Mt. Ulap: Gungal Rock

November 15, 2015

After our annual convention, my friend and I decided to have some adventure since we have a day to spare. And so, that lovely Sunday morning, we took up the road going to Brgy. Ampucao Itogon, Benguet where a budding hiking destination could be found.

Road to Adventure

Note: This is a DIY trip and we were already in Baguio.

As early as 5:00 AM we were already at the jeepney terminal bound to Philex. However, the jeepney does not leave until full and so we were able to leave from Baguio around 7:00 AM.

It was roughly an hour before we reach Brgy. Ampucao. We walk for a bit to the Barangay Hall and luckily when we get there, there was a group of hikers who will go to Mt. Ulap too. We joined them in paying for the dayhike guide fee, from P200/pax (since there were only the two of us in this trip; P400 guide fee), it was down to P50! Truly the more, the merrier...and cheaper!

After registration and final preparation for the climb, off we go with the group. Our guide was Ate Sophia, a local who used to climb this mountain long before it would be opened to the public. She have a lot of stories to tell and even taught us some phrases in their dialects - Ibaloi and Kankana-ey.

On the Way to the Clouds

It sends an extra excitement for me reach the Gungal Rock. I am imagining things like clouds underneath the rock because "Ulap" when translated to English means clouds.

It was a fine day when we started our hike. Pine trees are everywhere and the trail was generally easy. It has views of nearby mountains like the famous Mt. Sto Tomas where ABS-CBN's Forevermore was shoot and even Baguio City could be seen from afar.

The highest peak where I'm pointing at is Mt. Sto Tomas. Nearby is Baguio City.

Time for a panoramic shot!

We're able to pass by stunning rock formations where we took our photos with a very beautiful mountain range at the background.

The earth and its poetry.

We passed by the ridge where display of cairn could be found and from there getting to the Gungal rock would only be few meters walk.

Rock, Rock, Rockin' on Heaven's Door

Upon reaching the famous Gungal rock, there were flocks of mountaineers having their photos taken already so we lined up with them. Extra precaution is necessary when having photos taken at this rock as carelessness might cost you your precious life.

Unfortunately, the clouds were high up above the sky that time. Well atleast we have a very nice clearing.

This reminds me of the Pride Rock. Yeah, I'm a fan of The Lion King.

We did not opt to do a traverse to Sta. Fe since we're not sure how we will get back to Baguio from there, We also didn't make it to the summit of Mt Ulap since the dayhike itinerary for guides could only take us to the rock formation and so we made a promise to hike Mt. Ulap again in 2016 after the annual convention too.

Me and Sir Gilbert t the Gungal Rock.

We've had our fun! And we will definitely come back, Mt. Ulap!