Have you seen the video of our Mt. Purgatory Traverse before 2012 ended? If you havent, check it out first.
Adding to that video are 20 of my chosen stills. I hope that these photos will serve as inspiration to others to “get outside” and “love the mountains.”
If you are interested to know what camera I’m using, its Panasonic Lumix LX5.
Twenty Stills of Mt. Purgatory Traverse
Pinoy Mountaineer happy to reach his 112th peak
Ivan and Christine trying to make faces at Mt. Purgatory
Serenity in the mossy forest, love that feeling!
Fog turned orange as the sun is breaking the darkness. #dreamy
Koi, always prepared, the great mountaineer and outdoors man reheating ‘adobo’ for dinner. Man, let’s eat cream-o again soon! haha
Burst of color over Bakian Primary School’s waiting shed #lovelysunset
Clouds hovering over the mountains. The mountain breeze chilled me.
Locals at Bakian. When I first saw them, they gave me freshly brewed Benguet coffe and then let me in their small hut so I can hang my hammock inside.
Our guide/porter at Bakian. Always smiling, quiet and never gets tired even with a load of food.
Traversing the Ekip trail. I love the depth of the mountain here.
My shirt says, “I Love Mountains” (especially when its not known to many and moss-covered). Thanks Sir Gideon for the birthday gift.
Steve taking a stopover to photograph something. He feels at home in the mountain, the earth his element.
The Cordilleras as far as your eyes can see. An overload of pine trees!
Follow the leader: Gideon leading, then Coby followed by Ivan and Christine along the mossy forest trail. This portion reminds me of a clip in Lord of the Rings.
Stop and smell the flowers. A wild orchid (Dendrochilum) along the mossy tree trunk.
Mt. Pulag (above my head) as viewed from Kom-Kompol Viewpoint (with IvanLakwatsero and Jovial Wanderer). We planned to hike together mid-2012, finally we were able to see each other on the trail.
Pine tree mountains, smell, smell… breathe slowly. Let your lungs expand with natural air freshener. Repeat!
Christine and Ivan dwarfed by the tall pine trees
Rest on a cozy pine hut, take it slow sirs/ma’ams. Maybe pop some trail foods?
Final rest: What a sight to behold, what a hike to end the year 2012.
Not enough? Watch the 4:01minutes of natural high: Mt. Purgatory Traverse in Video
Hike details:
Day 1 hike: Brgy. Pito to Bakian Primary School (13kms in 6 hours and 45 minutes)
Day 2 hike: Bakian Primary School to Kara0 (11kms in 4 hours and 30 minutes)
Mt. Purgatory Traverse map:
Contact Persons:
Ms. Gina Epe: 0919-816-9234 (for Jeepney rentals, from Baguio to jump-off point)
Bokod Tourism Staff: Gieson Madiano – 0910-412-5816

I never thought may view of the pine trees dito sa Pilipinas. Akala ko sa Pacific Northwest ko pa makita ang ganyang view.
madami, meron din sa kitanglad sa bukidnon
Wow parang nasa abroad. Hehehe
anu pong bansa? 😉
tomoh! haha. yours is more subtle, james.
my eyebrows rise whenever i hear or read “wow ang ganda! parang sa ibang banse!” – teka teka….napakaganda ng pilipinas. di ba nila alam yan? it only shows napaka ignorante nila kung anong meron ang pilipinas.
anyway, i love the pictures you posted…that inspires me to climb that mountain.
thanks Judy! hope you can do the traverse too.
actually i wanted to signed up to that hike when it read it was an open invitation, but i chickened out. haha!
sayang judy! maybe next time, im sure pinoy montaineer will continue to post invites
The orchid is a Dendrochilum species.
thanks sir for the added info, i added that detail on the post. galing!
Great captures! Did you do photo edits too? Nice photographic eye.
thanks Janet! nope, i dont know how to edit, haha
Ganda ng mga shots. It remind me of my climb to Mt. Kitanglad a year ago. Happy New Year James! Keep on Exploring!
apart from the cordilleras, kitanglad mountain range offers amazing pine tree mountains pala. i want to hike that mount too and Apo. happy new year din bosing Earl.
Love the mountain sceneries… your photos reminds me so much of my roadtrip to Benguet on the way to Mountain Province and the nearby sights in Sagada. Truly, mountain scenes is refreshing to eyesight. Now, I’m longing for the Mountain Tea from Sagada!
Beatiful photos!
yep, the cordilleras has that unique features of pine trees.
brew me some too ian! haha
thanks
Open invitation nga po ba yun..although I read somewhere you guys will be having a year-ender..kala ko nmn its an invite only event..hehehehe:)
nice pix…ganda! ang hardcore:)
hindi naman hardcore, actually chill lang yung hike, inaantok nga kami sa trail sa sobrang lamig
next climb please:) hehehe!
with your pictures. im excited to hike this mountain 🙂