I am always fascinated by this trail as the trail is not the ordinary trail where people organize hikes in the mountains. Rather, as Yabag says, it is a thru hike. So what is a thru hike? Thru hiking is defined by Thru-Hiking.com as a walking a long-distance path from start to end. In most cases, you will cross multiple regions or maybe even several countries. However, this is not necessarily the case, since some long-distance paths comprise smaller regions. The aim is to hike the trail in one or connecting season(s) and in one go, while some trails require in order to finish it requires by phsases.
Our organizer is Yabag Mountaineering. Yabag is an organization, founded by Miguel Mapalad, Yunan Reyes, and Mang Boyet (Yes that is his name) in the early 2000s, which provides outdoor activities particularly hiking. It offers different thru hiking trails in the Philippines, in particular the Pacific Coast Trail, a trail they completed in 2018. Their team also opened the mountains in Sitio Cawag—-known today as Cawag Hexa—this word makes me cringe, but that’s my opinion. Lastly, their team opened the Kibungan Cross Country, a traverse route from Benguet to La Union which featured the Crying Mountains of Kibungan, Benguet, and Litalit Trail going to Ilocos Sur.
Unlike other organizers where they provide you with a van from pickup point to jump-off, Yabag does it the old way: commute from Manila to jump-off. It also do not provide hosted meals. Rather, their team, and the participants bring their own food.
The Pacific Coast Trail composed of three phases: Phase 1 you will traverse from Umiray, General Nakar to Infanta, Quezon. Phase 2, you will walk from Dingalan to Baler, Aurora, and Phase 3 you will walk/swim from Real to Mauban, Quezon. Both places are in Quezon province.
OK, so I am recounting this from my memory as I hiked Phase 1 a year ago please bear with me.
And so it goes. We boarded Five Star going to Cabanatuan at 3:00 in the morning, and we arrived at 6:00 on the same day. We took a chartered bus going to Dingalan, Aurora. Dingalan? I thought you were going to Quezon? Yes, we are going to Quezon. However, Aurora, and Quezon are divided by a bridge located in Umiray.
General Nakar was formerly a hotbed of insurgency here in the Philippines. But because of the continuing efforts of the government to eradicate insurgency in the country, this town is now safe for tourists. In fact, the government encouraged the insurgents to surrender and return to their old ways by giving monetary payments.
We began our hike by traversing a small river which serve you as a common discomfort in the Pacific Coast Trail thru hike: Your feet will get wet in this thru hike because rivers are plentiful. Yes, it is uncomfortable walking when your feet is wet. But hey, a hiker is prepared for everything. And so it seemed.
Past the river, we reached a small hill which was made into a dirt road.
After an hour or so we reached the beach which a hut was built. We took our lunch here. One of Yabag’s organizers Mang Boyet requested the owner to get a coconut for us; he did. We everyone of us got a coconut. It was sweet, refreshing even!
We finished our lunch, and our coconuts and proceeded to our campsite. 2024 was El Niño hit the Philippines. It was hot and humid! If one is exposed to the sun for long, you could get heat exhaustion. So hot the sun we took one-two steps then rest on a shaded rock.
Finally, we reached the campsite at around 3 o’ clock in the afternoon. Our campsite was a resting spot of the indigenous people in the area: the Dumagat Remontados. The campsite has also a wide shore to accommodate a handful of hikers. There is also a watersource behind the camp.
We rested at 10 o’clock in the evening after some socials. The day came and we cooked our breakfast. The good thing about being self-sufficient is that one does not rely solely on the travel organizer for his/her breakfast. The advantage here is that in case there is a delay in the itinerary, you will not get hungry. Being a vegetarian, you will be self-sufficient because travel organizers always serve meat on their menu!
At 8 o’clock in the morning we left the campsite. Miguel, one of the founders of Yabag, oriented us that Day 2 was the most difficult in all the course. The trail turned into rocks, then sand, then pebbles. One can glimpsed that the beachside can change so drastically despite that it was short.
We cross some rivers, and hills until we came across a rock, unyielding and intimidating.
You must proceed here with caution and use proper footing, since the rock was slippery.
If you could passed this rock will lead you to Inutan Rock— surprise! It was this iconic rock that Yabag always shoot photos in social media. It was slippery and one wrong move could slip you down to the rocky sea.
In the latter case, Yabag provided a rope to guide you to cross that rock and scramble downwards. However, after completing PCT 2, Peyus told us that a local passed them, and they walked as if it were a flat ground. How nimble the locals are!
Lunch came and we took our lunch to Yabag’s friend, a former Manila resident who happened to marry a local and settled here. The couple had a lovely falls behind their house which can also serve as a water source. We bid goodbye to the lovely couple, and we head out to the second campsite. The beach, which before lunchtime were laden with pebbles, now turned into white sand.
Unfortunately for us, the sun blazed so high in the sky that we need to take breaks so as to move. Luckily, there was a rock, which looked like an eagle’s beak, that we could rest so that we could not overheat. We rested for a while and we now bouldering! You foothold is important here because some rocks are precarious and slippery. Miguel told us that when it was high tide, they go overland and hiked there. He, however, warned that that section was pretty long.
We walked for hours to the next camp, until we reached it on till 5:00 in the afternoon. We set up our tents, despite the difficulty in pitching because the beach is full of pebbles! We slept after 11 PM, after drinking with the owner of the hut.
We left the hut at 8 o’clock in the morning, but we took a stop at a local waterfalls to bathe so as to protect ourselves from the scorching sun. Five minutes or so, we were on a ledge like cliff which was slippery, and the waves were strong that it could almost drag you further the in the sea! Fortunately, we passed that dreadful cliff, and we walked on a white sand beach.
The last river crossing were a large river, about stomach deep. When you reach the other side, the hike is over! I reached the other side first! However, while crossing the river, a pebble got inside my shoe, and it made a blister the size of a peso on my foot! Luckily, I was in the Finish Line, while Miguel was attaching it. We waited until the others arrive; and Miguel ordered a kilo of lobster on an itinerant vendor. The seafood in this part of the country is cheap though.
After we took our lunch, we boarded a monster jeep going to Infanta, Quezon proper, after three hours. There, we boarded a bus going to Sta. Mesa; our group arrived at Ortigas at 10 o’clock in the evening.
All in all, this hike is one for the books! It does not disappoint. It has beaches, hills, and boulders. A lot of activities are also there like scrambling, and bouldering! What I like in this type of hike is the socials that accompany the hike, the memories that can carry with you forever. Although the joiners do not know each other, when days past, we talked and understood each others perspectives in life. Truly, I will continue this thru-hike again.
Thank you, Yabag Mountaineering for this wonderful opportunity in experiencing this unique trail.
Manananggol na Namumundok 