A Jeepney Commute Guide to Mt. Ulap from Baguio

For data recording purposes, you can fill up this form by the barangay local government unit of Ampucao before going to Mt. Ulap.

 

Alright! So, assuming you’ve already done your research about Mt. Ulap, read the Pinoy Mountaineer entry, and saw pictures of the place, you are now in the running towards becoming Mt. Ulap’s next top model.

 

In summary:

—– In Baguio City, ride a jeepney bound for barangay Ampucao, municipality of Itogon. Jeepney signage would usually be “Baguio Plaza Ampucao” or “Baguio Samoyao” (Samoyao is a sitio of Ampucao). The terminal is near Jollibee Magsaysay, Baguio Center Mall, Orion Drug (Figs. 1 – 3), along Lapu-lapu Street and Rajah Soliman Street.

Figs. 1, 2 & 3. Reference points for locating the jeepney terminal to Mt. Ulap.

 

—– Fare is 31 pesos, travel time between 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 

—– Assuming you already talked with the driver to drop you off at the registration area, take note of the following rates (as of March 2018):

> Registration fee: PhP 100 per head
> Local Guide Fee (1 guide: 7 people):
—–> Day hike = PhP 600.00
—–> Overnight Camping = PhP 1,000.00
> Campsite fee (Overnight Camping for group of 10 persons and below): Php 800.00
> Porter fee for senior citizens, disabled, lazy ones, and those with over-packed bags:
—–> Dayhike = PhP 500.00
—–> Overnight Camping = PhP 800.00

 

— Assuming again, that you would take the Sitio Ampucao – Sitio Sta Fe traverse, then you would be hiking through 9 kilometers of uphills, some leveled stretches of terrain, and steep to knee-throbbing downhills.

 

— You would probably take around 5 to 7 hours for the whole hike.

 

— A jeepney would be waiting at sitio Sta. Fe (still a part of barangay Ampucao) to Baguio City. The fare would now be PhP 50.00. Travel time more or less an hour.

 

Ulap!

 

NOTES:

1. The trail is not a trash bin, it’s a trail for refreshing your soul.
2. If on a day hike and assuming (yet again) you are properly hydrated and had a decent meal, I’d say that all you would need is a liter of water and some light snacks. That, aside from garments for sun/rain protection, camera, and cash for more water and food at the latter part of the hike.
3. If on a peak day, a lot of people would be on queue at the Gungal Rocks (a protruding rock formation popularly used as foreground for that IG/FB photograph).
4. Itogon, a 1st class municipality, is one of the 13 municipalities of Benguet province.

Going To Sagada, Philippines (this is not a travel guide by the way)

Power is given through the endowment of knowledge. It is only hoped that such power be used for the betterment of life–for life is where knowledge sprouts.

While doing my thing about Sagada, I have compiled through time some useful reference materials about the place. There are 38 articles/papers so far, discussing various topics about Sagada. If you are interested, you can click this Google Drive link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDy64ydKG9ffi7lWFAdvBcPDy901TTqu/view?usp=sharing) to download the compressed file (WinRAR).

For my ka-iliyan ay i-Sagada, share it with others if needed since not everyone can access the internet easily. As usual, always completely and properly cite the authors if you use their words and ideas in your own body of work. If credit is not given to whom it is due, the ancestors will surely know what do. Inayan ay kanan da.

 

Beyond the Culture of Consumerism

It’s cool to own, to repair, to preserve, and to really love our personal belongings until these become really really unusable.

My two oldest t-shirts were given by my parents. The first one, as you can see below, is a Cebu shirt which my Father gave me 20 years ago! Yes, it was a gift back in 1997 when I still had a crush on *tooot*, played “baril-barilan” with classmates while wearing this white shirt (now not-so-white) with its sleeves almost past my elbows. The second one is a Voltes V (Choudenji Machine Voltes Five) shirt my mother gave me in 2000. This one was really way beyond my body frame as its sleeves were very much past my elbows, but kinda appropriate enough for the hip-hop style of oversized shirts popular back then.

Anyway, happy new year and gong xi fa cai! Time is the most valuable gift you can give. (and sorry for the crappy Photoshop editing). 🙂