Pinatubo 2012

climb everyyyyy mountaiiinnnnnnn....... (oh, sorry for singing.... hahahaha)

Having climbed Mt pinatubo 2 years ago, it was interesting to see what has changed this time around. We decided o bring along some friends and some of our kids. (youngest is 8 yrs old)

I had called the 4x4 association who handles the bookings in Capas, tarlac and asked him regarding the itenerary. One thing he told me was that the trek would be about 2.5 hours.

HUUUWHAAAT?

We (me and my husband) had a pretty long discussion on whether to go with the kids or not. First of all, the first time we went, It was easier since there was a "shortcut" that that leads the jeeps up the mountian to the mouth of the entrance to the pathway to the crater.

After much discussion, we finally agreed on going. Pinatubo trekking is something you need to experience even once in a lifetime.

A few days before the trek, the skies were not cooperating. It was raining cats and dogs.

I was worried.

It was one thing to trek. It was another to trek in the rain WITH kids AND the thought of (possible) landslides or worse flash floods. (eeek)... I was so concerned, I was calling my husband at work to ask if we should go through with it or not.

I finally convinced myself (after checking weather forecasts, calling the 4x4 people) that the weather would clear up.

So early saturday morning, we woke up 3am for our 4am departure. YEP. you heard it. 4AM folks.
The drive to tarlac was about 2 hours from Manila and we needed to depart base camp by 7am (their cutoff time)

We had a Mcdonalds breakfast break when we nearly reached Capas and it afforded all a nice rest and maybe a bathroom/coffee break too.

So finally, 6:30 am- we are at Capas, tarlac. We arranged for two 4x4 jeeps. (we were with another family friend)

The road was still barren and bumpy.  the one thing about Pinatubo is that the scenery changes every year because of the rain. When the monsoon season arrives and it rains for about 3 months, torrents of water cascade down the mountain and changes the landscape. (FYI, they don't allow trekkers during rainy season-- too dangerous)

So, bumpity bump we went. I was trying my hardest to take a few nice picture while we were travering the lahar filled 20 km ride. Half afraid I might drop the camera out the window... hahaha

As you can see, we were crossing sand dunes, small and sometimes,  deeper rivers...

We finally reached the starting point of our 9km (one way..so 18km both ways...) trek and started walking with the other groups of people already there. The first time I was here, I didn't go by this route and so, I was unfamiliar with the landscape. In hindsight, looking at pictures, it looks like we were doing an EXODUS.. (like Moses)

Can you see the people walking near the edge of the hill?-- they look like ants.

My daughter actually was leading the pack and was quite irritated at US (old people) who were very slow in walking. She huffed her way to the front and I had to scramble to catch up...

puff puff.. 7 years olds have boundless energy!!!

after about 1.5 hours, we reached the opening of the trail leading to the crater. From here, it took us about 30 minutes more of hiking.

The trail went from barren to jungle country.
The kids had a lot of fun looking at streams and collecting tadpoles. (they were so urbanized that tadpole hunting is such a treat. LOL)

The trek was taking so long, a lot of the travellers were actually asking...

ARE WE THERE YET???

I had to chuckle. You can finally see end of the trail when you see very long steps going up.


upon reaching the crater, you'll get rewarded with a view. --- Although at the time we were there, the skies were a bit overcast.

We climbed down the step to reach the base of the crater... stopping to take some pictures of course..

Then we get to see the cyan colored crater lake... with some edges colored yellow from the sulphur.

There were a lot of tourists there too.. so much so that we didn't get the chance to hire the boat to cross to the other side like the last time. (we had some eggs with us too.. ready to boil in one of the pits we saw before where the water was bubbling.. see my earlier trip HERE).. there were only 3 boats... (advise: you better bet a "boat tag" before you leave capas.. they give priority to you if you have one... and it's a loooong ways back if you don't have one)

After the kids has a brief swim and we ate our packed lunch, we decided to head back. (it was another 2 hour hike after all)

On the way, we saw some AETA children. One of the kids was not in the mood to get his picture taken.

Did I tell you that another one of my sunglasses got massacred this trip? YEP. another one bites the dust. The last time, my raybans dived into a river. This time, I SAT on it. --- while I was busy trying to take pictures, I moved to another position. As I sat down again, I felt a CRUUNCH... I looked down and there were my Raybans.. all twisted.  (oh well.....)

Everyone had a nice time though. I even saw some unique looking stone. LOVE is everywhere. !!

Nice weekend everyone! Pinatubo 4x4 assn - cel # 09196084313 (for inquiries regarding this).. we went by ourselves but there are other tour operators who do a Pinatubo day tour. They provide complete services like transfers from Manila. (we drove ourselves this time) I tried PINATUBO TREKKING the first time we went and they are very good.. . Contact them HERE.

Pinatubo adventure

It was an early Saturday morning.... 5am to be exact- when we headed to the meeting point for the trekking tour pick up. My husband has been talking about going trekking in Mt. Pinatubo (the volcano that erupted in 1991) that I finally decided to research and book a tour.

The sky was still dark and the air was cold when the van  from phillippine adventures picked us up at 530am (me and my husband with our married couple friends-). The ride to pinatubo lasted about 2 1/2 hours. We went via Nlex (north luzon expressway) towards Sta Juliana, Capas Tarlac.  The highway was free and clear because it was so early and as the sun was beginning to rise, we saw the image of Mt Arayat to the right of us. Pinatubo is not visible on the highway (most of it was blasted to smithereens) By 7:30, we arrived at the "pinatubo spa" - the jumpoff point of all the tours.  The pinatubo area is covered by the airforce and you have to pass through a military outpost.
We were then asked to  transfer to a 4x4 land cruiser that would take us to the main trek. (at this point, the driver hands us our snack - 1 mars bar each, a choice of soda/water, boiled egg and sandwiches that is neatly packed in a cooler). We were thinking of riding the open top jeep.. you know, make it more thrilling.. but the guide said it would be better to ride the closed one. This reason would be quite obvious in a few minutes....we head off the the vast expanse of lahar.-- a desert of ash everywhere you look. Having no roads, the ride was bumpy and as the day wore on, dusty too. I could understand the sound advise of the guide asking us to choose the closed van. I saw some others in the open one, covering their faces from the dust and dirt that was flying all over. Aside form which, the rough road looked like it could bump you out of the vehicle at any minute. The temperature was quite cool and we were thankful that we did come at this time of the year. I couldn't imagine travelling during the summer heat...

They call the 30km expanse crow valley.... where the landscape suddenly changed to something out of DUNE. Mounds of ash, a few stray cows and the landscape was quite barren.  We were informed that we were travelling on a dry river bed.
By rainy season, the road would become a raging river. Last Aug 2009, a group of tourists got caught in a flash flood on that river and drowned. After 45 minutes of bumpy road, we noticed the landscape changing... grass, hills with grass and some foliage was showing up.

              We reached a small stream and the water seemed so clean that we decided to go down and take pictures

The picture of me in this stream, I still had my sunglasses... when we went back and rode the 4x4 jeep again, I noticed my sunglasses were gone.... we went back and tried to find them but  no luck... I guess it fell off when I was going over the rocks... somewhere, some native AETA is wearing raybans (violet rimmed ones)-- =(

We saw some of the other trekkers in front going through the same underbrush.. we felt as though we were traveling on some safari in Africa. We went up the mountain using the "skyway" a path they carved out of the mountain and after some time, we reached the jump off point of the trek.  There are options on the trek where you can opt for a longer hike. I even saw children walking on this hike. I was also told you can also camp at the crater but you have to get special permission from the military.

The guide said that the walk is not that hard-- (see sign), but I guess we were worst off than I thought. It took us 25 mins (a little worse than senior citizen capability) to reach the top. The trail was rocky and we had to be careful not to slip on something and sprain an ankle. 

We finally reached the clearing and saw the crater.... it was awesome!

the water was very very blue (blue green)... it was amazing to realize that a few years ago, this was the site of a very destructive force... the explosion equivalent to 20 million tons of SO2.. and it's the second largest terrestrial eruption in modern history.

from this....(destruction..) to this.... a peaceful tourist destination.

 The clearing had a great view of the crater lake and they already developed the area for tourists.. they had a shed where you can buy drinks and snacks, some basic facilities and boat rentals to go to the other side of the lake where there is a hot spring. We decided to explore the hot springs and rented a boat. It cost an extra P350/head (about $9). We walked down the manmade spiral steps leading us from the observation point to the "beach". It was already noon and we already consumed the sandwhiches that were packed for us.  We also quenched out thirst on the soda and water we also brought. 

The water was very clear and cool that I couldn't wait to swim. It actually felt like we were not in the same country at all. Surrounding the crater were hills of ash, and I could imagine them turning to molten lahar as the rains came. They look like cement. 

Viewing this scene, it almost felt like we were in the movie "Lord of the Rings" and I would see frodo come out from one of the rocks. (or Gollum... my preeciousss!!!!!) The boat ride was a good 25- 30 mins and we had a leisurely time joking with the boatman and taking pictures.

Reaching the other side, we saw steam coming off the sand. And a spot where they made a hole.. in this hole, you can see the water bubbling.. (hot!).. The hot spring that they said was nowhere.. (it was not an actual site).. the whole beach WAS the hot spring. some parts of the sand was hot and my friend actually jumped when she put her foot down. I had some water proof shoes (essential on this trek..I don't recommend any rubber shoes and socks.. it is better to wear sandals or one of those open sandals with straps.) and went for a swim. I had a lifevest on because the water was quite deep. and they said it was not recorded how deep the lake even went. I was wondering the whole time if I may see some kind of lochness monster come up from the depths and eat me.... hahahaa.

The water was very cold in some parts and suddenly, you can feel the warm water coming from the other side. I really wanted to swirl the water around to make the temperature more balanced. I had warm on the left and cold on the right....

After sometime, it was time to make the trip back... All of us were quite satisfied and happy to be able to reach this place. We plan to come back some time and look forward to more similar adventures. We reached the camp back at Tarlac (walked back down the trail, rode the 30km back in the 4x4) and had our lunch. - included in the package, a choice of Filipino or Korean food).. At the spa, you can opt to have a massage (1 hour) or hot volcanic sand pit (30 mins) at an extta P500 ($13) cost. The gift shop also had some sulfur products like soap, sulfur bath salts and the like. 

We left Tarlac at 4pm and reached Manila a little over 7pm. Overall, this was an awesome awesome trip!