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!!!

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.

My 26 lbs. bag for Mt. Pulag

Here’s what my bag looks like…

North Face bag courtesy of Allan Vistan.

I have divided the main compartment into 2 parts: top and bottom.

At the bottom, I placed everything I will use for the cold climate at night in the campsite.

• 2 shirts
• thermal wear
• gloves
• socks (2 pairs)
• pants (linen)
• jogging pants (thick)
• 2 jackets
• shemag
• undies

At the top, I put everything that I’ll need during the bus trip and the actual trek itself.

• long sleeves
• another pair of socks
• bonnet
• scarf
• another pair of gloves

On top of the bag is the sleeping bag.

At the side pocket, you will find my toiletries.

• cellphone charger
• flashlight
• spoon and fork
• plastic container (as my plate)
• knife
• tissue
• alcohol
• lipbalm
• face towels
• chamoi
• tooth brush
• tooth paste
• Katinko ointment
• deodorant
• foot powder

I will also bring some medicine.

• Kremil s
• Biogesic
• Ventolin (in case of an asthma attack)

At the sides of the bag, you can see the 2 x 1L bottles of water and 2 x 500 mL bottles of Gatorade.  There’s another 1L bottle of water inside the bag.  I have also inserted the trash bags at the sides.

Other than the main bag, I will be bringing a shoe bag that will contain my trail food and food supply for the duration of the camp.

• peanut butter sandwiches
• Safari chocolate bars (22 pcs.)
• Eng Bee Tin beef tapa
• 1 can of corned beef

The main bag weight 26 lbs. Good thing I won’t be bringing my Canon 400D.  That would mean an additional bag plus another 10 lbs. of weight to carry.