Been posting blogs on my travels to different countries and it would be fair to write something from our very own Philippines since we have so much wonders to brag about (we do not have 7,107 islands just for nothing, eh?).  Not only do we have the whitest, pristine beaches, but we also have the most majestic, jaw-dropping mountains/volcanoes. For me, there are certain ways to get a natural high, those which would go beyond anything material, such as watching your fave bands play live, finishing a marathon, and of course, climbing picturesque mountains.

Mt. Pinatubo

Curiosity hit me three years ago when I wanted to see Mt. Pinatubo’s beautiful crater lake with turquoise water. However, I was surprised that instead of seeing the greenish-blue water with algae, I witnessed the clear waters, perfectly reflecting the volcano (note that this was the month of April). From there you would see that there is such beauty that exists after the tragic volcanic eruption.

How to reach Mt. Pinatubo:

Start the adventure at the base camp in Sta. Juliana (We arrived at Capas, Tarlac around 5am, which is approximately 2.5 hours from Manila). The 4×4 ride takes about an hour, afterwhich, you would need to trek for about 2 hours. For a first timer, it wasn’t tough — but you would pass through rivers and rocks. We’ve reached the crater lake at around 9:30am, bummed for a while, sunbathed, then had an early lunch. Afterwards, we had lecture about the volcano, which has been very informative. We availed the tour from TRIPinas — P2,090 back then which includes the round trip van transfer from MNL to Tarlac, 4×4 ride, local guide and conservation fee. I’d say the tour was efficiently organized, on time and the cheapest that I’ve found among the tours that time.

 

Mt. Pulag

Pulag (2,922 m), known for its sea of clouds, is, by far, the highest mountain I’ve climbed.  Sadly, upon writing this blog, I discovered that it’s actually the third, and not the second highest mountain in Philippines.  I’ve realized two challenges on this climb: the altitude and the almost unbearable coldness.

 

Trail, Gearing Up and the Summit

Ambangeg is the easiest out of the four trails in Pulag. Guess I’ve had more difficulty trekking Pico De Loro than this. Akiki is said to be the hardest to climb but will reward you with the most scenic views.

The YOLO / spontaneous adventure doesn’t apply for Pulag. This is something that you should be able to prepare before the climb.  Not only did I go back to running before this, but I also tried to master the art of layering as my worst fear back then was to end up getting hypothermia, so on the night we slept at Pulag, I dressed up with Uniqlo HeatTech shirt (base layer), a light jacket, then a down jacket (or fleece jacket for 2nd layer then wind breaker). For the legs, I’ve worn two HeatTech leggings and thick jogging pants (though it would be best to use trek pants instead).

The climb to summit wasn’t that tough.  What challenged me was to wake up around 4am in the midst of freakin’ coldness — it was crazy tough, I almost wanted to forego going to the summit if I hadn’t remember that the reason why I was there is to mainly see the famous ‘sea of clouds’.

How to reach Mt. Pulag:

We took a bus from Cubao to Baguio (I remember everyone was in deep sleep and the driver had to wake us up, saying we already reached and would need to alight haha). From Baguio, we took a jeep going to Ambangeg Ranger Station. Before reaching the station, we had yummy authentic Filipino breakfast (what I look forward to when I’m in Pinas vacay) at Mam Gina’s Resto on an early cold morning. We joined the Rojapalboggs travel group organized by my friend, which I highly recommend — it only costs P3,200 (minimum of 12 persons) and already includes, bus & jeep transfers, meals, local guide, environmental and conservation fees.

Pico de Loro

For some reasons, I found Pico, also known as Parrot’s Peak, more difficult to climb than Pulag, and I had to keep up with my friends who are experienced mountaineers.  On my quick trip to Manila two years ago, I was thinking where to do a day trek which is just close to Manila and this seemed to be a good fit 🙂

How to reach Pico de Loro:

My good friend Jarsen was nice enough to drive Manila to Ternate, Cavite. For a day trek, we arrived relatively late and proceeded to have registration at DENR campsite.  The trail was challenging, not to mention those huge rocks which reminded me of my love-hate for trekking.

 

As much as I hated the trail, I had to admit that the view from the summit is, by far, one of the best I’ve seen. We then had our late Andok’s lunch 🙂 and started the descent not long after.

“Climb mountains so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”

– David McCullough, Jr.