Mt. Pigingan Dayhike (Conquering the Hanging Bridge)

Not for the first-time hikers. It’s a warning. I knew it’s going to be a long hike, but I never realized how arduous it’s going to be. Mt. Pigingan is not your ordinary day hike activity. Ask my badly bruised toenails (still oddly purple-ish as of this writing) 😐

I did a lot of research for this hike so I was pretty much prepared for whatever’s ahead of us despite my aching knees and horrible anxiety for the hanging bridge. I purchased my anti-lamig and rain gears to beat the cold December weather of Baguio and Mountain Province. I have a very weak tolerance to cold temperature. Tumatanda na ata! 😂

We left Manila at 10:30 PM via Victory Liner, Cubao Station. After long hours of on and off sleep and handful of bus stopovers, we finally reached Baguio City (Victory Liner terminal) at around 4:30 AM. A private van, which Katie contracted prior to our hike, was already waiting for us outside the terminal to take us to the jump off point/registration area in Sitio Baloloc, Dalupirip. 

It was brutally cold the moment we stepped out of the bus. It was 15 degrees. The striking cold wind gave me chills. And I just realized I failed to put on leg warmer (he-he).  But hey, my fleece tops served me right. It kept me warm in the upper body department. My nice thick leggings just didn’t do the trick. 

Our folks bought lunch packs at the terminal. After such, we headed to Dalupirip which was another two (2) hour road trip. I couldn’t bear looking outside the van because the zigzag road made me feel dizzy. And, kuya van driver’s music playlist gave me a severe LSS coma (ha-ha). Past 6:00 AM, we arrived at the jump-off point. 

Before we started our trek, we had a quick breakfast, a short briefing about the hike and of course group prayer for guidance and safety. Our tour guides, Precious and Sally (only 16!), led our team to get to Mt. Pigingan. 

The first one and a half hour of our hike were pretty easy. We passed by quaint houses, flowing river, concrete roads, beautiful green landscapes, and of course the dreaded hanging bridge. Fine. I have a fear of crossing hanging bridges. It gives me anxiety panic which I really do not understand why or where it stems from. I can handle roller coasters, zip lines, paragliding and all that stuff. But, hanging bridges give me sh*tty feels. 

The good news is…I was able to conquer my fear! It wasn’t that easy. It took a while for me to get on my feet. The first few steps were hard. Extremely hard. And, being in the middle of the bridge was the hardest! My supportive husband was beside me while I was crossing the bridge.  I felt like a terrible human being at that moment (ha-ha) But, yeah. I did it! Woo!

The succeeding hours of our trek were very challenging as most trails were uphill and slanted. But, gorgeous mountain views showed up in those times. There were beautiful pine trees surrounding the area. Along the trail, we met fellow hikers who were going back to the jump-off point. It felt good seeing them. It gave me a sense of assurance that everything's okay on top. 

Junction

We took a break and eat snacks at the junction. There was a pop-up store which sells halo-halo and chips (yay!). Of course, I ordered halo-halo. I badly needed sugar. 

From the junction, we continued our trek to the campsite. My knees were complaining already so I had to stop from time to time. I’ve had episodes of knee pain since I got physically active 3 years ago. I probably wasn’t doing the proper form during workout. Could be arthritis too. 

Campsite

Anyway,  we had our lunch at the campsite. There were several hikers who're also in the area resting. After an hour of lunch+rest, we went on to get to the summit. 

Sadly I wasn’t able to climb the ridge to get to the top of the summit. My knees were in terrible pain and it started shaking. I thought it was risky to proceed with my condition because the trail to the proper summit was very narrow. I decided to stop and conserve my energy so I can handle the descending trails. I just waited for them at the lower ground. 

Summit

Around 2:00 PM, we started to descend. It was agonizing on my part because descending trails are knee-killers. But, my focus was sumptuous dinner in Baguio so I was kindly of really motivated to move despite my aching knees (ha-ha). Well, it worked! I even crossed the hanging bridge by myself though admittedly I was still pretty scared of stepping forward. 

We were back at the jump-off point at around 5:30 PM. We washed up and prepared to go back to Baguio City where we had our dinner. At 10:30 PM, our bus left bound for Manila. 

My Mt. Pigingan day hike experience is the meanest hike I’ve had so far. This activity is usually done in an overnight set up, hence our endurance was immensely challenged. My body was very sore after the climb. I felt like all my muscle groups were paralyzed (ha-ha). But, the climb, to be honest, was really worth it. I really wanted to go back to test my endurance again. 

Itinerary for Mt. Pigingan Dayhike 

Dalupirip, Itogon, Benguet

Difficulty: 5/9

Elevation: 1,350 MASL

No to first-time hikers. No limatiks. There were nik niks (sand flies) in some areas 

Day 0

09:00 Meet up at Cubao

10:30 Departed for Baguio via bus

Day 1

04:00 Arrived Baguio; ride van or jeep to Itogon

06:00 Arrived Brgy. Baloloc, Dalupirip; register and secure guide; breakfast

07:00 Started trek

11:00 Arrived campsite; lunch

12:00 Summit assault

02:00 Descent 

05:30 Arrived at the jump-off; wash up 

07:00 Departed for Baguio 

09:00 Arrived Baguio; dinner

10:30 Outbound Manila

Day 2
03:00 Arrived Manila