Defying Mt Ugo

Mountain Profile (pinoymountaineer.com)

MT. UGO Traverse (2,150+)

Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet

Jump-off points: Kayapa, N. Vizcaya; Brgy. Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet

LLA: 16.31916°N, 120.80166°E, 2130 MASL

Days required / hours to summit: 2-3 days, 9-10 hrs

Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 5/9, Trail Class 1-3

Features: Pine forests, highland villages, views of Cordillera peaks

“Akala ko ba, hindi ka na umaakyat ng bundok?!”, my family and friends asked me when they learned about me climbing again. I don’t know why my friend invited me and why I said yes automatically. Well undeniably, I am in love with the high altitude. Just imagining touching and walking through the clouds literally is one of the most amazing feeling I ever had. And it is a pleasure to be given this chance again.

Registration at Kapaya Police Station

We started our trek at Kapaya, N. Vizcaya. The first half of the trail is a sweet assault. Sweet, because it will be few steps of some 45degrees incline and will be flat for a few steps and then inclined again. The trail is generally open, with few trees, grass, and bushes on the side. The ground is soil with few rocks. It can be slippery when it will rain, and speaking of the weather, rain showers occasionally throughout the day.

Day1 - 1^st half of the trail

After almost 4 hours, we stopped at Indupit Village to have our lunch. Here there is a community and you may buy Gatorade or Soda to refill your stock.

The next part of the trek is a bonus round. The ground is flat and you will see beautiful scenery of the near-by mountains. Though this day is foggy, and one must be patient to wait for the beauty to show up.

Day1 – 2nd half of the trail

One good thing about this hike is we do not need to carry tents. We stayed for a night in an elementary school in Domolpos Village. It is very convenient as there is a water source and a bathroom. We donated school supplies for this overnight stay.

Early on the next day is another challenge. The weather become colder as we ascent to the peak. There is nothing much about the peak but a signage that this is the Mt Ugo Peak. It said that this peak is where a plane crash happened in 1987 that killed 50 people.

Mt Ugo Peak at 2,150 MASL

The beauty of Mt Ugo is in its trail. Truly after the peak is where the feeling of being in a different place is experienced. Beautiful pine trees are everywhere in a sweet cold temperature.

But this descent took another 10 hours (very relaxed pace) to conquer and it consist of mud slides which is one dangerous but fun part of being a mountaineer. Just have to pay a lot of extra care in climbing a mountain. And most of all is to respect it by all means because you’ll never know what to face in the actual trek. The mountain can be either be your best friend or your worst nightmare.

Photo credits: Ralph, Nino, Joel, and Paolo