First Attempt
After over a year of stagnation, I am back to the mountains! The first date was set on October 26-27. However, it was rescheduled on Nov. 9-10 due to Typhoon Kristine. Several landslides going to Ifugao Province which covered the roads with thick mud and boulders. The mountains are just there. Safety first.
Day 0 Manila to Ifugao. (November 8, 2024)
Finally, the van came after waiting for a few hours at the meeting place. We need to fetch one more participant before heading to Ifugao. The van was comfortable. The zigzag road in Sta. Fe wasn’t a problem since the driver was aggressive. Damn, I had to put my seatbelt on. It was still dark when we reached Nueva Vizcaya. What a great relief to be able to pee after long hours of ride from Manila. The very good cup of coffee relaxed me. The next stop was breakfast. The fatty bowl of papaitan was sour; I didn’t expect that. But we have to fill our stomachs so no choice.
Day 1 Jumpoff to campsite.(November 9, 2024)
The group arrived past 10 in the morning, 3 hours late from the expected time of arrival. We were greeted by the beauty of Hungduan rice terraces descending from the very bottom of paved pathways until we reached the house of our lead guide, Joseph. A small welcome message was delivered by him, and we never wasted our time to ascend. We took our lunch at the irrigation site past 12 in the afternoon and continued the alternating flat and ascending trails until the landslide area. That was one of the exciting parts of the trail but a bit hazardous. Here comes the unexpected river crossing. 4 in total until we got lost. Luckily, the guide recovered us.
At 3:50 PM, we found ourselves at the campsite. It has a few flat grounds that can accommodate 4-5 tents, a small cottage where guides can spend a night, two good water sources all over, and patches of sayote plants where they collected some fruits for dinner. A hearty chicken tinola and rice was served. After few shots of tequila shared by guides, we hit the sack.
Day 2 Campsite to summit. (November 10, 2024)
Wake-up call at 4:30 AM, but we never heard the alarm. I guess we slept well. The night was perfect. Not too cold. At 5:45 in the morning, with our headlamps to light the trails, we slowly crossed the river, and the ascending trails directly welcomed our morning. Such a priceless moment to witness the sunrise along the pine trails then we entered the tree line until the mossy forest. I remembered there were two flat areas enough for the group to rest. 15 minutes past 9, we stepped on the summit grounds. There’s no 360’ view, so we had to climb the trees to see the surroundings. From the treetop, you can see Mount Napulauan and Mt. Data where the natives worked in road construction for the Americans in exchange for a cedula (community tax certificate). We spent half an hour then descended back to the campsite.
By 12:10 PM, we were back to the campsite waiting for others. Thanks heaven! Our organizer made us some lunch of pork sinigang. With Harold, you will never get hungry. Right after decamping, we hit the irrigation trails by 1:45 PM until a big rain poured. Occasionally, we slipped to the irrigation hole, so pay attention. Trekking poles helped me a lot. Of course, in every climb there’s bloopers, which will mark that day. That was when Mommy Helly fell on the dike. My best friend Ira tried to rescue her, and he fell as well. Few meters from there, we had the bird’s-eye view of Hapao village, and that’s the start of the calvary trail. A concrete staircase of 800+ steps that leads us to the rice terraces. Traipsing through the high-level terraces, we gave in our last energy until we reached the Bogyah Hot Spring at 4:50 PM. Everybody was excited to dip in the hot pool. Our tired muscles and joints were relaxed. Though we wanted to stay a little bit longer, we started to pack our bags after an hour and slowly trekked the terraces until Brgy. Hapao.
Mountain Facts:
Located in Brgy. Hapao, Hungduan, Ifugao Province as major jumpoff point. There is a story as to how this mountain got its name. Tumamong means misleading in Tuwali, a native language spoken in the towns of Kiangan, Hingyon, Hungduan, Asipulo, Lagawe, Banaue, and Lamut. Many hunters were lost in this mountain. Some never came back nor recovered. We took the original trail that the ancestors used during the tribal war era. Later on, it was utilized as a common trail by the locals post-WWII. In other words, we walked through the footprints of the legends.
Elevation: 2300+ masl
Limatik: Yes, but minimal.
Water source: present from jump-off to the campsite, none from campsite to summit.
Features: rice terraces, river crossing, mossy forest, and hot springs.
For guiding and organized hikes, contact Joseph Madiwo at 09955485539 or Harold Borja.
