Limping Through the Mountains of Luzon

January '06 
(Scroll down each section for the Travel notes. Route: Manila-Baguio-Mt. Timbak - Sagada - Barlig -Mt.  Amuyao - Cambulo - Batad - Banaue - Manila)

Mt. Timbak- Day 1

The sad thing about traveling is it ends. No matter what it is all about, it ends. Funny, I almost didn't believe this when I was out there in the famous rice terraces. It was not hell, as one might think, but it definitely was the death march, only longer.

My roomie and I decided to see what is out there in the colder region of the Philippines. We set out on a, well, sort of an exploration of the place. We left Manila on a Friday (dawn) and arrived in Baguio at ten. After grabbing  a bite and shopping for some stuff needed in the mountain, we left for Atok Benguet, to climb Mt. Timbak.

After asking for info at the tourism office (at the municipal hall), we headed for lunch at "highest point" and started the climb. It was difficult to breathe within the first fifteen minutes, considering that we didn't have any decent sleep the previous night. Oxygen was probably thinner there, too.

It was our first time in the place and we didn't have any idea which trail would lead us to the peak. Good thing there were farmers along the way, who were kind enough to answer our questions. At first, we thought the people there were not very fond of tourists. The family whom we first asked for information had this look of suspicion, as if telling us we were in the wrong place. It didn't take us long to get their trust, though and they pointed us the way up. We met a couple of them along the way, tilling their vegetable terraces.

I can remember two striking things about the people there. First they speak better English than most people who talk a lot on the MRT. Second, they looked really surprised to see us.

The mountain was not very difficult to climb, although I still would not recommend it to beginners. It is relatively steep with trails that border high cliffs, and if anyone gets too intoxicated by the beautiful ridges that nearby mountains form and forget their step, they could break their heads after rolling for hours.

Occasionally, we would stop to take pictures. We couldn't take a lot, though. We needed to save the battery and the memory allows for only fifty pics. We still had four more days to go.

We reached the peak in two hours. The sight around Timbak is great. She towers the place along with other mountains and you could see how carefully each of them had been carved to look like smooth, dark-green, velvety cones. Though Timbak is not really forested as other mountains, she is filled with vegetable terraces and flowers that look like white dahlias, which the locals call siesta.

The air then started to get menacingly cold and we started to find a campsite. The only

place good to camp in is the one near the tower. Adonis and I both didn't like the site. Lightning-phobia, that's why.

We almost settled for a really awkward part of the mountain, where our tent could get easily blown away by the wind. Besides, it was slanted and it would be like sleeping on the bus minus the cushion. Very uncomfortable. An hour later, the temperature drops to a level, where I feel like my feet were cut apart from the rest of my body. They were numb with the cold. I thought I shouldn't be wearing sandals to places like this.

We continued looking for a place to camp away from the peak, further down. That is when we met Tita Crisanta who was busy clearing her vegetable farm. She had told us that there were houses below and if we needed anything we could ask anyone for help. She looked amazed with the fact that we were there to see the mountain's beauty and that we had come all the way from Manila. At the same time, she was uneasy with our plan of staying in the mountain overnight. It was rather cold out there and it was easy to tell how cold it was with the people's rosy cheeks and the clothing they wear. Doon na lang kayo sa bahay ng biyenan ko. They would be away for a week and if we needed a place to stay just for a night, it would be best to make use of the place. It's much safer inside the house, away from the danger of freezing our balls. 

So, we gladly accepted the offer.

Tita Crisanta led us to the place. It is a humble house with walls of tin- the kind that is used for roofing. Most houses there had walls like that, with just one small window. I guess it is because of the climate. She said we could use anything we needed- slippers, stove, coffee, the beds, etc. She lingered for a while telling us about the place and then we decided to take a nap for a while.

My roomie woke up at seven and shook me off from sleep. We cooked, had dinner and cleaned up. After doing the accounting for the day's expense (We wanted to prove that we could finish this adventure with less than P5,000) and making our plan for the next day, we headed outside to drink our strawberry wine and to wait for the meteor shower that we thought would take place that night. Unfortunately, the whole place was covered with so much fog, we couldn't see what's beyond a meter! It was so cold I was shaking even with my shirt, sweater and a jacket on! We couldn't have lasted an hour outside if not for our wine.

Travel Notes:

Bus Terminal: Victory Liner (bound for Baguio)
Bus Fare: Php 445
- In Baguio take a cab to Dangwa Terminal (Same terminal for buses to Sagada)
Bus Fare: Php 80 (Sayangan)
Travel Time: 2.5 hours 
- You can either get off at Atok Benguet, Sayangan (ask for directions) or Km 55 if you know how to get to Mt. Timbak or if you have a guide waiting there.
- We trekked on our own, as we knew the way. I am not sure if this is still allowed.
- I heard that you can stay overnight in Sayangan, too if you want. You may stay at AWAI which charges Php 200/night.
- Temperature could get really low, so be prepared. 
- Mt. Timbak is not just for climbers. Farmers grow their vegetables in the area, so be mindful you do not step on the plants.

Sagada- Day 2

We got up early the next day after one unimaginably frigid night. Before breakfast, we took pictures with the clouds at the peak. The view is beautiful! We started the climb down an hour later.

We started the climb down an hour later. But just to give you an idea about how cold it is in Timbak, I felt like I was doing the dishes with boiling water. H2O when extremely cold stings like it! 

The cold wind felt good against my face but it felt especially warm thinking about how kind the mountain had been to us. We met a good farmer who offered us a place to stay for free, without which, we could have frozen overnight. Mt. Timbak couldn't have been more beautiful.

The climb down was, at first, a piece of cake until my left knee gave in. It was the most painful, second to how some guava seed once got into my tooth decay causing a tear to fall involuntarily! I trekked the mountain down with the pain but after a few minutes, I got used to it. 

We left for Sagada around nine. We lodged at St. Joseph's, had lunch, did some caving,

Echo Valley

attended a traditional wedding ceremony, where people were dancing the traditional dance. I would have joined had not my knee betrayed me. The best part was the blueberry wine we had just before we hit the sack. Sagada is really just Baguio made farther.

I couldn't write more about the place.

Travel Notes:

Bus Fare: Php 160~
- We trekked down to Km 55, and waited for buses there bound for Sagada.
- Travel time from Km 55 to Sagada is around 4 hrs.
Accommdation: Php 500- St. Joseph's Inn (You could find cheaper accommodations around)

Mt. Amuyao - Day 3

My knee still hurt like it's being crushed from inside. Adonis asked me how bad it was. I said it was bad but didn't show how. I was scared he would cancel the whole thing and head for home. I was not going to let anything get in the way not even my stupid weak knee.

We left Sagada after breakfast. I guess what's great about this place is the trip to and from it. The view is simply breath-taking! Most of them were partly covered with mist. However, if you have acrophobia, you would probably be watching the verdant beauty with hands over your eyes. The ride goes along steep cliffs!

We reached Barlig via Bontoc at 5pm. We talked with the tourism officer and paid the dues. It was already 5:30 when we started the climb. We were so glad we were allowed to do a night trek. I was starting to get scared they wouldn't allow us.

The climb takes 7 to 8 hours for first time climbers normally. That was what they all told us. For the veterans, they say, it takes aboout four hours. Well, I may be skinny but I don't trek like a pregnant woman. We reached the peak in four hours minus thirty minutes for dinner (I got so hungry I told everyone to cut me some slack).

The trail was steep. I remember how Adonis was murmuring along the way. "Mas mahirap to sa Pulag". But of course! We were not taking any rest. If not for the guide, both of us would have died of fatigue in there! Every step was a curse! My knee hurt like there were little people biting on whatever vein or tendon it was! I could curse in nine languages and I was ready to start with mine- INATAY!

The guide and Adonis could not really care less. They were busy panting.

When we reached the peak, we immediately changed clothes to avoid pneumonia, TB, asthma, cholera and so on. At this point I was already convinced that I had been trekking without my feet. I couldn't feel them anywhere. They had frozen.

Dinner on our way up with the guide

We had dinner again, pitched the tent and slept. It was this time when we heard strange scratching on our tent. We thought it was just one of the dogs but we remembered the two dogs outside were not the friendliest and they were fast asleep. The scratching was on the side of the tent where our heads where and it sounded so eerie that I still have goosebumps until now. Whatever it was, it was not a dog (we later realized that when we got home and talked about our travel). The creature outside scratched and smelled our heads as if figuring out something. We did not check it out, though, because we were convinced it was just a dog and because we were both tired. Adonis later told me that he had wanted to go out and check. I was thinking of the same thing. Good thing we didn't. I wonder why not one of us did not really bother saying anything then.

Travel Notes:

- To get to Mt. Amuyao we passed by Bontoc. From there, we took a jeepney to Barlig.
- Take the earliest jeep/bus to Bontoc, as there could only be just one trip to Barlig from Bontoc. It is better to be in Bontoc as early as you can. Trips schedule is not regular (earliest trip I know is 11am).

Bus Fare (Sagada to Bontoc): Php 80
Travel Time:  3 hours
Bus Fare (Bontoc to Barlig): Php 80
Travel time: 2 hours
Registration Fee: Php 20~
Guide Fee: Php 1500 (5pax)
Trek time: 4 hours (could be less if you do not have any injury)

- Mt. Amuyao might be beautiful but I heard leeches could abound during the rainy season (so keep to the trail). I was lucky we went there during the dry season.
- Temperature could get really low, as well, so be prepared. 
- Though you might be able to sleep in the station at the peak, there could be other climbers there already, so do not forget your tents.

Mt. Amuyao Traverse to Cambulo- Day 4

We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise the next day. It started with just a dark orange horizontal line. It was cold but we struggled to take pictures of it. We knew it was not going to last long. 

After breakfast, we started the traverse. It took us a long time to make that decision. We simply didn't have any idea where Batad was. Getting lost would not be difficult and the person manning the tower could not give us the right direction. He was pointing towards the east when the map says something else. I thought it was better to ask whether there were more than one trail going down. That saves us time really. Sometimes, it is better not to ask. If you get lost, you get lost. End of story.

We started the trek with renewed energy. My knee didn't hurt as much as it had the previous day, but I was sure, sooner or later it was going to kill me again. TRUE ENOUGH! The pain was much worse going down the mountain. I almost couldn't move an inch. I got myself a sturdy branch to support my weight. I would cling on to it both hands and struggle as fast as I could to keep pace with Adonis. I had already told him to look back every minute or so, just to check out if I had fallen over some cliff or dropped dead.

We had probably traversed a million mountains before we reached the village at the foot of the last mountain, which would lead us to Patyay. By this time, I had already bruised my bums twice and cursed everything for the pain. I was just so glad to sit down while Adonis headed for the huts to ask for directions.

I was busy fixing the leg band on my knee when a man with a riffle showed up. I was the friendliest! I swear I could beat all politicians' smile when I made mine just to let the man know that I had no morbid intentions whatsoever in their place. I also had to appear lost and show off my useless knee. He was convinced. Sensing, that I needed to say something, I asked if he could tell me how to get to Patyay. He smiled back and told me that we were on the right track. He said it would only take around thirty minutes. Later, we found out that thirty minutes means one hour to these people.

Mossy forest on the trek down

When we got to Patyay (by this time  I was already willing to have my knee cut off), we saw interesting Ifugao huts and I wondered if it was fine to have lunch in there. If you don't know anything about a place, never get too caught up with the idea that people will forgive you for your ignorance. I thought it was better to be safe and find someone we could ask about anything. Adonis looked for a place where we could cook lunch and get some water. We had already learned not to carelessly get water anywhere. We had almost been tempted to get some from a crystal clear stream when I had realized that people could have been using fertilizers everywhere as there were rice terraces all around us. We did not have any idea how the irrigation works in the area. I thought it was much better to just ask someone for water.

We found a girl who could speak Tagalog and she was kind enough to let us stay at her hut.There, we made lunch and took a rest for a while.

This place had been the most idyllic. The hut is built on stilts- the kind that we draw when our art teachers told us to make a house during our elementary days. It has a roof made of straw and everything is made of wood. The ground it is standing on is filled with flat rocks that are placed side by side, which kind of reminds one of the tiled floors, although the evenness is not as perfect.

We were underneath the house's flooring. It is a perfect spot to let the afternoon roll and just listen to the chuckling of the chickens, the intermittent barks of the dog, the rustling of the nearby trees and the thuds coming from grandpa's new spear. He did not take much notice of us and was busy making his new weapon. When we got there, he merely called her granddaughter to entertain us. He couldn't speak Tagalog, that's probably why, but there was something about his indifference that surprised me, intrigued me.

Resting the injured leg for a bit

The place's tranquility reminded me of the lazy afternoons I used to have back in my grandparents' place. There were only two kids playing around. I could hear the distant voices of the other farmers who were also having lunch. The breeze was cool and the sight of the green rice terraces from where we were was more than just a beauty. As I lay on a plank waiting for Adonis to finish cooking the corned beef, I closed my eyes and simultaneously hear everything.

After lunch, we packed up and headed for Cambulo. We were worried we would not get there before sundown. It would be quite difficult to trek in the dark, especially if we don't know the place very well.

This trek was the most arduous of all. I was holding on the group of mountaineers on their way to Amuyao, who had told us that it would take just four hours to get to Cambulo. I thought this was easy as I had already survived the trek down from Amuyao to Patyay.

When there is nothing else to think but one's survival, it is difficult to see what has transpired around. Because of the pain that I was in, all I could think of was getting there. It was a shame to almost miss the fact that I was out there. I was brought to my senses when, all of a sudden, the pain became so unbearable I couldn't care if I fell. Damn! I am here and it's the perfect adventure. I moved on to catch with Adonis, who was already waiting for me, sitting down on a rock.

Then we came to a fix. Adonis thought we had been lost. He had been trying so hard to conceal his panic. I had already sensed it when he first asked me whether we had taken the right way, when had made the right previously. I wasn't sure, as well. However, I knew that the way we had taken made more sense, as the other one led downhill going somewhere east. We both knew Cambulo was to the west. Besides, I could still see some of the marks of the sticks on the ground. Those must have beeen from the group we had met at Patyay. However, I was still worried that we were taking the wrong way. I wouldn't want the itinerary unfinished and live my whole life with this wrong turn. Besides, I was thinking what if this trail led to a civilization, which would take longer time to reach? What about my job? I took only three days of leave and my boss would never consider getting lost a valid reason for being absent.

It was as if we were trekking down a mountain that does not seem to have base. We were continually going down for three, four, five hours with nothing but trees and a slope that goes on forever. We were trying to appease ourselves with the fact that we were taking a more adventurous way, as we had no idea where we were going. All of a sudden, we took notice of another set of rice terraces. That must be Cambulo! We were relieved and my aching knee abated a bit with the thought that we were not lost after all.

Sight of Cambulo finally!

We hastened our pace. Unfortunately, the sunset beat us. It was already too late. It was impossible for us to find our way amidst the terraces in the dark. We decided to find help. Adonis went back to the houses we passed by on our way to the terraces. A woman and a boy led us to the lodging. This was the most difficult part of the journey. I was on the verge of fainting and so was Adonis. He was no longer paying attention to anything. The was path was rather treacherous. On the left side was the muddy rice field and on the left was a cliff, the bottom of which is another rice field. I don't know how high that was. I tried pointing my flashlight towards it and I could see nothing. That high! I fell into the muddy part three times and each time my knee throbbed like I was being circumcised without anaesthesia. I thought it was much better than falling into the right side.

We were on the terraces for about forty minutes and we were just so glad to to get to the other side, which was safer. It was not the end, however. We still had to continue walking for another thirty minutes and by this time Adonis was already walking like a drunk man. We both were very tired already and we would just be glad to fall asleep along the way. The universe was definitely not on our side, as this trek was culminated by descending through thirty thousand steps, and going up the same number of steps on the other side. The only consolation was that we get to cross the hanging bridge over the river.

When we got to the lodging, we were ready to pass out.

Travel Notes:

• When I said we trekked for 12 hours, that was not an exaggeration. We might have been slowed down because of my injury. Without injury, the trek down might only be done in more or less 10 hours.
• Mt. Amuyao to Patyay takes about 5 hours.
• Patyay to Cambulo takes another 5 hours.
• We only noticed one trail going down to Patyay, so it was an easy climb to this village.
• Trekking with just two of you is a STUPID idea. DO NOT do it.
• The climb down to Cambulo means a series of mountains that you need to go through. I don't know how many mountains we traversed, then.

DAY 5- Cambulo- Batad- Banaue

Batad and my trusted trekking pole

I woke up first the next day. I immediately went to the hanging bridge to take pictures of it. Although my knees still hurt, I took what seemed like a thousand steps down just to see if the sight was indeed beautiful. The people looked like they knew what took place the previous night. On my way, down, many of them had been asking questions about our trek. Apparently, they were told that we had arrived very late and almost dying of fatigue. Gossips can fly, and believe me, I was an instant celebrity.

The bridge was not that impressive, although I would still have taken pictures of it had I found anyone to operate the camera. The river below is not as big as the one in Marikina although it is much clearer and cleaner. The sight could actually pass for pretty due to the steps and the rice terraces surrounding the bridge. Anyhow, I didn't stay long.

We had a quick breakfast and started our descent to Batad, which was nothing but another place with the terraces. We didn't stay long there and hastened to get to "saddle". From there, we took a jeepney ride to Banaue, where we had lunch and took a shower. This place was another overrated one. If you get crazy and want to spend for nothing, you can go there. Or, I might have not explored more.

Travel Notes:

• Trek from Cambulo to Batad takes 2.5 hours.
• Trek from Batad to Saddle takes 1.5 hours (depends where in Batad you are. From Simon Inn, that just takes 30 minutes)
• Jeep from saddle to Banaue takes 2 hours.
• Bus from Banaue to Manila takes 10 hours.