Biyahe Ni Bro: 2013

A month ago when I climbed Mt. Pulag with a friend and yes it’s still fresh from my memory of the adventure and stupidity we had during our expedition. Based on experience, I have these tips that I'd like to share for those who are planning a duo hike to pulag or a small group of 3 to 5 persons. You can visit pinoymountaineer.com for news and updates and accuweather for you to know the weather during your climb. Set your date of climb a month ahead and you have to inform the Protected Area Superintendent (PASU) a week before your schedule of climb. Send a text message about the date and number of persons in your group,here’s the cp number of (PASU) Ma’am Emerita Albas a.k.a Ma’am Mereng - +639196315402. Wait for a reply from them, if you received nothing, probably that means 'yes' you can climb.(wala lang sigurong load pangtext sa ibang network). Then all you need is to have the guts to pursue your wildest dream ever.

        So you have the date of when to climb the mountain you've been dreaming for so long? Just make sure you already have the gears/equipment for your quest, and of course, the "mammon" or 'pera.' And if you could have some exercises before your climb, that's better! At least a couple of hours of jogging everyday will bring an improvement to your lungs for breathing. Though you can survive without this, the advantage is just you're not getting tired easily during the trek, you'll able to capture those breath-taking views without catching your breath.

     Okay? Ok! Let's say that you're ready and brave enough to the adventure. Next is buy your ticket at least 3 days before the travel date. As of October 2013, the bus fare cost about Php445.00 from Victory Liner Cubao Station to Baguio. Another option aside from reservation is by a “chance passenger”, these passengers don’t have their reservations and will cause a delay of 1.5 to 2 hours. By the way, consider the season of when to climb, most number of climbers is during lenten season. Mt. Pulag has limited slots of hikers so getting an update is important, just 'google' it! And if you found out your chosen date is a crowded one, don't hesitate to move it earlier or later for the sake of the mountain. If you're going to ask me what is the best date to climb, I would suggest these dates:

October- 3rd to 4th week
November- 1st to last week
December- 1st to last week. It's up to you if you'd like to celebrate the 'noche buena' up there at the campsite or a 'media noche' on New Year ’s Day.
January up to 1st week of June is still okay. And since lenten season is a 'peak' season (during March or April), it is important to inform them(PASU) thru text so they could give you feedback and/or the situation of the venue.

      Let's now move on to your gears/equipment. I would suggest the things you have to bring because I don’t want you to experience the consequence of not having these. Actually, these are some of the equipment we didn’t have in Pulag.

Portable/camping stove- it’s really cold up there, you have to drink something hot. Otherwise, you’ll chill the whole night. I was just thankful I brought a tiny candle, it lessens the coldness by rubbing my hands in front of it.

Camera/Digicam- that time, all I had was my Sony Ericsson C510 with an extra full-battery, good enough to capture views. At least, I have an evidence of being there. Just felt sorry for lending it to my sister-in-law. Wala tuloy akong camera!

Aside from the two equipment that caused us so much regret of not having them, the rest brought a big help in every part of the adventure.

2 jackets with hood(overnight at camp 2)- not enough for me and I suggest you to bring another one, make it three!

Rain coat (during the trek)- you need this simply because the weather is unpredictable. Unfortunately my buddy lost it, hoping him to pay for its lost. Chong palitan mo yung kapote ko! Hehe!

Shoes/socks(overnight at camp 2)- I put on my socks and shoes before the Iights off but my toes still getting numb. So for you, much better to wear two pairs of socks and then your shoes.

Gloves- my gloves that time was my used socks, and of course it stinks, so don’t forget to bring one.

Hat/head gear/cap/bonnet- for me it’s an optional but good to have at least one. When we’re on the trail, I had a “lampin” in my pocket rather than a face towel. It’s more absorbent and dries faster than a usual face towel. So if you don’t have a hat, this will do enough to cover your head and to wipe out sweatiness. What else? The rest depends on your instinct.

So now, when you get to Baguio, let’s say 7:30am which is your ETA. Ride a taxi going to slaughter house, meter should only cost Php55, so ask before you say “go.” There are at the slaughter house, two types of transport vehicle are available to drop you off to DENR Visitor’s Ctr., “A-LINER” bus and/or “van.” The first trip of the bus starts at around 10am while the van will leave at 8:30am. Syempre, dun tayo sa mas maaga! Fare is Php120 per head. Three hours of travel time, one stop-over for you to have your snacks or lunch. Pwede rin naman mag-lunch sa DENR Visitor’s Center or sa Ranger Station na before the trek. At the DENR, an hour of orientation, logging-in and Php150 for Registration. After that, time for the “habal-habal!” Php300 for an hour of a “rough-road ride of a lifetime.” Kapit lang po ng sobrang higpit!

At the Ranger station, you have to pay another fee worth Php160 per head and a guide fee of Php500. And if you’re ready to trek, your stomach should be ready too. I advise to take a heavy meal first before your “start-trek” adventure. Once done, you may begin. Enjoy!

That’s all for now, hope you find this helpful. Feel free to leave a comment, question and I’ll try to give the best answer as long as I can. Much better if you could make your questions in tagalog because I really struggle to construct the correct grammar for my posts. Hehe! Thank you very much!

To God Be The Glory!

Finally, one of my dreams have come true! It’s the climb up to the top of the second highest mountain in the Philippines, Mt. Pulag(in Benguet). It’s a sudden decision that day and it brought discomfort, a bit hesitant yet excitement was still there. Although I planned this a year ago, I didn’t had enough preparations to make this “once in a lifetime experience” come true. The reason to the sudden decision was my working schedules and it’s difficult to have the perfect timing. And so, that day, late in the morning, I made a call to my friend/s to say “aakyat na tayo at mamaya na tayo aalis.” Since biglaan nga, three of them were unavailable and two will climb, me and my buddy. The next I phoned, of course, si “kumander”, she got mad about my decision, she worried a lot. Later on, I got her support, reminders, sweet thoughts and even prayers, instead of showing her anger. Praise God!

Duty first, of course! From my time-in @ 12 noon, while working, I had the chance to review sites regarding a duo hike to Mt. Pulag, thanks to PinoyMountaineer and other bloggers for providing infos and useful tips. At 9 o’clock in the evening, logged out then hurried to LRT station because I need to get home to prepare my backpack. at home, i had my dinner, a kissed for my daughter and my wife and ask for a prayer. It’s already 11:30PM when we got to Victory Liner- Cubao, daming tao! Haba ng pila! That moment, I was expecting a 12AM trip to Baguio but we didn’t had the reservations so we got a ticket for a 2AM trip. I had a prayer in mind and truly God answered my prayer because we’ve had the chance to leave by 1:30AM, that’s through waiting in line of “chance passengers”. These passengers are mostly haven’t their reservations or tickets, they’re just waiting for the vacant seats until the bus reaches the departure time. So if the number of reserved tickets are less than the number of seats, they’ll have the chance to occupy those vacant seats left.

It was already 8 o’clock in the morning when we arrived in Baguio, picked a taxi going to slaughter house. Praise God for we had a trip by 8:30 via Van going to DENR Visitor’s ctr., Ambangeg. Exactly at 12 o’clock in the afternoon, we arrived at DENR for registration and orientation.

capturing....

From DENR to Ranger Station takes about an hour via habal-habal. We were backrider in separate habal with our bag tied at the back of the motorcycle. We’re not able to take pictures during the ride because of the rough roads uphill, it’ll be you or the camera you’re holding might fall to the cliff.

Almost 1:30 in the afternoon when we had our lunch at the Ranger Station.

Start Trek

approaching mossy forest

mossy trees

stop-over @camp 1

rest

fatigued..
felt like giving up..
...and Philippians 4:13 reminds me of: "i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

we arrived at camp 2 by 4:30PM. Here, is where we set tent

dwarf bamboo

left-over of breakfast and lunch

5 o'clock in the morning when we arrived at the summit, it took an hour from camp 2. This time, my hands, toes, face got numbed. Plus headache. Actually i consumed a lot of paracetamol tablets, headache attacked me from time to time.