Trip to Mt. Pinatubo

Today, my sister told me that Mt. Pinatubo was supposed to be closed to tourists that day we were there on May 1 because two British nationals died of heatstroke while or after visiting the volcano.  And that, on the same date  there reportedly  was an unusual activity observed in the crater lake.  My sister swore she saw small waves in an otherwise still and silent water that runs deep,  unfathomably deep.

This greets the visitors to prevent anyone from bathing in the lake.

But don't quote me, I just heard it from my sister who heard it from a friend who heard it from someone else. Unsure I may be of the veracity of the news they gave me the necessary push to blog about our Labor Day escape to Mt. Pinatubo.

Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano in  Zambales Province in the island of Luzon, Philippines.  Not many people knew about the volcano until its major eruption in July 1991.  It was dormant for eons; its eruption gave off massive volume of lava and sulfur dioxide that buried vast areas of agricultural lands and thousands of homes in Central Luzon.  Ash fall were so thick and heavy it covered surrounding areas in total darkness including Metro Manila -87 kms. or 54 mi. away from the volcano. Lahar continue to flow every year during rainy season and had killed lives years after the volcano's major explosion.  It also caused dramatic economic displacement for many communities.  After the eruption a crater lake was formed which about 10 years later,  (if my memory serves me right) was turned into a tourist attraction.  

Summit caldera as seen on Aug. 1, 1991, photo from Wikipedia

From the photo above, this one below is what now awaits the tourists.  The lake was magical, the place serene.  The undetermined depth of the crater and the mountains that locked the lake rendered the water sea green.   When you're there you would wonder how such beautiful piece of nature had once wreaked havoc to thousands of lives some 20 years ago.

Pinatubo Crater Lake, May 1, 2013

To get here, there's a short trek uphill

and then downhill.

You stay near the lake for one hour max and then you climb back up those steps you see in the photo.  I'm not telling why, but good luck on that.

The place was quiet despite the steady flow of tourists coming and going.  You could hear happy voices but no boisterous laughters, no screaming nor shrilling.

 

 I could tell that all the people were too careful to trigger soil erosion just because they got too excited being there.  Especially when you know that should you be trapped help could take a while to get there, as it takes at least an hour and a half drive from civilization before reaching the crater lake.

4x4s take tourists close to the crater lake up to the area where
it  is already totally impassable to any type of vehicle. Photo by  Patita.

The more breathtaking part of the trip to Mt. Pinatubo wasn't seeing the crater lake but the rugged ride on a 4x4 jeep as it snaked through imaginary road from Capas, Tarlac where the adventure began, and entered the 7-kilometer gorge.  From this point (Lipit Station) visitors can choose to begin their trek that would take 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours, or at the rest station  which 1 kilometer from the crater. which would take less than half an hour.

Entrance to the gorge, Lipit Station, 7 kms. to the crater.
No shouting or loud noises from this point onward.

End of the imaginary road for the 4x4's.
Rest Station, 1 km. to the crater .  

 The gorge was formed from the lahars that flowed from the volcano and  rise to as tall as  5 to 10-storey buildings high.

Photo by Patita

The closer we got to the crater the bigger the boulders that we encountered.

Photo by Patita

As it was middle of summer, the rivers were quite dry except for several streams that we crossed.

Photo by Patita

According to Jimmy, our guide, the gorge is filled with water during the rainy season and would wash away lahar deposits thus changing the landscape every year.  It's a vast land but nobody lives there, Jimmy told me.  Only grass grows in the gorge, no trees, fruit-bearing or otherwise.

Photo by Patita

The trip to Mt. Pinatubo was worth the  wait, we had planned it one summer ago but because of a scheduled US-Philippine joint military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement it was closed to tourists. This year, I wasn't part of the plan, on the last minute someone backed out, my sister asked me if I wanted to go. I didn't even have to think, I just said yes.

After going to the crater.  I actually made it
back to rest  station in just 10 minutes. Photo by  Dillan