Trekking Mt. Pinatubo - my first hiking experience!

Capas, Tarlac Province
04 May 2011

Jump-off point

A colleague at the office invited me to climb Mt. Mayon on the same month for fun and to see the magnificent view of Bicol landscape from above. From the time I confirmed, I had been excited about the climb.

I happened to check a blog on climbing Mt. Mayon and though I was so excited, I got a little shocked on what I learned about the mountain. To cut the long story short, Mt. Mayon is not for a first time hiker!

Though a little shocked at first, my excitement had prevailed and still, I told myself, I'm gonna be at the top of that mountain.

A month before the actual climb, I decided to look for an easier trek. Something that is meant for a first-time hiker just to have an actual feel of how it was like to climb a mountain. Many blog sites and mountaineering reviews recommended Mt. Pinatubo as a testing ground because in general, it is an exciting and easy climb all the way to the crater.

Trail to the crater

Mt. Pinatubo is an active volcano situated at the boundaries of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales provinces on the island of Luzon. According to Wikipedia, before 1991, the mountain was inconspicuous and heavily eroded. It was covered in dense forest which supported a population of several thousand indigenous people, the Aeta. However, on June 15, 1991, the second largest eruption of the 20th century occurred at 1:42PM local time when Mt. Pinatubo's eruption reached its climax. 

Jeric, Weng, Bianca and Ethel

Philvolcs call it "plinian" eruption. The eruption lasted for nine hours and caused numerous large earthquakes due to the collapse of the summit of Mt. Pinatubo and the creation of a caldera. The caldera reduced the peak from 1745 meters (5725 feet) to 1485 meters (4872 feet) high. It's 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) in diameter.

The rock

Finally, I signed up for a Mt. Pinatubo day hike and this marked my first ever mountain climb.

On May 07, 2011,  At 0300H, we met at the MC Donald food store somewhere in QC. There were about 15 of us. We took a private van and reached Capas, Tarlac at 0700H. This is the first jump-off point to Mt. Pinatubo. There were 4x4 vehicles lined-up along the road ready to bring us to the second jump-off point.

Young Aetas

After registration and a 15-minute briefing, we took a 4x4 truck that carried us along the lahar path going to the second jump-off point where we started our exciting journey to the crater on foot. The 4x4 ride lasted for atleast an hour from the first jump-off point.

Crater assault

At around 0900H, we started our journey to the crater from the second jump-off point on foot. The sky was clear and the weather was hot. I enjoyed the trail so much that I almost didn't feel the hot weather at all. I was amazed by the change of landscape caused by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo to its neighboring mountains, not to mention, the huge rocks and boulders said to be ejected from the crater during the climax eruption.

At the crater

Together with four friends - Bianca, Ethel, Jeric and Weng, we reached the crater lake, also know as "caldera" few minutes before 12PM. We took some pictures and then lunch.

Pinatubo Caldera

The view of the crater lake was so magnificent. It changed colors every now and then from blue to green and blue again. Some of us took a dip into the cool bluish water of the crater. The lake although is very deep at the center. It has a depth between 600m to 800m according to PHIVOLCS.

We had lunch past 1200H under a covered hut at the crater. 

4x4 ride

We started our descent from crater at 1300H, again on foot all the way to the second jump-off point where the 4x4 vehicles were waiting for us.

At 1800H, we were all back to the first jump-off point, tidy up and then left Capas Tarlac back to Manila. 

Jump-off point

I love the view and the place. As always, I enjoyed taking as many photographs of this magnificent landscape as I can.

They said, "First impression lasts" and true enough. I was completely impressed by the natural beauty of Mt. Pinatubo and because of this, I started to like climbing mountains.

I was so happy to met new friends, enjoyed taking photos and experienced hiking for the first time!

Thanks too to Trail Adventours for making this possible. See more photos here.

-o0o-