mt. pinatubo

i learned of this trip from mark, who subscribed to ensogo. we booked, but he didn't. my pretty nieces, jel and nice were both doing some late summer jobs, so i figured that this trip could be their rewards for a very good survey turnout and their pre-senior year vacay.

access8 was the trip organizer. we left for ortigas before 11 pm and stayed in mcdonald's st. francis till 2:30 am. we then transferred to mcdonald's f. ortigas branch were the access8 team was waiting. after about an hour, we left for capas, tarlac. the 4x4 ride took about an hour and we started the 2.5 to 3 hour trek to the crater. they said that there was a skyway, a shorter way atop the mountains, to go to the crater, but this wasn't passable due to the previous typhoons. if it was ok, the trek would have been only 30 minutes.

the view was amazing! as i've said in the previous post, it's hard to imagine that a violent earth activity some two decades ago would give birth to this immense beauty called mt. pinatubo crater lake. we ate our lunches (chicken adobo, rice and banana) and lake-dipped ourselves. that was the highlight i think. after some quick shower, we trekked back to where our 4x4 was waiting. around 9 pm, we were back in quezon city.

access8's itinerary:

03:00am - Assembly Ortigas
03:30am - Departure to Capas, Tarlac
05:00am - ETA Tourism Office; registration;
05:30am - 4x4 ride
06:30am - Jump off point; Start of Trek
09:30am - ETA crater; free-time, swim
12:00nn - Lunch
01:00pm - Descent
04:00pm - ETA jump off point; 4 x 4 ride back to Tourism Office
05:00pm - ETA Tourism Office; wash-up
05:30pm - ETD to Manila
08:30pm -

*** arrival time in manila may vary, but the latest would be 08:00pm

Recommended Things to bring:

1. Enough supply of drinking water or trail water.
2. Comfortable shoes for hiking or hiking shoes (Please no clogs or high heeled footwear).
3. Slippers or Sandals and extra socks
4. Extra clothes
5. Snacks (something sweet)
6. Head gear (bush hat), shades or sunglasses or an umbrella
7. Camera
8. Identification
9. Personal Medication and sunblock
10. Towel
11. Backpack