Mt. Pulag - Play ground of God's (PART 1)

   The Year End Climb at the Play ground of God's

It's been Six months since our climb in Mt. Pulag at Kabayan, Benguet Northern Province of the Philippines and the 3rd Highest mountain in the country. It's one of the most happiest and unforgettable timeline of my year 2012 not because i have the pride that i climbed this tough mountain taking its well known Akiki Trail a.k.a The Killer trail; but because once again, in my life, i have witnessed god's wonder through it's creation. I feel blessed and very lucky for this climb, i may sound Over Reacting but i was really overwhelmed by Mt. Pulag's Beauty.. one of the best!

DAY 0 : December 27,2012 11:00 PM

                   - Victory Liner; Bus Station Cubao.

I was so, so excited this day. i even cant focus on my work. i spend all the day thinking how our incoming climb will be? a bit worried; because benguet roads are well known for lot of vehicle accidents: "but i need to be positive! this climb will be a successful one", i said to my self. after my shift, i rushed my way home; i rode MRT just to fasten my travel time. i just ate dinner, took a bath and get my things: "I'ts time for another adventure!" yeah! \m/

It was a rainy night back then, but we don't f*cking care! hahaha! we will proceed no matter what happen. (it's just because we already had our bus ticket paid a week before,so there's no turning back hehehe!)
At exactly 11:00PM our bus arrived from manila we took 5 1/2 hours travel time till we reach Baguio City at 04:30AM.

                                                                        "The Gang"

                                           (right to left: Aris, Me, Adrian, Arcgel, Raffy & Gino)

DAY 1 : December 28,2012 5:00 AM

                   - Victory Liner; Bus Station Baguio city.

It was past 05:00AM when the chilly morning breeze of baguio welcomed us. The driver of our chartered jeepney was already waiting for us. We boarded the monster jeep right away. Early on, we were rewarded with scenic views along the way. From time to time, we spotted clouds that cover other elevated land forms. It took us about an hour or so to reach Pinkan Jo Eatery, a famous stopover for Pulag hikers, but due to their blockbuster demand for eaters, we decided to just transfer on another eatery 15mins away to Pinkan Jo
(unfortunately- i forgot the name) Here I had kaldereta and papaitan for my first meal of the day.

We continue our journey. we arrived  at the DENR office after about another two hours. Ms. emerita Albas welcomed us to the office and  gave a short orientation of what Pulag is to the Cordillerans. Known as the Playground of the Gods. Pulag is central to Cordilleran mythology and is held sacred by the locals, Also part of the briefing is the do's and dont's in Pulag and in other mountains, in general.

After the seminar and buying some useful stuff, we again hopped on our jeepney and continued our way to Akiki. Our monster jeep had no problem negotiating  the terrain that leads to akiki, together with my other friends we truly enjoyed our first top load ride \m/

                                                                          Top Load!
                                                   (Jobs, Loida, Alecka, Raffy, Gino & Iki)

Since it was nearly 12 noon when we got there, we decided to have our lunch at the visitors center. We took advantaged of the opportunity to do our rituals after a meal, if you know what i mean. Hehe

                                                               ( cris, strike a pose! :D)

                                                         Lunch time! at the Visitor Center
                                                  (Jobs, Tina, Thor, Raffy, Ecka & Arcgel )

at 1pm we commenced our trek with our guide kuya pepito and kuya roy, we marched our way to Eddet River, stopping only for some brief moments to marvel at the views. i was so excited thinking what's up there, how does the well known sea of clouds looks like, so exciting!! after a few hours of trekking i heard the refreshing symphony of a rushing river together with the chorus of wild birds looking for a branch to spend a night. i can't wait to reach the next camp site..

After about two hours of walking, we were greeted by the mighty Eddet River. We crossed a hanging bridge to get to the other side where we stopped to take a short rest and also fill our empty bottle of water. Eddet River truly produce a clean, fresh water, given a chance to choose a river for baptism, i want it here. Everything is so calm, so serene and peaceful.

                                                  "The Romantic Eddet River of Benguet"

We pushed on and entered the pine forest. This trail after Eddet is notoriously steep with virtually no flat ground  where one can rest. Nonetheless, the view were a feast for the eyes.

Soon, a blanket of fog slowly covering the whole place. I felt so cold each time we stop to catch our breaths. We were quite in a hurry to hit our target camp site for the first night. We continued with the assault to reach our target campsite before the dark. With one final push, we arrived at e-camp after about five hours of trekking. Darkness Soon rolled in.

Right after we reached the camp site, we immediately pitched our tents and prepared for dinner when everthing was set up, kuya pepito and kuya roy went down to spend the rest of the night in a community 30 minutes away from e-camp.

We enjoyed our delicious dinner of Nilagang oink-oink specially cooked by Adrian, filled with lots of potatoes and cabbage - a sweet reward after an arduous trek. the cold is still bearable at this point, Adrian, Clister, James and Gino chooses to stay awake for quite a time and have some sip of tequila to relieve some cold, while the others prefer to have an early rest for tomorrows another journey.

the sweet droplets of rain soon stop and the skies magically cleared up before we sleep. I zipped out our tent  to get a glimpse of star-filled skies. the amazing soft twinkling lights calmed my senses while the lullaby of the mountains nocturnal insect lulled me to sleep.

Birthday Climb at Mt. Macurly (Mt. Maculot) Grotto-Rockies trail

November 18, 2012


Today is My Birthday. :D 

Just like my old celebration with cakes, & beer's.. this one would be very different. I've planned to go for a hike with my dear friends and celebrate my 23rd year in earth by witnessing her beauty though, Climbing mountain was really not in my plan, nor in my dreams i could do it. but right after my 1st climb at Mt. Cristobal i do realize this is what i want to do., my passion is in here.

Getting to the summit with a heavy load can be a torture. Sleeping in a tent instead of Lying on a soft and warm bed can be uncomfortable. Still, many people choose to experienced this adventure. Knowing that you will be able to surpass the hardships by reaching the summit is a fulfillment that no one can describe.

Mt. Macolod also called Mt. Maculot is a mountain located in the town of Cuenca in  Batangas Province, Philippines. The Mountain is about 947m (3,107ft) . Mt.Maculot and its 700m (2,300ft) high volcanic rock wall called The Rockies is said to be part of Taal Caldera's crater rim.*excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Macolod

We've met at JAM LINER Bus station, at kamias Qc, take the route from Manila to Lemery-bound, another ride of Trycycle to Grotto Trail. an estimate Travel time of 3hrs from Manila to Cuenca, Batangas.

when we reach the jump off , we rode tricycle for 20php each. after the 10mins ride we have reach the starting point of the Grotto trail..
there are residential area at the foot of Mt. Maculot, Grotto trail.

*The Cemented path on the grotto trail

When we have reached the end of the cemented path, we took 10 mins for break, stretching and some photo ops :D

Mt. Maculot is not an easy Climb (for me) while others claimed it's just a minor climb for them.

This mountain reminded me to never under estimate something for they might surprise you in the most astonishing way.

here's the surprise:

well at first i thought we cant last the 20 floor stairway of the grotto trail.  but it happened that every 10 steps- we stopped ! hahaha but we are determined enough to take the challenge, specially me!! you know- simply because its my birth day!!! 

Surprisingly, we made it to the top of the grotto. see below? i told you. from our smiles, i knew it ! :D

As always, Excitement was there when we begun walking on the trail heading to the summit. although we are bothered by some loud chirping noises made by the unseen crickets.

 We were singing while walking,  just to relieved the tiredness of a long hike. 

my eyes are busy then, looking around trying my best to spot on something unusual. 

aside from the lush plant and mossy trees of Mt. Maculot, there's lot of centipede on trail that made one of my dearest friend (Arturo) Shout every time we encountered one :P

Not just once, but trice !! :D

taking the grotto trail made me think how does those huge rock placed in every corner of that mountain.. seems like some one really put it in that way so that climbers can use it for them to be able to climb the summit. :) 

of course.. we never ever forget to take many pictures as we can :) 

click! click! click!! :D

In the middle of nowhere, we saw a gradual area, enough to set our lunch

like the usual thing, we put together our food enough for us to be shared.

to be honest my knees are really shaking while walking maybe due to tiredness and i had nothing on breakfast.

I fell in love with this mountain.. :D
it's mysterious vibes, mossy rain forest, giant tree and huge rocks..

after thousands of gasp for air, we reached the summit and stay for a while,

but i got disappointed seeing left over rice and trash all over the place.

it made me feel uneasy. 

Please let us not raised our white flag on restoring each mountains we has. 
we must not be tamed and must continue preserving and protecting each mountain.

Don't let ourselves be the reason for their destruction.

after few photo ops- we descended to our task..  another trail going to "The Rockies"

I remembered, we passed by a part of the trail when we were heading to rockies, where there are large and tall Weed Grass with razor sharp edges ,same type of grass i've encountered in Mt. Cristobal.. and i have saw 20php on the trail haha

we have reached The Rockies around 3:30 PM we are so excited to see what's up in the rockies. we didn't waste any time ! we took photos! photos! photos! :D 

pose on the left, pose on the right, pose on top, pose on the cliff, pose on the huge rocks hahaha !!


I don't mind if my knees are shaking while i was standing on the edge of a rock.
i smiled happily welcoming the winds of the mountain, feel proud to my self  while i was standing, looking down at 3,107 ft. above sea level.

i have won over my fear.

when the sunset begun..we decided to take trail from the rockies down to the mountain.
we almost run while taking the trail.. its already 7pm when we have reached the end of The Rockies trail. 

Special Hot Lomi is a great reward after a long hike :D

Words can't express how much i appreciated the beauty of Mt. Maculot and the Rockies.
the cool breeze at the summit, beautiful creatures at the trail, huge rocks -- this is the most precious birthday gift from the nature i have ever received ... 

Thanks to my Friends Adrian Merced Reyes, Arturo Patricio III and Cristina Galon for spending this memorable day with me.

i love you guys!! :D more climbs to come , friends forever! 

Extreme weekend at Mt. Cristobal (Reverse-Traverse)

"Take Nothing But Picture,

Leave Nothing But Foot prints

Kill Nothing but Time"

                                                          - Anonymous    

i was invited by one of my friend to join their 2days trek adventure at Mt. Cristobal "The Devils Mountain" at Quezon, on the 20th day of October this year. he invited me because of 2 possible things 1) kita niyang eager akong umakyat 2) nakulitan siya sakin sa lage kong kakasabe sakanya na "isama mo nman ako sa next climb nyo!!"

Mt.Cristobal is my first climb. napakataas ng excitement ko sa hike na toh :)
without knowing it is one of hardest mountain southern luzon has to offer at par with 
Mt. Banahaw or even harder.

1week before the planned date, their group together with me undergo into a training; with the usual stretching, jogging, push up's etc; i under estimate what we did that day-- never thought my body/muscles would hurt that much.. ! haha

but, i didn't Mind the sore muscle pain after the training. i want to be prepared than sorry :P

after 1 week of waiting finally the day came;

October 20,2012, 2am
Meeting place was at the Jac Liner Bus station at Kamias, Quezon City.

i was 2nd to arrived at the meeting place at exactly 1:40am haha im not that so excited though!! :D

while waiting for the others to arrive.. i have this lots of thoughts about mt.cristobal.. 

• what if the myths about this mystical mountain are true ?
• what if the called Big Foot "Tumao" appeared?
• what if we encounter the said  playful child spirits who tricks and steals from the campers; and a spirit of an old person that hitches on hiker's backpacks?

Despite these creepy stories that have been told about these unexplained, and i believed are not proven yet, Mt. Cristobal is one of the mountains that i wished to climb not just because of its lush nature and proximity from the metro but also because of the challenge it has for thrill seeking junkies.

My curiosity overruled the fear brought by stories of mysterious disappearances and unwanted  apparition on its trail.

From manila (3;00am) we traveled to San pablo city, Laguna via a Lucena-bound bus (108php/head).
5:25am, we travel another Jeepney ride (22php) from San pablo City to Brgy. Tala, Rizal San pablo,  Laguna.
 an Estimate of  2 1/2 hrs travel time from Manila to the Jump off.
6:00am, the jeepney dropped us off in front of  Rizal Elementary School  ( jump off from Brgy. Tala trail)

Its me and Jenice

Every one busy managing their packs right after the jeepney dropped us.

Excitement and Curiosity was with everyone.
at around 6:30am we started the trek along the concrete road. the weather agreed to us. 
 it was a cool, sunny morning.

Manong, Local from Rizal, San Pablo Laguna-  Horse is thier main transportation up to the mountain to fetch water.

Kids Playing along the street as early as 7am :P

As we start our Trek, we passed by several Locals and residences

there are locals greeting us "Goodmorning w/a smile".

Minutes have passed we've reached the two way road, we stopped for a while and do some stretching.

Mingi for the pose! :D Cl!ck !

after 5mins warm up, we continue our journey.

the actual trek started at 7:20 am. the first phase of the trek marked by the continuous slope of the wide way wide way cemented plus the suddenly heat from the sun and the thin cold air  welcoming us serve as a strength-consuming warm up for us.

Mt. Cristobal were coming!!

 "It's not about the large Heavy Back Packs, it's about how we carry ourselves to the summit"

Take 5, it's tough you know!

All in all- the Group; in Left., The Team Leader Lester. ,Sev, Tina, Lucky, Jenice, Darlyn, Rey, Arce, Me, Joey, cant name the others :P i cat recognize the faces , sorry 

 This was the cemented path that dared me and my friends on how long 
knees will be strong enough to made us continue walking. after the upwards motion, this time however the motion was downwards and the effort is to stop our whole body weight- or else you might fall rolling down the cemented trail.

it's just feel so terrible and unmerciful to our knees.

right after we reach the first end of the cemented trail, there's an available hut for the climbers to stay for a while and have rest. 

we stop for a while have our pack breakfast be eaten and rest.

Our Nature's Friendly Neighborhood :) Mareng Langgam.

enough for the rest, time to move!!

We Descended to our way.. after the Cemented path, Gradual slightly rocky floor welcomed us. a minutes away, we saw the "Borger Store" *i forgot whats the real name hahaha 

Cold Drinks for dehydrated body!!!! 

It's been a short but a good break. Every one had their cold drinks for refreshment.

Bodies re-hydrated. Strength was revive.  Group continue the trek on the second phase. 

at this time we will be heading to Tayak Hill. 

 It's already 9:am we need to hurry !!!

The Tayak Hill 

 Trees serves as canopy protecting climbers against direct heat from the sun.
 The Cool Strong October wind was definitely a great helped for our breathing.

 After few photo ops at Tayak Hill, we headed our trail ..
 we passed by the  "Cogon Grassland." (Talahiban) which is Taller than me!!
 i haven't taken any photo's but i have this video clip; :P Kindly turn your head left downward :D

    *Need to wear long sleeves or warmer to protect your arm from brushes brought by the
   Tall Large weeds with razor sharp edges and insects bite. 

Loving nature more...

 When we reached Mt. Cristobal's Feet.. the trail undeniably required more use of energy- patience and eagerness. At this point i talk to my self. "there you go alec! heres the  adventure your wishing for!" every 30 mins of walking we consume 5 mins for a break,

"KEEP WALKING..."

 12noon- hungriness attacked. we took some trail foods for lunch, for we are still in the middle of nowhere and not advisable to cook by that time, because we were rushing to get by in the summit before 5pm. 


 as for my self; while i am taking the trail i always thank god for putting those great trees.  their branches and roots were there for support. the trail was continuous assault through the rain forest.

though there is an area in which the whole place is surrounded by thorny trees, palms and vines; branches of thorns stick out of the trail.

BEWARE!  Branches covered with thorn

woodlands with sampinit (wild berries) are growing, latmon trees, bearing edible fruits also grow here.

i don't mind crawling on the soil w/o gloves and climbing huge slippery rocks. 
Scrambling skills are crucial because you'd have to hang onto the big rocks for your dear life, and avoid falling off the cliff .
For me this is the only thing that can make the place metaphorically "DEVILISH" 
It will test one’s patience and endurance, but like almost every other mountain, you will surely find yourself proudly smiling at the summit.

Rain is about to come when we reached jone's peak. 
Rain drops started pouring until everyone had safely crossed that difficult portion.
and then the summit. 

sadly i wasn't able to take some photo's but knowing i;ve reached the summit safe and alive-
is really a great fulfillment :D

It was already 3:00pm in the afternoon when The Group reached the Campsite.
everybody setup their tent and started cooking for dinner.

In spite of the rain and chilling temperature we still manage to have socials.

Adrian for his Memorable Shot! :D right?

Were happy and cold!! :D

in the middle of 3:00am the rain poured harder, our tents are flooded with water and mud.. we took our breakfast shivering and wet! 
we can't manage to trek early because of the fog and rain. trail would be dangerous for us. so we have waited till 8am before taking the trail down to the mountain.

Exotic Flora, Giant Trees with mossy branches, Wild ferns and orchids, cold breeze and fog- Those were the treats we have received when we reached the Mt. Cristobal's Summit.

The Gang! we are chilling right at this very moment! hahaha happy and proud!

at 8:00am we took the Dolores trail down to the mountain. 

Mareng Sunshine showed up again :)

on left; Joey Balderas, he's the one who invited me to join, and then me :) i looked so exhausted.. hahaha but im happy! i am!! :D

(Upper left to bottom right: Justin, Daryll, Sasuke, Mac and you know who you are :P )

late lunch but its okay :D 

I'm Alec, i'm a proud one..  i came with these people with trust of friendship.

with them I've learned to appreciate more and love our dearest Mother Nature.

I Don't care if i'm in sweat, if i doesn't wore any make up, if i looked exhausted

All i care, is From now own i will not be the reason for my dear nature's destruction.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

(Lower Left: Joshua, Joan, Jenice, Lucky, Christina, Arce, Arcangel, Darlyn, Justin, Daryll, aurelle, Mingi, Mark, Chua. Upper Right: Sir tonio, Mac, Lezter, Joey, Me, Maam Joy, Sir Remz, Babit, Joel, Dan, Maam Mumay, MJ, Sev, Sir Ipe. ) Photographer: Adrian 

:D to those i did not mentioned my apology guys!! :D i forgot the names >.<

Back to reality!! Time to go home !! :D