After an hour of trek, I've finally reached the crater. :Grin:

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5599/pinatubocrater8yr.jpg

from porac delta5 trail.
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5665/272oq.jpg

When is the best time of the year to go here?

Summer will be the best time to go up there. :)

When is the best time of the year to go here?

Summer will be the best time to go up there. :)

Summer will be too hot I suggest you go there during the winter time where you can see snow covering the mountain, the sights will be spectacular...... But I dont know when that is gonna happen :D

But I dont know when that is gonna happen

Call me when it does.. I'll bring a sled.

You guys crack me up!

lahar capped mountains no more!

I'm thinking of visiting Pinatubo for a ultra-mini photo safari this month. What's the right time to go to catch those photo-worthy scenics?

I understand that there are 4x4's for hire but would they take someone who'll get there at, say, 4am?

summer is the best time to go there. pag rainy season there is the danger of flash floods happening....two hikers perished there last year.

try going there via the delta-V trail...hehehe....

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOcraterlake.jpg


http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOaridmarch.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOmountaineerslaharcountry.jpg

summer is the best time to go there. pag rainy season there is the danger of flash floods happening....two hikers perished there last year.

try going there via the delta-V trail...hehehe....


jay, i dont think na advisable for them to use the delta-5.:Grin: hirap nun ah...

specially the Sagingan trail.. geezzz

thats why i went "hehehe...."

yeah, delta-V is not for everyone. pucha its a 9-hour trek under the blazing sun! but compared to the capas trail....mas photogenic ang delta-V. plus the crater view is incomparable.

thats why i went "hehehe...."

yeah, delta-V is not for everyone. pucha its a 9-hour trek under the blazing sun! but compared to the capas trail....mas photogenic ang delta-V. plus the crater view is incomparable.

haha... tama:Grin: couldnt agree more!

thats why i went "hehehe...."

yeah, delta-V is not for everyone. pucha its a 9-hour trek under the blazing sun! but compared to the capas trail....mas photogenic ang delta-V. plus the crater view is incomparable.

i want to experience the pleasure of shooting not the agony of hiking. :) i know you find pleasure on both Jay.

(wala bang pleasurable shoot and hike part?)

may pros and cons ang porac & capas trails:
- porac delta 5 trail gives you a good view of the caldera from the summit. however, the aeta guides won't advise you to rappel down. as a plus, the summit landscape is breathtaking. as noted in the earlier posts, it's a hard 6-9 hour trek to the campsite. and another 1-1.5 hour trek to the summit.
- capas trail leads right to the rim of the caldera. however, you miss out on the beautiful summit view. at least, you can forego the 6-9 hour trek :-) a big plus is that the 4wd can help you bring a lot more gear than you would sa kabilang trail.

ideal time to visit is definitely the summer months. we lost 2 friends at the sapang bato-apo mallari junction last year so that was a hard lesson from mother nature herself.

caldera view from summit...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/42886211_1715a04e85.jpg

view of trail leading to summit rim...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/42659738_16e180ce94.jpg


http://www.flickr.com/photos/oggie
http://oggieblog.blogspot.com

Sir Jay, how wide is your lens?

Sir Jay, how wide is your lens?

for those three photos i posted above? it was with a point and shoot 3.2 megapixel cam! just cropped.

oh, except for the 1st one (the crater shot)...it was a 12-shot composite from the same p & s. those were the pre-dSLR days for me....

i want to experience the pleasure of shooting not the agony of hiking. :) i know you find pleasure on both Jay.

(wala bang pleasurable shoot and hike part?)

there is pleasure in hiking, pastor dave....

sure, there is obvious physical hardship that comes with hiking/climbing....but i cant quite convey the "pleasure" part to you...at least not without you actually trying it...

im sure the mountaineers in the thread know what im rambling about.....

amen to that jay, amen!

yo sir jerry! tuloy na tayo? :) i can go anyday basta weekend :)

I'm thinking of visiting Pinatubo for a ultra-mini photo safari this month. What's the right time to go to catch those photo-worthy scenics?

I understand that there are 4x4's for hire but would they take someone who'll get there at, say, 4am?

Goodluck guys. The Capas trail was hard enough for me. I have been there twice. :D

Jay: Thanks, I was wondering about that crater shot hehe, the image seems so "large"

Otep, hike ba tayo? Hmmm let's take the 4wd route muna kaya then hike afterwards. Next weekend na para we can decide to hike the longer trail before you go home. Now let me work out my heart first. This is also a good time to bring just the fisheye! Haha

Sharing some pics from Delta 5 Trail taken with the 18-55 kit lens.

http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5852-2/pinatubo-050618-0064.jpg


http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5857-2/pinatubo-050618-0075.jpg
River Trek

http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5862-2/pinatubo-050618-0106.jpg
Falls

http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5857-2/pinatubo-050618-0075.jpg
River Trek

Falls
i can still feel the rushing water...

@sir Oggie

sir, did you know sir york?... mfpi batch 13[ata]

@bernard!

heheh....where's my photo, shooting the crater with my A70??? hehehe

do you miss this hike? i didnt think so..hehehe...

@bernard!

heheh....where's my photo, shooting the crater with my A70??? hehehe

do you miss this hike? i didnt think so..hehehe...
I actually like the trail. The longer the walk, the clearer the head. :)
I just don't like the inaccurate itinerary and night trekking on unfamiliar terrain.

http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5867-2/pinatubo-050618-0055.jpg

I couldn't find the Pinatubo CD right now and I'm still busy organizing my roadtrip, so I'll send you the rest when I return in three weeks.

http://www.bernardbilledo.com/gallery2/d/5867-2/pinatubo-050618-0055.jpg


@jay haha.... geezz jay, you look.. [thin and young]:Grin: haha.. joke.joke.joke.

@benard... so do i... "don't like the inaccurate itinerary and night trekking on unfamiliar terrain." take note: we been lost for about an hour or so:Scared:...

@jay haha.... geezz jay, you look.. [thin and young]:Grin: haha.. joke.joke.joke.

@benard... so do i... "don't like the inaccurate itinerary and night trekking on unfamiliar terrain." take note: we been lost for about an hour or so:Scared:...

grabe! this way back in 2005...was it june?....and i was like climbing and travelling every weekend. who wouldnt be fit doing that?

now? im not even running...hehehe....


looking back, that trek was really special. it was so darn long you could meditate on your entire life....hehehe....

bjay,

york was my groupmate sa mfpi (group 13). he was one of the two friends we lost (read: drowned) i was referring to in an earlier post. mfpi ka rin ba bro?

sir jerry, since we'll going there on a 1 day trip, i suggest the 4wd route na lang :) kasi we're not going there as hikers naman hehehe ala pa din tayong gear :)

summer is the best time to go there. pag rainy season there is the danger of flash floods happening....two hikers perished there last year.

try going there via the delta-V trail...hehehe....

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOcraterlake.jpg


http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOaridmarch.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOmountaineerslaharcountry.jpg

Hi Jay,


Kit Lens rin to?

Hi Jay,


Kit Lens rin to?


nope. canon powershot A70 3.2 mp point and shoot. shot way back in june 2005 :)

yo sir jerry! tuloy na tayo? :) i can go anyday basta weekend :)

Pwede ba ko sumama sir Jerry?

Hi fellow DPP! Last Jan 12-13,2008 my friends at SMB-Samahang Mountaineering Barkadas went to climb Mt. Pinatubo via Capas, Tarlac Trail. But instead of renting a 4x4 vehicle to drop us at the jumping point in 2 hours we decided to walk from the barangay hall to the Mt. Pinatubo crater. It took us about 11 hours to reach the crater. It was crazy! Just want to share some pics!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/2196423772_7263ba7c91.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2088/2191581735_6fdacf1156.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/2191581967_4193a0d642.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2086/2195711029_15135fd9c3.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/2196499746_9cd7b36714.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2190/2195711659_0179c365ea.jpg

hi we were at the crater last jan 12 - 13, 2008 also. our group, the travel factor, brought 24 newbie hikers. we took the capas trail, rented the 4 x 4 vehicles and walked around 4hours 'cause we stopped a lot to take pictures (some dpp members joined us).

you guys should check out Cedric Valera's photos... amazing! visit his site cedsaid.multiply.com

Leia and the other DDP members who joined, where are the pictures? post na!

question sirs, we are also planning to go mount pinatubo as part of our team building activity. my questions is up to where the 4x4 jeeps can bring us and how many hours is the hike to the crater once we disembarked for the 4x4's?

They say it is 2 hours... But as per Leia, you should expect 2-4 hours depending on the group...

uy leia you're here din pala.. pls post you pics na. i really envy you guys.. i hope i was able to come. but anyway, dami pa naman next time.. :)

Leia, seems like you were that group we saw Sunday noon time heading back from the crater. Just assuming coz I saw most of them have a SLR camera with telescopic lense with them while trekking. :Grin:

Hehehe! Im sure you had a lot of fun shooting Mt. Pinatubo landscape, cant wait to see ur pics! :Grin:

Sir Pot, the 4x4 could get you sa close as what Randy said, on a 2-4 hours trek. But I believe if you want a cheaper alternative you could have your rented 4x4 to drop you off at the so called ranger station where the AFP 6x6 trucks usually park if they have their training there. But from there its a 5-6 hours trek to the Crater. :Grin:

@Jm tiongson
IMHO, the watermarks on your images seem to "pull" the attention of the viewer from the actual image, better to make your watermark a little smaller

thanks for the suggestion sir leandro. much appreciated! it just so happnd that on our mountaineering website they requested that I put a watermark on it. Though it seems like they they truly Pull you from looking at the pic. thank sir!

@JM: we had a lot of fun even though it rained so hard that night.

i think that was our group... the one with the super duper lens (L lens) is Cedric

question sirs, we are also planning to go mount pinatubo as part of our team building activity. my questions is up to where the 4x4 jeeps can bring us and how many hours is the hike to the crater once we disembarked for the 4x4's?

we took the capas trail wherein the trek should've been 2hrs away. but it took us 4hrs because our group stopped a lot to take photos. the faster groups arrived at the crater around 30-45mins earlier than us. we were the weakest link.ehehehe

but there's another shortcut, they call it the "skyway". the trek would take 30mins to 1hr. =)

we'll set up another pinatubo climb & shoot event this feb. you should join us! :Grin:

or if you need help to organize your climb, just give me a holler

summer is the best time to go there. pag rainy season there is the danger of flash floods happening....two hikers perished there last year.

try going there via the delta-V trail...hehehe....

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOcraterlake.jpg


http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOaridmarch.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/digitaljay/random/PINATUBOmountaineerslaharcountry.jpg

very wonderful pano shots jay! :Grin:

Joined the Travel Factor fun climb to Pinatubo. We took the Sta. Juliana trail from Capas (all 24 of us). Though the night brought us intense winds and rain, it couldn't have possibly dampened our will to shoot. :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/2199996948_5562bf712c_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2399/2199204699_624094d6c9_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/2199997332_dcc1eb2a07_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2199205061_03fcbc5095_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2199997740_7d711d6f42_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2051/2199998030_44d7f396f8_o.jpg

More photos at
http://www.cedsaid.multiply.com

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/2199996948_5562bf712c_b.jpg

Mt. Pinatubo Crater Lake
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. -Friedrich Nietzche

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2399/2199204699_624094d6c9_b.jpg


Crater Pool
Went down to the crater itself and was amazed at how preposterously blue the water was.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/2199997332_dcc1eb2a07_o.jpg


The Grass Grows

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2199205061_03fcbc5095_o.jpg


On our way down, the sun peeked from the dense clouds. Just for a few seconds. What a tease.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2199997740_7d711d6f42_o.jpg

Toy Trucks

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2051/2199998030_44d7f396f8_o.jpg


Group Hug!
Thanks to all who joined the trip!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2199997740_7d711d6f42_o.jpg

Toy Trucks

Sir Cedric I think this is where we camped during the night it rained. We weren't able to reach the crater coz it started to rain hard. If my memory serves me right a bit more to the right, one of our tent is still there. hehehe!

Awesome pics btw sir! :Grin:

Sir Cedric I think this is where we camped during the night it rained. We weren't able to reach the crater coz it started to rain hard. If my memory serves me right a bit more to the right, one of our tent is still there. hehehe!

Awesome pics btw sir! :Grin:

But you were able to reach the crater the next day right! So that was your group. That weekend was really, really wet. We were at the crater that rainy, windy night. Our tent literally became a waterworld. Haha.

Thanks!