It is not really clear to me whether Pulag is second to Apo or the third in terms of height.
Yes, this is a very big deal to people who CLIMB mountains. It was such an important piece of information that they had to scream in the middle of the film-showing activity during the preclimb orientation, "Pulag is NOT second. It's Only third."
I had to ignore that. I am used to letting people make a mess of themselves.
The orientation was not bad at all. We were told about respecting the mountain, giving the locals the right of way if we meet them on the trail, avoiding littering, and well, not having sex anywhere outside the tent. The speaker, in spite of her weird accent, managed to prevent the whole orientation from becoming a big sleeping pill. She was very funny.
After lunch, we checked out a tomb (in Kibungan) with skeletal remains are dated to be about a thousand years old by Tokyo University.
We got to the jump off at 3pm. The trek to the Ranger station, where we had to pay registration fee (P200 each), was a real test! That was when I thought that maybe I should have just stayed in Baguio and had a cup of a good local coffee. It was a steep ascent, and there was nothing fun about it.
From the ranger station, we trekked (3:30pm) to the first campsite (Eddet River?), where we
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| Camp site by the river |
We got to the camp site at 4:30, where another group had already set up their tents. It was a good idea to just hike for a short time on the first day, as we all badly needed sleep and rest.
Sunday, was the most challenging day, trekking from 7am to 4pm. We stopped for lunch from 11am to 1pm, at a spot called the "helipad". It was a large clearing with a good view. The ground is covered with grass, there were pine trees all around, but right ahead, you see nearby mountains just below the blue skies. And, no, Helipad just a name; no helicopter has ever landed there.
Our pack wanted to be challenged, so we were stupid enough to take Akiki.
This trek makes you think that taking people's nails off or cutting their heads off using a needle for torture is way better. The trail up is steep, and it goes almost in a straight line, not like other trails that circle around the mountain.
Once you'd think that you have reached the peak, you would see another one looming at a distance telling you that the ordeal's not done! Multiply this by about 6, and that's how that trail is going to break the unprepared.
I was very thankful that we did not have to do this under the sun. Before the mossy forest, there were pine trees that made the trek cool. The fact that there were places along the trail where we could get drinking water was also a big help, as we did not have to carry too many liters of water with us all the way to the camp site.
When we reached the last water source, the trail was less steep, so even if we had to carry heavier stuff- additional water, the trek was already a little bearable.
The last leg of the climb was the most arduous. At this time, we were already over 2500 meters above sea level and oxygen is low. We were tired, and worse, our breathing was becoming shorter and shorter. The trail goes back to being steep, but I knew that any moment, I would see camp. This thought was inspiring enough for me to just ignore the stupidity I was in, since I would be having a cup of coffee and perhaps, some bread soon. This was also the coldest part of the whole trek. The mist was everywhere, and the wind was just short of blowing me away.
Since i knew that we were close to the camp site. I took as many breaks as I could, taking a good look at the view, which was a little difficult on account of the mist, but it was not that elusive. There were flowers that I only saw there, trees I could not find in the city and the wind-swept grass of the mountain.
Though visibility was hard, we finally got to the last camp site.
We planned on seeing the sunrise the next morning. This meant that we had to be up by 3am to get to the summit (which would take about 30 mins from the camp site).
It never happened.
The mist was so thick we could not see anything.
After two hours of waiting for the weather to get better, we had to give up. The cold wind was getting into us, and besides, I thought that having warm noodle soup was so much more inviting than withstanding the cold wind up there.
I was not able to see the sea of clouds from the peak nor did I see the famous sunrise, but I had coffee at Luzon's highest peak, which is a stupid idea to have coffee at, but definitely not as stupid as having it at some coffee shops!
Well, I must be really dumb for I cannot wait for the next climb!
Itinerary and Expense:
This is the Itinerary that we tried to follow, which we had to adjust, as the orientation at DENR took longer than expected. We started our climb around 2pm after lunch and after visiting the tomb shown in the pictures here.
DAY 1 (Friday)
2200hrs Assembly @ Victory Liner Bus Terminal (Pasay City)
2230hrs ETD for Baguio
DAY 2 (Saturday)
0330hrs ETA Baguio (breakfast to-go and buy packed lunch)
0430hrs Board the chartered jeepney. ETD for Mt Pulag National Park Visitors’
Center and Protected Area Office (Ambangeg, Bokod); dusty and bumpy ride;
(prepare something to cover your face with; pati backpack balutin niyo na)
0730hrs ETA Visitors’ Center (PAO); Orientation; payment of fees
0830hrs Board the same chartered jeepney for Akiki trail jump-off
0930hrs ETA Akiki trail jump-off; short orientation; payment of fees; meet the
guide and porter; change costume; stretch
1030hrs Start trek (sasabihin ko sana na minimize taking pictures pero naalala
ko bigla yung time na beginner pa ako at trigger-happy pa kaya, sige
magpakasawa kayo s aka-pipicture…bilisan lang konti ang lakad)
1230hrs ETA Eddet River; lunch (bathing and releasing toxic chemicals into the
river or any body of water in the National Park is strictly prohibited)
1330hrs Resume trek (refill trail water bottles)
1630hrs ETA Cow Country
1730hrs ETA Helipad (water source). Pitch tents. Petix
1830hrs Prepare dinner
1900hrs Dinner; Socials (Smoking is strongly discouraged)
2200hrs Lights Out
0700hrs Wake-up call; prepare breakfast; break camp
0730hrs Breakfast
0800hrs Petix; picture picture
0830hrs Pack up
0900hrs Start trek
1030hrs ETA entrance to Mossy forest (last water source); prepare lunch
1100hrs Lunch; Fill up H2O bottles
1200hrs Resume trek (though mossy forest)
1430hrs ETA Saddle Campsite; pitch tents; petix; picture picture
1700hrs Sunset pictures
1730hrs Prepare dinner
1830hrs Dinner; socials (No Smoking sa Saddle); may palikuran po ditto sa
campsite
1200hrs Lights out
DAY 4 (Monday)
0400hrs Wake-up call; painit; prepare for summit assault (headlamps may be
necessary)
0430hrs Summit assault (only cams and some H2O may be carried)
0500hrs ETA Summit (wait for the sunrise); picture picture
0600hrs Trek down
0620hrs Prepare breakfast; break-camp
0700hrs Breakfast
0730hrs Pack-up
0800hrs Start descent; passing by the summit once more (picture picture);
proceed to Grassland
0930hrs ETA Camp 2 (Ambangeg); 3-minute water break
1040hrs ETA Camp 1
1120hrs ETA Ranger Station; board the Chartered jeepney to the Visitors’ Center
1220hrs Visitors Center; log out; lunch sa Carinderia
1300hrs ETD for Baguio (same jeepney) (maalikabok tong ride na to kaya mamaya na
ilabas ang kikay kit)
1600hrs ETA Baguio (punas ng wet tissue sa loob ng Victory Liner terminal
restrooms)
1700hrs ETD for Manila
2230hrs ETA Manila
EXPENSES
Entrance fee P100/head
Camping fee P50/head/night
Green fee P50/head
Guide fee [P1800/7pax or below] or [P2100/8-10pax] (Akiki-Ambangeg entire trek)
Jeepney P8500 (max cap 16pax)
Jeep from Ambangeg Ranger Station 900
Porter fee P1500 (max carrying capacity 30kg)
Mla-Baguio v.v. P439/pax
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