ambuklao road. We had the chance to take a quick stop at the Ambuklao dam and took some pictures. I plan the next time I come here, I should spend more time at the dam. The structure amazed me, and come to think, this is the first time I’ve seen one. We continued our way and stopped over at Jang Jang eatery at Bangao, Ambuklao for a cup of coffee since we just had breakfast. You can have a nice view at the back of the eatery while you sip on your coffee or check the fresh tilapias and giant karpas for sale nearby.

Ambuklao Dam

Jang Jang Eatery

Karpa Fish

Behind Jang Jang Eatery

We reached Ambangeg before lunch where we registered and had a quick orientation at the DENR Protected Area Office. After we watched a video presentation, the more we were eager to reach the peak of this “playground of the gods”. We bought dressed chicken and some veggies before we started walking again. I love the highland goodies; one kilo of tomato is only P20! That’s gold back in Manila!

DENR Orientation

DENR Office

Start walking!

OK, the plan was to walk all the way to the ranger station and take the Ambangeg trail. Based on blogs we’ve read and from asking the locals, they said it should only take 3 hours to get to the station. The path was mostly dirt road and some parts are under development to concrete roads. The roads were sets and sets of up-hills and down-hills that just never ended. At the end of the first hour, we started to feel the intensity of walking these roads. I knew we can’t make it before it gets dark.

I was getting weak fast, not because I was tired but because my back started to ache bad due to the steepness of the road. Most up-hill roads are elevated to about 20-25 degrees; the stress was killing my spine. The trail water we were carrying also ran out fast due to the often breaks we had to make. These did not stop us from moving, we knew we had a task, we had a target, we planned this for so long- we will not back down. It’s amazing what a person can do with an adamant will, and will- we have. As if the gods of Pulag recognized our will, an “elf” truck that delivered cement and construction supplies was on its way up-hill to the Ranger Station. We were able to hitch a ride and that’s when I realized two things; one, this place is beautiful almost untouched. It’s like going back in time, the trees are covered in moss and almost frozen. It’s already high noon but the vegetation is still moist and dews sparkle in the sunlight. Two, the road is long…it took us almost 25 minutes on a truck, I can only imagine how long it would have taken us carrying our packs up-hill.

Hitched a truck ride!

The truck reached its destination, it was still about 1.5 Km away from the Ranger Station but we were more than thankful to the courteous local who saved us from the uncertainty of the road we were on earlier. We had a long walk ahead of us, so we refilled our water bottles and started to walk again.

Picture before setting off to Ranger Station

We had to pick up the pace if wanted to have a meal at the Ranger Station before setting off to the camp site. The path is still up-hill and our legs can only take so much, we had to divert our attention off the stress and fatigue so we took pictures and laughed it off. The vegetable gardens here are amazing, it’s like Farmville in real life: correction- it is Farmville in real life!

Take time to rest your legs, anyone can be a victim of leg cramps.

If it gets worse, both leg cramp

We finally reached the Ranger Station at 4:00 pm. We cooked rice and opened some canned goods to fill our tummies for another long walk. Here we met Felisi (I hope I got her name correct), a local guide. She informed us that it can take 2-3 hours depending on the pace. We had a quick rest and started to walk again, we left the Ranger Station at 5:00 pm.

The first leg of the trail covers more vegetable gardens. After 20 minutes, you’ll reach the beginning of the climb and the start of the Mossy Forest. Like its namesake, the Mossy Forest is comprised of thick flora covered with moss. It really is magical, like entering a whole different world. The trail is safe and the footings are secured. Regrettably, it was getting dark fast so we had no time to enjoy the forest. Along the way, there are two water sources where one can refill. The trail is not difficult for the experienced trekkers but maybe a bit of a challenge for beginners. Remember to take a rest if your legs are tired, do not force yourself. Take time to rest those ankles and stretch those muscles, sadly for us we had to keep moving.

Off to Mossy Forest

We continued through the dark trail with our flashlights, and as the night fell on us, so did the temperature. A scarf is highly recommended, keep your nose and mouth moist and your neck warm. It gets really dark in the Mossy Forest since no light can penetrate through it, don’t expect help from the moonlight either.

Finally we reached the camp site. We knew we had to move fast, once we stopped walking our core temperature would drop quickly so we need the tents ready and food served before that happens. Campfires are not allowed so make sure to bring portable burner for that much needed hot water for your hot beverages. The temperature was near un-bearable; we choose not to cook the chicken because merely washing it can be painful. Since it’s very cold, we figured the temperature would preserve the chicken until tomorrow. We agreed to settle with rice and canned goods again before hitting the sheets- and we sure hoped we brought more! The ground will be very cold, so make sure to bring insulators or end up hugging each other for warmth- like we did.

We woke up at 4:00 am, some of us hardly had any sleep because of the cold. We had coffee and started on our way to the summit. Felisi was very informative, providing us info and need-to-know about Mt. Pulag and the trail. She said we should be able to get to the summit just before the sunrise, I know you’ve seen a lot of beautiful sunrise but I knew this one was gonna epic.

We reached the grassland where the altitude was too high for normal trees to grow on, so the hills are dominated by dwarf bamboos about 2 to 3 feet high. It was still too dark to see what the view looks like, but I know this is nothing I would have seen before. When we took our breaks, we would lie down and stare at the skies. Even the view above is superb, the clearest night sky! We were lucky that there were no clouds around since Mt. Pulag and the area is pretty much a rainforest- it attracts rain clouds. Probably because of the altitude we were on, there was also that sensation that we were closer to the stars and the feeling of falling upwards. Because of the clear sky, no dust, no smoke, no impurities- the slightest light disturbance can easily be noticed: shooting stars, and there were a lot.

Star-stary night

There are 4 summits in Mt. Pulag, Summit 1 is the highest and that’s where we are headed. In the event of Summit 1 being too crowded, then the rest of can head to the other summits. We finally reached the summit and the satisfaction of reaching the peak after all what we have been through was just the beginning. We were relishing the pleasure of finishing our purpose and celebrating that achievement as a group with smiles and pictures and as much as we would love to shout at top of our lungs, it was forbidden. Strictly no shouting as a sign of respect to the place makes sense to me. It was still dark and we sat down and eagerly wait for the sunrise.

Eager for the sunrise

I was greatly mistaken when I said that the sunrise would be epic, it was…beyond words. It would be an understatement to say that it did not look like the heavens opening, because it surely did look like it. I could almost swear that gods of old would ride out the sunlight since this place is dubbed the playground of the gods.

Rising Sun

The longer I watched the sunrise, the more beautiful it became. Then the greatest marvel revealed itself: we were standing on an island floating above a sea of clouds. These “blow by blow by blow pleasure” has taken me to a whole new level of calmness, ecstasy, nirvana- then I knew I have changed. This place made me a better man.

View from Summit 1

Natural High

Satisfaction guaranteed

Again I am struck by awe as I turn my head around, clouds everywhere- for a moment, we were gods. The grassland stretches down to the camp site. Peaks of neighboring mountains can be seen from Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya as if they were within our reach. We had to give ourselves some time to digest all these sensation. Once we were back on our feet, we knew we had to conquer this moment and make it even more memorable, make it more…personal.