Mt. Amuyao is considered to be the tenth highest mountain in the Philippines. Sitting in between the two provinces Mountain Province, and Ifugao, a traverse was possible, that is you will enter into Barlig, Mountain Province, then exited in Ifugao. However, the two towns have had a row because of the guide fees. In consequence, the traverse could not be made. Indeed, the trail is out-and-back.
Barlig itself sits at a high ground, 1600 masl. At the start of the trek, you would see the rice terraces of Barlig. Albeit not as grand as Ifugao’s rice terraces, it holds a beauty of its own.
A refreshing scenery despite the trail.
The trail composed mostly of stairs, any material you name it. From concrete, steel to wooden stairs, Mt. Amuyao has it. Unlike in trails which has a gradual steepness. Stairs are quite steep in their own right. When we hiked, I was panting like my life depended on it! The good thing about this trail is that it is well established. No any other obstacles in the trail, just you and the stairs.
Added to the difficulty was the weight of your bag. Some of the team their bag weighted 13kg, while others have nothing, because they gave their bags to the porter, and they will sleep at the bunkhouse at the top. I had the unfortunate circumstance of carrying 2L of water despite the abundance of water sources near the summit. So my packed weight was 8-9kg.
Wooden type of stairs in Mt. Amuyao
Yeah, concrete stairs, my favorite.
Soon, I and the Josea, the guide, were alone. We entered into the mossy forest. He said that the guides were busy in harvesting rice.
Before lunchtime, we reached the waiting shed. We waited until our teammates Gie, and Farra reached the waiting shed. We took take five before we headed to what Gie called Demonyo Trail.
Rightly so: It was full of stairs. I mean it. It’s a mountain full od stairs! There are no switchbacks. Only stairs going upward until it reached the top. Crazy right?! Sadly, it was true. We need to suffer the abovementioned trail in order to reach the summit.
Three hours, and 59 minutes later, the lead pack reached Mt. Amuyao.
The summit has two broadcast towers of GMA-7, and ABS-CBN. It also has a metal cross facing Santiago, Isabela. This mountain was open. Meaning the wind can blow everywhere. There are no tall trees shileding you in the wind. Before we got to the trail, another group, let’s called them The Baguio Group trekked. We caught up with them. The organizer of the group Eldrich taught me about plants in Mt. Amuyao, from the laurel like plant which if eaten tasted peppery, and acted like loperamide to a plant which smelled and tasted like bubble gum.
“This is the thing about hiking is not only you will view the natural surroundings, but also you will appreciate the culture of the indigenous people living there. You will open up to other peoples’ cultures. As a result, your wisdom will grow.”
The iconic Welcome to Mt. Amuyao sign which indicates that you are already at the summit.
After two hours or 4:00 in the afternoon, the other group summited. They prepared their bed and watched Win, and Daddy Gabs preparing dinner.
Apol, JC, and I decided to camp in the ABS-CBN Bunker so that we were covered by the wind, in case any would blow during the night.
Dinner came and Win prepared a sumptuous dinner as always.
As the night went on, the stars started to appear. Luckily, we did not have a cloudy night; rather an array of stars came. The joiners took pictures beneath the metal cross.
The picture of Mlky Way with Santiago, Isabela below
At 9:00 in the evening, we said our goodnight and slept. I had slept easily despite the 9 degree weather at the summit.
Morning came, and some of the team waited for the sea of clouds to form. Normally, sea of clouds are at its peak during the the 4th quarter of the year, and the first quarter of the next year. However, this time, we did not get any.
Morning at Mt. Amuyao
At 8:00 in the morning, we broke camp. Thirty minutes after, we descended and bid goodbye to Mt. Amuyao.
Going down was tough because you have to have to be mindful of the wet, slippery stairs and rocks along the way. Past the mossy forest, and at the waiting shed, the trail was dry and runnable.
Being a fastpacker wannabee that I am, I fast packed from the waiting shed until the rice terraces. I only stopped when the Baguio Group were there.
At 10:37 AM, we reached the jump-off. Win, and others reached the jump-off at one hour plus. Afterwards, we bathed and share different stories over beer.
At 14:30 in the afternoon, we left Barlig going home bound.
All in all, Mt. Amuyao is a challenging trail wherein your limitations will be pushed to the limit. If you passed that you may be rewarded with stunning views, and life lessons. I would like to thank Rabas Outdoors for this event. You guys are the best!
Mt. Amuyao via Barlig Trail
Days required / Hours to summit: 2 days
Trail Class: 1-4
Specs: Major climb
Features: Mossy forest, stairs, pine trees, mushrooms
Rattan: No
Lipa: No
Leeches: At the waiting shed
Day 0
10:15 Meet up at Fischer Mall
Day 1
12:00 Stop over at Tarlac
6:00 Arrived at Banaue. Breakfast.
8:00 Arrived at Barlig
9:47 Start trek
11:50 Arrived at waiting shed
13:47 Arrived at Summit
20:13 Dinner/Socials
21:00 Lights off
Day 2
3:45 Wakeup
5:00 Wait for sunrise
6:30 Breakfast
7:00 Breakcamp
8:30 Going down
10:37 Arrived at Barlig jump-off
10:38 Wash up
12:00 Lunch
14:30 ETD going home
Manananggol na Namumundok 