The Phoenix that is Mt. Pinatubo

The majestic Mt. Pinatubo Crater Lake

Mt. Pinatubo is an active volcano. Its eruptive and disruptive history was unknown to most, not until it decided to “wake up” sometime March or April of 1991, two months before that fateful eruption of June 15.

The volcano's eruption on June 15, 1991, was “…the second-largest eruption of the 20th century, second to the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula.” (Wikipedia) To make matters worse, the eruption was made more catastrophic “…by the arrival of Typhoon Diding, bringing a lethal messy mix of ash and rain to towns and cities surrounding the volcano. Surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic surges, ash falls, and subsequently, by the flooding lahars caused by rainwater re-mobilizing earlier volcanic deposits. This caused extensive destruction to infrastructure and changed river systems for years after the eruption.” – Wikipedia

But like a phoenix, Mt. Pinatubo has risen to become one of Central Luzon’s prized gems.

After years of being open to hikers and adventure seekers, it is only now that I have decided to finally visit and experience the beauty of the place. And it did not disappoint!

May 1, Labor Day. It was 6a.m. There was peaceful silence everywhere. The sky was clear and there was no trace of dark clouds looming nearby. One could clearly feel that it was going to be a beautiful day for hiking. Breaking the silence was the arrival of several 4x4 jeeps who were picking us up to bring us to the foot of Mt. Pinatubo.

With our backpacks and cameras on hand, we excitedly climbed on top of the jeeps and proceeded to have our pictures taken by our tour guides. It was very clear on everyone’s faces that we were all excited for this new adventure.

Our tour guide then tapped the back of the jeep, signaling to the driver that we were ready to roll. 5 jeeps with a capacity of 6 people each raced to the foot of the mountain, passing by the lahar covered landscape and several streams of water coming down from the mountain.

The scenery we passed by was simply beautiful. Several hills covered with lush greenery was given character by the erosion of its soil. To me, it seemed like the hills were being quarried. But quarried for what? I later realized that these were NOT really hills at all. They were actually lahar formations that were slowly being eroded by rain. And because “nature finds a way”, grass and vines grew to cover these lahar formations. These “lahar hills” were quite tall, dwarfing a mid-rise condominium.

I found out later that before the eruption, the path we were on were actually dense forests destroyed by the lahar. And we are talking about acres of forests all around Pinatubo. The only remembrance or semblance of trees were a few pieces of charcoal scattered here and there.  

After around 45 minutes, we reached the foot of the mountain. We then proceeded to hike the trail, passing through several streams and rocky pathways. The trek was pretty easy for beginners. But one thing though, I would advice future hikers to wear sandals. This way you could actually enjoy wading through the streams. If you’re a photographer, wearing the wrong footwear could actually hinder you from getting that best angle for your shots. Do you get what I mean?  

I wasn’t able to time our hike but I would guess that after walking for almost 45 minutes, we reached a station where hikers could go take a rest or go to the john. There are 2 cemented nipa hut inspired rest areas big enough to accommodate maybe 30 guests each. Here, locals sell chilled and bottled coco juice, Gatorade and soft drinks. I didn’t bother asking the price but I guess it would be pricey since they had to bring up the coolers for this. This station was our last stop before reaching the crater. 

At the start of the hike to the crater, we saw a signage that said: “Welcome to Mt. Pinatubo. Your trek starts here.” And below that it said: “Young age 15 minutes, Middle age 18 minutes, Senior Citizen 20 minutes.” It then proceeded to challenge you by asking “Where do you belong?” Well, I don’t know about the others but this challenged me to strive to be young, like 15 minutes young. Lol!

The signage that was meant to challenge your physical state.

The hike up was easy, traversing several more streams and rocky pathways until we finally reached a cemented stairway going up. Upon reaching the top, I realized that we were actually seeing the crater already. I was at a loss for words. All I could say was “Wow!” The scenery was breathtaking.

After several photo ops in around 3 different areas, we see a stairway going down to the crater. Our tour guide said that the steps going down was 180 in total. And going back up was another 180 steps. It seemed like a daunting task but I was up for it. After all, I didn’t travel all the way here just to be bullied by 360 steps going up and down!

This way to Mt. Pinatubo Crater Lake, with 180 steps going down.

It was already around 9 a.m. when we reached the crater. The sun was beating down on us but we didn't really feel it so much because the air was quite breezy. We were just so happy clicking away at our cameras.

At around 10 a.m., we had our late breakfast in one of the shaded areas. After which, some took a nap in the benches while others continued with their pictorial. We hiked back down at around 11:30 a.m.

I actually enjoyed my hike here. The scenery was breathtaking and the summer sun wasn’t killing us at all.

After everything that has happened to this place, Mt. Pinatubo was able to rise out of it majestically. As Swedish musician Jens Lekman once said, “Sometimes you have to burn yourself to the ground before you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.” Well, Mt. Pinatubo literally did this.