Mt. Ulap Dayhike (Philex Ridge)

Earlier this year, I told myself to end 2015 with a "bang", but never expected to end it with an awesome climb and so far, the farthest mountain I have climbed in the country.

Mt. Ulap, a newly discovered hiking destination in Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet  is very famous today especially this Christmas season. Ampucao Eco-Trail had been launched only last October, and this trail as well as the mountain itself captured instant fame online like a wildfire.

A New trail has been launched last October 31, 2015 and have been attended by different mountaineering groups and organizations.

We have joined an event, hosted and organized by Roi Renoballes, a fellow mountaineer whom we also bumped in on my first climb at Mt. Cristobal. The event fee is Php 1,250.00, inclusive of back and forth transportation from the meetup area (Mayflower St. Police Station, beside Greenfield), registration fees and guide fees.

We leave Manila at 11:00pm and arrived at Baguio at around 5:00am. We bought our pack-lunch at McDonalds, since most of the establishments are still closed during that time. From Baguio, travel time to Ampucao, Benguet is around 40 minutes.

View from the second floor of the Barangay Hall. 

With my climb buddies: Kim, Kate and Jonel.

The road leading to main jump-off. 

The group going to jump-off.

The view going to the jump-off. It's just a teaser on what more lies ahead.

Walking under a very good weather.

View from the main jump-off.

We arrived to Ampucao Barangay Hall at around 6:00 am. Many mountaineers were already lined up on the registration area. Sir Roi is the one who arranged everything. Due to large volume of mountaineers at the time, there's a guide shortage and they only managed to allot us 2 guides (1 guide per 5 people is the standard ratio).  From the Barangay Hall, you have to walk at approximately 800 meters towards the highway, and another 200 meters to jump-off. You will first encounter series of assaults (actually the entire trail) with steep slopes, but unlike the other mountains I have climbed, this is still a chill climb because of the cold temperature.

The main jump-off indicating the elevations of the major peaks along the trail. 

Jonel and Kim: my two best climbing buddies.

Who would hesitate to take a selfie on this canvass of God?

You will start the trail from Totombek woodlands as what they call it. You will face assaults, approximately for an hour depending on your phasing. This will warm you up and compared to the later part, this is the portion where the trail is covered with pine trees comprising 20% of the entire trail.

The Totombek woodlands, as they call it.

The area is almost covered by pine trees, with series of assaults.

Under the shade of a pine tree.

Overlooking the Cordillera mountain ranges as seen from the woodlands.

With my climb buddies: Kate, Kim and Jonel.

Prenuptial shoot of my bestfriends Jonel and Kim.

After the woodlands, you will reach the Ambanao Panay. It is the part where there are no trees, so a very scorching trail is expected. It is one of the best area in terms of views, and a good one for photo ops. There are even cattles on the area, which gives a New Zealand look and ambiance.

The group ascending the woodland.

Under the pine trees.

Ambanao Panay. 

Ambanao Panay resembles a New Zealand ambiance; taking pics with the cattles.

The art of stone balancing and meditation.

Kate as captured along the Ambanao Panay.

Cordillera mountain ranges as viewed from Ambanao Panay.

The trail leading to the famous Philex Ridge and summit.

MAKI The Great adventures.

Can you see Baguio in the background?

Approximately 1.5 hours from Ambanao Panay, you will reach the famous spot, the rock formations called Gungal (or the Philex Ridge). From there, you can see Mt. Ulap overlooking from this side. This is not yet the summit, as most people mistakenly assumed. The summit is approximately 1 hour from Gungal, and you have options to go back. You can take the back-trail, or the Sta. Fe traverse, where you will pass the Pongol Human Cave.

Gungal rock formations.

We chose to do the back-trail and already back at the Barangay Hall at around 2:00pm. We took the back-trail at approximately 3 hours.

Included on our itinerary is a short side trip to Baguio but sadly, we didn't pursue it due to heavy traffic (since it's a long weekend and holiday) so we decided to head up straight to Manila.

This was indeed a very memorable and fun year-end treat for myself. I've been dreaming to climb Mt. Pulag ever since, and climbing this mountain makes that dream seems a few steps away. It made me realize that this country has a lot to offer, and you don't need to travel other countries to experience this kind of sensation.

Post dinner at Mcdonalds with bestfriends Kim and Jonel.

Until next time and surely, I will totally conquer the North! Happy New Year everyone!

ITINERARY

DAY 0 (Saturday)

23:00 ETD Manila to Baguio

DAY 1 (Sunday)

06:00 ETA Baguio (Breakfast/Buy Packed lunch)

07:00 ETD Baguio to Ampucao

08:00 ETA Ampucao; Registration

09:00 Start Hike to MT. ULAP via Philex Ridge

11:30 ETA Mt. Ulap; eat lunch

13:30 Descent to Ampucao

14:30 ETA Ampucao to Baguio

15:30 ETA Baguio/ ETD to Manila

23:00 Touchdown MANILA