We Survived Mt. Pulag

So I haven't updated my last post. That's mainly because I was cram-packing. There was just not enough time to pack, take pictures, and blog the night before the trip. I'll update it in the future. Moving on.



Our bags to Pulag

We survived Mt. Pulag, but did I reach the summit?



We left Victory Liner Pasay Station at 12mn, stopped at a breakfast place on the way for some snacks and cr break, then reached Baguio by 6am. We had to ride this jeepney to the DENR station in Benguet for the briefing.




As part of the experience, we climbed the top of the jeepney. It's called toploading. Imagine, zigzagging while on top of the jeepney! It was definitely an experience.




We reached the DENR station at 9AM. Unfortunately, we had to wait for an hour for the briefing because the room was already full that the speaker decided to just include us in the next batch.






Bored while waiting

We already left the station at 12nn so we decided to just eat our packed lunch in the jeepney. It was a rough ride from the DENR Station to the Ranger Station. It was raining the day before so we were told the soil would be soft. I didn't imagine it would be this soft.




We stopped by the Ambuklao viewing deck for a short photo opportunity.










By 2PM, we reached the Ranger Station, or so we thought. Surprise, surprise, it wasn't the Ranger Station! The road was under repair so we had to start our trek there. A 40-minute trek before we could reach the Ranger Station!!!



Already tired after 10 minutes!

To add to the surprise, it started raining halfway. We were already wet when we put on our ponchos. After a few more minutes, we finally reached the Ranger Station. It was cold, but tolerable. There were a lot of people in the station since it was raining hard. Another surprise greeted us. (I was starting to get used to surprises.) There were no more guides we can hire to accompany us to the camp. (Guides are required to be allowed to proceed.) We had no choice but to stay in a house near the station. By this time, it was already getting colder. Although it was cold, we were warmly welcomed by a family there. (Thank you so much!)

Our plan was to sleep early so we can have an early start for our trek. So we had an early dinner care of Enzo and Allan (our guides from Anywhere Philippines). The sinibang (sinigang with a bang) was so good most of us had two servings. After dinner, we slept. By 12mn, I woke up because I was shivering. It was so freaking cold! I put on two pairs of gloves but that wasn't enough. I was still shivering. I had to endure the cold until 1:30AM when we got up to prepare for the trek. We were worried that we might not be able to stand the cold at the summit because we can barely stand the cold inside the house. We put on all our jackets and ponchos since it was still raining. Bad move! We started to sweat while walking so we took off our jackets one by one. They became a burden since we had to hand carry the jackets.

It was a long trek. I only had 1.5 liters of water with me. We haven't reached a third of the way yet and I was already out. Good thing there were potable water sources in the mountain. After 4 grueling hours, we finally reached Peak 4. The sun was rising fast, we had to hurry. The view was breathtaking. Even from Peak 4, the view was heavenly. See for yourself.



Surreal



Huffing and puffing

Finally, we reached the summit!



Success!






I was so tired I had to rest. Haha!




Indeed, we survived Mt. Pulag. We weren't fully prepared for the trip. Next time, I plan to conquer it!

*Photos from Oscar Villadolid, Stephanie Lim, Patrick Velasquez, Joey Reyes, Carmen Reyes, and Melanie Lopez. (I wasn't able to bring my camera with me to the summit because it was raining when we left the house.)