Hiking Pinatubo

We left here about 5 am and drove to the village of Capas and rented a guide and a jeep and went to see what was left of Mount Pinatubo. We drove for 1 hour through the lahar filed to a stream bed that lead to the crater. We followed the stream another 2 hours to the rim of the caldera. It was awesome!
On April 2, 1991, a fissure broke at the summit the area was rocked with small earthquakes. About May 28 they determined that the magma chamber was blocked and it was building up pressure. On June 7 a dome started to form and on June 14 it litterally blew its cork with 2 days of violent explosions and earthquakes. 984' blew off the top and covered a 309 square mile area of farmland. 800,oo farm animals died and 300 people died. It was the most powerful land eruption in the 20th century. 10 times greater than Mt. St. Helens and we are living peacefully at its base.