Once considered part of the “series of highlands” that make up Mount Pinatubo, Negron Mountains 1595 MASL became the highest peak, and the 1991 eruption destroyed the upper reaches of the original Mount Pinatubo, which originally reached an altitude of 1700 MASL. I had the opportunity to climb this mountain on May 11, 2026, and after a 36-kilometer hike accompanied by my good friend Kevin Habig, I was amazed by the length, diversity, and majesty of this destination. Indeed, this mountain is a hike masterpiece I loved every step of those 60,000 steps.
We started our trek at 0240H from Pasbul Aeta community in Porac, Pampanga, accompanied by our Aeta tour guide Jepoy. Soon we reached the river, which we had to cross several times. After 7.5 km we reached the first village Patat Apalit at 0520. We then continued on to Camp 1, another small village, and walked another 3 kilometers, arriving at 0630H. From this point on, the hiking route passes through banana and talaheb Arrive at the scenic Camp 2, about 900 MASL above sea level, located on the slopes of Talahib. From this point Talahib continues until it reaches the forest line, which is around 1100 degrees above sea level. The terrain is higher, it's shaded, the air is noticeably cooler, and it looks like a typical mountain forest, such as that of Makiling or Cristobal, except here, people walk on it. lahar: The same volcanic sand that changed the landscape forever.
After 10 hours of hiking, we finally reached the top at 1240 hours! From the summit, we could see Mount Pinatubo (unfortunately its peak obscured Crater Lake, but we could see the smoke billowing from the west side), the Zambales Mountains and Mount Arayat, which jutted out to the northeast.
There are no steep slopes or rattan, Limaticor overgrown paths (except Talahib), I consider this trail to be moderately difficult, but its length makes it a huge test of endurance. So I will still base it on The difficulty level I made a long time ago, The difficulty is 7/9. The photos don’t convey the full challenge and adventure of the hike – from a distance it looks like one of the Talamitan or Kawague mountains – but it totally deserves its reputation!
because laharCoupled with my accumulated fatigue over the past few days (not only did I sleep the night before the hike, but I didn't sleep the night before), the descent felt – and took – much longer, and we only had to take naps along the way and stop frequently to rest and fuel ourselves for the 18km of descent. Thankfully we managed to get back to the starting point by 2330H.
