It is not the summit, it is the climb.

Alright, I took this photo at the Ranger stn before the ascent. Must be a precursor of what was about to unfold. To sum it up, the weather was very wet and extremely cold, we made it to the base camp, which is just a few more hundred metres from the peak, let's say an hour and half away. The biting cold, the unrelenting rains, and wind chill that can send your eyelids to a freeze plus the zero visibility on the top all factored in for the team to decide to head back down.

I guess this 2nd attempt to see the sea of clouds and majestic-beyond-words sunrise in the summit of Mt. Pulag will have to wait. I was not disappointed, not at all, I take it that the mountain wants me to come back, some other time when she is in a good mood. Just like what this photo is about- it is not the summit, it is the climb.

The experience of climbing Pulag is worth every repeat. The people you meet; the birds you see and hear; the thick vegetation: those trees, shrubs and wild plants and flowers; the water springs and the muddy beautiful earth, the very air you breathe in Mt. Pulag albeit thin and seemingly elusive, are all worth for a return.

Until I see you again.