(MY) Essential Things to Pack for Mt. Pulag Climb

A list of things I brought with me on our first Mt. Pulag Climb.

1. Three Season Tent
Lightweight three season quality tent would be ideal to bring to Mt. Pulag for shelter. Taped fly and floor seams is a must. Though winds could be strong at night time, guy lines on tents are still not necessary.

(Kelty Salida 2: 2 person tent but can fit 3 person nicely.)

2. Backpack
I packed light and only needed a 34L backpack with me. Rain cover is a must and line the inside of your backpack with tall trash bags for added protection. Tie bulky items outside your pack with bungee cords.

DSLR bag attached with a bungee cord on top of my Deuter Futura backpack.

3. Appropriate Clothing
For the ascent, I wore workout clothing. Sweat-wicking polyester cloths (think Adidas Climalite, Nike Dri Fit) is the best apparel to wear as they tend to "cool" you down as you sweat. On my case, however, I wore a cotton shirt on my ascent as I am more comfortable wearing one size larger shirts on warm days. For the ladies, forget wearing a regular bra, wear polyester-spandex yoga bras or yoga padded tank tops with mesh vents.

For the summit ascent, I layered up, thermal long sleeves, fleece mid layer long sleeves, then a light winter jacket. I wore lightweight hiking pants over my workout pants. At midpoint during the ascent, I had to take off my light winter jacket as I was burning up. However, at the summit, my jacket kept me comfortably warm from cold winds.

Beanies, gloves, and wool socks are a must too.

4. Footwear
A quality hiking shoe is essential in hiking as you heavily rely on your feet to bring you to your destination. I chose a waterproof and lightweight hiking boots with supportive mid cut as I am an underpronator and tend to twist my ankles.

5. Food
We packed light on food. We enjoyed Mountain House freeze dried foods. It is very easy to prepare. A pack feeds two. Their new Pro-Pak packaging creates less bulk for packing. We particularly enjoyed the Mountain House Beef Stew and Mountain House Chicken & Rice. For trail foods, we did have some granola bars, peanut butter and bread.

6. Water
I filled my 2L bladder hydration bag with just 1.5L of water. Take a sip, don't gulp, on your hike. Our guide fetched us plenty of spring water near the camp site for cooking. None of us got sick from drinking the spring water directly from the source.

7. Cookset
For our group, two Esbit 3-piece lightweight cookset sufficed. Boiling 16 oz of cold spring water took less than 10 minutes utilizing one hexamine fuel tablet.

8. Sleeping Bag
A lightweight sleeping bag with rating of 15'C kept me warm all night at Pulag.

(Mylar sheets under yoga mat.)

9. Sleeping Mat
I'm not making a career in mountaineering so I didn't bother on investing on backpacking sleeping mats or air pads. Instead, I bought me a cheap closed cell foam yoga mat and did just fine for me but if you have back problems or if you can't absolutely sleep on a hard surface, do yourself a favor and get a quality sleeping mat.

10. Emergency Mylar Blankets
I've brought with me 84" x 52" mylar blankets to line the inside floor of my tent. I think it did help with insulation. I didn't feel the coldness of the ground sleeping over a layer of yoga mat, mylar sheet, nylon tent floor, and tent footprint.

11. Sunblock

12. Trekking Pole
Again, I'm not making a career climbing mountains so I bought me an inexpensive trekking pole set with cork handles. Cork does a good job keeping your grip when your hands get sweaty. The trekking pole I bought came as a pair but I only used one pole with my dominant hand.

13. Camera
The best camera to bring is the on e you have with you. I brought with me my Canon 60D with 18mm-135mm lens. Bring extra batteries for your cam if you plan on shooting long exposure shots.

14. Emergency Kit
Great to have emergency kit when you need them. I packed moleskin for blisters, triple antibiotic, non sterile gloves, gauze, medical tape, ace wrap, few yards of duck tape, swiss knife, etc. Ended up using the duck tape and ace wrap to mend my sis' backpack.

15. Headlamp/ Flashlight
A 110 lumen headlamp would be sufficient on your early morning ascent to the summit, working at your camp, going to the bathroom. I packed with me a 1000 lumen flashlight which I use primarily since I don't see very well in the dark.

16. Medications/ OTC meds
Aside from your prescription meds, bring some OTC antidiarrhea, anti-inflammatory, antihistamine meds just in case.

17. Toiletries
Baby wipes are excellent for hygiene needs and as a facial wipe (If it's good enough for baby's bottom, it's good enough for the face). Bring less than travel size pack amount of face moisturizer, body lotion, deodorant, and mouth wash.

18. Your wallet, ID for DENR registration, cash to pay for your fees and tips for your guide and porter, pen & small journal, cell phone.

20. Trash bags to pack your trash with you.