Once again I’m here at DENR Visitor’s Center Pulag leading a group of twenty one souls hoping to fulfill every Filipino mountaineer’s dream of journeying to the top of Luzon. For most of us it would be our first time to climb the third highest and probably the most famous mountain in the Philippines. As for me it’s my third time here even as for the moment I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. This is where it all started for me and I still remember it very clearly like it was yesterday.
It was more than four years ago when I signed up as a solo joiner for Travel Factor’s Conquer Pulag event in order to give hiking a try. I would then meet up with fellow joiners and there were many, at Victory Liner’s bus terminal in Cubao, to take an overnighter to Baguio. Arriving early in the morning in the city of pines, we would eat a hearty breakfast at Good Taste restaurant, followed by taking a three hour jeep ride crossing through nausea and vomit inducing zigzag road to Babadak Ranger Station before finally starting our sojourn to Mount Pulag. Having never hiked before in my life, I was immediately panting and gasping for breath fifteen minutes into the hike but why was I feeling a strange sense of satisfaction? It was this precise moment when I realized this won’t be the last time I’ll be doing this.
Alright! Enough reminiscing for we’re about to enter a room here in DENR Pulag to attend a mandatory seminar about Mount Pulag. For half an hour, we would watch a movie that introduced us to the mountain we’re hiking to and it’s cultural significance to the people living near it. We would also learn that the name of the mountain is derived from Kalanguya term (the indigenous people living in the slope of Pulag) meaning to go bald, a nod to the bald grassland summit of the mountain. We would also learn that Pulag has a rich biodiversity with unique flora and fauna, and that it must be protected for future generations. Finally, we’re taught of every mountaineer, hiker and traveler’s creed which is to observe the Leave No Trace (LNT) principle, where one should take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time, and leave nothing but footprints. The LNT principle should be observed not only when we’re hiking Mount Pulag but on every mountains and destinations we go to. Overall, it’s a very educational seminar and I implore that every Pulag visitor should pay full attention to the seminar and not fall asleep halfway into it. You will learn a lot of things from it.
Armed with newfound knowledge about the mountain as well as the do’s and don’ts on hiking we would then ride on rented monster jeep provided by Maam Gina Epe that would shuttle us to Babadak Ranger Station. The road going there was all uphill and very scenic, prompting some of us to sit on top of the roof of the jeep for a wonderful top load experience that gives the rider a three hundred sixty degree view of the trip, something you should definitely not miss when you’re in Cordillera! Eventually we would all reach the Ranger Station, register all of our names, got assigned to our home stay which is a charming house named “Cloudgazer” closest to the trailhead, before settling down to rest, socialize with each other, have an early dinner followed by hitting the slack at 8PM, mindful that we all has to wake up early in the morning the next day at 12 midnight for a six kilometer sojourn to the top.
The Hike to the Top
Its 2 AM in the morning here and we think we’re ready for our hike to the top after meeting with our guide Kuya Jerry who’s a native Kalanguya. The weather was excruciatingly cold which is unsurprising because here at our home stay it’s already 2400 above sea level. The mountain tops out at 2926 MASL meaning we only need to gain around 500 meters in altitude to reach it. We must not get too cocky however, even if it’s the Ambangeg trail we’re taking (yes, pabebe muna ako ngayon, next time na ulit yung Akiki) for it’s a six kilometer trek in the midst of the biting 5 degree coldness.
Dressed like an Eskimo with headlamp strapped on our head, we started our trek dutifully following Kuya Jerry who is the lead while I act as the sweeper. The start of the trek was mostly on a wide and ascending dirt path. Half an hour later we would enter a forest trail and before we know it, all of us would reach Camp one, where we would rest and wait for each other before commencing on our exodus to the top. The sky’s above us very clear and dotted with millions of stars-a spectacle not possible in the polluted environment of Manila.
It took us an hour to trek from camp one to camp two. The path was almost all forested and very safe. Perhaps the only caveat to this is the trek is quite long but compared to the other trail like the arduous Akiki (which I took on my second time here three years ago), this one is the shortest and the most beginner friendly to the top. Passing through mossy forest, we would finally emerge on the famed Pulag grassland at Camp 2 with the sky still dark and the air has now noticeably thinner.
I wish I could say that every one of my group was all trekking scot free here but as soon as we commenced our hike to the summit from Camp 2 after around five minutes’ break, Icca, the beau of my college friend Francis who’s also here to accompany us on our hike, was experiencing throbbing headache that refuses to away. She was also having some difficulty breathing so I think it’s a sign of mild altitude sickness because I felt the same when I hiked Mount Yushan in Taiwan half a year ago. So I told her take it slow and not rush things up going to the summit. Eventually her desire to reach the top enables her to overcome any discomfort she was feeling hence step by step, amidst breaking dawn we slowly planted our feet ahead of ourselves, moving forward gently until finally, we’re all on top of Peak 3 of Mount Pulag just in time for the most gorgeous sunrise I’ve ever seen in my life.
Like Mother Nature was taking it’s time painting for us pictures of infinite beauty, we were treated to a spectacle unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in our lives. Clouds seems to stretch endlessly underneath us like they’re a huge blanket to the mountains below, with the sun rising slowly, adding richness and vibrancy to an already otherworldly scenery around us. It was such a beautiful moment that I would love to do nothing else but sit here and gaze, thinking of nothing but the people I care and the view around us.
One by one I roamed around to check my team and saw that they were having the time of their lives. Overjoyed, I thought that they are all so fortunate to have witnessed every Filipino mountaineer’s dream of seeing a sea of clouds phenomenon on their first time here in Mount Pulag-something I was deprived of on first and second attempt here years ago. I was also soaking on the moment, basking in the most beautiful clearing I’ve ever seen in my entire four years of hiking, followed by memorializing the moment through countless photo ops. Francis and Icca had a very romantic photography session that could easily be a prenuptial shoot. I couldn’t blame them really because in a surroundings like this, it’s easy to fall in love with the moment and of course with each other.
An hour passed and I decided we should now get going in order to reach the true summit of the mountain which is half an hour away. As much as we all just wanted to just chill here on Peak 3, I wanted all of them to achieve a personal milestone of conquering the highest point in Luzon, with the summit marker serving as their proof. It is something they can brag to their future grandsons. So I rallied all of them. Soon we’re all on the trail with the summit in our mind save for six of my team who opted to just stay on Peak 3 and wait for us because they felt unwell due to fatigue. Before long, after going through a downhill then uphill climb, the remaining members of my team who opted to chase the summit have all firmly planted our feet on the top of Mount Pulag.
At the summit a sea of crowds welcomed us. All of them are patiently waiting for their turn at the summit marker, and there are nine teams ahead of us before it would even get to our turn. Fortunately the scenery around us remains inspiring, as vast oceans of clouds still hung around continuously below us even at 8AM, making the entire place looks like a slice of paradise on earth. From here I would also see on the other side of the summit mountaineers armed with heavy backpacks going up through the infamously hard Akiki trail. It gave me flashback from the past of me three years ago also going through the same ordeal they’re going through right now. That was my first ever major multi day hike and marked the point when I transitioned from being merely a pabebe hiker into a serious mountaineer.
Our turn at the summit eventually came; where one by one we went up to have pictures of ourselves with the summit marker taken as proof that we conquered the third highest mountain in the Philippines. Soon afterwards, we would start marching back to Peak 3 where we would learn that the remaining six members of our team who didn’t summit have already decided to descend back to our home stay all by themselves. Without taking much break, we descended to Camp 2, entered once again into the mossy forest of the forest, emerged at Camp 1, rested a bit, before finally reaching the home stay, all safe and sound and happy as a kid!
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It has been a blessing to go on this Pulag trip that I am most grateful to our Creator for blessing us with a very good weather. I would also like to thank all my joiners for making this trip possible and memorable. Most special thanks to Icca for letting me use your wonderful photos! Half of the photos here are from hers actually!
This trip made me realize that even though I might have climbed much higher peaks, traversed much more difficult and demanding ridges, there will never be another mountain quite like Pulag. It was her who welcomed me into the wonderful world of mountaineering and in a nutshell, I realized that all the mountains that I hiked to after my maiden hike to Pulag was me trying to search in vain for the “next Pulag”. While all the other mountains are beautiful and memorable in their own rights and should be hiked to as well, Mount Pulag will always be special and unique to me. To hike her summit, whether you take beginner friendly Ambangeg, the difficult Akiki, the mystical Tawangan or the long and demanding Ambaguio trail will leave you mesmerized, making you fall in love with the mountains. It might also change the direction of your life, and will make you keep on wanting to hike again and again, as it was the case for me four years ago. And if you’re lucky on your climb to Pulag, you might be rewarded on top with every mountaineer’s dream-the most beautiful sea of cloud phenomenon you could ever see in your life.
My every Pulag climb has been memorable. First it was four years ago when I discovered through her Ambangeg trail that I like the beauty and the solitude I get through hiking. Next it was a year later when I returned to Pulag via Akiki trail, which would be my first major overnight climb where I discovered that I can hike full pack and self contained. Finally, it was this time when I returned to bring a group of curious hikers again via Ambangeg trail and was rewarded with the most beautiful sea of clouds I’ve ever seen in my life. While my passion for hiking would take me to even greater heights and to more distant peaks in the future, I will always return to Pulag-my mother mountain, whenever I have the chance.
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I love Mt. Pulag. Been there twice via Ambangeg. Had to cancel two Akiki trail treks, unfortunately, due to anxieties. However, it is always a pleasant adventure and I wouldn’t mind climbing it a third, a fourth, or even an infinite number of times.
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From what I can understand of this blog piece, you are climb organizers as well?
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