Mt. Pulag | Ambangeg Trail
- daniellecuaresma
- Nov 30, 2014
- 3 min read
Before I go on with my Mt. Pulag experience, I would just want to mention my climb at Mt. Talamitam last September. I went there with the same people I usually go with when I climb (Javi and friends, lol). The highlight there was the rainy night trek. We attempted to do a day-hike but unfortunately, it rained so hard and the trails were all muddy and slippery that we finished the trek at roughly 10pm. We're all proud of ourselves for surviving that rainy night trek.
So, moving on to my Mt. Pulag experience. I went there with, of course, Javi and friends. We assembled at Victory Liner Pasay Terminal and waited for the others to arrive. It was a 6-hr travel from Manila to Baguio and almost 2-3 hrs. from Baguio to the DENR station where we had the orientation and registration. It took us another 1-2 hrs. from DENR to Rangers Station where we had our lunch before we began the trek.
Ambuklao Dam
Topload experience! (C) Javier Villavicencio
We started the trek after having our lunch at the Rangers Station. It was an easy trek in the beginning and has few minimal assaults. The trail was a bit muddy because it rained throughout the trek that day. It took us at least 4 hrs. to reach camp 2 where we set our tents and rested.
Start of the trail (C) Javier Villavicencio
The muddy trail. (C) Daniel Hultberg
The temperature was so cold and the rain made it even colder. Me and Tammy (my tent buddy) had a hard time sleeping because we are so worried about the rain and because it was really freakin' cold. We woke up at around 5am and started to trek to the summit to catch the sunrise. It was a 2-hr walk from the camp site to the summit.
The trail to the summit. (C) Daniel Hultberg
We reached the summit just in time for the sunrise. There was no sea of clouds that day but it's okay because we saw a very beautiful sunrise.
We stayed at the summit for like 30 minutes, enjoyed the very beautiful and breathtaking scenery. And of course, had our photos taken.
These are the very awesome people I climbed with. Most of us here are from CGI.
This is me and Javie
After the photo ops, we started to climb down the summit and headed for camp 2 where we had our breakfast.
This is me going down the summit. I said here "Tammy, picturan mo naman ako!"
(C) Fatimah Botawan
Our breakfast made by Sir Godo and Sir Greg!
We fixed our tents and bags after having our breakfast and started to trek back to the Rangers Station. It took us 1-2 hrs of trekking until we reach the station. I can't believe how quick we were! After everyone has arrived to the Rangers Station, we had our lunch, rested for a while, and rode the chartered jeepney down the station.
Cleaning up, resting, and waiting for the others. (C) Javier Villavicencio
Where we had our lunch. Homemade food by the locals!
We went back to the DENR Station to 'sign-out' and clean ourselves up. After everyone has finished cleaning, we went back to Baguio where we split ways. Almost half of the group went home early, while the rest had their dinner and roamed around Baguio.
It was a really nice experience climbing the highest point in Luzon and the third highest mountain in the country. Mt. Pulag (2922 masl) was known to be the second highest mountain in the Philippines until Mt. Dulang-dulang (2938 masl) was introduced to the people. Still, it was an amazing experience to have climbed the 'Playground of the gods'. I was a bit sad because we didn't see the sea of clouds but it's okay. It made me want to come back.
I really admire Mt. Pulag for its clean environment. Unlike other mountains, you won't see garbage in the area. even small ones. So kudos to the locals for keeping the grounds sacred and clean. I hope that all mountaineers, climbers, travelers, etc., would do the same to all the mountains and to all other places.
For a comprehensive guidelines and itineraries, please read the article Pinoy Mountaineer - Mt. Pulag via Ambangeg Trail (2922+)
You may also want to check out the schedule of our climbs at Javier's facebook page:
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