Few years ago, my fellow photographers and I were planning to set a climb to Mount Pulag and unfortunately due to schedule conflicts and budget issues, our plan did not push through until 2018 when I approached an officemate who organise climbs and asked him when he will be having a Mount Pulag event. As far as I can remember I asked him around October 2017 and he said that he will let me know once he will have one again. Around December 2017 he told me that he will be setting a Pulag trip by March 2018 so I told him to count me in.
The news broke earlier this year about the fire that happened in Mount Pulag where part of the mountain was accidentally set on fire and DENR decided to close the area where the accident happened.
Good thing the event of my friend Patrick will still push through but due to the fire incident, the summit area of the mountain is closed to tourist and eventually will be reopened until further notice.
I am excited and little nervous because this is my first climb (as in) and it's in Mount Pulag the third highest mountain in the Philippines. Plus add the cold weather than can go to 0 to 3 degrees up there. I can say that I am really not prepared physically and I had no pre-climb or any workout activities prior to the climb to condition myself and another thing is I don't have hiking/climbing gears.
Two weeks before the event, I was on panic mode and already planning where to buy my gears for the climb. I did check some stores in the mall and it was expensive but thanks to DECATHLON Festival Mall store and most of the stuff that I need is there for a good price.
Here are the timeline of our schedule and activities.
Day 1 (March 16)
9:00 PM - Meet up at Victory Bus Liner Pasay.
10:30 PM - Departure to Baguio City.
Day 2 (March 17)
4:15 AM Arrival at Baguio City.
Our ride to our homestay from Baguio City
Experienced the "top load" ride on our way to Benguet from baguio. Experiencing the cold weather with the view. It was also a little bit scary.
Enjoyed the delicious lutong bahay meal.
There is also a hanging bridge at the back of the eatery where tourist are taking photos and experienced walking through the scary bridge.
8:25 AM - Arrival at DENR office for the Mount Pulag briefing. The seminar is a quick introduction about the Mountain and the do's and don'ts during the climb.
Emergency contact numbers were also provided in case of emergency during the climb.
12:00 PM - Arrival at the town where we will stay (home stay)
I am so tired and hungry during the travel so I decided to eat in a nearby eatery and take a nap in our home stay afterwards.
Chicken, Rice and Broccoli for lunch
The store/eatery near our home stay
4:00 PM - In the afternoon, me and my companions decided to walk around the town to take photos and have a snack.
I also took photos of the view and locals.
Local kids
7:00 PM - We had dinner. The owner of the house where we are staying cooked Tinola for us. The hot soup fits the freezing weather.
I also bought a few biscuits and water in the store for the hike.
I slept around 9 PM because we need to wake up early and climb as early as 2 AM.
Day 3 (March 18) Sunday
1:30 AM - Woke up for the climb. Had breakfast and coffee. My stuff are already fixed the night before and the I left the don't need in our homestay so the bag to lessen the weight of my bag.
We gathered first at the ranger station with our two local climb guides and pray for our safety.
It was really dark and cold but it started to get hot during the climb so I decided to remove some of my gears like bonnet, one jacket and gloves during our first stop at Camp 1.
* Unfortunately I lost track of the time of our arrival at Camp 1 and Camp 2.
4:30 AM - It is still dark when we reached our destination where we will wait for the Sea of Clouds view and the sunrise.
The weather is freaking 5 degrees and I decided to walk around to keep myself warm. I also put my gloves, neck warmer, face mask. and hoodie jacket back. Unfortunately lost my bonnet.
It's very very cold and it's raining a bit as well. We are fearing that the sea of clouds will not show up but it did.
After a few hours of waiting and finally the most awaited view "The Sea of Clouds".
We thought that there will be no clearing of the fog but patience is a virtue and the sea of clouds appeared around 7 AM.
This cat also joined us on our way up and down the mountain.
We decided to go down around 8 AM after our picture taking sessions.
An elderly couple from our group decided to go down after they reached the spot due to the cold weather so they arrived in our homestay first then I arrived around 10:30 AM.
I was so tired and the sun is already up and it's hot on our way down. I rested for a while and had a quick bath, fixed my stuff then had a quick nap. I woke up around 12 noon for lunch.
Luckily everyone from the team made it and all were safe.
2:00 PM - We left Benguet and arrived at Baguio City around 4 PM.
4:00 PM - 8:30 PM - Side trip at Baguio.
9:00 PM - Our bus left Baguio City to Pasay.
2:30 AM - Arrival at Cubao terminal.
4:00 AM - Finally resting in my bed at home.
EXPENSES
1. Climb Fee (2.700 pesos) - Including the bus fare (Manila to Baguio and vice versa). Jeep ride from Baguio to Benguet and vice versa, Homestay fee (350/head) and fee for the local climb guides.
2. Fee for food. (Saturday Dinner) and (Sunday Lunch) - 140 pesos
3. Snack (Biscuit/Water) for the climb - 100 pesos
4. Mount Pulag Shirt - 250 pesos.
5. Fees for the Baguio short trip like food and pasalubongs.
6. Headlamp (200 pesos) - a must need for the early morning climb.
7. Hiking Gears (4,000+ pesos). This one doesn't apply to everyone. I had a large expense for hiking stuff because I 'm a first time climber and I don't want to borrow stuff and at the same time I wanted to have my own stuff for future climbs.
- Hiking Bag (40L) - 1,200 pesos
- Bag Cover 340 pesos
- Warm Compression Tights - 550 pesos
- Hiking Pants - 450 pesos
- Fleece 250 pesos
- Thin Gloves 110 pesos
- Winter Gloves 340 pesos
- Neck Warmer 88 pesos
- Face Mask 40 pesos
- 3 set of thick socks 350 pesos
- Mini sling bag for important items 340 pesos
WHAT TO EXPECT and NEEDS
- Never underestimate the weather because it's really cold up there so make sure to cover yourself and bring the things that will make you feel warm. I even have a blanket in my bag for emergency purposes. A bonnet and a hoodie jacket is a must to cover your head.
- The weather is unpredictable in the mountain. It can rain anytime so make sure to be ready.
- People are friendly in Benguet so don't hesitate to have a conversation with them or ask them if you have questions about the town or the mountain.
- Cheap Vegetables for sale. (Lettuce, Broccoli, Carrots and more)
- Bring your camera and capture every moments.
- Very weak date and signal. There are areas in the town that has no signal at all.
- Very very very cold water. It's a struggle to take a bath but you can pay 50 pesos for water heating services. (Painit ng Tubig).
EXPERIENCE?
Overall it was great experience for me and I given a chance, I wanted to come back in the future. Hiking is something that I wanted to do again though my legs and backs are aching after but the view and experience is worth it.
I also met new friends during the climb.
I am also thankful to God for keeping us safe and for giving us strength during our climb. It was a fund activity especially if you wanted to get away from the city life and experience and enjoy nature.
I tried my best to be on detail with this entry because it was an amazing experience. Hoping that I can blog more about more climbs in the future.
Photos taken using Nikon D750, Samsung S7 Edge and GoPro Hero4 Silver
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