Mt. Pulag: The Playground of the Gods [Part 2]

Hello everyone!

I already shared some of the photos I took using my phone in the first part of my Mt. Pulag adventure. However, those photos were mostly taken at the peak. I still have a lot of photos especially when we started to descend from the peak and when the sun had fully risen. As the colors changed and the world below fully revealed itself, I had nothing but awe at what I saw. I think @mariasalve has a video of me uttering "Wow!" in the weirdest way, but I almost cried while walking because everything's just too beautiful. We might not be able to witness the famed sea of clouds, but I was contented with everything I saw.


I'll ask this question again: How much of your comfort are you willing to give up to see this view?

I already answered that I'm willing to give up almost everything to the point of the bare minimum of survival. I'm not claiming to be a photographer as I'm still not good at that department, but these photos are the best I've taken so far. It's not because I'm good at taking pictures, but because the place was just magical. I mean if you'll go back to the thumbnail photo, the contrast of the blue sky and the yellow grasses with the moon in the background is out of this world. They looked like the colors are being altered, but it's just that those grasses were illuminated by the morning sun.


It started with shades of oranges and yellows, but the colors changed to shades of brown as the sun was rising. The blue sky became dominant and details of the mountain ranges became more apparent. I mean who in the world won't be amazed by this:

Photo dump:


Completely off-topic: I really thought my badge in Photography Lovers community was removed that's why I'm trying had to post more often. I thought it was removed because I have not been posting much in the community. Turned out my badges are now too many to be displayed in my profile. I'm really proud of that badge because it's one validation of what I'm doing here.

I just can't get enough of the photos with the moon in the background. If I had a powerful camera and if my hands were not shaking from the cold, I would have taken a zoomed-in shot. I'm happy with the photos I took, though.

More golden mountain photos 😁:



As we continued with our descent, we were able to witness more of Mt. Pulag's beauty. Since we started our ascent at around 1:00 AM, it was still dark when reached the summit. All we saw were flashlights from other hikers and some illumination from the moon. I appreciated the trail more during the descent. Ambangeg Trail might be the easiest of all the trails of Mt. Pulag, but it's still not that easy to traverse.


Already fed up? Well, you don't have a choice. Still have this last set, I guess.


I think that's all for this post. I'll leave with these photos as proof that I've been there 😅:


I swear I'll continue with my Palawan series in the next post.

Kim Ybañez

Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.

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So pretty!! It's so wallpaper-worthy 😍

OMG! This is huge coming from you, Hiddi! But it's really the place. It's a different realm up there.

It's both! Ganda ng pag frame mo gurl, also has that ybanezkim vividness. :D I love your pfp btw!!!

Wow! May trademark vividness na pala ako. 😂 My profile pic was taken and edited by our guide. He's really good. Nahiya ako sa galing nya.

Oo hahah like that vividness but not too much if you know what I mean? I would know it's your shot already at one glance :D

Wow! I might have developed a subconscious preference. When I edit in Lightroom, I tweak things to my satisfaction. Sometimes it doesn't work. Like when I compare the raw to my edit, the raw pic turned out to be much better. It's frustrating for me that I abandon the post and move on to the next one. 😅

Haha maybe you need to save some custom presets you did with other photos? Or do you do that already? It's a good thing to do that so you don't have to try to remember what you did with other pics and figure out why it's not the same or something. I do that too and just tweak it a bit to match the specific photo. It saves time as well.

This is a picturesque series of photos. I can imagine them printed on postcards and sent all over the world 🤗

Thank you! I have seen you, Pauline, and zirochka sending postcards with each other. At least I saw one of Pauline's post. I would love to send it to people around the world, but I have no idea how sending outside the country works. I'll have to ask around and see if it's within the budget.

Yes, yes, we did that 🙂 It's so nice when you receive postcards from various parts of the world. Nowadays, it's so rare.

I don't remember what was the cost, but everything in Switzerland is expensive, and I think this was not an exception 🙂 I guess that the easiest way is to ask at the post office, they should be able to advise you... and if you'd be sending them, then you could put me on the list 😉

I will definitely visit the nearest post office since I also need to have a postal ID. I'll definitely put you on the list! I'll update you on this one.

Wow! Mt Pulag, this is my dream mountain to hike! But it was kinda expensive plus I am not sure if I can survive the whole course .
No sea of clouds?

I'm sure you can survive Akiki Trail. It's not technical. However, you should brace yourself for the cold. It's the number one enemy in Mt. Pulag. As for the expense, we paid PHP 8000 for the 3 mountains that we climbed: Pulag, Tabayoc, and Timbac. That's including a van transport from Manila to Benguet, food, and homestay accommodation. I say it's the most sulit climb I've had.

There was sea of clouds when it was still dark, but because of the strong winds, they were gone when the sun has risen.

Cold, that's my problem 😬. Ah so it was really the weather. Went trekking to last week and there was no sea of clouds!
It was so windy and cold..

I am sure it was sulit...ah inggit ako.🤣

Where did you hike? I want to go back to climb Mt. Amuyao and Mt. Ulap. Savings muna.

Not that hike, Treasure Mountain, just here in Tanay Rizal..

That's the nearest place if staying here at NCR, tabi tabi lng doon, marami..
If you happen to visit Manila again, you can try .

Oh yes, mahal ang Mt Pulag, kaya I can't pursue as of the moment.🤣

There are a lot of hiking spots in Luzon. It's good that you're already there. For the likes of us who are from Cebu, we still have to wait for piso fares. 😆

Haha, OO and that's why nainggit ako 🤣, from Cebu you made it to Pulag, ako di pa..

Hmmp, mga ka workmates ko wala Kay gusto maghike, so like I am only hiking once a year.. if may nabudol na ako

stunning view indeed.. I wish to climb mountains in the Ph too someday, like Mt. Pulag, Mayon, and other else.

Your photography skills, I should say, are excellent. It's also something I want to improve as I really love this hobby. By the way, is there any requirement to get a badge from the photography lovers community?

!PIZZA

Rooting for you to climb the mountains here!

There's no particular requirement that I know of. The badge account will just follow you if you are featured in their curation post, maybe? I'm not so sure.

Stunning landscape shots. It looks so high, above the clouds, what was the highest point of this hike? Btw I know these emotional feelings when you are in a beautiful natural place like this, I have them too and I´m not ashamed, it only means that we are sensitive beings who can perceive and appreciate the pure beauty of nature ;)

Thank you!

It's 2926 meters above sea level. It's the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines.

I'm not usually emotional, but when it comes to nature, I can't help myself. 😂

Wow! Almost 3,000! We don´t even have such tall mountains here :D Epic. And no worries, it´s ok to be emotional when surrounded by such beauty ;) When we lived on the Azores, this was one of my "emotional" spots :) Yep, that´s me contemplating...

IMG_20200102_155734.jpg

Azores! It's an awesome group of islands! Plus, I've always wanted to visit Portugal. If only travel is not expensive and our passport is not weak. Obtaining a tourist visa is sometimes a demeaning and degrading process for us here in the Philippines.

I know you are on pretty much exactly the other side of the world but I do hope that you will make it to the Azores one day. From what I have learned about you from your posts, you would really love those islands. Hidden in the Atlantic Ocean, wild, remote, pristine, lush... far from the European mainland, far from the masses... Magical place.

One day! I'm not giving up on my goals to travel the world.

Lovely photos!!! Sana all na lang jud sa Mt. Pulag!
Now I'm wondering how it is there when it's rainy or cloudy..

Thanks! HAHA

If it's raining, just pray that your layer of clothes can withstand the cold. We really prayed for a good weather and true enough, there was no rain.

Wowww. What wonderful images @ybanezkim26. Thank you for sharing so much beauty, and making us tour the place with you.

Greetings and many successes... 💓

!PIZZA

Thank you! Glad you liked those photos. It's a pleasure to share what my country has to offer and it's much more fulfilling to see people liking it.

Mt. Pulag is definitely a no-filter-need beaut. It's my most scenic major climb so far! For sure naay nagregret kay wala gidala iyang DSLR. 🤭🤣

Waiting for your post. 😏

Sayang lagi wala nako gidala ako camera. But it was okay. I had some great shots in my Go Pro.

All I can say is "wow". The place is stunning. You are so lucky to witness this great creation. Thanks for sharing this instragram-worthy pictures of Mt. Pulag.

That "wow!". That's what I uttered most of the time. It's really stunning to see in person.

I agree with you. It's amazing in pictures how much more to see in person. 😊

Awesome captures @ybanezkim26 😎😊
Such a beautiful views up there.
Thanks for sharing these 😊 have a wonderful week!
!ALIVE

Thank you, @littlebee4! It was a stunning world up there.

Have a great week to you, too!

You are welcome 👋🏻😊 I saw… so beautiful.
Thanks a lot.

(Sorry I’m a bit behind lately, much going on and soon I have to move again hahaha !LOL)

@ybanezkim26! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @littlebee4. (1/10)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.

What a stunning view! I don't think you would need any filters for this mountain 😁

Truth! Raw photos are good as they are.

Nindota sa mga photos oi! Puhon balik Pulag hehehe

Mubalik ka? Kuyog ko basta Akiki Trail. Kanang musakit na jud ang tuhod. HAHAHA

puhon maayong lawas hahaha

“Wallpaper worthy!!!” is what came to my mind when I saw “photo dump” and to come and the exact same comment at the first comment just made me smile.

Are you on liketu? You should post your pictures there. It’s a web3 version of instagram

Thanks! Yes, I'm on liketu, but on a different account: @ybanezkim08. I wanted to separate my short-form from my long-form content.

That’s great.
I just hope you share those beautiful pictures there.

I might share more photos there soon.

Great
Your photos deserve to be there

Excellent shots bro!

Thanks, bro! Glad you liked them!

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Great mountain shots. I enjoy the smooth grassy environment.

Beautiful contrast of colors!

suya nalang kos mga pictures ani. grabe ka nindot sa landscape 😥

Beautiful photos, it's great to be able to adventure in nature like this, thank you very much for sharing your experience with us

Thank you! I am just so happy to be alive and share that awesome place with you all. It's meant to be enjoyed and shared.

Yes, and you've done well, we're so happy to enjoy what you're sharing here

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