Kibungan Circuit

The view that greeted us just a few meters from the jump off point.

Benguet is a mountaineer's paradise - there's just mountains in all directions. It is but fitting that that province was chosen for out group's first anniversary climb. The three-day/two-night trek across the rugged landscapes of Kibungan, Benguet took us to three peaks in the circuit, namely Mount Tagpaya with it's knife-edge peak, the curiously-named Mt. Oten and finally Mt. Tagpew. The trail is comparable to that of Akiki in Mount Pulag, but there's so much more than the usual trek across pine trees that is characteristic of hikes in the Cordilleras.

The trail consists of the following:
(1) Hanging bridges of all sizes
(2) Granite faces and loose rocky soil carved into stairs
(3) Cement stairways
(4) Slopes made slippery by dust and rocks
(5) Mossy forest
(6) Narrow walkways on terraced rice paddies

All through out the sweet ordeal there was nothing but a beautiful landscape that kept up from pushing and lifted a great deal of soreness from our achy muscles. I would rate the hike as 6/9.

Pitcher plants and a type of fungus

The place is under environmental stress, mostly from locals.

I bruised my fingers (and later knees) on a portion
of the trail that lined with cogon grasses.

Dramatic view near Mount. Tagpaya

Wooden coffins inside a cave on the trail leading to Mt. Tagpaya

Itinerary
We followed roughly the three day itinerary from Pinoy Mountaineer. A two-day trek is also possible, but the beautiful surroundings isn't something you'd probably want to miss relishing by hiking on a hurry.

Day 0
21:30 Assembly in Victory Liner-Cubao
22:00 ETD to Baguio

Day 1 Tanap to Mt. Tagpaya
04:00 Arrival in Baguio. Proceed via rented jeepney to Kibungan.
08:00 ETA Kibungan poblacion (1230 MASL). Registration and breakfast
08:45 Depart for the jump-off
09:30 ETA Tanap road side (900 MASL). Start trek.
10:00 Cross Tanap river
10:30 ETA Abas community (820 MASL)
12:30 Arrival at Palpalay-yen pine forest (1100 MASL). Lunch.
13:20 Proceed to Mt. Tagpaya
15:00 ETA Buga (1400 MASL)
17:00 ETA summit of Mt. Tagpaya (1843 MASL)

Day 2 Mt. Tagpaya to Mt. Oten to Mt. Tagpew
05:00 Wake up call; sunrise viewing at Tabaw Peak
07:00 Breakfast / break camp
08:00 Start trek to Mt. Oten
10:30 ETA Tangongtongaw; Oldest Pine Tree
12:00 Lunch at Mt. Oten
13:00 Resume trek to Mt. Tagpew
14:30 Arrival at Geday Rest Stop
16:00 View of Mt. Gidaywen
17:00 Arrival at Mt. Tagpew campsite

Day 3 Mt. Tagpew to Tanap
05:00 Wake up call; sunrise viewing at Mt. Tagpew summit
07:00 Breakfast / break camp
08:00 Start descent
10:00 ETA Legleg village
10:30 Burial cave sidetrip
12:00 Lunch at Bato view deck (1330 MASL).
14:00 ETA Mayos river. Washup.
15:00 Head back to Sitio Tanap
16:00 Back at Sitio Tanap. End of Trek
17:00 Pinoy Bag Collector's Tradingck at Poblacion. Tidy up.
21:00 Back in Baguio City
23:00 Take bus back to Manila

Day 4
05:00 ETA Manila

The trails ends at Mayo River where we freshened up before taking the jeep ride back to Baguio. The smooth blue-green rock formations on the river are interesting, and I wished I had a geologist friend who could explain how these were formed. A small waterfalls is located further down.

Water Sources
Water isn't much  of a concern - two liters would be enough from the jump off to the first water source. The next water source is 15 minutes away from the summit of Mt. Tagpaya. Approximately two hours from Mt. Tagpaya, you will encounter the next water source, which is about an hour from Mt. Oten. The last water source is minutes away from Mt. Tagpew. In sum, there are water sources close to the camp sites at Mt. Tagpaya and Mt. Tagpew.

Latrines
There are makeshift latrines on the summits of Mt. Tagpaya and Mt. Tagpew. They're small, enclosed in wooden walls and consists of a dugout covered with wooden planks with a small hole. These are considerable upgrades from Pulag's infamous jumbo latrine where one can take a peek of all the shit between the spaces of the wooden planks.

Other Concerns
We were blessed with a good weather throughout the climb. A considerable part of the trail is open that the scorching heat of the sun made what could have been an easy trek unbearable. Wearing sunscreen is highly recommended. The temperature during midnight, on the other hand, is a huge contrast. If you have a low tolerance for cold I would suggest bringing a down jacket and a sleeping bag.

Video, yey!
This is my first time to create a video of a hike, and too bad I broke my cam and I'm left with an ordinary digicam with less than stellar specs. It took me two hours to create the video and I soon got tired of checking the chronology. I'm thinking about creating more videos in the future - documentary style, haha - as soon as I get a decent camera. For now, please enjoy this crap:

All footage is mine. Pictures at (1:18, 1:25, 1:29, 1:58, 2:36, 2:47 and 3:41) are from Analene Grace while all the others are from Kevin Jason Manuel. Music is "We Bought a Zoo" by Jonsi.