On Independence

Bakun is a relatively small poblacion in Benguet, and, like many of the towns in that part of the county, is quaint, quiet, and quite wonderful. (I like alliterations, so sue me.)

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On June 12-14, a group of acquaintances-turned-friends and I decided to climb three mountains dubbed as the Bakun Trio, famously called as such because of their relatively close proximity to the poblacion, each of them having the same jump-off point — the municipal hall. For three days, we climbed three (imposing but nevertheless beautiful) mountains, Mts. Kabunian (1,840 MASL), Tenglawan (1,940 MASL), and Lobo (2,048 MASL).

Mt. Tenglawan — We called this the Hobbit Territory, mostly because there were mounds of earth, but now that I think about it, it could have easily been the trolls in the Frozen movie.

Atop Mt. Lobo (which was like Maculot and Gulugod-Baboy, multiplied by 10, combined)

Mt. Kabunian is a moderately hard trek, mostly because we started the trek almost immediately after we got down the jeep and got our bearings together. It features steep ascents (similar to Akiki in Pulag), rocky paths, and, when the weather is perfect, a splendid view of the surrounding mountains.

It rained during our descent (it also rained during the second day), but hey, rainbows are always a great sight.

Mt. Tenglawan, easily my favourite among the three mountains, is also the hardest. Not in terms of technicality, but in terms of length. Much of Tenglawan reminded me of Tapulao, with its exposure, distance, and the many flora and fauna that we found near the summit). Although it was my longest hike (dayhike and overnight included) to date (and I thought Tapulao was long!), it still – I’d like to believe – is one of my most favourite hikes. There’s really nothing like walking along a ridge, with a view of waterfalls to your right, and a hundred other mountains to your left. Plus, I don’t really like mossy forests in general, but this one made me feel like I was in an Amazon jungle. If I knew what that felt, I mean.

Mt. Lobo was the easiest, according the the guides, an assertion which we rather took a bit too light-heartedly. It was the fastest, yes, but only because it featured lengthy assaults. We started trek at 7 am, and when we weren’t even halfway yet at a little past 8, our team leader looked at us and said, in a rather demanding fashion (sorry, Jeff), that if we did not arrive at the peak by 10, we would begin our descent. Reichelle, our tail, asked the guide how long it would normally take for us to reach the summit considering where we were, and the guide said, after a short pause, “2 hours.” By some stroke of luck (or perhaps the will that only comes with wanting to finish strong), we reached the summit at 9:35. The view at the top, though, was well worth it. 360 degrees of clearing (the first time we weren’t surrounded by fog the entire weekend) never felt better.