Mt Pinatubo rocks

... literally. Big rocks, little rocks, stones, pebbles... a whole mountain of them, leading right up to the crater. Check out our Mt Pinatubo adventure last September 22, 2oo8, Sunday:


6 am. Bastie, Dianne, Charlie and I meet up at the Mandarin and drive to Shell NLEX.

7 am. We arrive at Shell NLEX where Nonoy and Eric are waiting. Our group is complete. I make a beeline for Starbucks and pick up coffee and a couple of sandwiches for lunch, then grab a bottle of Gatorade at the convenience store.

730 am. We arrive at the Dau rendezvous point where we meet our 4x4 for the day and its driver, Edwin.

9 am. Capas, Tarlac. Base for Mt Pinatubo trekkers. We leave our cars and board the 4x4 for the 1-hour drive to the jump-off point.



10 am. This is it! We won't be seeing these tires for another 7 hours.


Nothing but feet from here on in. Here we go...


Stream crossing: Shoes off, Charlie!


1015 am. This is fun! Whee!!!


1045 am. That's a lot of rocks...


1115 am. Ok, I'm starting to drag...


1200 nn. This is where we were supposed to have started the trek???


1215 pm. You can do this, Pia: Right foot in front of left, in front of right... Good girl.


1230 pm. Can I just wait for you guys here?


1240 pm. Will this ever end???


1245 pm. Somebody kill me now, please.


1250 pm. Okay, I've died and gone to heaven.



Nothing but this can be worth the 7 hours it took to get here. But worthy it is, even of the three grueling hours of trekking on loose pebbles and slippery boulders, of stubbed toes and blister-peppered feet and screaming joints and burning muscles in places you never even knew existed.

Of course, there were the bonuses: able guide, good weather, great company. Bragging rights don't hurt either. But best of all is the knowledge that we can do it, and boy did we prove it. Yeah!


Team Philippines: Charlie, me, Eric, Nonoy, Dianne and Bastie


Charlie (yep, that's him, that tiny dot in the water) - our offering to the fire gods of Mt Pinatubo, heh, heh.


One more look at the crater (the photos just don't do it justice...)


Thanks Charlie, Eric and Dianne for sharing your photos!