Mt. Pulag Open Climb - Ranger Station to the Sea of Clouds

Straight from our side trip (which we did in reverse to the usual Pulag itinerary)  we headed towards the DENR for us to be able to register and attend the short briefing before we ultimately proceed to the Ranger Station and set up camp.

THE BRIEFING

We finally arrived at the DENR at 1000H. We paid our registration fees and waited for our turn for the short briefing about the to do's and what not's inside the nature reserve. It was actually 1120H when we left the Ranger Station.

Starting February 2015, the DENR has proscribed camping at Camp 2 Extension. Moreso, the DENR has likewise limited the slots (150...?) for campers at Camp 2 and Camp 1 during weekend hikes (Saturday-Sunday). As such, majority of the informal hikers and weekend warriors that troop to Mt. Pulag via Ambangeg (Executive Trail) are now compelled to camp at the Ranger Station.

Busy

Shirts for sale

Sir Espi welcomes you to Mt. Pulag

The main entrance

The DENR...taken from the road

With this setup, the locals at the Ranger Station now enjoy extra income (from camping fees to fees for toilet use). It is also noticeable that more and more enterprising locals have started to sell foodstuff and other goodies. They also rent camping necessities to hikers like earth pads, tents, and cooking utensils.

The DENR has likewise decided to limit the number of hikers at the summit per given time. In this regard, hikers have been assigned to the different peaks (such as Peak 3, Peak 2, and the Tower Station) for the sunrise-viewing and the famous sea of clouds.

Mt Pulag Side Trip - Ambuklao Dam; Jangjang Hanging Bridge; Badekbek Sulfur Spring

Our latest Open Climb in Mt. Pulag (Ambangeg-Ambangeg) turned out to very fruitful. The participating climbers actually were employees of audit firm, Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A). Skookums Allan, Espi, and Oliver acted as Team Leaders and Organizer of the group. They were ably assisted by Ember, otherwise known as the Barack "Mr President" Obama of CB Richard Ellis Philippines.

The all-P&A team was composed by Marco Rivas, Yaz Recta, Rosanna Balotro, Frani Custodio, Jenica Angeles, Klein Cajucom,


THE SIDETRIP

Since we were scheduled to camp at the Ranger's Station in Babadak, we deemed it better for us to spend extra time on the road and visit nearby natural and/or man-made wonders in Bokod. We so thankful to Moi, the driver of the monster jeep that we rented in going to Bokod, Benguet from the City of Pines.

We were the 1st ones to arrive here

Agno River...at the back of Danao Eatery

Aside from the usual sidetrip to the Ambuklao Dam, we also were able to go to and cross the Jangjang Hanging Bridge and endured the rotting stench in Daclan Sulfur Spring.