We were living in Pampanga when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991. We experienced the strong earthquakes, the frequent aftershocks, the ash fall, the lahar, the day seeming like dusk all throughout because the sky was covered with volcanic emissions. That same year, we moved out of Pampanga. I had to transfer school, leave my close friends whom I could have attended high school in St. Scho with, learn a new dialect, get used to a new culture – among other things.
Recently, we have been invited by the cool people from SabitMountaineer to join the day hike to Mt. Pinatubo. The trek, accordingly, was far easier than Pulag. But personally, I really wanted to see this volcano for myself – this mass of land that impolitely derailed me from what could have been a more conventional way to live a life. A life with no moving around, no confused way of Tagalog/Bisaya speaking, no more hesitations when I am asked where I am from.
Who knows?
January 26, Saturday
The day before the climb, I already had to lug my travel backpack to the office. To those who aren’t aware yet - yes, I do have Saturday work. I live in Antipolo so it was not a very appealing idea to still go home after work and then commute to back to Manila in the wee hours of Sunday morning. As EJ in his ridiculously deep Tagalog would say, “hamak na oras na iyon.”
Luckily, I’ve made plans to occupy my time until the assembly time at 3 am. I’ve badly needed a haircut. So I thought I’d finally get one while killing time. My hair has grown too long since the last time I had it trimmed. I wish I could say that in a figurative way (“Ang haba ng hair ko!”) but alas, no. Just the actual measurement of length. :P
After the haircut (and inwardly hating how it turned out), I met up with Liz, Paulo, and Tago for dinner. We wanted to veer away from the conventional fastfood chains we always frequent so we decided to try out Bubble Tea (lower ground floor, Mega A, near the ice skating rink). They serve Japanese fusion (Omurice Paella, Katsu Curry, etc.). The menu price is OT reimbursement level but the food’s great - at least the ones we’ve tried. I didn’t want to experiment with the milk teas and the fruit shakes or I’d have risked an inconvenient disagreement with my digestive system just in time for the hike. The horror.
Gary caught up with us just after dinner. His cousin Niña dropped by for a while (pretty, pretty Niña, hehe) but she had to go home right away. The rest of us watched the last full Show of “Heartbreak Kid” which stars Ben Stiller. You won’t be seeing its review here in my Multiply. It’s not worth a review, not even a bad one. Watch it on cable, borrow a pirated DVD. Just don’t spend money on it.
January 27, Sunday
After the movie, around midnight, Gary and I headed back to the office. We fixed our things and tried to rest while waiting for the time. By 2.30, we were already at the assembly point in EDSA Balintawak Chowking. Jay, the organizer, and other familiar faces from the Pulag climb were already there. EJ and Yza came not long after followed by Neal and Pia. We helped Jay distribute the IDs and I even won a bet against Gary, haha. We were guessing the gender of a particular name in one of the IDs. I was right, “Wa” turned out to be a guy. :)
Going to Capas, Tarlac
By four am, we boarded the rented vans. I dozed off almost immediately; I had zero sleep. I am starting to think that hiking without adequate sleep is becoming a usual thing. I woke up during the stopover to Capas town proper. It was almost sunrise by this time. We bought McDo breakfasts and boarded the vans again to head to the jump-off station. The scenery on the way was very pretty. There were a lot of fruit-bearing trees along the road. And it was even made prettier because of the soft sunrays which were starting to peek from the horizon. The jump-off station was an Asian spa of sorts. Japanese, Korean – I’m not sure. We got the chance to take pictures while waiting for the 4x4 vehicles.
Four wheel driving up Pinatubo
Luckily, we occupied a 4x4 vehicle with a roof. Or we’d have been treated to a free face powder courtesy of Pinatubo ashfall. The ride was dusty, long, and bumpy but so much fun. I was looking forward to this part of the trip. Just like a mini rollercoaster ride. Over shallow streams, rocky terrain, desert-like wastelands, those drivers went off like speed was their high. There was a part when our vehicle had to be towed by another when we got stuck in a muddy road. But no biggie. We reached the base with no other hitches.
Assault
The sign read “Welcome; Mt. Pinatubo; Walking Distance; Only 40 mins away”. I was a little skeptic when I read the time estimate. When we climbed Mt. Pulag, I learned that when you ask seasoned mountaineers how long will it take to get somewhere, you still had to multiply that with a factor. The newbie factor. Or the I-lead-a-sedentary-life factor. Their one hour could take you an hour and half. Or something.
The first part of the trail was not very promising. It was loose sand, downward, and very steep. Every careful step I took going down, I never forgot that I will have to go this way again going back up. But eventually, the trail leveled. Became easier, more interesting. There were cliffs on either side and there was the occasional stream to cross. Water was cool and not deep, just above the ankles. Thankfully, too, the sky was overcast. We thought we would be extremely exposed to the sun, but the cloudy skies made the hike more pleasant. We took our time hiking up that trail. The ascent was very gradual except for the last few minutes heading up to the crater, but otherwise it was very manageable. We didn’t even have to stop to take a break, just steady continuous walk.
Crater
When we reached the crater, we were awed at its color. It was so beautiful, unlike any other body of water I have seen with my own eyes. Blue water surrounded by green-covered rocky structures - the actual crater of Mt. Pinatubo. It was surreal. Like it was just artificially colored. One wouldn’t readily think that this quiet lake with serene blue color was the ground zero of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the 20th century.
We had a quick lunch after taking pictures. After that, we headed down to the water. There was a stairs constructed for the hike down to the water, but it was long and sharply inclined. When we got to the crater shore, we took more pictures. But time dragged slowly down at the crater. We found ourselves throwing rocks into the water, aiming at some questionably floating substance that curiously disintegrated when agitated. We also threw skipping stones. Or to be blunter about it, they threw skipping stones, while I unsuccessfully just ended throwing rocks at the water which promptly sinks with a pathetic “plop!” Skipping stones is now officially in my list of things to do before I die. Gary’s record that day is an impressive seven skips. Or if you ask him, “at least seven” skips.
Anyway, we must have depleted the rock accumulation from where we sat. We were joking that we might have disturbed Nessy the Loch Ness monster from way below the water. Good thing no such monster reared its head until it was time for us to leave.
Descent
We started descent mid afternoon after the quick socials where Gary won a trekking pole. It also started to rain a bit so we had to put on our rain gear. But the hike was still enjoyable. No untoward incident happened, although there was a point when our group almost took a wrong turn in the trail. We just talked about movies and books while we trudged along. Before we knew it, we have reached the beginning part of the trail and my worries of hiking up that very steep and loose soil were realized. I had to catch my breath a couple of times before reaching the plateau where the 4x4 vehicles parked.
Going home
Our 4x4 had trouble again when we were on our way down. The steering wheel wouldn’t, uhmm, steer. Good thing we were out of the snaky muddy roads and already in the wide open wasteland. They got to fix it in a jiffy, though, and we arrived at the Asian spa safely. Shower fee was P100, but most of them were too tired to clean up so we just changed shirts. We arrived in Manila around 9 pm. I got home around 11 or midnight.
I honestly realized that I never really harbored any ill feeling towards Pinatubo. I might not have really fit in St. Scho, anyway.
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