Next Stop: Ranger Station

After “unloading” at the DENR Visitor Station, we took another jeepney ride to the Ranger Station or the jump off point.  It was about 1.5 to 2 hour bumpy ride.  We still wanted to go “top load” but Manong didn’t permit us becuase of the bumpy / dirt roads.

By 12:00 nn (November 29, Saturday), we were already at the Ranger Station.  We started to prepare for our trek.  Moreover, we also ate lunch. I ate a couple of peanut butter sandwiches, a few strips of beef jerky, 500 mL Gatorade and a bar of Safari.

Next Stop: DENR Visitor Station

From the Victory Liner terminal in Baguio City, there was a chartered jeep that took us to the DENR Visitors Station.  (I forgot the name of the town).  It was a 4-hour trip.

We had 2 stop overs.  The first one was at the Ambuklao Dam.

The locals caught this really huge fish at the dam…

After the site seeing and photo ops, we headed to our next stop.  I, Allan, Trinka, Verchie, Winna, and Narod decided to go “top load” becuase we couldn’t bear the smell of the burning clutch / brakes inside the jeep.  Moreover, there were lots of bumping inside the jeep primarily because of the Formula1-style driving of Manong in the zigzag / dirt roads of Benguet.

Around 7:00 am, we arrived at Summer Place where we ate our breakfast.

Allan and I shared a plate of rice and a bowl of “Nilagang Baka.”  We also ate some of my Eng Bee Tin Beef Tapa (beef jerky).

After breakfast, we headed to the DENR Visitors Station.

At the visitors station, we attended an orientation about Mt. Pulag.  According to the orientation, Mr. Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines at 9,692 ft.  There are several trails to Pulag and 2 of them are Akiki and Ambangeg.  We’re taking the most popular trail – Ambaged. Akiki is a more traverse trail which takes 2 days to climb.

I’ve also learned that Mt. Pulag is famous for the Cloud Rat. Finally, there are a few rules that we have to go by. I can only remember 2…

• No alcoholic drinks at the campsite
• No sex outside the tent. Booo!!!

Trip to Baguio

To get to Mt. Pulag, our group first had to take a bus from Manila to Baguio. We took the 10:30 pm trip of Victory Liner.

Allan was my seatmate.

The trip took around 6 hours. We had one stop over – Tarlac.  At around 4:30 am (November 28, Saturday), we arrived in Baguio.

When we got down, I got a little worried because it was so cold.  I had to put on my jacket, shemag, hand gloves, and bonnet to keep me warm on top of my shirt and long sleeves.  I could just imagine how much colder the climate would be at the top of the mountains.

I even said: “I think I signed up for the the wrong camping trip! Haha!”

Last Supper at Italianni’s

November 28, 2008 (Friday)

• 5:30 pm: Left the office. BTW, I work for www.eyp.ph. I was at Cubao at 6 pm.
• 6:00 pm: Arrived in Cubao. Waited for my friend Allan Vistan, who was also joining me climb. Decided to “unload” while waiting for him. Hehe.
• 6:45 pm: Ate 1 doughnut at Krispy Kreme… Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate. Yum!!!
• 7:00 pm: Allan arrived and we decided to eat at Italianni’s.  He ordered Baked Ziti while I ordered Agli Olio.
  While waiting for our order, Allan and I started preparing our peanut butter sandwiches. Believe it or not! Haha. We requested for 2 extra plates and knives.  We put the 2 loaves of Gardenia white bread in the plates.
  To create a peanut butter sandwich, we took 1 slice and put a thick spread of Lily’s peanut butter. Then we put another slice on top of it. Sandwiches are then placed inside the original plastic bag of the Gardenia bread.
• 7:30 pm: Our friend Verchie arrived at the scene. He was laughing at our peanut butter sandwich factory inside Italianni’s. We we’re almost done making the sandwiches when our orders came.  Allan was pleasantly surprised with his Baked Ziti and they loved my Agli Olio with grilled chicken. You guys should try this traditional Italian olive oil based pasta.

My 26 lbs. bag for Mt. Pulag (updated)

I have already uploaded the picture of my bag. Check out the updated entry at:

http://www.alegre.ph/portal/2008/11/28/my-26-lbs-bag-for-mt-pulag/

By the way, I replaced the grocery bag with a shoe bag to carry my food supply for the climb.