The biggest casualty of the recent COVID-19 pandemic was travel, as people were stuck at home. Unfortunately, one of the hobbies severely affected was my love for climbing. Localities closed their borders, and for over two years, I did not have any serious climbs.
Fortunately, around a month ago, I was invited to a climb in the mountain of Tapulao in Zambales. It is a traverse climb that enters Tarlac and exits in Zambales. I have a long mileage in climbing, but Mt. Tapulao was never one that interested me. There are many horror stories about the trail and how it has ruined knees and shoes.
I had been planning this climb, but I couldn't get enough participants to make it economical. I was glad I was invited, and there was some assurance that, admittedly, it was a long trek but not that difficult. Or so I thought...
On the first day of the hike, we started immediately after arriving from our travels. The trailhead is where our local guide lives, and I believe all hikers start from this point. The main part of the morning trek was spent in the Labney River basin, crisscrossing the river several times, walking on the rocky riverbank, and sometimes under the shade of river trees. If you have been to the Gasgas River of Mt. Sicapoo, the experience is almost the same. The main difference is that the Labney River is not very clean and is not potable for drinking. Proof of this is that the rocks at the bottom are covered with moss, making it very slippery to cross, probably due to the bacteria that the water holds.
After the river trek, there is a climb to a valley of a mountain adjacent to Mt. Tapulao. It is an open hike and the sun is now at its peak. This is one of the most difficult parts of this hike, probably the lack of sleep which makes it even harder. The forest after the valley is a typical tropical setting. The trail is now rolling (which means less elevation and far from the summit of 2,100MASL) until you reach the forest clearing that leads to the 1st camp. But not before going down one of the most perilous descents I have ever experienced. It is almost 90 degrees, with nothing to hold on to, and the ground is mainly soil with the help of a few rocks. It is not good that you are already tired and the light is almost gone. The 1st day camp was beside the final river crossing in another river named Zambales river. One compensation is that this river is clean and can be used for drinking.
One of the many crossings
Blair witch forest
The trek after the river
A ray of hope
A Hobbit Hole
Tapulao in cloud cover, this is the clearing after exiting the forest.
The lonely tree (with our guide beside it)
Trekking near the first camp
Our river camp
The second day begins with an assault hike from the river camping ground. Once we reach flat ground, the trail becomes covered by a mixture of pine and other trees. This trail is mostly used by hunters, and we come across many of their traps on the ground. Although the traps are communal, our guide takes two of the wild chickens caught in them to cook for dinner. The trail is rolling and located on the sides of the mountains. It is very pristine, and you might get lost if you trek during the dark. The vegetation is very lush and mossy, especially when you reach the cloud level height. As we near the summit, the trail becomes very tight, causing equipment beside our bags to catch on the branches and roots.
Unbeknownst to many, there is a true summit within Tapulao, which is not the 18KM marker we always see on social media. When we reach the camp, we pitch our tent on the ridge of the campsite, enjoying a good view while socializing and eating our meals.
The trek down to the first camp. Very dangerous and difficult
The hunters trail can be seen on the side
Going up from first camp
The view from where we came
A wild animal poop
One of the many hunters traps along the trail
Mossy and pristine
A wild flower that I can't resist to take a pic
So lush they look like noodles
Tapulao mossy forest vid
"True" Summit view
"True" Summit view another angle
Goofing at the summit
Another summit shot with climb buddies
Summit Vid
The 18KM Marker
For the final descent, as expected, the trail became a mining road with large chunks of stones, making navigation very difficult and tough on the knees. This was the main reason why I had avoided this mountain, and if it weren't for the traverse route, I wouldn't have climbed it. The pandemic made the trail even tougher, as there were now large kugon grass on both sides, probably due to less human activity for two years. There were only a few openings where you could see the view of the surroundings, as everything was almost kugon grass. We also saw several motocross bikers trying to climb to the campsite (these bikers destroy the trail). A big part of the trail from the jumpoff/trail head is now paved, making it reachable by vehicles. It would probably take an hour or so more if done on foot
Ahhh, Sunrise. Always lovely on the mountains
Always good to have conversation and meals with a good view
The infamous Mt Tapulao traditional trail. This is previously a mining road
Mt. Pulag is one of the most beautiful and mystifying mountain in the Philippines. It also have three trails that can be considered some of the best in this country. Having able to try two of those trails already (akiki and tawangan), I had been planning to try the last one - the Ambaguio trail. So I went with a friend and an officemate who created a team of 12. Yes the climb was to Pulag which exits in Ambaguio, but the entry was in Akiki trail. The plan completion of the trek was in 3 days. Akiki is always difficult to hike that is reason it was named the "killer" trail of Mt. Pulag, the total elevation gain is around 1850 meters. On the day of the climb it was harder for us, as we are in the middle of the mossy forest, it started to rain. The rain did not stop until we reached camp (approximately 6KM distance). Cold, rain, darkness and tired body made the trek more difficult. Plus add the situation that I got seperated from the group and got lost. We were so tired that we did not ate dinner and went straight to sleep.
Jump-off / Trail head of Akiki Trail
Akiki is know for steep start at the trail head
We saw this bull skull at the trail
The pines looks like planted with measurement distances
The Edet river bridge has been newly renovated
"Killer" trail. So difficult carrying a pack loaded with supplies for 3 days
We saw this blue colored worm, that I had to put out my camera eventhough is already drizzling.
Mt Pulag is at the leftmost. If you look closely, you can see tourist lining up to go to the summit. All of them came from Ambangeg trail, known as the tourist trail
Sea of cloud-lets. No sign it rained almost the whole night
The next 2 days, it was still raining but now more manageable. We were able to see the beauty of what Ambaguio trail has to offer. Ambaguio is considered the longest trail of Mt Pulag (30KM distance with a gain/decent of 2100 meters), that 2 days is normally allocated to complete the hike. The trail connsist of beautiful and pristine mossy forrest. We surmise the only regular users of the trail are the locals. There are also cliff side roads that reminisce the similarity to Mt. Ugo. Hikers will pass by several villages which are not often reached by civilization. We camped on our 2nd night in Brgy Napo, which consist of Upper and Lower distinction. As the name suggest the Barangay is segregated on by a hill which Upper is located on the top. The current nationwide drought has also affected this place. What is known to have abundant water sources along the trail, almost all of them had dried up. We also saw several landslide area due to the the heavy rains that poured in the past days.
The trail ended when we reached Brgy Amueg near the Ambaguio City Hall in Nueva Viscaya.
One of the most Kikay-est hikemate I been with. Manage to bring those rollers!
Team resting at a shelter along the trail
Mossy and pristine!
Saw this landslide along the trail. The thick forest was not enough to prevent this.
Descending to Brgy Napo
Lower Napo have the High School, while Elementary is in the Upper Napo
Where we camped for the night. It also became our kitchen. Good this as it also rained heavy that time.
Brgy Napo, Ambaguio, Nueva Viscaya
Napo Elementary School
The house in the middle of the mountain is where we had our lunch the previous day, under heavy rains.
Napo Vegetable farms
Because of the heavy rains the night before, we saw this fresh landslide along the trail
Upper Napo as seen from the trail
After almost half a day without water, we are so glad to see this water source. It is so refreshing
Saw this orchid like flower on the ground, anyone familiar with its name?
A waterfall from a distance as seen on the trail
Rice terraces as we are nearing our exit point.
Golden rice fields almost ready for harvest
It was raining on the mountains, that the water turned brown.
So having tried all the 3 famous trails of Mt Pulag which one do I like best and least?
I like Ambaguio trail best as the trail is pristine and there is also a cultural experience. You blend with the local which are not yet into commercialism. Our camp in Brgy Napo was for free, even though we stayed on the Brgy Hall.
The least I like is Akiki trail as it is the most popular and easy to access. The trail is badly beaten though not as bad as those close to Manila.
