REVISITING MT. PULAG (Ambangeg Trail)

It was not my first time to climb Mt. Pulag but I was still excited since it was my first out of town organized major climb in cooperation with Jr Gonzaga of  Cebu City  and 43  participants  from Manila, Cebu and Davao City. Our scheduled flight was 9:35pm bound for Manila via Airphil express. There was 23 of us boarding the same flight. When we arrived at Terminal 3 we  took a taxi which will take us at  Victory Liner, Pasay Branch. Our bus tickets was booked in advance by my friend Michael Caliat  for us to choose the exact time we wanted to leave Manila.

Ambuklao Dam

At 6:30am we arrived in Baguio City. The hired jeepneys already waited for us that will take us to Ambangeg, Kabayan, Benguet. Our first stop from Baguio City  was in Pinkan Jo Eatery  where we took our breakfast.  At 10:30am we arrived in DENR information office for the registration and briefing of participants. Another 1 hour bumpy ride from Ambangeg to Babadak  Ranger Station. Compared to  last time I went in Mt. Pulag, there were improvements in the road.  Porters and guides were arranged upon our arrival in Babadak Ranger Station. 

 It was 2:00pm when our group start the trek. Ambangeg trail is also known as executive trail since it is the easiest trail going to the summit at 7.5kms from Ranger Station. The trek took us 3 hours to arrived at Camp 2.  During the night. we had our socials at the camp but some of the participants chose to sleep early since the weather is cold.  

Briefing at DENR Office with Ma'am Emerita Albas

DENR Office

Wake up call was supposed to be 3:00am but since it was foggy so we decided to start our trek at 5:30am going to summit. Although the weather is not so good because of  low pressure but we still enjoy our trek to summit. I could see the fogs were blown away by the wind. It was one of a kind experienced. When we arrived at the summit it was zero visibility but we still did not loose hope. When the the fog disappeared  for a short period we hurriedly took  photos.

(courtesy of Keir Ashley Lim)

We decamped at 10:00am  from Camp 2 back to Ranger Station. Before we head back to Baguio City some of participants took a bath at Ma'am Gina's place. Our lunch was also served by  Ma'am Gina.  The "Pinikpikang Manok" and "Chopsuey" with "Brown Rice" took our tiredness away.  It was 5:00pm when we arrived at Baguio City. Our bus scheduled trip is 6:30pm via Victory Liner and 4:25am we daparted from Terminal 3 back to Davao City.

with Sir Charlie and Ma'am Genia

I would  like to thank my friend Olan Emboscado for designing our Id's and Certificates.

If you wish to climb Mt. Pulag feel free to contact the following persons and they will surely accommodate you well:

Ma'am Emerita Albas, DENR Superintendent of Mt. Pulag National Park. You may contact her at 09196315402

Ma'am Genia Epe is incharge for  jeepney reservations. She's also catering food for lunch after the trek with her specialties are chopsuey and pinikpikang manok served with rice at a very affordable price. You may contact Ma'am Genia at  09198169234.

My First Mt. Pulag Experience

Mt. Pulag Peak

It was one of my dream climb. I never thought I would climb at the "Playground of the Gods".  Mt. Pulag is   is the third highest mountain in the Philippines with an elevation of  2,922 masl. The system in Mt. Pulag is well organized so its easy to arranged your bookings from   registration, transportation, guides and porters. Two trails are available for the climb: Ambangeg trail is a 2-day climb and the easiest while Akiki Trail is a 3-day climb.   

Ambuklao Dam

Prior the climb  transportation from Baguio to Ambangeg, guides and porters were already arranged  through Ma'am Emerita Albas, DENR Supirentendent. With five of us from Davao and four from Manila. It was our first time meeting them but they were very good company. Since we have different flight schedules from Davao we decided to meet up at Jollibee Baguio at 6:00a.m. Our jeepney service was also there to take us at Ambangeg. All of us are first timers so we were very excited to trek Mt. Pulag. We had a briefing at the DENR office and had our lunch then we proceed to the Ranger Station. It took us four hours of trek to reached the campsite. I had the chance to helped in prepared our  food but when the sky starts to dark the temperature dropped. It was really cold that I couldn't even get out of the tent to get my food. Luckily, we had the rented warmer blanket. It was a big help for us. 

At 4:00am the next day was our wake up call. We were glad that the weather is good. After an hour trek we reached the summit of Mt. Pulag. The view was just amazing with sea of clouds and sunrise. I was really happy because it was a dream come true for me. Our group returned the same day with full of satisfaction.

I would still love to come back to "The Playground of the Gods".