Twenty-nineteen (2019) was such a productive year for me, especially in terms of my hiking endeavors. I have climbed the three highest summits of Luzon within a month, hiked my most difficult mountain (yet), finally crossed Ugo off my list, and went to some of the most scenic places here in Luzon. For the year 2020, being the start of the second decade of the millennium, I set my expectations to have more epic adventures. At the start of the year, I went to my favorite portion of the island – the Cordilleras – for my first hike. I was at the southern tip of the mountainous region, on the barren slopes of Mt. Pigingan.
Mt. Pigingan (1,328 MASL) is among the list of mountains opened during the the last decade. Situated at Barangay Dalupirip in Itogon, the mountain almost crosses the borders of Benguet, Pangasinan, and Nueva Vizcaya. Because of it being in the southernmost tip of the region, its elevation pales compared with its neighboring mountains. Moreover, the temperature here is humid, with the heat of the sun more punishing. Nevertheless, the abundance of pine trees would still remind you that you are in Cordillera, and the trail is still a welcome challenge for hikers looking for a more serious hike. Bloggers would classify this as a semi-major hike, with a 4/9 difficulty. Indeed, Mt. Pigingan was a somehow relaxed major hike!
Meeting the group at Centris in Quezon Avenue, our van set course for Baguio City. Of course, the customary stopover at Leeza’s in Sison, Pangasinan happened, arriving at the restaurant around two in the morning. Because I was a solo joiner, I ate alone, with my rice, egg, longganisa, and bulalo soup in front of me. Afterwards, our van ascended towards Baguio City via Kennon Road. I was awake for the most part of the van ride as I haven’t been to Kennon Road for a long time! Arriving in Baguio, we passed by a junction where to our right leads to Mt. Ulap, while to the left goes straight to Tinongndan and Dalupirip. An hour since we took the left road on the junction, we passed by Barangay Tinongdan, our exit point during our Mt. Ugo dayhike last June. Ah, that brought a lot of memories.
Going further south, we made it to Barangay Dalupirip past four in the morning. It was raining when we arrived there, making us nervous with what the trail has in store for us. There, we registered and made our final preparations, and waited for our jeepney ride to take us to the trailhead. Around six in the morning, the jeep arrived, and our group hurriedly climbed aboard.
The road going to the trailhead was a very narrow cemented pathway used by locals. To our left was a high drop, where Agno River snakes together with the road. As the rain stopped and the brightness of the sun illuminating behind the grayish clouds above us, we had our first glimpse of the surrounding mountains. There, we saw greenish slopes, which were apparently part of mountainous complex of Mt. Ugo! Below, Agno River meanders, strewn with beautiful white boulders. After thirty minutes, we stopped over to pick up our guides, a boy and a girl working as on-the-job trainees at a nearby senior high school. Then, before seven in the morning, we arrived at the trailhead, which was at the dried riverbed parts of Agno River.
We started the hike at exactly 06:50 AM. The hike starts at a steel hanging bridge, which crosses to the other side of the river. After negotiating the not-so-scary bridge (because it was steel-reinforced) we made a right turn, where we followed a cemented footpath used by locals. Several houses dotted the left side of the trail, indicating that it was a residential area. To our right was Agno River, with its gushing waters emanating a peaceful vibe – nature’s very own music. The trail then transforms into a very wide footpath, still following Agno River to our right. Despite my somehow slow pace, I was following the lead group and the guide. This first part of the hike, although quite long, was easy with its flat to mildly rolling trail.
Afterwards, the trail becomes a constantly ascending dirt road, which becomes steeper as you cover more distance. As we gained more elevation, we were panting and sweating buckets. The four of us in the lead group marched on, taking turns on who comes first and last. Then, I marched on first, going alone in the trail. As I marched forward, I encountered some landslide portions that fall to a ravine to my left, which I would peek at as I was resting. I also encountered a bulldozer, which would probably be the one responsible for the artificial pathway I was treading on. After minutes of continuous ascent, I stopped and rested after passing by a gate, which afterwards reveals the final water source for the entire hike. Here, I waited for the three in the lead group and munched on some spicy nuts to wake my senses.
Refilling our water bottles, we found out that it was actually just a short minute ascent before arriving at the junction – the halfway point of the hike. It was 08:30 in the morning, more than an hour passed after starting the hike. A sari-sari store was built on the junction area where we rested and bought some drinks and breakfast. Afterwards, we snapped some photos at the junction marker. This marker points to the direction of the different places you can go from there. The trail to Mt. Pigingan was to the right of the maker, manifested by an ascending and narrower rocky trail. On the other hand, to the left of the marker is a road that goes directly to a Sitio near Mt. Ugo. During the orientation, the barangay chief told us that trails for an Ugo-Pigingan traverse exists, and it was only in due time that they would open a longer Pigingan-Ulap trail. Connecting the three Itogon mountains will be an exciting endeavor I am looking forward to!
One-by-one, our companions arrived, signaling that we needed to continue with the hike. The trail after the junction is the final two-hour assault going to the summit. With the sun up now in the sky, we started the hot ascent. The ascending trail is characterized by a pebbly footpath, which snakes from left towards a right turn, then to a final left turn. This final left turn reveals a wide and grassy viewpoint where we saw the meandering Agno River from afar. I was amazed with the distance we just covered in a span of two hours! There, we rested and snapped at a picturesque tree with the far river as a background. Then, we continued the ascent.
From the viewpoint, the trail was actually nonexistent, since we were treading on an almost-barren slope. Because there were so many carved footpaths around the area, the three of us in the lead group made a wrong right turn towards an ~actual~ trail that goes straight to a pine tree-filled path. Fortunately, our guide hurriedly followed us and informed us that we were on the wrong trail. Backtracking, we followed him until exiting again towards the barren slopes, and just continued ascending it. With the heat of the sun more punishing than ever, the three of us were all panting. As we reached the upper portion of the slope, we hurriedly ran towards the first pine tree we saw and sat on its roots.
After resting, we continued the long ascent on Mt. Pigingan’s slopes. Here, the trail was now filled with pine trees and the footpath filled with dried pine needles, making the ground reddish brown. This portion of the trail was reminiscent of Mt. Ulap and Mt. Ugo’s mesmerizing pine forest trails. I was taken aback with the scenery I was treading on. Slowly, we were gaining elevation. The mountains near us were being dwarfed by the mountain we were treading on, revealing new sceneries as we went along.
As we were nearing the campsite, we saw our first glimpse of Mt. Pigingan’s boulder summit. It looked very far from where we were, and it was quickly obscured by pine trees, but it was also an indication that we were near the highest part. After several minutes of walking on a flat trail, we descended on the campsite area, which was a court-wide fenced ground with pine trees surrounding it. We passed by that area and made an ascent towards the other side of the campsite, and rested on a root-filled slope dotted with pine trees. There, we had our lunch. It was ten in the morning, an hour after starting the hike from the junction.
By 10:30, the four of us in the lead group went ahead to negotiate the final thirty-minute assault going to the summit. The trail was characterized by a short ascending portion where the trail is surrounded by ferns. Then, we reentered the pine forest surrounding, where to our left is a dangerous drop. Just a few minutes of hiking, the trail transforms into a ridge-line where both to our left and right is a high drop. To our front is the boulder summit of Pigingan. We savored the view before scrambling up the boulder. I spotted a dam from afar to my right, being obscured by the very high pine trees of the mountain slopes. To my left, layers and layers of dwarfed mountain ridges can be seen, usually brown and barren, with only a few shades of green from the pine trees. Mt. Ugo to our far left, which was on the direction of the junction, was covered with thick clouds. Still, I could see the lower reaches of its slopes.
As two of my companions were still relishing the view, I scaled the giant boulder summit together with the guide. This slanted boulder protrudes between the ridges of the mountain, making it a very dangerous but exciting place to climb. The trail on the boulder was so narrow that one could easily fall on both sides of the mountain. Fortunately, railings were installed for safety and support for the very steep assault. Just after a few minutes, I reached the highest tip of the rock. It was 11:00 in the morning – I was the first summiter for that day!
The summit can accommodate maybe five to ten persons. What baffled me was that there was a knife edge past the summit, which leads to a higher portion of the mountain nearby. I reckon it is the official summit of the mountain, but the local government only lets hikers on the slanted rock. Still, it was an achievement being able to stand at its tip. The views were almost the same.
When two of my companions in the lead group arrived, I descended and rested on the ridge below the summit. There, the last member of the lead group arrived and ascended. I snapped some pictures while resting. By 11:30, the four of us descended, passing by other hikers going up. Upon reaching the campsite, we decided not to wait for the middle group and hurriedly descend until the junction. With the three of them speeding, I was mostly alone on my way down. When I reached the barren portion of the slopes, I got confused with the trail and made my way up once again, despite the heat of the sun. Luckily, a local guide from above signaled that I just go down then turn right. Following his instructions, I went down. While descending I had a view of a mountain slope in front of me. This mountain had an ascending road snaking on its slopes, which might be the path that goes to directly to Mt. Ugo.
Then, I reached the area with the picturesque backdrop of Agno River. From here, I felt assured that I was on the right trail. It was only a few minutes before reaching the junction. Arriving there by 12:30, I found my companions in the lead team there, waiting for me. I laid myself down from the very hot descent I just did. After resting, we decided we’d just wait for the rest of the group at the trailhead.
At one in the afternoon, we braved the exposed dirt road. Without any rest or stopovers, the descent proved to be easy. Just after forty-five minutes, we were already at the base of the mountain, and we were already by the side of Agno River once again. Since we knew the rest of the group was still faraway, we rested and slept at a kubo five minutes away from the hanging bridge. We passed the time there. It was such a boring one hour that I was staring at the trail, waiting if the rest of the group would arrive. We just decided to sleep amidst the heat of the day.
An hour and a half has passed and there were still no signs of our companions. At 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided to just wait at the trailhead. We crossed the hanging bridge where on the other side are several jeeps waiting for their guests to arrive. As we were the first ones there and having no signs from our companions, we just sat down near a sari-sari store. There, I ordered some pancit canton and a softdrink to quench my hunger and thirst. Boring minutes have passed, the first of our companions finally arrived, and eventually, the whole team was complete. By four, we climbed aboard the top load of the jeepney and made our way back to Barangay Dalupirip. We retraced the narrow road. The views couldn’t get any more beautiful. This was my second time riding the top load of a jeep since our Mt. Purgatory hike in 2018!
Once we arrived in Barangay Dalupirip, we immediately cleansed ourselves and ate our early dinner so that we wouldn’t need to eat along the way. During that time, news broke out that Taal Volcano erupted. It became the talk of the ride as we went home. We even stopped by Angeles City in Pampanga to buy N95 masks. Around eleven, I was dropped off in Malolos City. There, I had a celebratory late dinner alone in McDo, and went home afterwards.
Mt. Pigingan was such an enjoyable and easy major hike. While I was writing this, I felt happy recounting the events of that day, as I truly appreciated the mountain. It was a solid first hike for 2020. I cannot wait for what’s in store for the rest of the year! (Cue in: I didn’t have much hike for the year 2020 because of the pandemic. Huhu!)
Itinerary
Day 0
11:00PM Meet-up at McDo Centris
Day 1
03:00AM Leeza’s, early breakfast
04:30AM Brgy. Dalupirip, make final preparations
06:00AM Jeepney ride going to hanging bridge
06:50AM Hanging bridge, start hike
08:20AM Junction, rest
08:45AM Continue assault to summit
10:00AM Campsite, lunch
10:30AM Resume hike to summit
11:00AM Summit, take pictures
11:30AM Descent
12:30PM Junction, continue descent
02:00PM End of hike
04:00PM Return to Dalupirip
05:00PM Ligo and early dinner
06:00PM ETD from Dalupirip
11:00PM Home
Highland Reflections: Kaisipan, Karanasan, at Kamalayan 