MT. OSDUNG 2616 MASL

MT. OSDUNG DAYHIKE
Kibungan, Benguet
November 18, 2014

"Follow a map to its edges, and keep going. Forgo the mountains, trust my instincts. Let my curiosity be the guide. 

I want to change hemispheres. Sleep with unfamiliar stars and let the journey unfold before me."

Major jumpoff: Collideng Junction, Halsema Hwy, Brgy. Madaymen

2616 MASL 8th highest mountain in Luzon and 16th in The Philippines

Hike hours to summit: 1-2 hours

Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 2/9*, Trail class 1-2

Photo (c) Ryan Junio

source: www.pinoymountaineer.com

ITINERARY:


November 17, 2014


10:00PM Meet up at Cubao, Victory Liner Bus Station

11:00PM Bus departure going to BAGUIO


November 18, 2014


01:00AM First Bus Stop at Mabalacat, Pampanga

03:00AM Second Bus Stop

04:30AM Arrival at Victory Liner Bus Station BAGUIO

05:30AM Breakfast at Sab-Atan Restaurant

06:00AM Dangwa Station GL Bus Terminal

06:30AM GL Bus departure going SAGADA/Bontoc

08:30AM Bus Stop (15mins break) , Sayangan Junction KM 50

09:00AM Collideng Junction Arrival; Traders Cafe

09:22AM Start Trek

10:56AM Mt. Osdung Summit/Lunch

11:15AM Start Descend

11:44AM Jump off, short break at Traders Cafe

12:35PM Bus ride back to Baguio

04:15PM Dangwa Station GL Bus Terminal, Baguio City

04:20PM Early Dinner at Pizza Volante, Session Road Baguio City

05:40PM Victory Liner Bus Station, Baguio City

11:47PM Arrival at Cubao, Victory Liner Bus Station

Powerbank, DSLR, Monopod, iPad, iPad mini, iPhone

FINALLY! My very first hiking trip that I've been looking forward to for months. I prepped up all my things 3 days ahead of time because I was too excited. I made sure I brought all the needed gadgets for this, which I thought later on was way over the top.  

Kuya Ryan and I first met in this trip. We met up at 7 eleven near Araneta at a gas station and made our way to Cubao, Victory Liner Bus Station where we boarded the bus bound to BAGUIO. It was my first time travelling alone with a friend and it sure sent me jitters and I had butterflies in my stomach the whole trip. The bus left the station at exactly 11:00PM, I'm glad that they strictly follow the scheduled time and had not waited too long. We had 2 bus stops (or at least that's what I remembered since I slept for most part of the bus trip to reserve my energy for my first hiking adventure), The first stop was in Mabalacat Pampanga where I took my pee break (be sure to bring coins with you. It is paid washroom for P5.00) and the other is somewhere in Tarlac where I had to go out of the bus because I was freezing cold. Ironically, the bus was way colder from the inside than outside. I was even wearing long sleeves, stretched pants and a scarf around my neck but it wasn't enough to keep me warm. 

Victory Liner Bus Station, BAGUIO

At half past 4AM we arrived at Victory Liner Bus Station BAGUIO. I have underestimated the cold weather and was very regretful that I did not bring a jacket with me. When I stepped out of the bus it felt like the breeze were needles penetrating my bones. We quickly went outside to peek, it was barely sunrise and my eyes are failing me to see the beautiful city of Baguio. Simultaneously, kuya Ryan bought me the infamous Strawberry Taho- it was perfect to warm my then freezing body. 

Strawberry Taho. A-must for the cold
temperature of Baguio.

We waited for another half an hour before we left Victory Liner Bus Station. We embarked a cab and was dropped off in front of Sab-Atan restaurant adjacent to the Dangwa Station GL Bus Terminal bound for Sagada. My body was shivering and Kuya Ryan can tell that I was pale and my skin is turning blue-gray while my veins are all visible to the naked eye. We rushed to Sab-Atan restaurant half-filled with what seemed to me as hikers too, all queuing to the GL Bus bound for Sagada at 6AM. Some were locals and I was surprise to see a number of foreigners geared up with mountaineering backpacks and complete gears.  Kuya Ryan said it's best for me to eat before the hike so I would've energy to burn on the trail. I decided to feast on HOT BEEF MAMI to warm me up.

Hot Beef Mami

At around 5:30AM the ticketing station opened and we bought our ticket to the bus bound for Sagada (bus fare is at P95.00). It will pass by the KM 313 Collideng Junction in Halsema highway (the highest road in the Philippines) where the jump off to Mt. Osdung lies. When the bus rolled, falling to sleep was not an option. It was one hell of a bumpy ride. I'm glad kuya Ryan made me take Bonamine before hand since it was a zigzag road and the bus driver is was in a rush probably to get to stop overs on time.I was both holding my breathe and enjoying a little bit of the view, (It was too foggy and the cold air was suffocating me) add the fact that the bumpy-lightning-fast-ride is making me nervous. It felt like we were going to fall off the cliff anytime. We had one (15 minute) bus stop at exactly 8AM before the Collideng Junction.

We alighted at KM 313 Collideng Junction where I saw the familiar Trader's Cafe from the blogs that I've read. "This is it!" I exclaimed. We immediately changed to our hiking attire, wore sun blocks and protection to the sun's heat, which is barely felt due to the cold weather of the Benguet mountains. Traders Cafe offers washroom and General Merchandise, so it's a one-stop shop for hikers before making their way to the summit. The locals were kind enough to offer us to hitch atop the mountain. We boarded and waited a little, but changed our mind on the last minute. I told kuya Ryan it would be senseless to call it "hiking" if we were to ride our way there haha :D I wouldn't want to narrate my first hiking experience turned hitching experience instead LOL.

At the foot of Mt. Osdung, we had a lot of "photo-ops", since there were just us two, we would either exchange turns in taking pictures or use kuya Ryan's tripod and run back and forth to capture the scenery. As we walk, I was speechless, I realized how much I've been missing out in life. For a girl who resides in the city all her life, walking in the midst of a mountain trail with the most awe-inspiring scenery was like a dream. Even when armed with the latest gadgets that has exceptional camera specs, these weren't enough to justify the beauty that I'm seeing before my eyes. I was literally taking pictures every steps that I make, I am hoping to capture this breath-taking scenery and share it to everyone. 

Look at that. Beautiful beyond words.

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel

Pakpakitan Elementary School

Halfway to the summit we were on foot with some short steep trails and endless view of cabbage terraces. The scorching heat can be felt even with the frigid air, glad to have worn sun block, although I could have brought an umbrella since it's an open trail. Several trucks, jeepneys and private vehicles passed by us as we saunter. There were no other hikers that day but us. We walked pass Our Lady of Fatima Chapel and Pakpakitan Elementary school, there were a number of students who just finished classes, they were staring at us and greeting us with lovely smiles. I couldn't understand what they were saying but kuya Ryan, who happens to speak their dialect spoke to them briefly. We past by a shack with a group of men, I assume were farmers, they greeted us and offered a drink. Kuya Ryan kindly refused the offer and reasoned that we needed to come back to Manila on the same day and couldn't afford a drunk soul on the way home. After about an hour of long walk we finally reached what we thought was the summit. So we had the mandatory Summit picture.

So we thought this was the SUMMIT

 I was skeptical, the summit looked a tad bit different from the one I saw at http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/. Kuya Ryan might have thought the same thing and as if we spoke telepathically, I looked at him and was about to say what I thought, when he blurted out "parang hindi ito yung summit"; we laughed in unison. We continued walking for another 100 meters and reached a dead end, the neighboring house was empty and there was no one nearby we could ask. Feeling dauntless, I surveyed the area and saw a narrow ascent alongside the house. The dog was barking furiously from inside the empty house. I braved the trail and found myself in a cabbage field. I walked purposefully on the cabbage plots, tiptoed on the field until I reached the summit which is a meager islet in the center of the cabbage garden. Finally! We reached the summit at exactly 10:56AM (not bad for a first timer). The view was perfect and from afar, one can see Mt. Timbak and  Mt. Pulag and a whole lot of vegetable terraces. 

Cabbage Garden

And Yes! That's the SUMMIT of MT. OSDUNG

Mandatory Summit Snapshot

Lunch at the Summit

Despite the easy trail and considering it was a minor climb, I still felt awfully drained. I was so exhausted at this point and hurriedly find a place to seat and rest. After a few photo-ops. Kuya Ryan took a pee break somewhere and specifically instructed me not to follow. HAHA. I scanned my bag and looked for my packed lunch. I ate hungrily like a coyote, then took some selfie while chewing down my lunch. I was re-energized in seconds and was prepped up for descend. I made sure all waste are kept in my trash bag. Meanwhile, kuya Ryan took pictures and urged me to take one last look around before the descend. We started our descend at 11:15AM and just did a back trail. Going back was easier. We were back at the jump off in less than 30 minutes. We stopped by at Traders Cafe because kuya Ryan was craving for cold soda, after a little bit of cooling down we went outside and halt a bus bound for Baguio. The bus back to Baguio was crammed. We seated in the middle of the bus, I felt so agitated all throughout the trip and was not able to sleep at all. When we reached Baguio, it was gridlock, the bus was barely moving and so we were behind our scheduled itinerary. I was looking forward to our Baguio side trip to Botanical garden, Teacher's camp, Mine's view park and SM Baguio. Unfortunately we arrived at Dangwa Station a little past 4PM and realized we won't be able to make it back to Manila on time before my shift starts if we were to push through with our Baguio side trip. Instead, we just had an early dinner at Pizza Volante and at 5:40PM we rode the Victory Liner Bus bound to Pasay with so much memory and bittersweet smile on our faces.