Photo climbing pearls for Mt. Kalatungan-Wiji (Lumpanag) Traverse

So, game?!
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• DO YOUR HOMEWORK. PLAN YOUR CLIMB

A climb or hike does not start nor end at the jump off or exit point. Be diligent to research PRIOR to the climb itself. Mt. Kalatungan- Wiji traverse is never an easy climb. If you plan to hike and shoot photos at the same time, you need to double your preparations. I’ve enumerated some preparations essentials I made for this climb in the first part of this mini series. I’m not saying these will all work for you but it will be a good jump off point to build up your own preparation though.

• COORDINATE WITH THE LOCAL TOURISM COUNCIL OF PANGANTUCAN

The local tourism council are not only very accommodating but will help your team fix stuff needed for the climb. We were able to cut cost and resources with the help of the Local tourism council of Pangantucan. Never set foot on Mt. Kalatungan range of mountains without the local tourism’s knowledge.

• CHOOSE YOUR GUIDE OR PORTERS WELL

Inquire ahead of time for a veteran and reliable guide. Treat and feed them like they’re part of your team. The success of your climb (and sometimes your life) will depend heavily on them.

• DELEGATE BUT CHECK TEAM MEMBER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

If most of your team are newbies to Mt. Kalatungan, delegating roles and responsibilities will be very beneficial to the climb itself. As the trek is physically demanding more so if you’re doing a photo climb. All of your team member want to get good photos, but that does not excuse him or her from doing assigned responsibilities that may endanger everyone’s life.

• WEATHER SEAL PHOTO GEARS.

Mt. Kalatungan’s weather is very unpredictable.The temperature up there in the mountain is one of the coldest I’ve experience.

• BE STRICT OF ABOUT TIME

Do not procrastinate nor let time pass away without you accomplishing any of your photo climb goals. In my opinion as an amateur hiker and photographer photographer, Mt. Kalatungan Traverse Wiji photo climb should be a 4-5 day trek. Three day trek is to short let alone get good photos.  I really love to camp out at or near the peaks for the sunset/sunrise shots as well as explore some more the notable locations along the way. You will feel very frustrated not able to get good photos because you ran out of time.

• DO NOT LEAVE ANY OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS OUT OF SIGHT. 

Employ a buddy system. Most photographers wander off the track/trail because of an interesting spot or location for a shoot. This is a common mistake most photo climbers commit whenever they are up there taking photos. Incorporate in your IT an approximate time to stay in one place and stick to it.

• BE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH YOUR POINT PERSON ON THE GROUND

With a GPS logger on your smartphone, you can send coordinates via sms on regular intervals. That is if you’re not familiar with the trail location. At the suspicion of a potential problem that might occur, like injuries, accidents sent out an sms immediately. Then confirm/validate thereafter if indeed it happened.

• TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS YOU CAN

Leave the editing when you get back to your base camp. Save batteries for actual shooting only. Be wary of time and your location or foothold though. There’s plenty of ledge you can position yourself but most of these ledges have questionable stability.

• SUBMIT A FEEDBACK TO PANGANTUCAN’S TOURISM COUNCIL

Verbal or preferably written, you can report any irregularities encountered and accidents that happened during your climb. Validate with team members account. Suggest or recommend possible solutions if you may. Remember all your feedback will be used by the council to create policies that will govern MKNRP. It will also pave way for a better more enjoyable photo climb for future hikers in Mt. Kalatungan!

To recap, here are my posts and corresponding links to my Mt. Kalatungan-Wiji Traverse Photo Climb!

• Part I: HOW I PREPARED FOR MT. KALATUNGAN-WIJI TRAVERSE CLIMB: –
• Part II: HOW OUR GROUP SHUTTER-HIKED TOWARDS MT. KALATUNGAN’S TWIN PEAKS: 
• Part III: HIKING DOWN MT. KALATUNGAN’S DEAD NAILS TRAILS: <
• Part IV: PHOTO CLIMBING PEARLS FOR MT. KALATUNGAN-WIJI (LUMPANAG) TRAVERSE