Mt. Pulag –
The Start of a Hiking Journey
by isaiah jan
Intro
Dear reader, I am not a hiker. Never climbed a mountain before. Never camped in the woods with temperatures so cold the possibility of you suffering hypothermia is high.
This was before we got invited by friends to hike Mt. Pulag last year (2023).
It is a mountain known to have a rolling sea of clouds at sunrise. It is a sunrise that allured me so much, I summited 7 mountains a year after – and still counting.
To this day I still imagine what my life would be if I hadn’t joined that 2-day climb – a memorable event that changed the course of my life.
And so on my birthday this year, I decided to climb the same mountain.
Preparation
The itinerary we booked is scheduled for a homestay (no camping/day hike) but I asked to camp overnight instead and was granted luckily.
Only my partner and I were scheduled to camp at that time.
The thought of us alone in the woods scared me so I asked around and recruited two more hikers who had been meaning to camp there as well.
Ascend
After having lunch at the homestay, we prepared our things for the ascent.
The start of our hike was a sunny afternoon.
The Ambangeg trail is drier compared to our last hike and nothing changed that much.
I still remember the beautiful pine trees as we went along and my first walk on a trail filled with mossy trees.
Arrived at campsite
Our ascent took us about 3 hours before we reached campsite 2 where we will spend the night before summiting – just in time to pitch our tent and rest a bit.
While my fellow hikers napped after pitching, I traversed the grassland and roamed around as I familiarized the place.
The grassland of Mt. Pulag is quite peculiar. The grasses are brown as if they’re not alive. But some parts of it are flowers blooming with different colors. And I saw Edelweiss and dwarf bamboo.
Catching sunset
When the sunlight began to shift colors hinting at sunset I hurried back to the campsite and woke them.
Halfway through the trail as we rushed to the Tower Peak, we couldn’t help but stop since we were too late to reach the peak.
The sunset of Mt. Pulag from the grassland is just as beautiful as the sunrise without the sea of clouds.
It reminded me so much of the sunlit brown grass with the reddish glow from my first summit.
This time the sun moved downwards through the sky switching to a warmer color until it finally reached red – a surreal color of the sun that reminded me of Boracay’s sunset.
Stargazed on a cold night
When everything turned dark it started to reveal the stars of the black skies.
Mt. Pulag is really cold in the evening but we were prepared (as we should).
To our surprise, other campers arrived and pitched around 8 PM which eased my mind.
We slept soundly amidst the striking winds that went on that night which made our tent even colder – I can’t imagine not having an emergency blanket handy.
Catching sunrise
We planned on catching the sunrise at the Tower Peak and not from the summit. Our guide advised us that it’s closer there and that we’ll summit later after.
April isn’t the best month to climb Mt. Pulag so I didn’t expect any sea of clouds at all – I just hoped for a warm clear sky which it delivered.
Surprise sea of clouds
Aside from the sun rising on top of cascading mountains is a hint of clouds afar, which went closer as time passed by. We were advised that if we wait long enough it’ll come much closer and boom – a sea of clouds. Even our local guide was surprised.
It was beautiful, and I was very thankful.
Thoughts as we descend
Our descent was a quick one. I had a ton of rest and joy. The skies were clear throughout our journey.
Before my first summit at Mt. Pulag, I was having a hard time with my personal life and fought battles that had me almost giving up.
The allure of Mt. Pulag’s sunrise made me realize that there are these kinds of beauty that need exploring. And it now has been my goal to explore most of it.
I do believe Mt. Pulag is sacred. For a beauty like that, I don’t think that just happened accidentally.
Throughout my hiking journey, I met fellow hikers who had the same stories as me. We shared the same experiences on how hiking helped – how nature heals.
And so I dedicate this writing as a reminder to myself in the coming years – how this mountain shifted my interests in life. And I want to pass it on. I want to share this story as an expression of gratefulness for my mother mountain – Mt. Pulag.
Shared Snaps
Below is a link with snaps from the people I’ve been on this hike. Would appreciate credits added to your post that links to my website or profile. Until next time 🙂