At 2am, we gathered at a parking lot. It was my 1st joined trip to hike the 3rd highest but the most popular and crowded mountain in Philippines, Mt Pulag. At 3am, our van took us on a long 6 hour journey up the mountain. It was a 2d1n trip.
Our 1st stop was a checked station, where we had to get a blood pressure test by a qualified Dr to ensure we are fit to hike. After that, we had to attend a compulsory 30 mins briefing by the ranger on the dos and don'ts. Then we checked into our guesthouse at the foothill of Mt Pulag in a village. We had sufficient time to explore the peaceful village and attending a briefing by the organiser after dinner at the guesthouse.
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| Compulsory basic medical check up for qualification to climb |
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| View from park ranger HQ |
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| Compulsory briefing by park ranger |
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| Guesthouse |
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| Bountiful carrot harvest |
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| Final briefing by organiser |
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| Gathering at 1am |
By 1am, we were awake and ready for our midnight hike. Hundreds of people gathered in different organised groups, excited for sea of cloud view at the top. The trek took around 4.5 hours for me as I slowly walked along the rocky trail passing checkpoint 1 and checkpoint 2. It was a fairly easy trek with only a steep climb at the end.
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| Ray of hope |
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| The last steep climb |
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| Sea of clouds |
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| Heaven on earth |
As we were nearing the last mountain climb, a ray of dawn lit the sky with red color and the surrounding scene was transformed into a magical heaven with white clouds below and illuminating majestic mountains all around.
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| Mesmerising |
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| Sea of crowd |
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| White heaven |
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| Descending |
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| Back to civilisation |
As I slowly climbed towards the peak at 2189m, I felt grateful to be finally reaching my dream mountain, Mt Pulag, also nicknamed "Playground of the Gods".
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