Mt. Ugo via Ambasa trail - Mt. Ugo on another perspective

Similar to my Kibungan Trek, this hike was also taken last year and again because of my busy schedule and the coming of the twins, I was not able to blog this. This will be another photo blog with a few details the I recall from memory. 

This was Gianne's first multi-day hike (3 days). We did not hire any porters.

There is another trail in Mt. Ugo other than the popular Kayapa-Itogon traverse. 
This trail is called the Ambasa trail as the trail starts in sitio Ambasa
The trail is more pristine and is rarely use, proof is that dry leaves cover the trail, which sometimes are also covered in grass.
One famous site seen along the trail is Mt. Marikit. The guide told us the story on how the mountain got its name but I can hardly recall, and yes the mountain is climbable.
Another famous trail mark of the mountain is the "7 steps" which are seven steep slopes and flat ground which looks like seven stair flights for giants. 
West summit of the Mt. Ugu is part of this trail, until our trek I never thought that this peak exists.





Trivia (from the guide):
  - Former name  of Mt. Ugo is Mt. Umugaga which means first to see sunrise ( on all the mountains in the place)
  - Mt. Ugo got its name from the word "Ugo-an" or to slith the throat
  - The summit site of Mt. Ugo is where the head hunter tribe Busul do their throat slitting
  - One of the famous Busul victim was the Spanish Secretary General Juan Cito
  - There was once a tri-partite marker in the summit that points to the direction of Pangasinan, Benguet and Nueva Viscaya. This marker was stolen/broken down as treasure hunters thought gold was buried underneath.

Map of the Mountain Regions. Since these are montainose region, wonder how many regions needs to be discovered.

The traditional KM0 marker photo

She was so happy to be so close to a pine trees. And look how pristine the trail is

Traditional Ibaloi house

This will be our lodge for the night. 

More bridges

Mt. Marikit on the background, and yes it is hikable.

One of the popular "Seven Steps"

Another one of the "Seven Steps"

One of the good place to take a photo. A view not found on the tradtional Kayapa-Itogon traverse.

Our guide Ramsey!

Beautiful flat ground that looks like a park

West Summit view. On plain eyesight Pangasinan can be seen.

On our route to the main summit

Traditional summit head-stand

Summit group photo

Bushfire or Kaingin

Another local Ibaloi house at Lusod where we had our second night stay

  

Return to Mt. Ugo - A Traverse

  This climb is a long overdue entry to my blog. This was also a climb that had been cancelled several times and was almost cancelled permanently. But nevertheless last February, a team of 12 climbers consisting of PALMC members, friends and guides climb Mt. Ugo via the traverse trail.


  Mt. Ugo is considered one of the best mountains in the northern mountain ranges. The mountain is situated in between two municipalites, Itogon Benquet and Kayapa, Nueva Viscaya. Before, to complete the traverse, three days should be alloted. But recently, with proper planning and training it can be done in two (this is what we did). 
  Climbers normally leave in the evening in Manila and then start the trek very early the next day. The start of the trek is very steep but you wont notice much of this due the abundance of pine trees. After around 2 hours of trek you will reach Brgy. Ansipsip, the start of the flat hike. The flat trek continous  for several hours. Carve on the mountain side, this place is what I call 'deja vu" roads because it seems everything is repeating, as if you are already lost.It will become steep again on the final assault to the summit that also doubles as the campsite. We reached the summit after around 9-10 hours of hiking. I guess whats mesmerizing about this mountain is the plentyness of pine trees and the view along the trail where you can see rolling green mountains from afar, plus of course the weather is very cool - as with any northern mountains.  
  We had a good night at the summit. The weather was perfect during our climb. The sky was very clear and we were even able to stargaze for a while. 

Resting at Brgy. Ansipsip

Deja Vu Roads

Deja Vu Roads

Amazing lights

Sunrise

Sea of Clouds?

  









The descent was almost the same as the previous day, steep descent. There was a trail part where we saw Baguio from a distance. There are still a lot of pine trees, the trail was also rolling. We passed by a community, rice fields (sort of rice terraces) and a long foot bridge. After this we were picked-up by our rented jeep all the way to baguio. 
  Did'nt we know that one of our colleague own a house at baguio. We stayed here for the night (after sipping several beers) then leave the next day back to Manila.

If you look closely, Baguio can be seen on the left

A bridge too far

My climb 5 years ago and the current.  The former was just a  traditional

     This climb was specially dedicated/organized to Barry Smith, who after his two years stint in the Philippines went back to his native country. Barry hope you had a good time with us, because we surely did. Till our next climb!