Kibungan Cross Country Traverse also known as "KXC", (though really not a cross country hike) is a hike starting from the town of Kibungan in Benguet, descending to the town of Licungan / Sugpon in the province of Ilocos Sur, and finally making that final push to the municipality of Santol, La Union. In this regard, KXC is also popularly referred to as "tri-provincial traverse".
On to Kibungan, Benguet
With a call time of 2200H, members of our group began to trickle in at the McDonald's EDSA corner Quezon Avenue (also in the corner of Panay Avenue) as early as 2130H. While I live relatively near the area (maybe the nearest among all us hikers), I was the last one to arrive at 2215H (sorry guys, the usual traffic problems). After stashing our gears at the back of the van and brief moments of chit-chat, we eventually left for Baguio City at 2245H.
We had brief stop overs at the PTT Gas Station in the SCTEX, as well as at the Shell Gas Station in Rosario La Union (just before the Kennon Road), for "jingle" breaks, buy additional provisions, and more importantly, for our driver to be able to unwind and have some rest. Passing through the Kennon Road, we arrived at the City of Pines at around 0345H. We then immediately went to the public market to do some much needed marketing, which took us about an hour to finish. At 0500H, we continued towards La Trinidad en route to Kibungan.
From Baguio City, Kibungan is a 2 to 3-hour drive on an initially descending terrain through the Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun Road, until the ascend towards Kibungan town proper. We initially traversed the Halsema Highway and passed through the La Trinidad Valley until we ultimately reached the junction leading to the town of Kapangan. The roads are well paved, albeit, with brief rough portions but still, even sedans (in other words, vans can easily navigate the roads) can make their way until Kibungan.
