Mt. Pulag Conquered Feb 6 - 9, 2008

Mt. Pulag, Benguet Province, February 6 - 10, 2008

February 6, 2008: The trip – Manila to Baguio City to Ranger Station

We left Manila at about 12 a.m. and arrived Baguio City at about 6:30 am. We took our breakfast at Baguio Country Club.

We left Baguio Country Club and went to jeepney station near Burham Park. With two hired 4WD jeepneys, we proceeded to DENR Field Office where we registered and had very short orientation about Mt. Pulag and mountaineering since all of us not first timer. We we took our lunch at the DENR Field Office..  At about 2 pm, we departed to and reached Babadak Ranger Station . 

As usual the road from Baguio to DENR and Ranger Station are cemented and some are under construction.  The road from DENR to Ranger is dirt and bumpy.

Before reaching DENR we passed by Sulfur Spring.  It was a crater of about 7 x 7 meters of boiling liquid sulfur ash and overflowing in many directions. One of us stepped on soft sulfur ash and his foot got first degree burn since he was wearing sandals only.

At Babadak Ranger station the temperature was 13 degrees when we arrived around 5 pm. The afternoon has clear sky.

At the Ranger Station, we cooked our dinner and had some singing with guitar accompaniment by Sey, Joel and Randolph.

We spent our first night inside the Babadak Ranger Station since we are only 16.

February 7, 2008 : The Climb – Ambangeg Trail

Early morning I was chilling due to very cold weather. I added one jacket and covered my whole body with sleeping bag.  That took out my chill and was wearing TNF jacket, TNF fleece, SICAT dri-fit and one cotton shirt with two socks and leg warmer.

The temperature ealry morining at about 6 am was 8 degrees.

Early morning the water from the faucet run out.  Good thing I filled up my 500 ml container. Since it was cold, so I figured I will make refill at Camp #2 where we would have our lunch.

Before we start our trek we had group picture and prayer for safety. We started 8:30 AM and arrived at about 11:30 in Camp #2.

We left Camp #2 at about 2pm.  We started our trek thru the Mossy Forest and then on the Grassland..

We arrived at Camp #3 about 4 pm. This is base camp and the summit of Mt. Pulag can be seen at about 800 meter high.

We pitched our tent and prepared our dinner.

Here, I had headache and went to rest inside the tent. My body temperature went up and I took one paracetamol. After one hour, I felt good again and went to eat dinner.

This time no socializing event since it was windy and very cold outside the tent. The temperature was 5 degrees.

This time I slept well and no chill. My sleeping clothes are enough with the sleeping bag.

February 8, 2008 At Base Camp 3, Assault of Mt. Pulag and Descent via Akiki Trail.

Wake up call was 5:30 am and started assaulting the summit of Mt. Pulag at 6 am of about 1.5 kms ascent.  At the break of dawn, we are at the summit and conquered Mt. Pulag again. As usual cameras keep on clicking to record the event.

I kept my camera sealed in plastic to avoid moisture due to change of temperature from lowland to Mt. Pulag.  I separated the battery and covered with styrofor  since the cold weather dissipate the battery energy. Only at this time of assault I opened and set up my camera.  With this strategy, I had about 320 shots in this climb. Another trick is I did not review any shot. Just shoot and shoot the good views and my fellow mountainer in action.

I did many shots at the summit.

At about 9 am, we started our descent via Akiki Trail to Eddet River where we would stay overnight.

We trek along the Grassland again , another Mossy Forest then the very steep trail going down to Eddet River. The steep trail is about about 2 kms of 45 degrees incline. It was slippery due to dried thick leaves of pine trees. When you step on it, you slide. Some trails are more than 45 degrees and quite dangerous.

Anyway, we all reached Eddet Camp safely with some fall but not serious. I fell twice sitting.  Trekking pole is a great help.

We arrived at Eddet Camp about 5 pm. Some of us went to dip the cold Eddet river with temperature about 10 degrees, like you are inside refrigerator.  I took three dips and that was enough.  It was so refreshing and relaxing.

We had our dinner and had some fun 10 PM.

February 9, 2008 Trek back to Baguio

We climb and cross mountain again just to end the trek.

The elevation of Mt. Pulag is about 2,900 meters above sea level (MASL) and the base camp #3 is 2,400. So we climb about 500 meters up but about 1.8 kms of trek. The Eddet camp is about 1,100 meters so we went down about 1,300 meters but I have I forgetten how many kilometers it was.

Now from Eddet Camp we had climbed up about 1,000 meters then go down again crossing that mountain.

We left Eddet about 8:30 am and reached the end of trek about 11:30.

That night, we had our sumptuous dinner at Marios Restaurant and proceeded to Giligans but full. We ended up in 18BC Bar.

February 10, 2008. Back to Manila