My exhilarating adventure in Mt. Ulap (Jonah's Travel Memoir No. 2)

Hi guys! This is me again, Jonahlyn, and today, I will share with you my exhilarating adventure in Mt. Ulap.

_{( Mt. Ulap, Itogon, Benguet)}

Mt. Ulap is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the Cordillera Region, which is located in Itogon, Benguet. It offers a spectacular view of the Cordillera Mountain Range and the renowned Sea of Clouds hence its namesake.

My friends invited me to hike in Mt. Ulap last December 2019, for us to witness its famous Sea of Clouds. Because I’m a fan of mountaineering, I decided to join them on this journey without hesitation. In the days prior to our hike, I exercise by walking a lot in order to increase my stamina. (Disclaimer : It didn’t help at all 😂).

_{( With my friends, taken during the beginning of our hike)}

We arrived at Benguet at around 5:00 am, it was really cold and we felt excited to start this hike, we bought a stick which helped us to traverse the trail conveniently, some snacks and most importantly, water to rehydrate your body during the duration of the hike.

_{( The start of the journey 😄)}

Before we embark on our hike, the tour guides oriented us and enumerate the guidelines and safety measures which we must abide during this activity.

We started the trail relatively smooth, with plenty of picture taking on selected beautiful spots along the way. As we progress on the trail, the exquisite landscape of the mountain range becomes more and more visible to our naked eyes and we can't help but to feel amazed by it.

_{( Some photos taken during our hike to Mt. Ulap)}

We enjoyed the view we saw as we continue on with the trail and it helped me not to feel tiresome for the first hours of trekking, however, after 3 to 4 hours of traversing through the mountains, we started to feel the fatigue (joint pains, body pains and a lot more 😅), it was really exhausting and the weather that day was sunny that the heat adds to the challenges we have to overcome. We were taking some breaks to wait for other hikers who are already beat up and needed longer breaks.

_{( This picture was taken during one of those breaks, my 'sakit binti pose' 😂)}

_{( Recharging our energy after hours of walking 😂)}

We reached the 1st peak (Ambanaw Paoay) at around 9:30 AM and together with my friends and other hikers, we thought that it will be much easier to hike from that point on, but it’s not what we expected 🤣. After a much intense trekking through the trail, we reached Mt. Ulap summit at around 12:30 PM. (Congrats to us hahaha).

_{(Ambanaw Paoay , 1st Peak)}

_{(Mt. Ulap Summit)}

_{(With other hikers at Ambanaw Paoay, 1st peak)}

After some picture taking on the summit, we started to descend and eat lunch in what they called “7 eleven” located along the trail. The trail going down the mountain covered a much shorter distance compared to the trial going up, but the slopes are quite steep that we need to check first the path ahead of us before continuing on the trek to prevent any accidents. It took us about 4 hours to reach the foot of the mountain and the waiting area where we can wash and clean up ourselves. We arrived there at around 5:00 in the afternoon.

After a whole day of hiking, I was really tired, but all of my fatigue was taken away after I realize that this kind of adventure is awesome in so many ways I can't explain. At the end of that day we cannot contain the happiness that we felt in conquering the summit of this mountain. I am really glad I decided to join and experience this exhilarating adventure. For those who wanted to go on a hike on this mountain someday, I suggest you must be physically and mentally prepared before going up the summit. The walking exercise I did before the hike wasn’t enough 😂. You really need to prepare your stamina (also your head, shoulders, knees and toes) for the long walks going up and the challenging way down. But I believe you can do it, though if you're a beginner like me, you must be aware of the consequences such as body pains for the next few days hahaha. Also don't forget to bring water to quench your thirst and some foods to bring back your energy (you never know what time you will reach the next store or food stall hahaha).

Here are some of my favorites photos during the hike 😃:

_{('Pagod na ko' pose taken during our short break)}

_{(Posing vs. Stolen shots, sometimes I prefer the candid stolen shots over the other photos 😄)}

_{(Rock formations along the trail)}

If you've also summited this picturesque mountain before, I'll be glad to hear your own experiences as well. :) It was my 2nd hike experience and It ended up great!

That’s it for this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you for the support and see you in my next blogs!