(Pix by me, unless otherwise indicated in the captions.)
Day 2 of our “Pre-Begnas” adventure dawned bright, early, and hella cold. Originally, we were supposed to start the climb up Mt. Polis at 5am, in time to witness the sunrise. But we were camped over at the Anam-am Airfield, which is pretty much waaaaaaay across town. So it took was quite a long walk from the Airfield, to Bagnen Proper, and to Bagnen Oriente, where Mt. Polis is located.
True to form, we lagged behind, taking photos along the way… then when this elf truck came by and we found out it was headed towards Bagnen Oriente, we all climbed on. Lately, I noticed how most of my jaunts in mountains involved hitching a ride in a cramped truck, bounding over rocky and bumpy roads. And all those times, I actually thought it was a fun experience!
After the bumpy ride, which was mostly spent clinging to the iron bar while checking out nature as it passed by, the truck dropped us off at a roadside where the locals were assembling for a parade. Our group walked on towards the center of Bagnen Oriente barangay to have a late breakfast. And we passed by the jump-off point to Mt. Polis. After a hearty breakfast, we went back to this point to start the summit assault. I think it was already around 9am.
The first half of the path is comprised of concrete steps which, according to the guide, had all of 350 steps. Some of us counted (I didn’t bother) and had varying counts, by around 3 to 5 steps. At the halfway point, the concrete steps ended and then turned to a mostly muddy trail. Slipping is not an option!
….but it still happens.
Getting to the summit takes around 45 minutes to an hour, depending on your pace. If you’re really really fast, maybe you can even do it in less than that.
When you get to the summit, you will be given a 360-degree view of the neighboring towns. Like Bagnen Proper, where we came from, the distant town of Sagada, and the mountain range that we hiked the day before.
But you know what really takes the cake? It’s not even when you are at the summit; it’s when you go slightly down the side of the mountain, and get a better look below.
I initially had the major shivers. I’m not even scared of heights, but for some reason, I hesitated, while some of the others just happily pranced around on the rock outcroppings. I, for one, was just staring, waiting for the rock to give way under their weight.
Some even playfully nudged each other and made a play at slipping and losing their balance. I CURSED SOUNDLY. REPEATEDLY. And, oh, did I mention “SOUNDLY”?
It’s at a steep angle. And getting from one end to the other can be quite a challenge because, well, the grass was just slippery. At some point, we discovered that crawl-walking is called for.
Here’s a view of the summit, taken from the rock outcropping we were standing on.
I think what makes it live up to its moniker as the “View Deck in the Sky” is how it stands out. Other mountains are part of a range, so you won’t really feel as though you are “up there”. But for this one, it’s the highest peak around, giving you a great view all around.
After a while, I kinda got used to it and got over my initial hesitation to move forward. I even sat for a while at one of the rock ledges. Bliss, I tell ya. Utter bliss.
I think we spent more than an hour here, the later minutes mainly spent sitting back and letting the cool breeze wash over us. I could only imagine how great it would be to witness the sun rise from this vantage point.
Already, there are talks among the group of coming back here sometime in the future, probably camping out at the summit so we could experience both the sunset and the sunrise. Again, “tell me when, tell me where, what to bring, and I’m totally in!”
It seems to be a waste to be this high up and not attempt jump shots. Fortunately, everyone’s game, (and has clearly gotten over their fear of “heights”). And Joseph’s there to catch it all. 🙂
I only realized belatedly how the first image in the pic above was repeated. Haha!
No doubt, Mt. Polis gave me one of the most beautiful mountain sights I’ve ever seen in my life. Definitely a keeper!
A huge shout-out to Lorie and Joseph for letting me leech the photos. Thanks, mates!
Sir, may I ask for more details on how to get there? 🙂
I can’t give exact details because what we did was to hire a van that brought us to a different town, then hiked one day to get to Bagnen, where Mt. Polis is located.
If you’re commuting, however, you can probably try taking any of the regular bus trips from Manila/Baguio to Bontoc, and go from there, since that’s an ideal jump-off point to other municipalities in Mt. Province.