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.
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.
(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/
(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.
(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.
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.
