Trekking Up Mt. Pinatubo

Over a year after the trek, and months of promise that I'll be posting about that trek to the summit of Mt. Pinatubo, I finally found the motivation to edit photos and write about it. Actually, it took that long before my friend decided to post the photos of the trek that I'm now using for this entry...because we're very up-to-date and strive for ATM feed updates like that. 😒 For a lack of proper excuse, I didn't bring a camera that day─and they did─so I was at their mercy to use their photos for this...which they gladly complied with one-and-a-half years after.

For this trek we joined in the Travel Factor group to make the arrangements for us. We decided to go because friend offered to pay the trip as a Christmas gift...plus we needed a new environment to celebrate our annual Christmas party. We did the hike December 19, 2015. As for the entirety of the trip, I remember like it was just yesterday─not!─I've forgotten certain details save for the immense bad luck I had that day. To begin with, we left Manila a little late because of some misunderstanding with the Travel Factor group and the bus they had reserved. We left Ortigas dark and arrived in Porac Pampanga at around 7am. After a short brief, we signed the waivers, and off we went to our respective 4x4's. 

Picture time!

Some local kids hang out in the area to tourist-watch.

The first part after departure is pretty flat. It's the calm part of the ride.

Chances are, you can get splashed on with all intention by the driver.

This is the pit stop before heading into the canyon. 

We got in the 4x4 and was disappointed that it had a back cover at first because that meant we couldn't stand up and pretend like it was the coolest thing on earth to be on the back of a top-down-jeep, but then it rained and so we appreciate the roof on our heads, at least we didn't get wet within the first hour of the trip. It's a bit of a long and very bumpy ride. Around an hour. I'm not kidding when I say that my body was in pain even before we started the trek because I kept bumping myself on everything within close proximity of my seat. The rough terrain will make it both fun and draining. There is a pit stop where you can stretch your feet and take photos about 40mins away from the start off point. They huddle up the jeeps for some engine check and chitchat for about 15 minutes, while you can take as much selfies as you can. The driver said that's their designated spot for photos when we asked him that we wanted a photo op a few minutes away from the stop. K. 

The landscape is immensely beautiful. Beyond anything I've seen in the Philippines so far. What makes it different? History, and the lahar. There is a constant and gradual change of landscape after every few minutes, from the starting point, all the way up to the crater. Breathtaking is an understatement. It's like being in one of the custom-built terrain of a fantasy adventure video game, and the destination is the mouth of the volcano. 

From the area stop, you'll have to ride another 15-20mins through a canyon until a final stop where you will be starting the trek. The trek will roughly be a 2-hour walk if you take your pace slowly but without much rest. I think we stopped for a 3-minute break twice. One was when my shoes fell apart. Literally! The entire sole just abandoned my foot about a quarter of the walk up the crater. Lesson learned: Don't ever─EVER! wear an expired pair of shoes on a hike. Even if it's quality hiking shoes...even if it's Merrell. 😤 I used it a year prior on our hike in Palaui and sort of just left it untouched with some sand and mud still on, cleaning it up just the day before the trek. And so, I do believe, the shoes did its epic revenge by making sure I regret the decision of ignoring it for many months. Thankfully, my friend brought an extra pair of slippers on his backpack that fits. So about 3/4 of the hike up and all the way back I was only using slippers that thankfully didn't fall apart from the strain of all the rocks I had to walk on. I think it was Islander that saved me, while I had the burden of having to carry the extra weight of the shoes on my back. Goes to show, "Tatak Pinoy, tibay Pinoy." 🙌 And for the record, I actually felt better walking on rocks and crossing the river with slippers.

The water is usually just ankle-deep.

The terrain that you will walk on is not slippery (save for a few areas,) just very loose volcanic soil, because again, the valley that you'll be trekking on was where the mud flow and lahar passed through during the catastrophic eruption of 1991. Chances are, it'll get in your shoes after some river crossing that you'll have to tap it off every now and then. You'll do some steep climbing on boulders at some point, but it was easy. At one point, I held to a rock that wasn't big enough and it ended up falling off the sand that I had to find a different path up. And for someone who hates steep inclines, this was a walk in the park because it was a very gradual way up that I didn't feel the elevation in most parts. This is a very easy trek...considering that I barely go out on treks...mainly because there's no slippery mud or you having to hold onto roots just to survive a 45-degree climb. It was just a steady paced walk with an occasional river crossing. A perfect place for first-time trekkers. 

They say your greatest enemy for the Mt. Pinatubo trek is the heat because you get a full dose of sunlight being it wide open without and shade in sight. Throughout the trek though it was cloudy because I think there was a typhoon coming in, and half-way through the trek it started showering cooling us down and making it so much easier to survive it. I remember bringing a liter of water plus another 500mL, and realizing that I didn't even finish my 500mL water in the end because it was cool. Talk about unnecessary dead weight, add to that a pair of my wet and useless shoes.
  
After about two hours of trek from the drop-off point of the 4x4's you will get a chance to recuperate at a small roofed checkpoint. There will be a toilet there for in case of a need to do business...but no running water and electricity. I got in the cubicle that was very dark and not that well maintained. The struggle of using the toilet was that if you closed the door it gets pitch black...so yeah.

From that point on is where you'll experience the more muddy and slippery and typical trail. It's another 20-40 minute walk depending on your pace. You'll pass through a grassy trail until you reach concrete steps. That's the cue that your near. It's a matter of exerting the effort to climb up those last few steps before it opens into an area where a three table stalls full of snacks will greet you. I remember a bunch of my friends screaming "CUP NOODLES!" at the sight, because they were craving so hard for some cup noodles at that point.

See? Wet shoes, plus pebbles in it. Annoying feeling.

Just to give scale of how high some areas in the canyon get.

Near the crater lake, there are open-air-cubicle toilets for you to use. Reaching the top was the peak of my misfortune because, there, was also when my period started. I was dripping wet, tired, irate at my shoes, and then suddenly I got my period. No wonder I felt bloated and extra tried that day. Everything made sense, I was meant to be very very miserable that day. I could just remember how we were all freezing in bus on our trip back because some didn't bring extra clothes. Mga basang sisiw na nangangatog sa lamig. 🐥 I was so cold because I chose to wear cotton jogging pants and jacket that day. Just because. Now, imagine that wet and clinging onto your whole body and being in a room for three hours that's 19°C. Yeah. I ended up buying an overpriced pair of slippers and shorts on the stopover just so I could arrive home with some dignity.

There were around three or four cemented cottages on one side of the peak where you can recuperate and eat your lunch. We ate our lunch, did our exchange gift...and I remember some complaining about the size and weight of the gift that they had to carry to the peak. One of my friends chose to give a hiking bag, which was funny to watch them lugging a paper bag up the crater and back down. 

We stayed there much shorter than I had initially imagined because they said another tour group needed to use the space. They avoid tourists to flock the area, so they do it by batches to make you feel the exclusivity of being there. The magnificence of the crater lake was simply, wow. I can stare at it for hours non-stop and still be in awe. It's a combination of different sand colors mixed with greens that cascades down to the pool of teal. A spectacular climax to the build-up of the ever changing landscape. The guide even said that it turns purple and pink at times, given the proper conditions from mother nature's tweaking. We didn't get the chance to go down the lake though. Booo!

The trek back was interesting in a sense that it felt like we had to take a sort of different route because the flow of the water has shifted, altering the landscape in a span of a few hours. The current also got stronger thanks to the rain, but the guides were well versed with helping us get through it though. And as usual, the fro was faster than the to. Back at the tourism center, there will be stalls of food as well as cubicles where you can take a shower or use the toilet for a fee. Somewhere between 10-20 pesos. All in all, despite my unfortunate odds, it was still a wonderful experience for the books. 

The last leg of the hike. Just beyond the curve is the crater.

This is the reward in the end. An epic view of just how the immensity of the blast in 1991 created this huge lake. 

*Travel Factor website: http://travelfactor.org/

*During hot season, make sure to cover yourself because the sun with burn you. 

*During hot season, bring lots of water as I can imagine the heat will drain you. If it's cloudy, just bring 350mL or 500mL water. If you get thirsty, they also have water being sold at the crater.

*Bring changing clothes.

*Wear shorts of fast-drying bottoms because you will have to cross through waters.

*It's better to wear sandals or slippers than shoes.

*There are food stalls run by the locals at the crater, so you need not bring food to lessen the weight.

*We don't leave our wastes behind. And even if I had every urge to throw my shoes in the river, I chose to carry it throughout instead. 

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the photos. These are from my friends, Jhaeyelle de Dios and Francis Nariz. I don't know which is which at this point though.