I have a theory. The reason that this tickle in my throat refuses to go away is because I haven’t seen some mountain action since… March, was it? I’m craving going on a hike and breathing pure, unadulterated mountain air, never mind that it gets freezing at some points, and mixed with rain and followed by the heat of the sun. Come to think of it, the last proper hike I did was in February this year, up Mt. TImbac via Atok in Benguet.
(Disclaimer: All photos are mine, unless indicated on the photos. Some photos are taken by Remi Roque and Mark Eric Licdan.)
All three highest points in Luzon are found in the province (my province) of Benguet. Of course there is Mt. Pulag in Kabayan, and its close neighbor Mt. Tabayoc, which is also in Kabayan. The third highest point in Luzon is not too far away, because part of it is also in Kabayan. It is called Mt. Timbac, which is also famous for its fire mummies and burial caves.
Geographically, Mt. TImbac (or Timbak) is located in the municipality of Kabayan, but a small part of it sprawls or spills over the neighboring municipality of Atok. Which means that it may also be accessed via Atok.
This is good news for us, who are from the adjoining municipality (and Benguet’s capital town) of La Trinidad. It definitely cuts down the travel time by hours.
So after lunch, our group met up at Km. 5 in La Trinidad, at the van terminal headed for Buguias and took the 1:15pm trip. At 2:45, we stopped at the Morning Star Restaurant, along the Halsema Road, in Sayangan. (My memory is hazy, but I think the van fare was something like Php75.00)
From there, we managed to snag one of those garage taxis and hired one FX taxi for all seven of us (for Php250.00 one way, I think) to take us on the 30- to 45-minute drive to Km. 55, up an almost-constant ascent, until we were dropped off at the side of a leveled road, where our two other companions (who went on ahead) were waiting for us.
What followed was a hike on mostly-paved roads (which, if you continue following, will take you all the way to Kabayan). We took another ascending fork on the road, following a tire path and, along the way, even asked some locals for firewood we can use when we reach the summit.
The tire path ended in an area with vegetable gardens and local residential houses, which were mostly empty (at close to 4pm, because we think they were all working in the fields). With the help of a little girl who pointed us in the right direction, we followed a path meandering through vegetable gardens, until we saw the cross-lined trail leading up to the summit.
From there, we were already good.
The crosses were recreations of the Stations of The Cross and, during the Holy Week, we were told that the rites take place here. Which is perfect, if I may say so, considering the terrain. The summit of the 3rd highest mountain in Luzon seemed like a perfect place to recreate that Calvary scene.
There really wasn’t a campsite at the summit of Mt. Timbac. But it was already close to 5pm when we got there, and continuing on is ill-advised. Luckily, the vegetable field at the summit was unplanted, and still awaiting soil-recultivation, so we turned that into our campsite.
We set up camp, started prepping our food… and even started digging the soil for some baby carrots, haha! Those were great additions to our campfire dinner, by the way. Oh, and these baby carrots are no longer going to be sold. They’re just going to be dug up and used as fertilizer for the next cropping anyway, so teeeechnically, we were not stealing.
At 6:30 pm, we finally had dinner of grilled meat, raw carrots, and a vegetable dish prepared prior to the hike.
We;d have lingered by the fire a while longer, but we were forced to turn in inside our tents at only 7pm, because it started pouring. And I’m not talking about a mild shower here, it was really, downright, pouring. Most of us barely slept a wink that night, because the rain was sooo strong it even leaked inside our tents, and some of us even slept on with pools and puddles of water under us and around our feet.
So it was not a surprise at all that we were up very early the next morning…when the rain had already stopped.
Stepping out, we knew that a “full sunrise” sighting is not gonna happen, no thanks to the heavy rain the night before, but we’ll take what we can get, so we all made that short walk to the other side of the field to get a glimpse of the sun rising.
And it truly was a glimpse. No fiery balls here, but the streaks of light in the distance, where we can see shadows of Mt. Pulag, was more than enough to boost our literally dampened spirits.
It was fascinating to watch the low clouds rolling in just like cotton balls creeping up the mountain. And it may not have been a “sea of clouds”, but it looked soooo pretty nonetheless.
There were even beams or streaks of light that seemingly emanated from the ground, glowing up. I’m sure there’s a scientific meteorological explanation for it, but it was (and still is) beyond me.
It was cold, and our feet were soaked. So were some of our clothes. But we hung around a bit at that vantage point, breathing in the air from the peak of the 3rd highest mountain in Luzon. And slowly waiting for the sun to come up and warm us, even if a bit.
We proceeded back to the campsite for some very light breakfast, then started packing up. While we were doing so, the owner of the field that we camped out on arrived, hoe in hand, to start tilling the field. He was so nice about us having encroached on his property for the night, and even offered up some of the baby carrots. A few of us took some of them to bring them back home.
Oh, and did I mention that there were also a lot of flowers at the summit? Alstroemeria, in particular, are aplenty, and it turns out that the place is one of the primary sources of this bloom, sold in Baguio and Manila.
Leaving without taking photos by the Calvary recreation would be a shame, so we just had to make that stop before going back down.
If you’re standing on the roadside in Sayangan, or even driving along the Halsema Highway, and look up, you will no doubt spot these crosses, not knowing that you are already looking at the summit of the 3rd highest mountain in Luzon.
At 8:15am, we started our descent, and the sights are much clearer this morning. We even got to stop at a high ridge to do some buwis-buhay shots and literally scare the crap out of ourselves. But, all is well, haha!
You probably shouldn’t be doing this if you have a poor sense of balance, though. Or if you’re just a plain scaredy cat.
This is a good day hike spot. In fact, we met some hikers who hike up in the morning, and go down at midday. It was just us who had the brilliant idea of camping where we really are not allowed (kids, don’t do this) and get rained on allll night. 🙂 Seriously, that was a long night. I stirred awake every ten minutes and kept thinking “It’s still 1am? Why is time crawling soooooo slowwwww!?”)
Again, I am thankful at my close proximity to these places. And wish that I can do this again sometime soon. It’s been soooo long it’s becoming unhealthy. 🙂
My next post will be about the next stop in this adventure… the Timbac Caves. See you then!
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