Mount Pulag

JANUARY 21-22, 2017

DIFFICULTY LEVEL (according to TA site): 4/10

Last December, Tin and I spontaneously booked a hike in Mt. Pulag (via Ambangeg) with Trail Adventours. It was scheduled in late January, which meant that we would be there in one of its coldest days (a lot of people say Jan-Feb are the coldest months).

Our main guide was Jeric, who happened to be one of our main guides in the Gulugod-Baboy hike so it was nice to see a familiar face. We had a pre-climb briefing a few days before the hike but those who were unable to attend did not have to worry since the deck was forwarded to them.

We left Manila on January 20 (around 10PM), and we arrived in Baguio the next day (before 4AM). From Baguio, we rode a monster jeepney where our end destination is the homestay. But before heading to the homestay, we had a few stops first.

Our first side trip was the AMBUKLAO DAM. Near the dam, there was a body of water where a few locals were fishing in the early hours of the morning. It was really cold even if we were wearing thick jackets. I checked my phone and the temperature was estimated to be 15C.

We headed to JANG JANG HANGING BRIDGE afterwards and while the bridge seemed sturdy, it was still quite scary to see how high we were from the ground. According to Jeric, the walk from one side of the bridge to the other would take 10 minutes so he advised us to just walk until the middle portion. True enough, it felt like we had walked far enough from one side of the bridge but the other side still looked far. A word of caution though that according to the locals, only max of 10 people should ideally be walking along the bridge.

Our last side trip was the DACLAN SULFUR SPRING — nothing much to see except for, well, sulfur. Do NOT go too near the bubbling pools of water as it can corrode your footwear or worse, damage your skin. Also a warning that the place smells like rotten eggs.

 

Before having lunch, we went to the DENR OFFICE to attend the mandatory orientation where do’s and don’ts were discussed. They also mentioned that they are only accommodating max of 200 hikers per day, which is good because this move helps take care of mountains and prevent theme from being bugbog. Another important thing discussed there was how DENR assigns which point in Pulag will be your last stop. We were lucky enough to be assigned to the summit. Other points are labeled as Point 2, Point 3, etc.

We had our lunch in a local eatery, as part of the TA package we availed, then headed to BABAN’S HOMESTAY. I was surprised with how nice and clean the homestay looked like, plus it was just a few minutes away from the Ranger Station so the location is very convenient. We had the afternoon as free time and by dinner time, TA team distributed the TA Mount Pulag shirts and discussed the reminders for our early hike the next day.

 

We slept early and woke up around 11:30PM to prepare for our 1AM hike. We rode the monster jeepney going to RANGER STATION, where we met with our local guides. From there, we started the long and chilly hike to the summit of Mount Pulag. Our first stop was CAMP 1 and part of the trail going there was quite steep so I had to stop and catch my breath every now and then. From Camp 1 to Camp 2, the trail was easier since most of it was just flat. CAMP 2 to the summit was quite challenging again since there were portions of the trail that were steep — and it was a bit at the beginning of this trail when my head lamp fell off from my forehead and died. Good thing my phone was fully charged so I used its flashlight instead (but less powerful light and smaller area covered!).

It was still quite dark when we reached the SUMMIT, as the hike from the Ranger’s Station was about 4 hours; hence, we were there at around 5AM. We looked for a good spot to watch the sun rise slowly from the horizon, and all I can say is that the scenery was just purely amazing. What I thought back then was how lucky we were to witness such spectacle, and how blessed this country is with the wonders of nature.

 

Here comes the sun(rise)

 

TA team provided sandwiches, apples, and coffee for our breakfast in the summit. Of course, as responsible hikers, we cleaned up our mess — although this should be already ingrained in every hiker or aspiring hiker, sadly, a lot of people still leave their trash in the mountains.

The hike going back to Ranger’s Station still took about 4 hours but it was easier especially the trail from Camp 1 since we were heading the opposite direction already.

Upon reaching the homestay, we freshened up ourselves and packed our things since we will be heading back to Baguio after lunch. We arrived back in Baguio around 4PM and we were given free time to do whatever we wanted as our bus is scheduled to leave at 9PM. Tin and I bought pasalubong in Good Shepherd then we ate early dinner in CANTO, which is one of the restaurants in KETCHUP FOOD COMMUNITY. There was a loooong line when we got there (which was the reason why I wasn’t able to eat here despite visiting K.F.C. back in 2014 and 2015). We were lucky because two of our fellow hikers were next in line to enter and they invited us to join their table.

Tin and I were supposed to head to Chocolate de Batirol but since we were both too tired from the very early hike, we went back to the bus station instead. Our bus left on time and we were back in Manila before 3AM.

So far, this is the best hike I did and this just further reinforces my passion to hike mountains.

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THINGS I BROUGHT (30+5L Brown Trekker backpack):

• 3 Uniqlo Heattech tops (2 normal, 1 extra warm)
• 3 Uniqlo Heattech leggings (2 notmal, 1 ultra warm)
• Lakambini cargo pants
• Baubax travel jacket and thick Dr. Martens socks — borrowed from my sister
• Pair of gloves
• Bonnet
• Hiking rubber shoes
• Hiking sandals
• Trail food (nuts, energy bar, dark chocolate, energy gel)
• 3L of water (but only brought 1.5L in Mt. Pulag)
• Trekking pole
• Head lamp
• Disposable rain coat (in case it rains)
• Emergency blanket
• Waterproof cell phone case
• Small bag (This is what I brought during the hike – for trail food, blanket, rain coat. Our TA guide was kind enough to bring my 1.5L bottle of water)

Masungi Georeserve

JUNE 25, 2016

On a writing spree again — now documenting this difficult-to-book but very memorable trip about 8 months ago. Brace yourself for the long hike. From our experience, it took us more than 4 hours but that was because we spent some time taking pictures in every highlight of Masungi Georeserve.

Masungi Georeserve started to become popular around late 2015/early 2016 to the point that all weekends until mid-2016 were already booked. I had my hopes down that I would not be able to visit this anytime soon but eventually, one day back in May, my sister chanced upon a free slot on June 25 (which was a Saturday). She immediately booked this even if she was not sure if she could complete the requirement of having minimum of 7 in a group — it was a problem that she postponed to thinking of later.

After successfully booking the schedule, my sister invited a few of her friends plus extended the invite to me and a few more friends. We became a group of 8 so we were good to go! We paid Php 1,400 per person for the conservation fee.

On the day itself, our schedule was at 6:30AM but we got there 2 hours later because we got lost in Baras. We blamed Waze because the road it suggested was a muddy, un-cemented path that led to a dead end. Good thing the MG team was very understanding of what happened. (Highly recommend to have your own private car going to Masungi Georeserve. While there are jeeps passing by, they are quite rare and are usually full already.)

Our park ranger / guide that day was Kuya Elmer, who has a good sense of humor and is an eager photographer. He would volunteer getting my friends’ cameras to take pictures of us. And of course, we were too happy to comply. 🙂

We had a briefing first done in SILUNGAN and it was here where we were given our kits — bag, helmet, whistle, and a bottle of water.

After a few minutes of walking, the first rope course we encountered was the LAMBAT, which was easy to accomplish since it was just very short.

Some minutes of walking again and we reached SAPOT, which boasted majestic views of the surrounding areas / provinces. This web-like rope course is made up of cables that are strong enough to withstand the weight of people, but we were told to avoid jumping around. We spent some time in this course since we had too much fun taking pictures, and Kuya Elmer also showed us that we can have our pictures taken under the Sapot.

We returned back to hiking afterwards, and we had to cross this hanging bridge. No need to fret because it was not swinging too much despite having a number of people walking on it.

We passed by a few caves, and eventually passed by this swing-like structure, where we had fun taking turns sitting there.

Eventually, we reached PATAK, which is a beautiful air house. It is shaped like a raindrop hence its name. It is suspended high above the trees and there are two bridges connected to it. We spent a few minutes here to rest and enjoyed the swings inside.

A long rope course was in store for us after heading out Patak, which would eventually lead to DUYAN. By far, this seemed to be the most photographed part of Masungi Georeserve, and one could see why. This huge hammock is made of ropes, and it is definitely not for the faint-hearted or people who have fear of heights.

After climbing down the last rope course in the area, Kuya Elmer led us to YUNGIB NI RUBEN. This particular cave was named after the person who takes care of this cave i.e., Ruben. He also mentioned that this cave is part of a karst landscape, and a good place to get away from the heat of the sun.

Next stop was TATAY, which is the taller rock-formed peak. Another place to soak in the majestic view around the area.

Not far from Tatay is NANAY, another rock-formed peak interconnected by small bridges. This area has a better view of the landscape around.

Our last stop that day was at LIWASAN. The pools of water are not for swimming, and serve as birdbath instead. This was our final pit stop before heading back to Silungan. We ate the free sandwiches from MG Team, and enjoyed the cold tea-like drink they provided. After getting re-energized, we finally made our way back to the starting point.

Kuya Elmer mentioned that MG Team is planning to add a few more “attraction” points, which is something to look forward to in the near future. This gives us another reason to go back to Masungi Georeserve. Highly recommend this to everyone — while being physically fit is an advantage, the whole trail is fairly easy even if you do not workout. 😉

Mount Gulugod-Baboy + Sombrero Island

MAY 21, 2016

DIFFICULTY LEVEL (according to TA site): 2/10

I became lazy again to update my site — it’s always an on-and-off relationship with blogging, or more of documenting travels as I always tell (or correct) my friends since I rarely write here.

So, after exactly 9 months, I have decided to finally write about my 2nd hike last 2016, which happened in Mount Gulugod-Baboy.

Just like the previous hike, I booked this trip via Trail Adventours and was accompanied by Tin. Our main guides this time were Jeric and JP, who were both funny and easy to talk to.

We were blessed that we had a good weather that day so we did not worry about muddy trails and getting wet in the middle of the hike. We had 2 main rest points, wherein we spent about 15 minutes in each point to catch up our breath and eat our trail food. It was also the place where we got to know fellow hikers in the group — plus shared our food (and be on the receiving end too – yay for free snacks!).

We reached the summit in about 2 hours and the view was absolutely stunning! We spent almost an hour there before starting our hike back to the parking lot for lunch time.

 

 

After lunch time, we changed into our swimming attire since TA package included a trip to Sombrero Island (called as such because the island is hat-shaped). We hopped on the rented boat and according to the guides, the island was once a free-for-all place. However, it has been declared as a “private property” hence there are fees to be paid, including renting a cottage. The island was just small but it looked quite difficult to go around the whole island since there were areas which were too rocky.

Swimming in the sea was more than welcome because we were there at past 1PM and the sun was shining bright (so much that it was awfully hot). We had to wear our slippers though while swimming since the bottom was full of small rocks instead of purely sand. Nevertheless, the sea was crystal clear and had different shades of blue.

Hello Sombrero Island!

 

We left Batangas mid-afternoon and while the traffic going back to Manila was quite heavy, the exhilarating hike and swim were more than enough to maintain a really happy mood. Another great hike from TA and we will surely be booking another hike with them soon!