Birthday Hike to Mt. Amuyao via Barlig-Barlig

Hiking has been one of my favorite things to do on weekends. And because my birthday fell on a weekend, I felt like celebrating on the mountains. Luckily, my friends had a scheduled hike to Mt. Amuyao on that weekend.

For this hike, we used the Barlig-Barlig route but I have also experienced the Batad-Barlig route. For more details on the latter, click my blog post here.

Mountain Stats

Elevation: 2,702+ MASL

Location: Barlig, Mountain Province

Trek to Summit: 5-7 hours

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Below is a detailed breakdown of our expenses:

VEHICLE	FROM	TO	FARE	TOTAL PER PERSON (12 pax)	ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME
Rented Van	Shaw Boulevard	Barlig, Mountain Province	Php 17,000	Php 1,417	10 hours
Barlig, Mt. Province	Manila	12 hours
TOTAL	Php  1,417	22 hours

Other Expenses

DESCRIPTION	AMOUNT	TOTAL PER PERSON (12pax)
Guide Fee (1:5, per day = Php1,000)	Php 2,000	Php 167
Registration (Tourism @ P25, Barangay @ P50)	Php 900	Php 75
Bunker House (Mt. Amuyao Summit)	Free	Free (first come, first serve)
Food and other groceries	Php 1,912	Php 160
TOTAL		Php 402

SAFE BUDGET: P3,000

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Day 1: Ascending via Barlig

We arrived in Banaue at around 8:30AM. This is where we ate breakfast and bought the rest of the supplies that we needed. It took us about another hour before arriving at Barlig Municipal Hall where we registered and met our guides: kuya Nasser and kuya Ralph

I had an idea of Barlig’s trail so I knew it was not going to be an easy ascent because of the tremendous number of stairs we had to pass. Nonetheless, I was also looking forward to the rice terraces along the trail because I remember it to be very picturesque.

We officially started our trek at around 11:50AM and it was a challenge because of the open trail and the heat of the sun. I literally had to stop just a few minutes after we started because I suddenly felt dizzy.

Barlig; though easier than Batad, is still quite a challenge because of the continuous assaults and the endless number of stairs. I decided to be part of the sweeper team because I was not feeling exactly well during this trek and also because I wanted to take my time along the trail. Meanwhile, we asked our trail runner friends to be in the lead pack so they can, hopefully, get us a good space in the bunker house at the summit.

Apart from the open trail, the Barlig route also has several forests which we had to pass.

We arrived at the last waiting shed at around 4:00PM. From that point on, assaults would be steeper and more difficult. During our break here, I also decided to wear another layer because I knew that it will be cold soon.

We arrived at the first and last water source around 6:00PM where we stayed for a while because of the minimal flow of water. The summit is not too far from this point and we just had to trek about 30 minutes more to get there.

Luckily, our companions were able to get a good spot at the bunker house so we were able to crash well for the night

I almost forgot that it was my birthday that day because of exhaustion but I immediately felt it when my friends surprised me with a homemade banana cake with a text that read “Camae HB” (they ran out of that icing thing to complete the D lol. Effort is very much appreciated nonetheless!)

The weather was also good that night so we were able to see a lot of stars, sea of clouds and the bright, yellow moon which prompted us to take a lot of night photos.

Day 2: Descending via Barlig

We woke up the following morning to a beautiful sunrise. The morning was not as cold as the first time I was there but the sunrise was just as beautiful.

After watching the sunrise and taking enough photos, we went back to the bunker house to eat our breakfast before packing up for our descent. There were only about two groups at that time and we were the last to go down since we still took our time taking photos.

I was looking forward to the descent because with all the assaults we did the previous day, it was just going to be a quick run down…until, of course, the flight of stairs in the village.

We made a quick stop to the rice paddies because one of our friends brought his drone with him. Because we had plenty of time in our hands, we shot several scenes along this area.

Even though we were already at the village, we knew we still had to push our legs and wobbling knees to climb the final flight of stairs back to the jump off. In order to distract myself, I decided to count the steps we took just to give a quantitative description of the severity of this last part of the hike.

387 steps.

Of course the 387 steps are only for the final flight of stairs to the jump off (not including the other stairs we had to pass along the village).

And finally, when we reached the jump-off, we went to the nearby canteen to eat our lunch and wash up. Afterwards, we departed to buy fruits and vegetables at a nearby market before heading to Nueva Vizcaya to eat dinner and finally back to Manila.

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Thank you so much to #SOMO for another fun hike!

JL and Yhang for securing our bunker house space and to JL for returning to help us with our things. To Yhang for the good company and stories also!

Jaze and Nate for helping with dinner and breakfast. Nate for lending me the “hot compress” and for the funny jokes the entire time. Jaze for sharing funny stories also.

Rayford for organizing the entire hike and for being my trail buddy from start to finish.

Jervine for the superb photos and for buying and giving me the medicine I needed at the onset of the trek.

Shine and Marco for the good company. Marco for the video and the night photos and Shine for being our trail buddy during the ascend

John for documenting the entire hike through the many photos and for being genuinely nice all throughout trip.

Maylene for being my bunker bed buddy and for the trail food that you shared with us.

EJ for the yummy banana bread! It was good to finally meet you.

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Thank you to Marco for another great video of our hike. Kindly watch in HD:

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Itinerary

Day 0

11:30PM – ETD Manila to Banaue

Day 1

9:00AM – ETA Banaue. Breakfast

11:00AM – Arrival at Barlig Jump-Off. Repack and do final preparations.

11:50AM – Start trek

6:30PM – ETA Summit. Socials and rest for the night.

Day 2

5:30AM – Call time for sunrise

8:30AM – Break camp

9:00AM – Start descent

1:15AM – Back at the jump off

5:00PM – Leave for Manila

3:00AM – ETA Manila

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Things to Bring

Clothes

• Jackets (fleece, thermal, windstopper)
• Bonnet/Head Wear
• Gloves
• Extra socks
• Scarf
• Layers and change of clothes
• Raincoat/Poncho
• Emergency Blanket
• Slippers

Toiletries

• Shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste
• Tissue, wet wipes
• Deodorant

Essentials

• Alcohol
• Sun block
• Plastic bags (for trash, dirty clothes, gadgets and to be used as mats)
• Medicine (Paracetamol, Loperamide, Ibuprofen, Loratidine, Phenylpropanolamine HCl/decongestants, etc.)
• Powerbank
• Trail Food (biscuits, chips, candies, chocolates, etc)
• Water (at least 3L)
• Lunch, dinner and breakfast food (talk to your group about the arrangement)
• Money
• Bag Rain Cover
• Flashlight
• Baby Oil
• Salt (to prevent muscle cramps/spasms)

Miscellaneous

• Trekking Pole
• Cookset
• Stove
• Butane
• Tent
• Earth Pad
• Camera
• Monopod
• Mess Kit (Plate, Spoon, Fork, Cup)

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Happy to have celebrated my birthday on the mountains with good company. I never thought I would come back to Mt. Amuyao but I am glad I did.

This year, I hope to be able to go back to hiking and traveling.

Tara, akyat!