My Mt. Amuyao Traverse Experience! Part One

Right after climbing Mt. Damas (training climb), this is what I’ve been dreaming of. Climbing the strenuous trail of Mt. Amuyao sounds so inviting to me that I can’t help but pray for the day to come.

April 16. Gilda and I have decided to meet up at Pasay and just take a jeep going to Ohayami Terminal in Lacson, Manila. But will all the busy people roaming the crowded street of Pasay, we decided to take a cab and less than 20 minutes we arrived at the terminal. Some of our co-climbers are already there waiting for us. Good thing that we came earlier than expected. We still have an hour to spend – eating!

April 17. The ride going to Banaue, Ifugao was a breeze. We arrived at Hidden Valley Restaurant and were greeted by our climb organizer, Ka Gerald Ternola around 8:20am. After breakfast, some of my co-climbers (like me) prepared their bags, bought packed lunch, bought other supplies like water and trail foods and did #2 (poopies!) We hit the road to 9:40am to Macalana, Barlig via rented jeep. By 12:15 in the afternoon, we arrived at the Macalama Police Station. Registration took less than 10 minutes and with no fee. Too bad, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the said police (security measures, I assumed). We had our lunch at the nearby covered basketball court and made some final preparations before starting our trek by 1:25pm.

Bong, Ruby, Helmitchy, Ka Gerald, Mitchie and Sol

the blogger, Racky and Gilda

Passing around the neighbourhood of Barangay Macalana was the start of the trek. Then there’s dike (pilapil) crossing for at least 20 minutes until you reach the start of cemented pathway leading to the picturesque pine trees and the dreaded steady assault! The trail is well established and wide enough for a single-file trekking. For mountaineers like me, that’s a good sign that the trail is preserved. Like we always say ‘hindi pa bugbog ang trai!’ (The trail is not yet beaten!)The trail stairs are often supported by either rocks or tree branches lined up perfectly for support especially for a heavy rainfall.

at Barangay Macalana signage

the beautiful trail of Mt. Amuyao

I was literally panting because of the endless assault wherein you can’t bargain for at least a 5 minute baby walks. The trail was just unnerving even on a cold atmosphere. If I’m to choose between this trail and Akiki trail in Mt. Pulag, I’d probably choose Akiki. The trail here is obstructed so you can’t see if it’s still assault all the way or a 2-minute flat ground. I even baptized this trail as “Surprise Me Trail!”

By 4pm, we reached the first waiting shed signifying that we’re halfway through the summit right after passing the beautiful mossy part of the forest. We decided to take a rest and wait for the remaining group to arrive.

at the first waiting shed going to summit

We resume trek by 4:40pm and again, we were greeted by the steep tree branches trail leading to the more flat grounds which indicates that we’re almost at the summit. The grassland leading to summit is covered with lots of pink orchid-like flowers and red bell-like flowers.

the steep assault leading to the grassland

the pink flower beautifully hanging around the grassland

the bell-like flowers at the grassland

This is a great place to have your photos taken especially if you arrived here around 2-3pm and the sky is clear. It’s like a secret garden waiting to be found. The grounds here were a bit softer due to dried fern leaves covering the grassland. 

Around 6:36pm when I reached the summit.

arch at the summit of Mt. Amuyao

It was cold and the wind is so chilling! We asked assistance from the bunker caretaker and we were accommodated in no time. By 9pm, we were having our yummy dinner (I cooked it!J) and exchange of funny climbing anecdotes. It made the night warmer knowing that we all made it to the summit safe and well. At around 9:30, we hit the sack and drop our tired bodies off to dreamland.

groupie before going to sleep. a chilling night it was!

April 18. I was awoken by the cold cemented floor inside the bunker despite the sleeping bag and 2 layers of ground sheets and tarpaulins. It was nearing 5am, so I decided to wake up and the rest followed. The very first thing that came in my mind was coffee and sea of clouds; in that order. The coffee was a relief on that cold weather but the clearing that Mt. Amuyao gave us left me speechless!

the mountain ranges as viewed from Mt. Amuyao summit. what a sea of clouds!

We can see the sun, the moon and the sea of clouds all at the same time! How’s that for a clearing?! Breakfast was served by 7:30 and right after that, I took a quick cold shower before packing my stuff back. Yes, there’s a bathroom and water (stock rain water) at the summit.

After uttering a ‘group thank you prayer’ for a safe climb yesterday, we started descent by 8:30.

groupie at Mt. Amuyao summit landmark

ascending Mt. Amuyao

Going down the mountains is definitely my favourite part of the climb! The soft ground going down made it more comfortable for all of us. Just be mindful of the tree roots as they can be very slippery in the morning when all the dew had kissed the ground. The mossy forest in this part is so diverse that you can see different types of moss in one tree branch like this one.

mossy forest with Racky and Ka Gerald

We arrived at the first waiting shed around 9:45 am and prepared accordingly because according to our guide, leeches are present on the succeeding trail. With that, we armed ourselves with saline solution, citronella spray and even a detergent powder. We’re not scared of ‘limatik’ ...just cautious. J

We left the shed by 10:05am and continued with the trek. After an hour of choreographing my feet to the grounds, my hands interchanging with holding my hanging camera while grabbing tree and plant branches and 3 minor fall....I have to give up  my camera and put it back inside my bag. And the rest was saddddd!!!

At around 11:20, we reached the stream. Water source!!!! The group decided to have our early lunch and a little siesta. I, Sol and Bong decided to dip in at the nearby mini falls. Surprisingly, there’s a small catch basin wherein you can actually swim and even dive (feet first since it’s just around 5 feet deep). The water was ice-cold and perfect enough to soothe our aching leg muscles.

the surprise mini falls

We resumed trek around 12:45pm to Pat-yay village. The trail after the stream was gradual and moderately flat passing through vegetations and river beds. After 20 minutes, we reached this newly made shed.

shed near Pat-yay village

Another 5 more minutes and viola!

Pat-yay Rice Terraces

The view of the enormous rice terraces and the hint of Pat-yay village from my sight was pure delight! We continued with the trek passing through rice terraces dikes (pilapil) until we reached Pat-yay village by 2pm. It was a long rest for all of us after that. All agreed not to push with trekking Cambulo village as it would take at least 7 gruelling hours to reach the village.

Some of the team members went to take a dip at the nearby river, some wash their used clothes and have it dried at the clothesline in front of 2 houses (1 native and 1 not so-native house). The house owner gave us thick blankets for the cold night and even pounded the red organic rice for our dinner. Around 5:30pm when dinner was served. Thanks to Jason for the tasty ‘Sinigang na Baboy’ (pork tamarind stew). Right after taking our dinner, some decided to hang around and took pictures of the place while I decided to stay inside the native house and just simply lay there imbibing the stillness and serenity of the place. By 9pm, I was fast asleep.

view of the terraces inside the Ifugao native house

Watch out for the concluding part of my Mt. Amuyao adventure!

Till then!