Mount Pinatubo - Capas, Tarlac

Who will forget the most heart aching natural Disaster 3 decades ago? Few days after school opening, one bright afternoon that turned dark, it was the second biggest Volcanic Eruption of the century. Mount Pinatubo erupted June 15, 1991. It was a major eruption that happened that wiped out the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales from the Map. 

In this Blog, see how difficult it is to visit the Strato volcano and appreciate its after math. 

At the Jump Off point at Sta Juliana, Capas, Tarlac

We left Manila 12:00am and arrived at Capas 2:00 am. We took an early breakfast and killed the time till 3:45 am. I decided to changed clothes to my hiking attire and took a tricycle going to the jump off. It was a cold windy morning and took us 45 minutes to get there. At the jump off, Kuya Derek approached us and introduced himself as our Eco Guide for today.

We went to the waiting area where a couple is selling hot coffee, souvenirs, trekking stick and bandanas. I bought 1 cup of hot coffee and had 1 stick and fogged. I put on my arm sleeves, gloves and bandana. We unloaded our extra clothes and left it at the store where I bought my coffee. They were both nice to everyone. 

At the registration area

As the place started to get light, Sonia, the Tourism Head of Mount Pinatubo approached and welcome us and did an orientation. She asked the tourists aged 40 and above to have their Blood pressure checked first before proceeding. After registration, she assigned us to a 4x4 jeep. Thank God it's an open one we are free to stand while riding to enjoy the view.

Start of the 4x4 ride

I was with a companion and 2 Asian tourists along with us. One Vietnamese girl and one Malaysian guy. Both were sitting at our back. While me, I was standing to enjoy the view with all its glory. 

It was really a bumpy ride. You will be hurt by the shaking, so you have to grab hold on the car tightly to avoid falling and accidents. The travel started exactly 6:00 am and we went in a Military Camp. The field of Lahar that we will take is a Bomb Disposal Field for the Military force in Tarlac.

The adventure ride with 4x4 lasted an hour. There was a stopover in the middle of the Lahar Field. Along the way I was thinking it was a small mountain range but our eco guide, A home grown citizen of Tarlac told us that these are Lahar threw by the Volcano 32 years ago. We thought those were mountains all along. I just can't imagine how terrifying those days in Tarlac. 

A Lava Wall on the background

Stopover in the middle of the Lahar Field

 After the stopover, another 30-minute ride happened. It is much bumpy and rocky this time. According to our Eco Guide, the trail was destroyed due to a landslide that happened that's why there were big rocks along the way. There were several water sources along the way also, they said it came from the crater of the Volcano.

Finally, we reached the new starting point. 4x4 jeeps used to go through the trail that we took but due to the landslides, DENR and the Ranger at Pinatubo decided to just let all the 4x4 park in the flat area which was not affected by the landslide and let tourists trek to the rest of the trail. 

The very first river crossing in our 1st km.

The second river crossing in our 1st km.

The last one in the 1st km

We started our trek 7:05 am, there was a running water that we need to cross. The guide said that there's a lot along the trail.

It was a 5.5km trek with Rocks and small river crossing. It was challenging to trek with big rocks along the way. Good thing I was wearing a hiking shoe with thick sole that protected my feet. 

We reached the middle of the trek; A group of Aeta Children were playing with small rocks. They said that they live up there and they just went down to play. 

Aeta kids playing with small rocks.

Aeta kids did a roofless grotto type out of small rocks.

We continued with the trail and another group of Aeta Children are also playing with the rocks, this time, the mothers of the kids are washing their clothes in the river nearby. The water was so clear and clean. 

With the Aeta Children

Aeta residents

Aeta mothers washing their clothes.

After greeting the residents, we saw a signage showing 2.5 km away from the crater. As we walk along the rocky trails, there were yellowish rocks, soil and muds. Indication that we are nearing the volcano. Rocks contains Sulphur from the volcano. 

We finally reached the entrance to Mount Pinatubo. This used to be the parking area for the 4x4 but due to the damaged in the trail by the landslides, it became a resting area for the mountaineers. That's 1.5 km away from the crater. 

1km away from the crater

The official signage of Mount Pinatubo

At the resting area, there were restrooms and nipa huts, there's another one which was cemented and a man selling ice candy for P25.00. I bought 2 and 3 ref magnets. Then we continue our trek, the signage shows 20 minutes away from the crater. It was 9:05 am, we've been trekking for 2 hours exactly. The trail that we took is a river channel. There were flowing water along the narrow path going to the crater.

10 minutes away from the crater

Trail to the crater

I checked my smartwatch and it's been 30 minutes already and we haven't reached the crater yet. Looks like the Signage of duration of walking depends on how fast the person can walk. I walked fast but only on flat surface; the trail was rocky and slippery due to the flowing water that makes it more than 20 minutes.  

We reached the crater finally, there was a stairway to the view deck and a signage of Mount Pinatubo.

Entrance to the View deck

The View deck.

We took pictures at the entrance and went straight to the bench under the tree. We rested and ate our cheeseburgers from Mc Donalds. We started taking pictures at the signage and the other part of the view deck. 

Finally, we made it to the crater. View was spectacular. Indeed, a Beautiful Disaster. Nature has its own way of delighting humans with its own beauty. The eco guide kuya Derek told us that we can come down to see the lake and take pictures also. He said not to swim, it was prohibited by DENR and Local Tourism to swim in the lake. A Chinese tourist several years ago got drowned but was saved. They said that divers have tried to check how deep the crater is, but they were unsuccessful to identify. They also used submersible to check but only reached 4,000 meters below surface but did not reach the bottom of it. Until now, nobody knows how deep the crater is. 

We went down after eating and taking pictures from the view deck. The water is warm and there was a very small portion of the shoreline that is visible in the water and the rest is dark which tells us that the water is so deep. 

Before trekking down the lake

The Lake Pinatubo

After half an hour in the shore of the lake, we decided to go up to the view deck again. There was a tourist, a korean guy who flew his drone. I was setting up my own drone while he was flying his. We saw the drone flew very high and suddenly vanished in the rocky part of the crater. There was a strong wind that came. I decided not to use my drone anymore. Afterwards, he called the eco guides to help him. He said he wanted his drone back, they tried to locate it and according to the GPS, it's in the right part of the crater if you are in the view deck. Kuya Derek called an Aeta guy, these people know their way around all over the mountains. They went down and tried to reclaim the drone of the korean guy. Kuya Derek told us to wait for him to take a group picture, they just have to get the drone in the identified spot. While waiting for him, I spoke to the Korean guy, He said that he has been practicing his drone for 3 months now and that he needed it back. I told him that I was supposed to ask him to fly my drone that higher since I am just practicing it for a couple of weeks only. He said that it's a good thing I decided not to fly it as it may have the same fate as his.  

The other eco guide told us to start trekking down as weather in Pinatubo have sudden switch, it rains everyday normally at noon till the afternoon. The rain might give us a hard time to trek down if we stay a little longer. It was a smooth trek back to the parking area; it is much quicker this time. Suddenly, the sky turned dark and about to rain on our last kilometer. Thank God it did not rain. I was so tired and was slouching in the passenger's seat beside the driver. I was not able to sleep because of the bumpy ride. 

Along the trail back to the jump off, there were aetas walking and a wild chicken. The driver said that they grew from the forest on the side of the lahar field. Finally, after an hour of bumpy ride, we arrived at the Jump off at Sta Juliana. The nice couple at the store welcome us back and handed over our personal stuff we entrusted to them. We rested for 15 minutes and took a bath after. It's a paid shower for P50 per person. I took a bath first and my companion followed. While I was packing my things, I asked the lady of the store where is the nearest carinderia where we can eat good meal. She said that she has Nilagang Baboy and rice.I asked her how much she is selling food. She said not to bother paying it, just to resolve our hunger. She gave us 2 plates with rice and a bowl of Nilagang Baboy, she gave us Patis and a chili garlic sauce. My companion came and was surprised that there's food on the table. I told him that the couple will feed us today for free and we were both thankful for it. While eating, we had a very very nice talk, the lady is Ate Franz, her husband is Kuya Jayson. She used to work in a restaurant and spa at the same place of Sta Juliana jump off site. She also said that the last time she treks to Pinatubo was over a decade ago for free as privilege for being an employee. She also shared her sad story when Pinatubo erupted 32 years ago, she was just 4 years old back then. She remembers that her parents were told to evacuate their place and they rode on a big truck and that there were ash falls all over the place. They were saddened because of the evacuation that happened but they're very thankful that help from all over the country and across the globe kept coming. They never felt hunger. They eat 3 to 4 times a day. After several months, they were asked if they wanted to go back and reclaim their land. Majority of them went back, Aetas were granted their own portion of land in the area also. There were lots of good story shared by ate Franz and did not notice that it was 5pm already. They offered to call a tricycle that will bring us to Junction. Few minutes after, there was a tricycle and we bid goodbye to the couple and thank them for accommodating us. We suddenly remember the korean guy who reported his drone that vanished in the crater. At almost 5pm, we have not seen the guy yet and his own vehicle is still parked in the area. We decided to go as it is getting dark and rain might fall any minute now. While on the road, the rain had fallen, and we stopped on a parking slot of a building. The tricycle does not have a cover. The rain suddenly stopped, and we dropped at the Mc Donald's junction. We left Capas at 6:00 pm and arrived at Cubao at 9:00 PM. Both of us are tired yet happy and satisfied with the day trip.

Eruption of Mount Pinatubo is considered as one of the most destructive and sad events of the century. But not all sad events are devastating, the aftermath became an attraction and gave jobs to locals. Nature gave its new purpose. Same for us humans, no matter how sad and difficult life is, think that this is just a preparation to a better one, to a new purpose. Indeed, Beautiful Disaster means there is Beauty in every pain. 

If you were encouraged with our visit in Pinatubo Lake, book your slots with Majestic Travel and Tours. Ms Sonia was very accommodating and considerate with tourists. Book now and witness the majestic Mount Pinatubo Crater Lake.