A
year and a few days have passed and I decided to finish and post this entry.
Maaaaan, what a writer's block I had gone through.
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It all started with a birthday wish.
"Pulag on my birthday month!" In bold capital letters, I wrote them down in my planner even months before April. Then Michi, one of the 'Three Mountaineers' from my Batulao post, invited me to a Pulag hike ON MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! Talk about getting lucky! After an exhaustive planning of day-offs and incessant prayers of them being granted, I finally have the dates blocked and my bag packed! This is my first major climb with people I barely know but heck, Pulag Pulag so I pushed on with my plans.
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| It took me several days of pagmamakaawa just to get my 'dream' schedule. |
The
hike was organized by a seasoned hiker, Obey, which was originally meant as a
post-sem climb for his batchmates in med school. Thankfully, slots were opened
to all and I was able to secure one. Apparently, a junior of mine from high
school, Aaron, was one of the organizer's friend from med school. Small world,
indeed eh?
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Writing
down your plans is one thing. Executing them is another. Take for example
preparing hiking clothes. Most of my climbs were dayhikes and usually do not
require warmers and water-proofing of my things but Pulag is known for its
fickle weather - especially along the 'rain-attracting' mossy forest so I had
to buy appropriate equipment for this climb. I suggest you drop by Divisoria to
get your things! I scored a pair of hiking pants that can be
transformed into hiking shorts for 500 pesos! And boy was it warm
inside. I also bought a pair of gloves with rubber grips for 35
pesos which can be used as to keep my fingers from freezing and
hold on to branches when crossing a slippery part of the trail. And don't
forget long sleeves to keep you warm on a freezing Pulag night. Got them
for 100 pesos per shirt! Finally, waterproof your things. I
bought an industrial-grade raincoat with matching pants for 200
pesos but it was worth it when the rain battered us on our way to
Camp 2. I also bought lots of garbage bags for 100 pesos per
roll to serve as my bag's rain cover (since it doesn't come
with one) and, surprisingly, as an insulator-cum-waterproof sleeping bag.
Packing
all these things plus your water and food (read: canned good and biscuits)
ration really tested my packing skills.
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| Hello, Frugal Self! Garbage bag as rain cover, anyone? :)) |
Weather
up in the mountains is a fickle as it can get. Some even say that the mossy
forest of Pulag 'attracts' rain clouds - a fact we cannot go against, as
evidenced by our ice-cold rain-drenched selves - so better be prepared. Aside
from using trash bags as my bag cover, I also used them in lining
the inside of my bag to make sure things inside it will
remain dry. True enough, (most of) my things remained dry during our hike under
the mountain rain. You can also use Ziplock bags where you can place
your valuables, or in my case, compartmentalize
my stuff!
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| Being the visual guy that I am, whenever I pack my clothes for a multi-day trip, I lay them down a day at a time to see what I'm missing. |
Since
I brought along a regular bagpack (ON A MAJOR HIKE, shiz what was I thinking!),
compartmentalizing my stuff was important. Just like I said, I used Ziplock and
plastic bags to separate my things into compartments. Being
the neat freak (despite not being neat at all haha), I have my 'night pack' for
my sleeping attire; my 'trail pack' for my hiking gears; and even a 'travel
pack' for the clothes that I would be wearing on my way back to Manila. Placement
of these compartments is also a key. Rule of thumb, I place
the packs that I'll be using last first at the bottom part so I can get to them
when I'm done with the packs on top. Better yet, invest in a camping
bag if you see yourself being drawn by the allure of the
mountains. It can carry a lot more weight and distribute it to load-bearing
points like your shoulder and hips. It also has straps to evenly distribute the
weight. A tent is a good investment, too. Though I am more
of a dayhike person, overnight hikes are becoming enchanting to me and you can
use your tent as 'accomodations' in beaches were a minimal camping fee are
charged to its visitors.
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| I even have a food pack! HAHAHA! |
Prepare for everything, more so for the unexpected.
You can never tell what can happen while on a trip, especially when hiking. A
hint of a fog should alert you to a rain, and boy was I right. The rain
drenched us even if we were wearing ponchos and I even brought my umbrella out!
So waterproofing my things proved to be the right move. And finally, enjoy
Nature. I can't seem to stress this enough but each hike is a unique -
even almost spiritual - experience where you can be one with Nature and
appreciate its beauty. Listening to the orchestra of chirping of birds,
rustling of leaves, and the bubbling of a nearby river takes away the
stress. Take pictures for memorabilia's sake but enjoy the now.
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| I took a shot and put my camera down and enjoyed this beauty. :> |
Check out my next blog entry for the actual hike itself. I don't wanna bore you
guys with a lengthy post and give you tl;dr vibes.
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