Mental Gymnastics

Finally..Mt. Pulag!

The view's almost like what you see from the plane, except that your feet is firmly on the ground.

Mt. Pulag is among the top climbing destinations in the country. I've seen the pics and I've heard enough positive feedback on the place so I didn't think twice in joining the Sabit Mountaineers when they extended their invite to all willing participants (thanks Jay, Yhan and Angel for organizing this!).

We left on Thursday night when typhoon Durian began to hit the Bicol region. We felt the gold blasts of wind as we hiked our way to the ranger's station the next morning. We had our rain gear, and a light jacket. What seemed like a two hour trek felt longer coz of the visible onslaught of the weather. There was fog everywhere and with it came the icy wind.

Our group was lucky to have the best room in the ranger's station where we spent the night. The rangers, nor the local guides didn't allow us to set up camp in the mountain fearful of the extreme temperature sent by the winds. We had a short nap that evening and began our summit assault at 1:45am the next day.

I had all of my clothes on when we left the station, as I was fearful of the cold. Less than halfway through, I began to feel sweat coming out. I started taking off my layers of clothing on the way. My frequent panting made me take a few sips from my water bag as my throat easily dried up. The previous day's rain made the trail muddy and slippery. Darkness disguised countless puddles which soaked our feet halfway through. After several rest stops and frequent pantings, we saw a glimmer of sunlight. We increased our pacing to have a better view of sunrise. The summit was somewhere behind those slopes and as we progressed, the more dramatic the sky became. From reddish orange to light yellow, the sun's rays began enveloping the grasslands until the trail became visible enough that a headlamp is no longer needed. As we moved higher, the wind felt stronger. I had to grab onto some grass to keep my balance. Then finally, the summit!

posted by kquill @ 4:26 PM