Conquering Mt. Pulag, Playground of the Gods

Four hours of trekking. Slips and slides. Shortness of breath as you go upward the slope. Chilly breeze touching your cheeks as you repeatedly ask yourself why you’re doing this. All of this, you’ll forget as soon as you reach Mount Pulag’s peak and take in the beautiful, glorious view.

Ranger’s Camp

From the DENR office, it took about another hour of steep and winding roads before we finally arrived at the Ranger’s Camp. Since we’re climbing at dawn, we had more than enough time to rest, sleep, eat, and literally chill out. It was cold in the mountains as it is but the ceramic tile flooring made it worse.

We slept, had late lunch, and then goofed around. Despite the cold, I felt the need to take a bath. Jayson and I wagered that whoever loses in paper, rock, scissors will be the first one to take a bath. He lost. Ha! I don’t think I was much of a winner though because we had to suffer through the same thing. It was so freaking cold, it felt like taking a bath with ice water inside an air-conditioned room.

We had early dinner. I don’t know about them, but I wasn’t very choosy about what to eat as long as it’s hot. Dinner was quick and after a few minutes, Joey, HB, Jayson and I decided to go out to explore the surroundings. We didn’t go far, just a few meters from the house. We did get to see a lovely view of the sunset.

Sleeping inside the main house, or specifically inside the rooms where there are bunk beds, requires additional payment. Since we didn’t want to incur additional costs and we had tents anyway, we decided to sleep outside. Looking back, camping outside was better than sleeping in the house. The ground was warmer than the house’s ceramic tiles.

Trekking

At 12:30am, we woke up to prepare our stuff for the trek and have coffee. It was unbelievably cold so most of us had three layers of clothing. Dex and I shared one bag, which he carried for the rest of the trek, containing the essentials: meds, water, trail food, poncho, wet wipes, trash bags, flash lights and our mobile phones. I also brought a whistle, headlamp, and my camera. We left the camp before 1:30am.

I can’t say much about the trek going to the summit because it was mostly dark. I could barely see the road I walked on. Thanks to the cool weather, my eyeglasses fogged so I opted to not use it. I had to rely on my trekking pole. The cold made my head ache and countless of times, I questioned my sanity for doing this. The trail wasn’t difficult but the darkness and the cold made it challenging. We made several quick stops and I found myself with different companions at different times. At one point I was with Elaine, then with Gigi and Claire, then with Jayson and Gelo, then with Dex and HB, and a few times I was alone. The trek going to Camp 3 was probably the hardest because it was uphill, eerily dark, the trail was so narrow and steep, and I WAS ALONE. Strangely though, I wasn’t afraid. I just prayed and kept calm.

The Summit

At 5:30am, we reached Mt. Pulag’s summit, just in time for the sunrise. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS. I won’t even dare describing how the summit looked because I can’t. I’ll just let you look at the photos.

Being at the summit made me feel all sorts of emotions: bliss, excitement, awe, relief, pride. Mostly though, it was humbling. After hours of trekking, you’d think once I’m up there I can brag and take credit for my achievement. In my head I did, for a few moments. It was inevitable to feel extra proud because it was one of the country’s highest mountains and it was my first mountain trip. But looking around, I couldn’t help but feel small (in a good way) and humbled by the sheer beauty of God’s creation. Words just couldn’t describe how magnificent this place is. In the words of Gelo, “Ang saya saya ko ngayon, sobrang fulfilled ako.”

We were told that had we come on a better time, like early in the year or during summer, there were seas of clouds. As of writing, I am thinking of going back next year to witness this and re-experience Pulag’s wonders.

After spending a good time taking photos after photos (even after the trip we’d marvel and get teary-eyed at how beautiful our photos were), we sat down and enjoyed the peace. If I could stay at the summit for a longer time, I would. But we had to go back to camp.

Going Down

Going down from the summit was another story. Having trekked in Sagada, I knew that I’d find it harder to descend. This wasn’t entirely the case for this trip. Since the sun had already risen, I could see the trail properly and was a little bit faster than when we were going up. It also allowed me to see how awesome our surroundings were, from the Marlboro-esque mountains and hills to the wide grasslands to the cool, mossy forest. I was alone 90% of the trek because the guys were so fast and us girls had large intervals between us. It was during this solitary walk that I felt happiest. We laughed at how the DENR officer kept on saying “God is watching us” but that was mostly what I felt during the trip, especially during the time I was alone. It was so calming. It would have been perfect if not for my headache.

After about three and a half hours, Claire and I arrived at the Rangers Camp and had brunch. Then we started packing and showing off photos, bragging about who shot the best photos.

At around 1pm, we left and headed to the DENR office to claim our certificates. We returned to Good Taste Restaurant for late-lunch-slash-early-dinner, this time with Jan.

This trip was one of the best I’ve had this year. Climbing the beautiful Mount Pulag reminded me of how beautiful Philippines is, that anything is possible, and that I am so blessed to have awesome travel buddies. And that’s something that money can’t buy.

Thank you, Gelo, for arranging this trip. You’re the man! Thank you, Dex, for coming with me and carrying my stuff (LOL) and taking awesome shots. Thank you, my girlband friends, Elaine, Claire, and Gigi for being wonderful as always – we always have the best time, don’t we? Thanks, Jayson, for being cool and funny and weird at the same time; can’t wait to hang out with you again soon! Thanks, HB, for my lovely solo shots and Jan, for not being weirded out by our Tagalog conversations and general silliness. Thanks, Joey, for being Korean. Hehe. Cheers to us and see you soon on our next travels! And thanks to Hideout Travel and Tours for organizing this trip and guiding us.