The first time I attempted to climb Mt. Bulusan (Dec. 2013)
I met a number of misfortune. On my way
home from the office to get my backpack, the MRT broke down. On my way from home to the bus terminal,
there was a horrible traffic. When I
arrived at the bus terminal, it was empty.
I ended up in a coffee shop feeling unlucky (coincidentally, it was a
Friday the 13th). While
having a cup of a coffee, I was imaging with so much envy how my companions
were having a good climb. Days after, I
found out that the climb were unsuccessful because of bad weather. I realized that all the misfortune were
actually blessing in disguise.
Fast forward, the team leader set June 7-8, 2014 to be our
second attempt. We agreed to leave
Manila, Friday evening. I did not wait
for the evening and went ahead of the group. I was not excited! Lol. The truth was, I did not report to work
because I had this strong feeling that my boss won’t allow me to go home early. If that will happen, surely I’ll have a hard
time on my way to the bus terminal and getting a ride. I didn’t want to be left behind again. This time I’d like to have my coffee in Mt.
Bulusan.
Mt. Bulusan is situated in the province of Sorsogon in the
Bicol region. Elevation is at 1,565 masl
and it is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. The volcano and
the forest surrounding it are protected areas. Coming from Manila by bus would take roughly
14 hours to reach Irosin, Sorsogon.
Alternatively, one can take a plane to Legazpi, Albay and from there it
will be just less than 4 hours ride to Irosin, Sorsogon, but this can be more
costly. I was at the bus terminal at
around 10 am. Checking the schedule of
trips to Irosin, the earliest was by 2 pm.
If I’ll take the 2 pm trip, it would mean that I have to wait for 3
hours more and arrival in Irosin would be in the wee hours. I checked other options. There was a bus bound for Legazpi that will
leave by 11 am. I decided to take the
trip and spend a night in Legazpi. I
paid 650 pesos for the fare. The travel from Manila to Legazpi was smooth. The bus had stops during lunch and dinner
time. It was past 12 midnight when we arrived in Legazpi. I slept at a tourist inn and paid 350 pesos
for a fan room with CR.
I woke up at exactly 6 am the next day. After I had my shower, I checked out. It was a beautiful morning and I felt good
after getting a rest. I boarded a
jeepney to Daraga where the buses going to Irosin pass by. I took a quick breakfast in Daraga. At around 8:20 am, I boarded an ordinary bus
going to Irosin. I paid 100 pesos for
the fare. While on the road, I
communicated with rest of the group asking their whereabouts. They were 4 to 3 hours away from Irosin. It got me excited. I was thinking about the climb when suddenly
the bus stopped. The driver informed us
that the engine malfunctioned and we have to be transferred to another
bus. Minutes had gone by but the bus
promised by the driver is nowhere in sight.
I asked a bystander of other ways to get to Irosin. Fortunately, I was already in Sorsogon City and
it would just take me less than an hour by jeepney to Irosin. I was told to ride a tryk that would bring me
to the jeepney terminal. I did and paid
40 pesos. Unfortunately, the jeepney
won’t leave not until it was full. It
took more or less 20 minutes before we finally left the terminal. I arrived in Irosin at exacty 11:30 am and my
companions were already there. While
having our lunch, I told them what happened.
After we had our lunch, we hired a tryk that brought us to
Bulusan Volcano National Park (BVNP). We
paid 60 pesos each. By 12:45 pm, we
arrived at the park and met by the staff.
We settled climbs fees and did some last minute preparations. A staff checked our blood pressure and each
one of us were given an ID. An
orientation about the place and the climb rules and regulations followed before
we started the trek. At
exactly 1:30 pm, our trek began. All 9 of us (joined by 1 guide and 1 porter)
were excited.
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| our group before starting the trek |
To get to the trail head, we had to paddle a kayak across
Bulusan lake. Two persons per kayak and
since we were 9, one joined the guide in a pump boat together with our
backpacks. I actually enjoyed
kayaking. When all of us were able to
cross the lake, we started the trek. It
was a sunny afternoon, good thing the trail was fully covered with trees. Dense
and verdant! I also liked how established the trail and how
gradually it gained elevation. Limatiks
were present on some parts of the trail but not aggressive. After 2 hours of trekking, we reached the
halfway of the trail marked by a hexagonal hut.
There was a change in weather. Thick
clouds formed and rain was about to fall at any moment. We were supposed to do the tree planting but
due to the impending rain, our guide decided to continue the trek and do the
tree planting on our way down. Minutes
after we left the hut, it rained hard.
Some of us worried that it might continue until the next day. When we’re few meters away from the campsite,
the rain stopped. By the time we reached
the campsite at around 5 pm, the sky was clear again. In fact, the summit was visible. After unloading our bags, we asked our guide
the way to the lake. We ran with
excitement to the direction pointed to but the lake was nowhere to be found! Obviously,
we took the wrong direction. Lol.
Nevertheless, we took that opportunity to take pictures.
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| paddling our way to the trail head |
 |
| looking for the lake |
After about 30 minutes we returned to the campsite. We pitched our tents and prepared our
dinner. We shared the campsite with 3
more groups. We ate our dinner at
around 8pm. Afterwards, we had to sing a
birthday song to one of our companions.
It was his birthday. We brought
to the mountain a small cake for him. He
thanked us and I guess he was happy. We
had no wine/liquor to consume but we had stories/jokes to share. While other groups were already sleeping,
we’re laughing hard. One of the guides
had to remind us to minimize our voices.
Before other groups got mad at us, we decided to called it a night. After all, we had enough and we had to wake
up early the next day. Before I entered
my tent, I looked at the sky. It was
clear and dotted with stars. It seemed
to promise a beautiful sunrise.
Voices coming from the other groups woke me up. They were already preparing for the summit
assault. When I checked my watch it was
only 2 am. I wanted to continue my sleep
but I had I hard time. Some of my
companions woke up and prepared our breakfast.
I went out the tent and joined them for breakfast. Right after, we prepared for the summit assault. We began the trek at exactly 3:30 am. It was still dark and cold.
The trek to the crater summit started with the grassy flat
terrain then a steep trail ensued. From
that point to the crater were mostly assaults.
The first part of trail was covered with forest but darkness kept me
guessing how it looked like. After an
hour of trekking, we emerged from the forest to an open grassy trail. By that time, the dawn was slowly breaking. Our guide told us that the sunrise will be at
5:17 am. It seemed that we can’t make it
to the top before sunrise. Five minutes
before the expected sunrise, we’re 30 minutes away from the summit. True
enough the sun rose while we were still on the trail, 20 minutes away from the
summit.
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| sun slowly rising |
I didn’t mind. It was still a sight
to behold. By 5:50 am, we reached the
summit. We were the second group to
arrive at the crater summit. We were
blessed with a good clearing. We can
even see Mayon Volcano from afar. We’re
all in joy that our second attempt was finally a success. We’re all in agreement that all the sweat and
effort in trekking and the 14 hours butt-numbing bus ride were all worth
it. We took pictures while other groups
started to arrive. We stayed at the
summit for almost an hour. At about 7
am, we started our descent to the campsite which took us almost an hour.
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| the grassy trail to the summit |
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| Mayon Volcano from a distant |
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| lake Aguinay and the Sharp peak |
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| with our guide ( kuya Bayani) at the crater |
Upon reaching the campsite we prepared our early lunch. Others started to break camp. The sun was up and it was already hot. At exactly 9:30 am we ate our lunch. Afterwards, we prepared for our trek from the
campsite down to the jump off. We took
our souvenir photo at the campsite before leaving. We left the campsite at around 10:40 am. We reached the halfway of the trail by 11:56
am. Before proceeding, we did first the
tree planting which is mandatory. When
everyone has planted each seedling, we continued the trek down. We took the emergency trail. An easy and established trail, well, except
for the last portion where we negotiated boulders before finally emerging right
in front of the BVNP office. Each one of
us was given a certificate stating that we’re able to complete the climb. Afterwards, we head to the nearby Dancalan
beach to celebrate the climb.
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| planting a tree for the future |
I would just like to commend the management and staff of
BVNP for a well-organized climb, starting from the application of permit, to
the climb proper, and to the post climb ceremonies. Guides are well trained and porters are
good. The mandatory tree planting for every
climber is commendable too.
