Mt. Pulag Day 1-2

Guess where I am right now. At Mt. Pulag Akiki first camp. Hihihi! Yes, finally, I’m on my way to the summit of the second highest mountain in the country located in my very own province, Benguet.

A little flashback though.

The group met at Victory Cubao last night. Due to the lack of seats for the 11 PM trip, one group had to take the 10 PM trip. The 11 PM batch arrived in Baguio at 4:45 AM. After repacking and regrouping, we already boarded the jeep that would bring us to Mt. Pulag jump off. We were also met by Sir Bong, our guide. By 5:40 AM, we were already on our way. The route is via Ambuklao. This is new info to me (shame on me hihihi). At 7:25 AM, we stopped by Jang jang Eatery (Bangao, Ambuklao Bokod Benguet) for a quick breakfast. Some of us also bought our packed lunch here. After an hour, we resumed our trip. By 8:45, we were already at DENR. We had to drop by here for registration, a video presentation about the do’s and don’ts in the mountain and some orientation. Some of us also shopped for shirts (they don’t have my size so I did not buy any sniff). By 10:30 AM, we resumed our trip so that by 12 noon, we were already at the Akiki jump off. Here, we were met by our porters. We lack I guess 1 or 2 porters so some of the groups had to redistribute their loads. Our group only had 2 porters, 1 of which to be shared by the 4 of us, the other by our 2 group members. After all the registration, repacking, lunch break and a little stretching, it’s now time to hit the trail.

Our group was the sweeper so we should be the last in the trail. While others left a little after 1, our group started at 1:55 PM. The trail was not hard actually. It’s a combination of steep and rolling hills. It was not as challenging as Mt. Tarak. Along the way, our group disbanded since some of us had faster pacing. By 3:50 PM, I and another group mate reached Edette River (along with other groups). After approximately 30 minutes, we were all in the campsite. It was time to set up our tents and prepare for dinner. It was a challenge for our group to organize what foods to bring so prior to this climb, the group just decided that each one bring his/her own food and we’ll just share. It worked for us. I’m so glad. And Goldilocks is our savior hihihi!

By 7:30 PM, I’m already getting ready to sleep hehehe. Early? Hey, it says in our IT that it’s lights out by 8 PM and it’s for strict compliance so I’m just following rules teehee. Besides, I’m worn out more because of the long trip from Manila rather than the 2 hour trek.

I just can’t stop myself from documenting this early so here it is. Tomorrow is a long day so good night world! And good luck to us all. I’m praying for a safe journey until we’re back in our own little worlds.