Mt. Pulag Climb: Ranger Station, Ascent, Camp 2
From DENR, we rode the monster jeepney to the Ranger Station of Mt. Pulag.
Mt. Pulag is standing at 2,922 meters above sea level. Ambangeg trail being the easiest trail of the three available trails to the summit, hikers will ride a monster jeep to the Ranger Station which is more or less already 2,000 meters above sea level.
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| Saying that the road was bumpy is probably an understatement. Sobrang nakakabilib nung driver saka ng jeep namin kasi jeepney ride pa lang, adventure na. Aside from the picturesque view of Benguet mountains, bet 'yung feeling na akala mo 'yung jeepney na sinasakyan niyo roller coaster. Almost same sensation 'yung ibang steep roads sa roller coaster ng Enchanted Kingdom. Matarik na nga 'yung daan, bangin pa. Saan ka pa? :)))) |
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| Medyo buwis-buhay man, para sa ganitong view naman na makikita mo, masarap pa rin ulitin. |
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| Most of the view there is like this. The mountain/forest is slowly being converted to vegetable farms. And according to the DENR orientation, alarming na 'to. Kailangan maisipan sila ng alternative livelihood. Ano kaya? |
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| We arrived at the Ranger Station safely and without needing to take Bonamine. Wala naman kasi akong dala na Bonamine. Hahaha. |
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| The plantation is beautiful, isn't it? Although I'd rather that they not expand the plantations anymore. Sana, maalagaan 'yung forest na meron ang Mt. Pulag ngayon para makita pa ng next generations. |
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| At the beginning of the trail, you'll be passing through the pine forest. At this point, it was still easy albeit some uphill and my 10 kgs. backpack was still bearable. |
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| So close yet to far!! One of those summits is Mt. Pulag. Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard... thinking if I should take myself back to the start. WAHAHAHA. JOKE!!! No turning back. |
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| After passing through the pine forest, you'd pass through the mossy forest. Before we reached Camp 1, I don't have a picture of the place nga lang, our expedition leader told us, "Medyo mahirap. Assault na 'to." SHET. ASSAULT. SHET. :)))) Anong nangyari? Shet nga. Hahahahahaha. I can laugh at eveything now but during those moments, I was smiling but I was so so so close to tears. |
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| It was while in the mossy forest that I was already telling myself, "Ano bang pinag gagawa mo sa buhay mo?! Bakit kailangan mong maghirap ng ganito? Huhuhu" HAHAHAHA. When other factors such as temperature, gravity, altitude, and weight of your bag are at play, it's difficult to the point that you'd want to back out. We just kept on reminding ourselves our expenses and the sea of clouds so we continued. hahaha. Kaya, go pa rin kami kahit nakakaiyak na, kahit ang sakit sakit na at kahit ang bigat bigat na. Countless times I told myself that I should have hired a porter. Seryoso. Life would be a lot easier if you'd hire a porter. Traversing is easier and you've supported the livelihood of the people in the area. That's hitting two birds with one stone kaso minus naman 'yung experience mo pagsisihan kung bakit napakarami mong dinala. Hahaha. But if you're interested, you can hire someone for P 600.00 for 10 kgs and below packs. |
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| Before I started trekking, I told myself that I will look at the view and appreciate the forest but when I was there, I couldn't even look around. I was only looking down because there's this thought that I might trip and fall in the ravine. Whenever I hear about a person who died mountaineering, scuba diving ganyan. I'd tell myself, "At least that person died while doing the activity he loves." Pero when I was there, "Ayoko pa po please lang" Now, can you imagine how difficult the ascent was for me? I was even having those thoughts already. Hahahahaha. |
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| I MADE IT!!! CAMP 2! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I won't take all the credits though. hehehe Halfway the trek, Ate guide and my fellow climber helped me by carrying each of my 1.5L bottled water. Thanks to them too. Sa buhay, pag hindi mo na kaya, may mga taong tutulong naman sa'yo kailangan mo lang tumalikod at magmukhang kaawa awa sa paningin nila. Charot lang pero mukha na siguro talaga kaming kawawa! :))) Nahiya man ako dahil pabigat 'yung tubig sakanila, kinapalan ko na mukha ko kesa di ako umabot sa camp 2. haha! :)) Wooooooo! Pinahirapan mo kong kalbo ka!!!!!! Bakit kalbo? In order to forget the hardship while trekking, we just asked our guide some questions like, "Why is Pulag called Mt. Pulag?" and according to her, Pulag means bald in their language. It makes sense since from a mossy forest filled with different types of vegetation, you'd see the summits only covered in grasses and dwarf bamboo plants. |
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| Our home for the night. :D |
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| I love the feeling of walking and then 'yung clouds at fog, nasa gilid lang namin. Hello, adik kaya ako sa fog. hahaha. Nakaka-relax para sa'kin tumingin sa fog at natutuwa ako pag nakakakita ako ng fog/ulap na mabilis gumalaw and I saw so much of that in Mt. Pulag. Sobrang thankful ko. While walking around camp 2, I was praising myself for deciding to climb despite knowing the danger and the hardships that will come with it. But it's either, I underestimated the trail or I overestimated my stamina. Hindi ko naisip na magiging ganun kahirap para sa'kin 'yung pag-akyat pero sa kabila ng lahat, nasabi ko pa rin atang okay lang na pahirapan ko sarili ko ulit for this. hahahaha. Ayun lang. Masokista talaga. |
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| This selfie was taken near the latrine area. There's no running water in the camp and no concrete comfort rooms. Walang ligo, punas punas lang. :)) During that time, it felt hot because of the sun but the wind was starting to get more chilly. Malamig na during the ascent actually. Tipong, pag pinawisan ka, kailangan mo punasan agad kasi 'yung pawis mo, malamig na rin. |
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| The great divide. You'd see where the mossy forest ends and where the grasslands begin. Parang, estuary ng Mt. Pulag National Park. Halos ka-itsura when salt water meets fresh water eh. |
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| Thank you, God that I am able to experience these things. Thank you, God for the gift of life. |
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