As the famous saying goes, many memorable things happen when it is not planned or it was but with short preparations. This blog post started with that thought and we ended going to one of the country’s most hiked place, Mt. Ulap, Itogon, Benguet.
I have been an active trail runner in the past two years and the mountains has been my play ground, meaning less focus on the surrounding, but paying more attention on every step on an uneven ground. Add the mud, cold and heat, the only thing refreshes me is an aid station with cold water, sports drink and food.
Nuvali, Laguna (30K) – Did this on my 30th Birthday and Finished 13th place
Miyamit Falls Porac, Pampangga (26K) – Finished 3rd Place
Mt. Ugo Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya (26K) – Finished 10th Overall
Timberlands San Mateo, Rizal (26K) – Guessing 13th or 15th, no site to prove the results
For race events, you simply register online, pick up the race kit, pack up the gear and head to the race venue. Some runners do a “track reading”. However in my case the races listed above are mostly out of town and getting familiar with the course is something I haven’t considered then. My research includes the altitude, distances of aid stations and weather, after verifying them, I’m good to go.
With this as my first out of town trekking activity, it was different. I have less information on how to plan for it. I don’t know if there was a site that offers end-to-end service for hikers that will satisfy the information that I need. For example, the means of transportation (Manila to Baguio and back) to Hiker Guide identity, to the mountains total distance and elevation, degree of difficulty, estimated amount of time to complete, what to expect at the place, etc., and I bet there are many and most of the people I asked relied on blogs across the internet, most of which are outdated and inaccurate.
Going for a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) isn’t really my thing. Personally, for me outdoor activities should be well planned to lessen the stress and make the most of the time to enjoy the activity. This is the reason I’m writing this to share the information we gathered to help anyone that is planning the same, however, I’ll share at the end of this writing what could be Viaeco‘s role on this gap.
PLANNING:
We started by picking a date. Since it was a sudden plan we agreed on a week day, Wednesday. Alright, why not on a weekend? From our friend’s story, they started at 4AM on a Saturday and they finished the trek at 4PM! That is 12 hours, which is twice the estimated time of completion of 6 hours for Beginners. Why take that long? They said hikers need to wait for their turn to take their pictures on every peak on the mountain. So, there’s the first tip, hike on a week day.
With a selected date, we reserved our bus seats with Genesis JoyBus via Pinoy Travel’s page. It is an online bus booking system that I just learned about two weeks ago. I felt very excited to learn that transportation industry is being automated but at the same time, I was sad that it wasn’t widely promoted, knowing they were funded by one of the biggest organizations in the country. The booking process was swift though seats have to be confirmed still with the bus company (notifications were sent via email), unlike how we book flight seats or hotel rooms were reservations are confirmed real-time, more to discuss on how flight and hotel booking process works on another post.Operator: Genesis Service Class: JoyBus (Executive 2×1 w/ CR) Origin: Cubao Quezon City, Metro Manila Destination: Baguio, Benguet Departure: 11:00PM Estimated Trip Hour: 6 hours Fare: P720 Mode of Payment: PayPal (Debit Card)
With our bus seats confirmed, we did our research on the place, what to bring and wear: Mt. Ulap Distance: 9.1KM (Traverse) From Ampucao, Benguet to Santa Fe, Benguet Elevation: 1,846 mASL(meters above see level) Estimated Time to complete: 6 hours for beginners Travel Time from Baguio City Terminal to Ampucao, Benguet: 30-45 minutes via jeep or hired taxi Weather: Cloudy with 40% of rain My hiking gear: Scott Jurek Ultimate Direction Hydration Vest 3.0 New Balance Dri-Fit shirt New Balance Hierro Trail Shoes Columbia Coolhead Cachalot Ahon Trail Socks 2 Liters Lightweight Seat to Summit Dry Bag GU Energy Gel and Cliff Energy Blocks
With the gathered information, we discussed our itinerary from Manila to Baguio: Departure at the office: 7:00PM Estimated Time of arrival at Genesis Cubao Terminal: 10:00 PM (including heavy traffic on a week day)
THE TRIP and HIKE – April 24, 2018 to April 25, 2018
07:00 PM – Office Departure
10:30 PM – Arrival at Genesis Terminal Cubao (Along EDSA Northbound, corner New York Street)
10:50 PM – PinoyTravel representative called to confirm if we were able to make it at the terminal
11:00 PM – Departure at Genesis Terminal Cubao. Bus provided biscuits, 500ml bottled water each and a blanket. Yes, they provide a blanket! A little tip the on bus’ CR, you have to balance specially for men. When the driver steps on the brake, Law of Inertia applies, so make sure you lock the door completely.
02:54 AM – Arrival at Baguio City Terminal (Near SM Baguio). It was freezing at 17 degrees!
03:15 AM – Breakfast at Chowking along Upper Session Road. Of course, we had Mami to warm ourselves.
04:00 AM – Departure from Baguio City Terminal to Ampucao, Benguet via Taxi (Gawys Taxi). The negotiated fare was P600, we are four by the way. The locals mentioned that the jeepney’s first trip is 5:00 AM. It was a modest zigzag road going to Ampucao Barangay Hall, though make sure that your vehicle has good headlights because it is really dark.
04:40 AM – Arrival at Ampucao, Barangay Hall We were asked to register and pay for the fees: P100/head plus P600 for the guide’s fee, total of P1,000. Our guide briefed us of the three peaks of Mt. Ulap and the DO’s and DONT’s. The locals sell wooden poles at P25.00 each, this is handy specially for non-experienced hikers and experienced too. If you want to save P25, learn and practice how to “Power Hike” from Sage Canaday’s YouTube Video. NOTE:Pre-registration/Reservations online is “not” needed. We were informed that there are 100-300 hiking guides for Mt. Ulap alone, that is enough to accommodate many groups at any day.
05:15 AM – Start of Hike From the barangay hall to the highway is 800 meters, it is a good warm up, flat concrete. The first hike off the road is quite steep about 30-45 degrees. Few meters above is the marker. The Pong-ol Burial Caves was not open for public when we visited.
6:28 AM – We reached the first peak. There were two groups at the site and two more ahead of us. Cows were everywhere and they used to people. Be careful though, don’t stand at their back, you might experience the “Red Horse Kick” as seen on the commercial with less exaggeration. While the other groups were busy finding spots for their Instagram and social media posts, we went ahead as advised by our guide.
7:19 AM – Few meters away is this rock formation and cliff. It looks like the famous pictorial spot of Mt. Ulap but it is not. It is picture worthy with breath-taking view.
7:42 AM – We reached Gungal the 2nd Peak hiking 5.4km already. This is the part of the trek that has the most waiting time. That’s when I understood what our guide told us minutes ago to spend less time on the first peak and the rock formation cliff because at this spot, only one person at a time is allowed to pose on the slanted rock. The first group ahead of us were 15 persons, and it took them at least 3 to 5 minutes each to slowly crawl to the pictorial spot, make at least 3 different poses and go back to the safe spot, that was at least 30 minutes of waiting time. Also, this is the “bladder area” with two portalets onsite for Male and Female. When you feel “it”, hold for it until you reach this spot.
I didn’t pose at the slanted rock because I don’t trust my trail running shoes to have a great grip.
This is the shot far from the slanted rock formation. It is visible were you’ll land when you slip, so be very careful.
9:11 AM – Reached the 3rd Peak hiking 6.5km at 1846mASL. At this point Mt. Pulag, Mt. Ugo (shown in the picture below), Philex Dam and Mining Company (also shown in the picture below), Pangasinan Province, Kennon Road, La Preza and San Roque, Benguet are all visible. It is a good place to rest for a bit and enjoy the view!
9:22 AM – After taking some rest, we proceed and passed through the wooden stairs.
9:35 AM – We arrived at the MiniStop/SevenEleven/Tindahan open for 24-hours. It is where hikers can order food for cooking like pancit canton, fried egg, maling, corned beef, etc. Beverages from water, softdrinks and sports drinks are also available. Shirts are for sale too at a reasonable price, we got ours as a remembrance. We ate our Bacon Sandwich baon there made by Daren, thank you!
10:00AM – 11:20 AM – It was a non-stop 2 kilometers descend at 30-40 degrees grade with wooden steps and rocky path. This is the part where your legs might feel some strain and shaking of the knees. We took some rest along the way and at this time it was getting hotter as it was approaching noon time.
11:25 AM – You’ll pass through at least 3 of these steel bridges. When the walk path is concrete already, it is a sign that the Santa Fe Ridge is near.
11:40 AM – Arrival at Santa Fe Ridge. There are two shower rooms at the site, water supply is sufficient for a quick bath.
12:40 PM – Our contracted Gawys Taxi came then we left Santa Fe Ridge. The fare was P800 this time (Ampucao to Santa Fe Ridge is around 15-20minutes drive), reasonable because he came all the way from Baguio City and it was very kind of him to drive that far to pick us up.
1:35 PM – Arrival at SM City Baguio. We had lunch at the food court and it was surprising that the amount of people at the no AC mall is like a weekend sale, there was a lot. It was Avenger’s Infinity War debut that day, that could have been a factor too.
GOING BACK TO MANILA
The bus ride we booked was a one-way trip, round-trip feature as this writing is not yet available. The bus terminal is just meters away from the mall and we started to ask for the latest bus schedule that will depart Baguio City to Manila. We were seated at the bus leaving at 3:00 PM when we learned that it will not pass TPLEX, we then realized that it will take too long for us to reach Manila, so we transferred to another bus leaving at 4:30PM.
We arrived back at Manila at around 9:00 PM. The next day, April 26th, we were back at our desk for our jobs, we did it, Balikan – Mt. Ulap hike, you and your friends can do it too!
TOTAL COST PER PERSON – P2035.00
Breakdown of expenses Bus Ride from Manila to Baguio: P720 Taxi from Baguio City to Ampucao Brgy. Hall: P150 Registration Fee: P250 Tour Guide Tip: P50 T-Shirt: P200 Bath Fee: P20 Taxi Ride from Santa Ridge to Baguio City: P200 Bus Ride from Baguio City to Manila: P445 *Food meals, water and pasalubongs excluded
THE GAP
Obviously, this wasn’t planned well but it worked out. It greatly helped that my company are quick decision makers, what if they are not? Another good thing, we have internet coverage in most cities, we can use apps like Waze or Google Maps to help us navigate around a city, getting lost nowadays is quite shameful already. Many might have written the same blog as this years ago or they may have more information than what was shared here, but I’m sure there is something lacking to make this kind of trips more exciting. Viaeco sees that need and soon we will build a platform that will offer:
Round-trip bus booking with real-time confirmations
More accurate information at the hike area
Suggest transport options from Manila to Baguio and back. We are eyeing partnerships here with Star-Up TMVs
More blog posts from experienced hikers
Should we fulfill the features listed above, Hiking Planning will be more fun in the Philippines! (No pun intended)
More blog posts to follow soon! Please click the like and share button below.
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