Mount Pinatubo

Mount Pinatubo
Capas, Tarlac
Major jump-off: Brgy. Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac
LLA: 15°8'35"N, 120°20'54"E, 960 MASL
Days required / Hours to crater: 1 day, 45 min 4x4 + 2 hrs hike
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 2/9, Trail class 1
source: Mt. Pinatubo - Pinoy Mountaineer

October 21, 2012


This "gala" materialized because of a promo in Ensogo. We bought the voucher and traveled under Travel and Save Tours agency but for some reasons, I don't recommend this agency. I won't mention the reasons anymore because I'm not yet fully aware of the contents of cybercrime law and I might end up in jail. Haha.

Anyway, our day started early. Call time was 3:00am at Cubao, at the back of Victory Liner and we registered and rode the van. We had breakfast at McDonald's Capas and I noticed that there were a lot of foreigners there even as early as 5am.

After eating our breakfast, we went straight to the jumpoff point, registered, got our permits and rode the 4x4 jeeps. The ride in the 4x4 jeep was really "maalog" AS IN! It was really a rough ride as you cross lots of rivers and the lahar will act as your face powder once you get off the jeep. hahaha.

But the mountains or scenery that you will pass by on your way up will be worth it. The place is so remote that all you see are volcanic sand with no signs of life and it feels like you're already in planet Mars. The surrounding mountains however look like Alps.

After approximately 45 minutes of rough ride in the 4x4, we finally reached the foot of the mountain.You'll know that it's your trekking point because a lot of 4x4 jeeps are already parked.

So this is us at the start of our trek.

One of the many rivers you would have to cross to reach the crater.

 And yes, that's me wearing my "sagala" hat! HAHAHA!

 

 After walking for almost 2 hours, we finally reached the crater. The view was really breath taking! It's like a real life postcard! It's one of those places where even if you look haggard, you'll still look fine in pictures because the place is so beautiful.

 That's us at the Crater Lake of Mt. Pinatubo!

 P.S. I was just wearing Havaianas slippers for this climb so my legs were a bit sore the day after! Lesson learned: Gear up!

We ate our lunch under one of the trees at the peak and then we went down to swim in the crater lake.

The water was so cold and we weren't allowed by the guides to swim far from the shore for safety purposes. We were also told that we could rent a boat to reach the other side of the crater where there was warm water for 350 per head. It was a bit expensive for us and so we opted to just stay on this side of the crater.

After 30minutes of swimming we were advised to take off because it looked like it was going to rain. We were told that it was unsafe to go down when the rain is pouring because the sand in the mountains might erode.

The trek down was really fun as me and my friend were racing each other, running across stretches of sands and rivers. Hahaha! It was a good feeling of accomplishment when we get pass through all the groups trekking down and be the first one to reach a point. Also, we had a lot of time taking pictures in the rivers that we were passing through. I noticed that the rivers there had different colors. There were yellowish ones, green and a bit reddish. I guess it depends on the minerals present in the water that flows in it. There were also rivers where hot water flows and it was relaxing to dip your sore foot in.

After riding back to the jump off point and getting off the 4x4, we took a shower at a public comfort room and prepared ourselves for our way back to the city. 

The agency brought us to Jollibee for our dinner and then we drove off to Manila. We arrived in Cubao at around 8 or 9 in the evening.

Mount Pinatubo was the very first mountain that I've climbed and I'm glad that it didn't give me a hard time hence I really enjoyed my first climb and had a memorable one. :)

Practical tips:

1. Bring water

2. Gear up, have a good footwear. If you don't like your rubber shoes with socks to get wet, then just wear sandals.

3. Wearing shorts is fine because unlike other mountains where it is very grassy, Mt. Pinatubo is full of  long stretches of sands and rivers so shorts is better.

4. Wear your swim wear underneath if you want to swim in the crater lake.

5. Bring trail food preferably jelly ace

6. If you have contacts, do a DIY instead of hiring an agency with that, at least you control your own pace or time.

7. If you shun upon the sun, wear cap or put on sunblock.

Total expenses:

4x4 jeep: 1000

Transportation to Sta. Juliana: 750

DOT fee: 400

Shower: 80

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