A Hike Up Mount Pinatubo

In January of this year we decided to go hike up Mount Pinatubo. Those of you who like volcanoes probably already know that this is not some ordinary mount. Pinatubo is an active volcano in the Philippines, not far from the capital city Manila. In 1991 it gained worldwide notoriety when it erupted spectacularly, spewing an ash column 7km high.

Luckily for me, and the 20 million other people who live in its vicinity, Pinatubo has been relatively quiet lately, and is open to the public. You can hike up the crater side, and even swim in the lake that formed over the years in the crater itself.

We arranged with some resort near Pinatubo a tour package which takes you up the crater for a swim in the crater lake, and down back again to the resort where we would be served lunch. This package set us back about 1,800 pesos per person, so not too bad.

Getting to the resort at Mount Pinatubo from Metro Manila was pretty easy. We took a bus, I think it was a Victory Liner, that goes to Capas, Tarlac (along the Marcos Highway). From Capas we had to take a tricycle to Barangay Santa Juliana where the resort was located. We expected just a short 15 minute ride, but the ride lasted about an hour, so be sure to sit yourself comfortably down in one of those tricycles before you go.

When we got to the resort, which was owned and operated by some Koreans, we just had to sign in, meet our friendly tour guides, and the rest was all taken care off. Because we arrived slightly late (surprise) we were quickly ushered into one of the 4x4 jeeps that was waiting for us. After a heated debate with the tour guide on which 4x4 to take (some look much nicer than others) we eventually succumbed to the superior authority of the tour guide and settled in the our designated jeep. The driver bolted down the hatches and off we went! 

Soon into the ride it became clear why the back door had to be bolted down. To say the ride was bumpy would be an understatement. I felt like I was an ice cube being shaken in one of Bond's famous "shaken, not stirred" Martini mixers. First you cross a floodplain where a river slowly carves out its path through the tonnes of ash deposited by Pinatubo. The floodplains were vast and wide, so I expect that if it rains, or you had lots of rain the day before, a live jacket may be required. 

After 30 or 45 minutes, we reached the first steep climb up the crater's side. Before we could go up, though, the jeeps had to be switched to 4x4 mode, so that gave us a chance to stretch our legs and soak up the eerie ash filled atmosphere. 

Once in 4x4 mode, up the steep hillside we went for another 20 minutes or so until we reached an assembly point. This is the jumping off point for the hike.

If you are not very able bodied, or feel that your physical fitness is not ideal, don't fret. This hiking trip caters to everyone, even senior citizens. There is a nice big sign that even indicates, per age group, how long the hike will take.

Young ones should take no more than 15 minutes to reach the summit, middle aged individuals 18 minutes, and the seniors amongst us no more than 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, unless the sign also had a category for 'idiots who lose their wallet', my time to reach the summit was not indicated. I was so enthusiastically filming this whole excursion that I never realized my back pocket no longer contained my wallet. Stupid me only realized this when I was close to reaching the summit. In a frenzy of panic (canceling your credit cards and getting a new drivers license from some government department in Europe is quite a hassle you know) I left the group and ran down the trail again in search of my missing wallet.

Quickly word spread amongst the tour guides that there was some panic stricken Joe with a big camera running frantically down the trail (Filipino's often refer to foreigners as "Joes" even though they may not be from the US at all). Our tour guide quickly realized they were talking about his Joe, and ran down the trail too. I met him somewhere half way and explained to him that I was searching for my wallet. "Just wait here" he said, and bolted off further down at twice the speed.

Not putting much faith in finding my wallet again, I pressed on nonetheless. When I  almost reached the jumping off point again, the tour guide came running towards me with my wallet in hand! What a miracle, he found it. I quickly checked if everything was there, and it was! The guy found my wallet intact with absolutely nothing missing. I gave him a huge tip, and with renewed vigor climbed up the crater side again. I now have nothing but praise for all the tour guides at Mount Pinatubo!

After running down and up the crater side, I finally reached the crater lake. Drenched in sweat, I couldn't wait to take a dip in the cool water before me. The rolling green hills with the deep turquoise water of the lake give an amazing contrast.

Besides swimming in the lake, you can also take a small rowing boat (don't worry, you don't need to row yourself) that takes you to another shore where hot water actually bubbles up from below. There was also a nice little river which had carved a path through the landscape in vivid yellow. It had an other-worldly look to it.

After losing my wallet, running up the crater side twice, and swimming in the lake, I had gotten quite hungry, and so were my fellow hikers in the group. We all packed up our stuff and headed back down to the resort to enjoy the lunch that came with the package.

All in all it was a great day: clear blue skies, a lost wallet found, a swim in cool turquoise waters, and an uneventful trip back to Manila. And finally, a special thank you to Est Vanguardia whose pictures are featured in this post. She made some excellent photos throughout the journey whilst I was busy filming and/or searching for my wallet.


Mount Pinatubo January 2010 from Ferdi on Vimeo.

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