Mt. Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines and the highest mountain in Luzon. It is located in the borders between 3 provinces namely Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Viscaya. Mount Pulag stands at 2,922 meters high or 9,587 ft. The peak of the mountain is located in the municipality of Kabayan, Benguet.
This was my first major hike, and I could say that I lacked preparation. The trail that we chose was very difficult and this trail is also called killer trailer, the Akiki-Ambangeg trail. We hiked in the month of April which is in the summer season, which made our hike very difficult. We were almost dehydrated because of the scorching sun. I expected that the weather would be cold because of its high altitude, but its open exposure to the sun made us soak in sweat.
On our first day, we were clothed in layers because it was very cold in starting place of our hike. We had to ride in jeepney from Baguio City to starting point of trek. We had to meet the DENR personnels for some briefing before we start to hike.
I can say that a ride on top load of the jeepney was one of the most enjoyable part of the trip. Why? It was because I had the 360 degree view of the sceneries. The sceneries in Benguet were really spectacular.
Most of the trees in Benguet are pine trees and most of the road are on top of the mountain, so what can you expect, an overhead view of almost everything.
And so this spot was where we registered as a hiker, before we started the official trek.
In the beginning of the trek, the difficulty was just fine, except for the exposure to the sun.
Trekking in between pine trees is an awesome adventure.
Luckily the paths were dry and some pines trees were covering us with their shades in our path.
While walking we noticed that there were skulls collectively placed on the side of a big rock. I think that place were used as the cemetery of the native people residing here.
From time to time, we had to pause and rest because it was really a long walk. Thanks to the alive pine trees for giving us shades and dead pine trees for serving us our seats.
Even in elevated lope, there were field animals that are present and furthermore they can even with stand the extreme temperature whether its cold or hot.
The view of the river from the trail and the sound of its current could really lessen the tiredness that we were feeling.
Because there was sole river crossing all through out the trek, a hanging bridge was built for the safety of the trekkers.
After the crossing of the bridge was the start of our calvary, the unending climb that had exhausted us very much. Even the grasses could not bare the heat that was constantly giving by the sun, that eventually made them very dry.
I noticed that the distance of my co hikers were getting large. That means that their stamina were much stronger than mine. I was already feeling extremely tired but I have to go on and finish the trail no matter what. I needed to see the sunrise in the morning.
When I saw the top from my point of view, I said that oh thats already the peak, but I was so wronged for 10 times. It seemed an unending climb that we would never reached the top, because after one maintain comes another many mountains to conquer.
We needed the rest after the long ascent to the mountain. We were not even in the middle of the whole track yet; that meant we really had to conserve the energy that we had left.
After that rest, I was not able to use my camera to capture the remaining moments because I really did not have enough energy to do so. I just focused to use my remaining energy in reaching the camp before the night fall. So when we reached the camp where we could also refill water, we had our first complete group picture.
We had to put our tent in the mossy forest and cook our food. The temperature this time was freezing, and we had to add another layer in our clothing.
Earlier than dawn, we had to pack up, and went ahead to reach the summit before the sun rose. We had to use headlamp to see the trail, and still it was a long walk and climb. One of the beautiful plants that I saw along the trail was the unknown plant that bears a purple flowers.
Yeah we managed to reach the summit before even the sun appeared.
I think it was one of the most beautiful dark meets light situation. The view of sunrise was just exactly parallel to my vision.
We can even played around with the view of sun in various ways and stare to the sun directly without hurting our eyes..
Aside from its superb view, Mount Pulag is one of the mountains that has higher possibility to have sea of clouds, that made it became popular destination for hikers. It has also its distinct dwarf bamboos naturally planted in the summit,
All the hardship just to reach the top paid off. We just could lie around and admire the beauty of this mountain.
Our group had reached our goal, and we even surpass the original target which was a 3 days hike, but we made it only for 2 days. One of the perks of hiking in group is meeting new friends, and some of them became my close friends after the hike.
We were just mesmerized by the beauty of Mount Pulag. It was like I was in another dimension of the world or I could even describe this as out of this world scenery.
As we were descending, I just could not believe that I made it. Witnessing this place made me realize how great an architect God is.
Ascending further, we were able to witness some exotic trees and plants. It made me realize more that I was privileged to see such beauty.
The Insured Traveler 
Leave a comment