I woke up in the middle of the night shivering from the cold. I could see my feet covered in my gray socks, but I couldn't feel them; they were shaking like a live turd out of water. I asked myself what I was doing here, as thoughts of sleeping soundly in my warm bed at home buzzed in my head. As the temperature hovered around 10 to 6 degrees Celsius, every minute became colder. It was a moment in which I questioned my desire to be there. Fortunately, it was self-doubt that only lasted for a minute.
Gulag-Like Coldness of Mount Pulag
I was beaming with anticipation when a friend of mine pitched the idea of hiking Mount Pulag a month prior. I used to go mountain climbing as a member of the UST Mountaineering Club in college. I’ve been to really impressive peaks such as Mount Banahaw in Quezon province and a few others located in Luzon. Mount Pulag, though, is different from the rest, as attested by climbers who have been there.
The Ambangeg Trail
I would have been able to scale Pulag before if not for various reasons that rendered me unable to join my organization’s previous incursions there. Soon, I lost my top-notch physical condition and completely forgot about hiking. My friend Christine planned for us to take the easier route—the "Ambangeg" trail—to the peak. It consists of only a three-to-four-hour hike to Camp 2, and from there it takes only another hour to the top. Along with the ultra-magnificent hot mum Gaye and her hubby Sherv, Izah, Joseph, Master Erick, and Olay, we arrived at the Victory Liner Terminal in Baguio at around 2:00 am—12 hours later, we would reach Camp 2 of Mount Pulag.
It was a perfect plan to slowly get my body to adjust to the strenuous activity required for mountain climbing. Mount Pulag stands 9,587 feet above sea level and is the third-highest peak in the Philippines (and the tallest in Luzon). It is designated as a National Park and managed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The mountain range encompasses parts of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya.
Biodiversity & DENR Briefing
Its high altitude and the rain that predominates throughout the year make it among the coldest and wettest mountains in the country. Aside from hosting an ever-increasing number of climbers year-round, the mountain serves as home to four "Cloud Rat" species found only in the Philippines. More than 520 documented species of plants, wildlife, bird species, and the Philippine Deer are found across this mountain range.
Climbers at Mount Pulag must visit the DENR office first for a 20-minute briefing on what to do and what not to do on the mountain. There, we were informed about the mountain's eco-diversity and further reminded to leave nothing but footprints and practice low-impact hiking and camping.
We started our hike from the jump-off at Badabak Ranger Station at around 11:00 am, taking a few five-minute rests along the way. Part of the tourism program at Mount Pulag involves empowering locals to safeguard the mountain, which includes hiring local guides. Ours was named Ditas, an upcoming graduating student at the University of Baguio pursuing an Education degree with a major in English. She grew up at the foothills of Mount Pulag and has scaled the peak more than fifty times since she was a kid. Now, she serves as a tour guide during summer and semester breaks to help finance her education allowance.
Summit Assault Above the Clouds
We were informed that there were around 300 registered climbers that weekend. Sure enough, we met a few climbers along the trail and even more people at Camp 2 when we arrived around 2:00 pm. The scene quickly reminded me of a post-zombie-outbreak movie, where hordes of people escape to the mountains to avoid city zombies. It was quite an eerie scene, especially as thick fog slowly engulfed the entire camp, reducing visibility to just a few meters.
We quickly pitched our tents, worried that it might rain at any moment. We hurriedly prepared a late lunch of tuna, bacon, sausages, and noodles, pretending it was gourmet food prepared by Chef Boy Logro. Due to fatigue and our lack of sleep the previous night, we skipped the traditional "socials" and turned the lights off before 6:00 pm. In short, we went into "galit-galit" mode for the rest of the night as each person fought off the cold inside their respective tents. Without an alarm clock, we woke up one by one in succession around 4:00 am—just in time for our summit assault and to catch the sunrise beckoning on that chilly morning.
As I struggled to move in the pitch-black darkness inside my tent, I thought about going to the makeshift restroom located about 50 meters from our camp. Unzipping my tent, my hand almost froze instantly as it met the even colder weather outside. I hurriedly zipped back up and tried to sleep, wondering why I had come in the first place.
I dismissed that moment of doubt a few hours later while standing at the peak of Mount Pulag, staring at the sunrise over a sea of clouds and the rolling grassland peaks of neighboring mountains. I had the most magnificent sight staring back at me. How could anyone regret deciding to climb Mount Pulag? It's impossible to fathom not coming to a place like this.
The grassy saddle leading to the peak stands in stark contrast to the forested trail below Camp 2. From the horizon, you could see lines of people trekking upward, forming a zigzagging stream of colorful dots in the distance. Camera flashes illuminated the summit rapidly, almost everyone gazing in one direction—toward the golden crest of the sky and the fiery red sun slowly rising over the highlands.
We stayed at the summit for an hour taking photographs and resting on the soft clumps of grass. I stretched out my feet, leaned back on the palms of my hands, and watched the rising sun while breathing in the crisp mountain wind and clearing my mind. I think the mountains and I have found each other again—and this time, my love for hiking has been reignited, realizing that Mount Pulag, as crowded as its trails can get, is everything everyone promised it would be.
