My mother mountain. I was able to conquer the highest peak in Luzon.
I am beyond
grateful to climb the famed Mt. Pulag. This is undoubtedly most of the
bucketlist of hikers; beginner or not. One of my dream hikes and I am glad that
I made it.
Mt Pulag
towers 2,926 m above sea level and also known as “Playground of the Gods”. It
has the most breathtaking scenic view of grassland, mossy forest and sea of
clouds. It is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines next to
Mt. Apo and Mt Dulang – dulang. There are 4 major trails to the summit,
namely for Benguet: the Ambangeg (for beginners), Akiki (the
killer trail), Tawangan and if from Nueva Vizcaya, the Ambaguio trail.
Since that this is my first hike, I went for the Ambangeg
Trail.
The Preparation:
When 2024 came in, I promised myself that I will prioritize
my physical health. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to do that
on the first month of the year. Came February, I purchased smart watch with the
purpose of tracking my daily as my goal is to reach 10,000 steps everyday if
possible.
I am so committed on my daily walk and as one of the “doom
scroller” on TikTok, my for you page was filled with hiking stuff and I became
interested on climbing Mt. Pulag. This might be ambitious considering that
there are a lot of mountains nearby but I made up my mind that Mt. Pulag will
be my “mother mountain”.
I walked/ran and consistently achieving 10,000 steps or more
every single day for 3 weeks as the preparation for my first climb. On top of
that, I bought hiking gears [which is very expensive by the way] because I am
committed that I will conquer more mountains after this first climb, I invested
on hiking shoes and outfits.
The Hike:
I hike with my officemates/friends last March 16-17 and we
book for a Travel and Tours company. For Php 4,500 that already includes: back
and forth transportation, 3 hosted meals, tour guide,
registration/certificates. I must say that it is worth it because the food was
delicious and the coordinator was so accommodating.
Day 0: March 15, 2024 11:00AM : We met up at Greenfield and
we started to travel to Benguet.
Day 1 | March 16, 2024: We had our first coffee somewhere in
Pangasinan as we continue our ride to Benguet. When we arrived there we had our
breakfast to the infamous buffet near DENR office. Afterwards we continue the
trip until we arrived to the Baba lak Ranger Station where our homestay.
It was freaking cold, thankfully we had unlimited Barako
coffee and the homestay is a little warm. They also provided thick blankets
which definitely helped to minimize the cold.
After the delicious lunch, there was a free time to get to
know the other joiners. We had a drink [I drank 2 cups of coffee by the way]
and they had alcohol. We had a great time and we were to know them, mainly what
is the reason of them climbing up Mt. Pulag, and there I found out new friends.
Since that everyone had alcohol, after dinner everyone
already fell asleep as early as 8:00PM so that it was an ample time for us to
rest.
Day 2 | March 17, 2024: The hike proper.
We left at the homestay around 2:30 AM which is kind of late
since that there were hikers who started 1:00AM. We had our breakfast and got
ready. I had 4 layers of clothing which includes: sports bra, Uniqlo shirt [not
heattech though], yoga jacket and parka. I had leggings and waterproof pants
also 2 layers of thick socks and my hiking shoes. I also have gloves and
bonnet.
I also brought my backpack with small Pocarri Sweat, 1 liter
of water, trail foods and other essentials.
I underestimated the cold, I couldn’t feel my fingers when I
tried to remove the gloves. Thankfully I was prepared enough and my layers of
clothes kept me warm. I am also thankful to my hiking shoes, it really
protected me, it was comfortable, waterproof and I didn’t feel any coldness on
my feet during the whole hike.
It was all walk at first then came the first assault before
we reach the Camp 1. I almost passed out. I thought I would not be able to
continue. But thankfully my co-hikers assisted me and I managed to go to Camp
1. We took a rest for couple of minutes and started to hike again.
There were minimal assaults going to Camp 2 but it was more
manageable than the first 1 and we reached the second camp smoothly and we had
another rest for about 20 minutes.
By that time, the sun was almost rising and we need to be on
the “Tower” or Grassland for us to see the anticipated sunrise and sea of
clouds. It was challenging to reach the tower, multiple and more difficult
assaults, nevertheless we made it on time and I witnessed one of the most breath
taking view that I had seen on my existence. Unfortunately there is no sea of
clouds [I promised to have a revenge hike to see it soon] but the whole view was
so beautiful and my camera did not give it justice.
I told earlier that it was cold when we left, but it is even
colder on the grassland, most of the hikers where shivering but it was worth it
because of the view.
After 1 hour on the grassland, some of the joiners on our
batch did not push through on going to the peak. I am very determined to reach
the summit so I continue. It was 2 hours hike. I was barely hanging there, I
took my time to walk and I let other hikers to pass me I hiked by my own phase.
After the never-ending walk, we reached the summit. It was
so fulfilling and I felt that I am on top of the world. We had a long rest
because there is a long queue of hikers that wants to take a picture on the
summit. I take my time to rest, and eat trail foods while we wait for our turn.
After the photo op on the summit, we started to descend, it
was challenging considering that I am walking for about 5 hours and thankfully
I have my trusted pole and still took my time to descend.
I couldn’t remember how I managed to survive, when we were
out of the trail, there were stores selling ice candy and refreshments, some
offered motor ride [habal-habal] but we decided to walk until we were back to
the ranger station.
I had a sigh of relief when we were done. I was absolutely
tired and we ate lunch, take a quick rest and showered and we prepared on going
home.
This is one of the books experience and I am sure that I
will share this adventure to most of my friends and even to my child in the
future.
I am looking forward for more mountains to conquer.
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