I LEFT MY HEART IN BENGUET
Guest writer: Steph Borje
December 2015
The City of Baguio is probably one of the top most well-loved places in our country. Who wouldn’t right?! Seeing the Brazil like houses on top of the mountain once you enter the city, strolling along Session road and Camp John Hay in a cold weather, eating sweet & juicy strawberries and seeing those fresh vegetables in the market makes you wanna cook chopsuey, pinakbet or just toss some salads. And of course, there’s the growing gastronomic indulgence in the city and (Ooohh!) the smell and view of the pine trees while drinking hot cocoa or steaming coffee. Half my life, these are all I know of Benguet until the past couple of years.
Baguio is the capital city of the province and the doorway to wonderful places you never thought existed in our country. One of them is Mt.Pulag. I’m sure you've heard a few stories of Pulag trips and see how they marvel while sharing their experiences as you scroll along their photos. But what’s Benguet beyond Mt.Pulag?! Now, let’s explore the other mountains that also belong to Mt.Pulag National Park. Mt. Timbak and Mt. Tabayoc are parts of the Luzon 3-2-1 adventure. Mt.Timbak, being the 3rd highest peak in Luzon and 9th in the Philippines and Mt. Tabayoc the 2nd one and now, placed 7th next to Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon and Of course, Mt. Pulag the highest one in Luzon and 3rd in our country. Currently, I already scaled 4 out of the 10 highest peaks. Three of which belongs to the province of Benguet. Well, I am hoping to do more next year.
It’s love at first sight for me for Mt. Tabayoc. The view of Lake Tabeo is truly divine. It is the lake at the foot of the mountain which also serve as the basecamp. You will surely wake up with a great view when you open your tent in the morning after a night’s snooze. You can also explore the other 3 mystical lakes in the afternoon once you settled your stuff in the tent. It’s just a 2hr trek going to Latep Ngapos, Incolos and Ambulalakao lakes. My favourite would have to be the Incolos lake, the one with a century old tree beside it. A long wow was the only thing I was able to say as soon as it came to my view after an hour trek. Picture perfect! It’s like one of those things you see in postcards or some movie scenes. It’s kinda creepy but strangely beautiful nonetheless. Other lakes also have its own charm especially when there is a clearing. We just had fun jumping up and down to the jelly like land filled with grasses that covered parts of the lake. Ambulalakao is the lake you see at the orientation video shown at the DENR office before a hike to Pulag.
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| Lake Letep-ngapos |
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| Ambulalakao Lake |
Strange trees welcome you once you set foot at the lush rainforest. I gazed with awe at the moist moss covered trunks of the bonsai trees there. Its quality is clearly a notch higher than Pulag has. According to Coach Ken who already been to Mt. Dulang Dulang in Bukidnon, It’s almost comparable to that one which he considers the best. Well, I’m yet to find out hopefully next year.
During the orientation, the park ranger described it as a monkey trail. They are indeed! You’ll surely be needing all fours (hands and feet) in getting to one tree to another, hoping in between rocks and doing limbo rocks in huge trees that falls off and block your way. It’s quite advantageous to small people but unfriendly to a big one. Good thing we only had our assault pack or else it would be another unending pass it on first for the full packs. One of the things I enjoyed while hiking here was the cold weather. Be sure to bring those waterproof jackets once you’re set to explore this mountain. I insisted on not wearing it half the time for I just wanted to make the most out of the cool breeze that touched my face. It’s truly a sight to behold! The mossy forest is just like the one in the fairy tale movies. Everything appears to be magical as rays of sunlight shine through the dense rainforest canopy. This will surely make it to the list of my favorites.
A total of 2 – 3 hours is what you need in getting to the summit. You’ll know because the higher you climb the shorter trees you will see. There is a view deck made of trees at the peak of the mountain. You will have to forgive me but my guilt trip is browsing through the internet and some of the posts on FB/Instagram. Do you do the same thing?! It helps me in doing my research on my next destination, excites me as well and gives me an idea on what pictures to capture. Well, as I saw the stairs I just said “Yeah, There it is!” and “It’s stunning!” It’s really lovely when you see it with your own eyes. I hurry up climbing the view deck but unfortunately the clouds were blocking the 360 degree view and the extremely strong cold winds made me just last 10 minutes up there. Time to go down for some covers! Haha. We waited for another hour but the clouds were still moving faster than we can get a glimpse of the view around. Well, I guess we just have to come back some other time.
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| Mt. Tabayoc summit |
One of the unforgettable experiences I had on this trip was spending a night in the house of a local. It pays to have Coach Ken with us because he knows Sir Elmer who was willing to have us as their guests. Warm smiles welcomed us as we arrive. His folks know a little tagalog that’s why we just tried to communicate to them by our kind hearts and actions. Seeing them makes me remember my lola cooking “inapuy” (Ilocano word for rice) and sida (dish) on that good old stove which can also serve as a fireplace that gives warmth to the house. Hope I still remember my Ilocano right?! My father and aunties would have been proud. They tried to teach me before when I was spending my summer days in the province. But I just couldn’t get the accent right but I quite understand them when they’re talking. I used to yell at them and said “Nag cchinese n nman kyo!” whenever I hear them talking in their native tongue. I am one of those kids who don’t have patience learning things which I don’t think is important back then. All I care about was just playing hide & seek with my cousins and running around the house. Our eyes glow whenever we catch some beetles, tie them and have them as a pet.
It’s a wonderful experience waking up early in the morning finding a great view of the sunrise and clouds kissing the mountain top while having a hot locally harvested coffee. I’m not really a black coffee drinker but I guess it’s worth trying. Don’t you agree?! Being in a place for the first time gives you excitement to try something new. Just one problem though… coffee easily get cold because of the weather.
I would love to pair it with some hot off the pugon pandesal but bakery and other establishments there are way too far from the house. Not to mention the rocky and rough road you need to endure just to get to the town and transport system is not that easy. Nanay just baked us some of her homemade pancakes. But after a couple of hours, we still ate another breakfast enough for us to get us to the #dontaskdonttell falls. My excitement was through the roof when we were finally set to see it. ‘Gotta give it up for the brave souls who do exploratory climbs. If not for them, we won’t be able to set foot and lay eyes on that way too long and impressively beautiful falls. Many can only see it from a view deck but we’re lucky to have Coach Ken to take us there and let us experience it up close.
It’s not as easy as I think. Mostly of the trails were still being cleared as we slowly descent. My heart skipped a beat every time I almost slide my way down. It was a painstaking effort to trek it. Really?! One missed step and you’ll be missed forever. The trails are not known to many even to the locals but it’s truly worth it. I was like a kid again seeing candies. We got as close as we can get and took a lot of photos. Water was cold as ice but it didn’t stop us from digging into the “nature..al” shower. It’s a refreshing reward after a hot and tiring trek going there. We swam till our hearts content. And as much as we would love to stay there for a longer time … we can no longer endure the cold water so we said goodbye for now to this epic falls.
We were half hearted leaving the house of Sir Elmer. The gracious hospitality was really something genuine with the people of Benguet. Sir Adonis Lloren of lagataw.com once wrote, the smile of the locals there doesn’t come with a price tag unlike any other touristy spots in our country. They are like the devotees of Zeus in Homeric Greece. They consider it a divine duty to give lodgings to the weary travellers without expecting anything in return. And if you wish to return their act of kindness, return it in kind. You’ll know what they need if you just pay close attention. These I found as true during a few of my escapades. My experiences are just so little compared to them who already explored mostly and/or all the towns in Benguet so gotta learn from the experts huh?!
Our last stop for this 3day weekend trek is Mt. Timbak. We’ve been trying to include this in our itinerary for a while now but thankfully we had the chance to finally do it. Since we don’t have the luxury of time, we climbed it almost midday while the sun is sky high up and the heat can be excruciating. Good thing there was still a light and breezy wind that calmed us down while trekking. You’ll see mostly vegetable and flower fields on your way up. The locals earn their living tilling the land in the mountain. You will surely bump into them in the trail because their houses are situated there not unlike in Mt.Tabayoc. There is a station of the cross nearing the summit and three crosses of the Calvary on top adorned by the statues of the angels, Mama Mary and Christ. It’s perfect for a sundown shoot. They say that sunset is really beautiful in Mt.Timbak. And I say it is! I saw some of the pictures. Next time I will try to spend the night here and commune with the locals. And Of course, I would want to catch the breath taking sunset they’ve all been talking about.
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| Mt. Timbak |
To end this article, I just wanna share to you that on my fourth attempt in climbing Mt. Pulag a month ago, I finally saw the sea of clouds. Not too shabby for a first timer like me, e?! I was so startled seeing hundreds of stars in the night sky while trekking from ranger station to Peak 3. And shooting stars were coming from nowhere every now and then. My heart was full of gratefulness because at last it didn’t rain on me. To those of you who read my first article and know my struggles just to see those … I’m sure you’ll be willing to extend some big hug and congratulations to me right now. Haha!
Also, I climbed Mt. Ulap (Philex ridge) as a side trip. You may want to count how many times you ascend and descend the ridges up to that iconic rock as a game to make your climb a lot more fun. Also, you will be sharing the trails with some herd of cows. They are not attacking anyone as far as I know. You just have to calmly walk you way to the trails and not do anything stupid to trigger them to do something. Once you see the rock, you will see yet another great view that gives you an indescribable feeling.
Big thanks to the big guy up there for letting me see and experience great mountains in Benguet. I still have a lot to see on my list. There’s the Kibungan Circuit, Bakun Trio and Sitio Paraiso. Sir Adonis recommended that we try a sort of a soul searching and/or immersion trip in Sitio Paraiso where we can experience a simple life and live in the community for days. Also, I’m still trying to be extra nice to Coach Ken so he will take us to Mt. Uluru (Australia), Machu Picchu (Peru), Mountain Face (Mount Rushmore) of our country. I just need to train some more to keep up with these immortal souls. For all you know, I’ll be able to join my first trail run next year. “Innakon” (Goodbye in Ilocano) for now! I’m hoping to make this article a series or a trilogy next time made especially for Benguet.
