Mt. Pulag
I went to Mt. Pulag last month. It was a 15-kilometer walk. 'Nuff said.
To get there, we had to pass along Ambuklao road, which leads to the Ambuklao Dam. The highway was surprisingly smooth and well paved.
Here's a picture of a dam:
But that ain't a dam...
THIS is a DAM:
Ambuklao Dam on the way to the DENR office for a briefing to visitors going to Mt. Pulag.
On top of it, looking down.
A view of the lake behind Ambuklao Dam. Water level was low. Reaaaallly low. People caught fish and other water creatures here and sold it by the dam's road entrance.
A hanging bridge at a dry riverbed by the Ambuklao Road.
We tried crossing the bridge....
...But we were chickenshit. So we stuck by the beginning part only.
Entrance to the DENR office at Daclan, Bokod, Benguet.
Outside the DENR office.
Here, we received a 20 minute briefing on camping at the mountain. Then it was an hour and a half jeepney ride to the ranger station at the start of the trail to the summit.
The Ranger Station at Babadak, Kabayan, Benguet.
Start of the trail, going outside of the village. The official trail is about 100 meters away from here. You can see some of the available guides seated in the shade.
Beside the path going towards the start of the trail are a lot of vegetable farms. Mostly carrots and lettuce.
The official start of the trail to Mt. Pulag.
Yikes!!!
Since it was a Sunday, as many as 200 weekend campers were coming down the mountain. this meant we had the campsite all to ourselves.
We experienced this traffic jam many times along the trail.
One of the guides pointed this out from the trail as Mt. Pulag. Looks tall enough.
This was near the halfway point to the camp. Around 3-3.5 kilometers since we started. The locals made a small "flyover" along the path since it gets flooded in this part often.
The paths are very narrow. Most of the trail is about 2-3 feet wide and one side is always this steep fall into the moss forest.
We reached the campsite, Camp 2, in just under 4 hours.
We were the only people in the area.
We woke up at 3am to the start of our hike up Mt. Pulag. It was mostly dark along the trail, lit only by the glow of the full moon, which cast the surroundings in a pale gray.
After a few hours walking, we sat down about 50 meters below the summit to catch our breath and look at the approaching sunrise. It would only be a few minutes before the sun broke the horizon.
During this time we saw flashes of light to our side, along the horizon. They were like strobes that came from the sun which was yet to break.
We reached the summit before sunrise with minutes to spare.
Behind us on the summit, the moon was setting. Below, another climbing trail on the western face called "Akiki". It's much harder, says one of our guides.
View of the Northern side from the summit.
View of the Northern side from the summit. Our guide take a rest.
I was pooped. So they let me nap for about 5 minutes.
Photo by another photographer.
The grass blanketing the mountain isn't exactly grass. It's a type of dwarf bamboo, a really, really small version of the big ones we're used to seeing. The locals call it "butot".
On the way down. We wanted to get back to camp before lunch.
Looking back at the summit where we came from. It's just right behind that ridge.
We didn't realize it before because it was a bit dark a few hours ago but, a wrong step meant you broke your crown and maybe tumble over.
Looking back at the summit from a distance. You can see the path and the turn we took to get to the top.
Still a ways from the campsite. Frodo would be at home here.
There were many stretches of flat grassland just like this. I just wanted to lie down and sleep already.
Even with a cold wind, the sun just burned. The normally green grass is brown in the summer. Plus, El Nino.
One of our guides takes a breather under the one single tree for kilometers around.
Finally! Back at the campsite. You can see our tents in the distance.
Lunch was spam and tuna. Our water was fresh from the mountain. Mt. Pulag is a major watershed, after all...
By the lowlands, many kaingeneros were wreaking havoc. What else is there to say?
After getting some rest at the ranger station we made the hour and a half trip back to the DENR office to register our climb and get souvenirs.
I left my company ID on the visitors wall. Go find it!
After that, it was on to the 4 hour or so trip back to Baguio City.
The End.
To get there, we had to pass along Ambuklao road, which leads to the Ambuklao Dam. The highway was surprisingly smooth and well paved.
Here's a picture of a dam:
But that ain't a dam...
THIS is a DAM:
Ambuklao Dam on the way to the DENR office for a briefing to visitors going to Mt. Pulag.
On top of it, looking down.
A view of the lake behind Ambuklao Dam. Water level was low. Reaaaallly low. People caught fish and other water creatures here and sold it by the dam's road entrance.
A hanging bridge at a dry riverbed by the Ambuklao Road.
We tried crossing the bridge....
...But we were chickenshit. So we stuck by the beginning part only.
Entrance to the DENR office at Daclan, Bokod, Benguet.
Outside the DENR office.
Here, we received a 20 minute briefing on camping at the mountain. Then it was an hour and a half jeepney ride to the ranger station at the start of the trail to the summit.
The Ranger Station at Babadak, Kabayan, Benguet.
Start of the trail, going outside of the village. The official trail is about 100 meters away from here. You can see some of the available guides seated in the shade.
Beside the path going towards the start of the trail are a lot of vegetable farms. Mostly carrots and lettuce.
The official start of the trail to Mt. Pulag.
Yikes!!!
Since it was a Sunday, as many as 200 weekend campers were coming down the mountain. this meant we had the campsite all to ourselves.
We experienced this traffic jam many times along the trail.
One of the guides pointed this out from the trail as Mt. Pulag. Looks tall enough.
This was near the halfway point to the camp. Around 3-3.5 kilometers since we started. The locals made a small "flyover" along the path since it gets flooded in this part often.
The paths are very narrow. Most of the trail is about 2-3 feet wide and one side is always this steep fall into the moss forest.
We reached the campsite, Camp 2, in just under 4 hours.
We were the only people in the area.
We woke up at 3am to the start of our hike up Mt. Pulag. It was mostly dark along the trail, lit only by the glow of the full moon, which cast the surroundings in a pale gray.
After a few hours walking, we sat down about 50 meters below the summit to catch our breath and look at the approaching sunrise. It would only be a few minutes before the sun broke the horizon.
During this time we saw flashes of light to our side, along the horizon. They were like strobes that came from the sun which was yet to break.
We reached the summit before sunrise with minutes to spare.
Behind us on the summit, the moon was setting. Below, another climbing trail on the western face called "Akiki". It's much harder, says one of our guides.
View of the Northern side from the summit.
View of the Northern side from the summit. Our guide take a rest.
I was pooped. So they let me nap for about 5 minutes.
Photo by another photographer.
The grass blanketing the mountain isn't exactly grass. It's a type of dwarf bamboo, a really, really small version of the big ones we're used to seeing. The locals call it "butot".
On the way down. We wanted to get back to camp before lunch.
Looking back at the summit where we came from. It's just right behind that ridge.
We didn't realize it before because it was a bit dark a few hours ago but, a wrong step meant you broke your crown and maybe tumble over.
Looking back at the summit from a distance. You can see the path and the turn we took to get to the top.
Still a ways from the campsite. Frodo would be at home here.
There were many stretches of flat grassland just like this. I just wanted to lie down and sleep already.
Even with a cold wind, the sun just burned. The normally green grass is brown in the summer. Plus, El Nino.
One of our guides takes a breather under the one single tree for kilometers around.
Finally! Back at the campsite. You can see our tents in the distance.
Lunch was spam and tuna. Our water was fresh from the mountain. Mt. Pulag is a major watershed, after all...
By the lowlands, many kaingeneros were wreaking havoc. What else is there to say?
After getting some rest at the ranger station we made the hour and a half trip back to the DENR office to register our climb and get souvenirs.
I left my company ID on the visitors wall. Go find it!
After that, it was on to the 4 hour or so trip back to Baguio City.
The End.