We are a fairly young group of 7 attempting to climb Mt. Pulag for the first time except for one person in our group. We initially hired a van to bring us to the mountain but the recent rain and road widening has made the road muddy and slick prompting our driver to take us in his 4wd vehicle. We left Baguio City @ 0530.
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| (Our group getting ready to go.) |
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| (Heading to Pulag via Ambuklao Rd.) |
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| (View of Ambuklao Lake from the road.) |
@0700, after two hours from Baguio, we stopped by at Sitio Jang Jang for breakfast. Jang Jang eatery has a simple suspension foot bridge nearby if you want to experience walking on such bridge.
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| (Local dog crossing the simple suspension bridge.) |
@0800, we reached DENR office where every climber must watch a 30 minute video about Mt. Pulag. Registration fees are to be paid in here too. I believe we paid PhP 1700 total fees for our group of seven hikers.
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| (Current road widening going up to Ranger Station.) |
@1015, we are at the Ranger Station which is the start of the climb. A guide is compulsory. Guide fee is PhP 120 per person. Porters are also readily available must you need one. Porter's fee is PhP 600 for 15 kg weight max.
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| (Our porter Theresa with the strength of an ox!) |
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| (Group stopping for Lea's camera.) |
@1320, we reached Camp 1 which is shaded resting area. We took 15 minute break and snack after a get a move on-or-turn back now 45 degree climb which our guide said is a short cut road.
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| (Rey's shot of Mt. Pulag view from camp 1 trail.) |
@1430, we finally have reached Camp 2 or the camping ground. We pitched our tents immediately as the skies don't look too good. Our guide and porter even helped with pitching our tents. Apparently, we were first group to reach the camping ground and we picked the best spots.
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| (Kelty Salida 2 tent. A+ tent. Stayed dry amidst rain. No condensation) |
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| (Rey's Brown Trekker tent. Ample vestibule area. Condensation could be an issue.) |
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| (Our nice guide Robert voluntarily made this simple tent for our kitchen area using his own tarp & materials.) |
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| (Our group camp. All tents stayed put against rain & strong howling winds all night.) |
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| (View of the camping ground from a higher ground.) |
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| (Our guide's tent made it possible to use our Esbit cookset to prepare our Mountain House freeze dried foods.) |
In the afternoon, it rained on and off and we are very thankful of the makeshift tent our guide has made for us. Our guide came and checked with us in the afternoon and showed us how to tie an adjustable guy line knot.
We slept early to have enough rest to climb the summit in the morning. Though we climbed in a summer month, the cold can wake you up at night especially if you are not wearing wool socks and gloves in your sleep.
@0400, we started our ascent to the summit and reached the summit after 55 minutes. Though we didn't witness the sea of clouds phenomena, the skies were clear and the sunrise was just mesmerizing.
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| (The whole group.) |
@0830, we descended from the summit to the camping ground. We immediately un-pitched our tents, had quick breakfast, and started going down the mountain.
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| ("Lonely Tree" per brother Rey.) |
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| (Lea stopping by for a cold natural spring water drink.) |
@0930, we rested at Camp 1 area. We pretty much caught up with everybody who descended earlier than us.
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| (Camp 1: Rest Area) |
@1030, we are at the Ranger Station. We had snacks in one of the stores while waiting for our ride to arrive.
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| (Store owner's dog.) |
@0200, we are at the DENR office for log out and of course to purchase souvenir items. The shirts they sell are fairly priced at Php 180.
@0400, we are home sweet home at Baguio City.
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