Mt. Pinatubo

RIDE
To get to Tarlac it took us about 2-3hours from Alabang (we made a lot of stops). From there, we took a 4x4 to our drop off point. It was a 2 hour bumpy yet scenic ride. That alone was an adventure!

TREK
We hiked through Pinatubo's rocky path for another two hours. The rocks were the only things that made the trek challenging. Other than that it wouldn't have been so hard I think. It wasn't very steep, well except for the stairs to the crater, which was very much so. Yes, stairs. Apparently the Koreans developed this place. They had made a rest area and toilets 20 minutes to its peak (which of course the girls welcomed). They also had cemented the summit and had made stairs going down the crater. I must say they didn’t make a bad job. Although, after hiking for two hours, I was expecting to see virgin formations of greens and not a cemented area. While some would have welcomed a bit of comfort and overpriced gatorade from the BAR, it disappointed me 8o(-to each his own. I enjoyed the trek though. The view while hiking was very peaceful. I actually wanted to just take my time and look at my surroundings but that would have taken us forever to reach the top. We passed a lot of other hikers too, which was not necessarily a good or bad thing.

rest area with restrooms

the summit

stairs going down the crater-steepest stairs ever made!

CLIMATE
The climate was confusing. Going up was sunny and hot yet it was quite cloudy and breezy going down. It was pretty cold in the crater. Thank goodness the sun would come out once in a while to keep us warm. Swimming in the crater was pretty awesome. Cold, but awesome!

All in all it was just really nice to get out of the city and hike surrounded by mountains. If I would go back, I would camp. Only so I could take my time, suck everything in, and not get exhausted. Also, I would bring more extra clothes, in case anyone spills coffee on me (hehe). It’s a good thing the Koreans have a spa at the base with a (cold) shower area open to visitors.

Pinatubo is quite amazing with forever changing paths, weather and scenery. We actually witnessed a rockslide within the crater. Also, going back to our 4x4, we had to pass another way because our last path, for a lack of a better term, crumbled. Isn't that amazing?! Pretty awesome things!

rockslide

If you're too lazy to plan everything or look for a ride to get there (its not a good idea to drive there as you can use that time to sleep!), you can check out Brownman Outfitters. They're pretty easy to talk to. Just try to ask for a ride other than the Nissan P.O.S (hehe) Cheers!