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.
Written 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
