Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Mt. Pulag Experience


March 03, 2014

Monday morning.  Alarm beeps…UUUUrggh!  Waking up early in the morning is so hard to do as it is.  It is even harder when you feel like there’s a 200 pound sack on top of you! Trying my best to remember what happened this past weekend.  Flickers of trees, mountains, tents,  and narrow pathways flooded my vision.  I Remember hearing myself breathing hard.  Like chasing one’s breath. Why was I running?   Was there a zombie apocalypse? If there was, why am I still human??? As I was starting to get up, my backpack drops on the floor from my bed scattering our toothbrushes and other toiletries.  Oh Yeah! I remember…Mt. Pulag!

As I was in the kitchen having my morning breakfast of coffee and toast,  I started remembering that weekend…
March 1, 2014

 As I stepped off the victory bus coming from Manila to Baguio at around four in the morning I was surrounded by an army of mountaineers and tourists, a mixture of local and foreigners, running around searching for their next mode of transportation either by jeepney or by taxi.  It’s a good thing I was with a group called We Are FUNtastic Philippines (WAFP) together with another group Full Automatic Camera Klub Unlimited (F.A.C.K. Unlimited).  Yes, the WAFPers and FACKers united in conquering the country’s second highest mountain and one of the coldest place in the country, Mt. Pulag National Park
 


Leaving Baguio via Ambuklao rd. heading to Kabayan, Benguet, we  saw the views of the Ambuklao dam and it’s surrounding lake.  We stopped over to have breakfast and little bit of chit chat so that both groups will be more familiar with each other over a cup of five-peso coffee (thanks to the small vendo machine on the counter).  WAFP members are mostly new to mountaineering, while the other group is a mixture of newbies and regular mountaineers.  One member said that it’s his fifth time to climb Mt. Pulag and the other mentioned it is their second or third.  Some of us found relief knowing that we have with us people who are experienced and quite familiar with the place.
After breakfast, we rode our jeepney and went to the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) for required orientation and registration.  Of course, our first stop was for a group picture!!!  After that we headed to ate Gina’s for lunch and prepare for the climb , Ate Gina is your “GO-TO lady”, from transportation to food preparations. She also housed some of your belongings while we camp . 

   
The last stop before the climb is the drop off or Rangers station, where we start our 4 hours trek via Ambangeg Trail. 
You can request and pay for porters at the rangers station. (Yes! You read it right! Porters to help us with our gears and setting up…Do not be ashamed of asking one! The locals would encourage you actually because its part of their livelihood)
Passing thru different trails and terrains, along  the trek up to the campsite you will encounter three (3) kind of forests namely the pine tree forest, the mossy forest and the dwarf bamboo forest.  Inside the pine tree forest,  one side of the trail is covered by pine trees and the other side, a cliff that over looks the different vegetable plantations.  While walking along the pine tree trail, the trail becomes a bit muddy and cooler. 
The trail inside the mossy forest. I believe is the longest trail!  Here, the path becomes narrow such that we had to give way to those going back to the station and to those who would like to go ahead of us.  There are steep slopes and man made stoned paths (our trek poles usually get caught in-between stones!). Tree covered moss lines up this trail so much so that it makes you think that you are really in a forest.  We get to stop every once and a while to rest (Thank goodness!) About a minute or two for rest and water breaks…but NO bathroom breaks!
After more than an hour in the mossy trail there is a slope going up that leads to the grassy trail also known as the dwarf bamboo forest. The grassy trail is an open land with no trees and because it is high, it is sunny and yet, windy!

When we reached camp 2 extension there were a lot of other campers on the site already. This is where we decided to spend the night because it was getting late.  After we pitched up our tents and had dinner, we started to get amazed by the night sky.  The whole sky was virtually covered with stars! Lots of stars! We could actually see the milky way  because there is no electricity and the place was practically dark.  An avid fan of astronomy and photography would go gaga over this.  We decided to end our evening early for a very early trek the next day...planning to conquer the summit or peak 2 depending on how far our legs would carry us.






March 2, 2014

1:45 am… we woke up earlier than the alarm! Why??? It was too cold! The wind was blowing so hard!  We check the online weather to see how cold it is from up here…guess what? 4 degrees, Yes!  It’s really hard to move around! My fingers feel numb even though I’m already wearing gloves! Around past 2 am, we started to gather some of our hiking gear and important belongings (leaving our tents and other belongings at the site) for our 2 hour hike up to peak 2.  

The trail going to the high peaks was so dark that we needed headlamps and torches to light up the path.  It is so narrow that one slip you could spell a very bad day.  There were a lot of people walking on a single path that from a distance you could make out the whole trail leading to the summit!




We finally reach peak 2, others went ahead to tackle the actual summit…me, my knee was starting to object so I settled staying at peak 2. The sun is starting to rise and it was a sight to behold!  The sun was peeking through the clouds that it started to bring out colors of orange, yellow and some purple.  As the sun came up, we could see the clouds forming above the mountains.  It was not as thick as the others had experienced but it still left me mesmerized and thinking how beautiful the place is! It’s like a different world up here!  I would never think that the Philippines would have a place like this. 






After a few more hours on the peak, we decided to head back to camp to pack our gears and head home.  On our way back to the campsite, it felt like I’m one of the members of the “Fellowship of the Ring” in the movie The Lord of the Rings (I don’t know about the others but please let me not be the hobbit or the dwarf!).  When we reached the campsite, we ate our breakfast and then started the trek back to the ranger station where our jeepney service is waiting to bring us back at ate Gina’s place to freshen up, eat our lunch and grab the rest of our belongings.
We then proceed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to log out our group and put WAFP’s own flag as proof of our journey to Mt. Pulag.  On our way back to Baguio, we passed by Ambuklao Dam and Lake.  Took pictures of the whole group.  We arrived in La Trinidad and paid a visit to another WAFP admin, Mr. Gaby Tinio, who welcomed us in his warm home and fed us dinner.  We stayed for a couple of hours refreshing our selves and enjoying each other’s company with a bottle of beer or a glass of wine and for the best part, a sumptuous feast provided by our host.  At around nine in the evening, we went back to the bus terminal to catch our 10 p.m. trip back to Manila.


Now as I contemplate this last weekend’s adventure I have gained realization about the Philippines.  It is diverse in so many ways.  When people talk about the Philippines, one would automatically describe it’s beaches and cities, but in reality, there is more.   It is like a simple dish with a hodgepodge of ingredients mixed and cooked together, making it delicious and unique from other dishes.  

That Friday when we first met at Victory Liner bus station,  most of us were complete strangers from each other.  In the process, we became friends.  No doubt, some of those friendships well fall along on the way side.  Some, though, will remain for life.  We bonded with each other during those 2 and half days. We all came to share a ride, a trek and passion climbing Mount Pulag and we ended up sharing our lives. 

WAFP and F.A.C.K. Unlimited Mt. Pulag Adventure March 1 – 2 2014

We Are Funtastic Philippines! or WAFP is a group of fun-loving Filipinos living worldwide assisted by friends from different countries spanning the globe! Our primary objective is to showcase the beauty of the Philippines and invite visitors to our 7,107 islands, and experience the fun and hospitality of Pinoys.
Writt
en in collaboration with  Gelyn Pulayan, Desiree Panganiban & Juan Tamad
 This Article was published in HKNews September 2014 Issue For more photos visit this link https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.585568638188034&type=1
WAFP organizes photo shoots in various parts of the Philippines.  We welcome everyone to join our Facebook Group and FUNLakwatsa.
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