PULAG ASSAULT!

www.akamug.com

By: McMike_Angel@akamug.com

A month of planning, 1 week of training and Php 2,500 on my pocket.....Its time to conquer Luzon!! Mt. Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines and the highest in Luzon. Standing at 2,922 feet above sea level, It is by far the most ambitious climb that we ever attempted.

Located at the province of Benguet and Ifugao, Mt. Pulag is a premiere National Park in the country and no doubt a lot of mountainers want to reach its peak. The distance between Gumaca, Quezon - Manila - Baguio - Ambangeg Bukod, Benguet - Babadac Ranger Station - Up to the Summit is roughly 600 Km. That is about a total of 17 hrs on Bus, 11 Hrs on foot and 4 days of adventure.

We started our "expedition" by sending request to the DENR Protected Area Office located at Ambangeg, Bukod, Benguet for our reservation at the park. It is strongly recommended that any group planning to climb Mt. Pulag must secure a permit because at peak season accomodation at the campsites will not be assured.

The climb finally kicked-off on May 25 - 29, 2002. A 4 day Itenerary as suggested by the Great Sir Long Henson of MMS was proposed. After spending 13 hrs on bus from Gumaca to Baguio we arrived at the Norton Bus terminal in Baguio city. The first trip to Ambangeg was at 0900, it is actually a minibus design for "long and winding roads" (as I saw it).

The 4 hour trip was very entertaining, to your left are falling rocks & landslides and to your right is a foot from a 900 ft sheer drop. Roads here are literally never ending zigzags because of its mountainous terrain and muddy roads specially during rainy seasons. We passed by Ambuklao Dum and couple of small towns.... reached DENR office at around 1400 and immediately proceeded to the briefing conducted by "Mam Daisy".

We finally started our trek towards Babadac ranger station at 1500. Our IT suggests that its an 8 hour trek and we were 3 hrs late from our schedule but "Mam Daisy" said its only a 4 hour trek. What can I say she's here for quit a long time...so we proceed hoping to reach the Babadac Ranger Station at 1900. The weather was not a good one, there was a bit of rain from time to time but it did not affect our usual rhythm of climbing.

It's 2300 now, we reached a certain village with some 10 houses, my fellow Akamugs told me that maybe the ranger station is now closed and the "rangers" are now fast asleep....But the question was????Where was the Ranger Station? ".Its somewhere here, com'on let's ask the locals"..."Tao po!"...."Tao po!"..after 10 minutes of making enough noise to woke-up anybody, No one replied. We go house to house. None.

An 8 hr trek in a very cold environment and a hungry stomach forced us to spent the night at the open field a few meters away from the village. We set-up our camp and woke-up the next morning at 0600, packed-up at 0700 and went straight to the village to look for any "clues" on how far are we to the ranger station. There we met a local and said that we're some 30 minutes away from it...

Tik...tak..tik...tak... Whew! what a relief!..."It's the Ranger Station!".

We unpacked our equipments and supplies and refreshed a little bit. To our surprise the Presidential Management Staf and Park Superintendent Ms. Emerita Tamiray with some PSG are also there conducting an "inspection" at Mt. Pulag because Pres. Gloria Arroyo will also attempt to conquer Luzon. How? I don't know...maybe via a helicopter. We did have a minute to social with them and some pics too............

Its now 1200 May 26, Day 2 of our expedition because of the bad weather the rangers did not allow us to spend the night at campsite 2 for the visibility there was just a few feet and they said that we may not see the trail even with the help of Samuel "sammy" Jeking, their provided guide.

(Samuel is one of the guides for Ms. Che-Che Lazaro & Robert Alejandro during their documentary climb @ GMA 7 last month). Day 3, @ 0230 Pulag assault has began!!! A three hour trek towards campsite 2 up to the summit and another 2 1/2 hour Back to the ranger station hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous "Pulag Sunrise". )

0530....hahh! At last "The majestic Luzon under one roof". I'd never seen a lot of mountains in my life before, it's a paradise of mountains! Surely the 360 degree view in a grassland 2922 meters above sea level will capture every mountainers heart. And the Sunrise...oh! the Sunrise.......

COMMENT: We would like to thank the following "Kind Persons" for their support otherwise "PULAG ASSAULT" would not be possible:

Ms. Alona Castillo Mr & Mrs. Escolano Mr & Mrs. Bequillo Capt. Domingo Indrinal

Capt. Bobby Nava Sir Jobert Mr. Al Castillo (Mariel Machineries)

LALA Mr. Ronald Manila Aladdin hardware supply Sir RJ & Family