Kibungan Cross Country - Tri-Provincial Traverse

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.

Mt. Balungao - Small but Terrible

As our yearend climb, we decided to traipse up the slopes of Mt. Balungao last December 31. In case you are wondering, Mt. Balungao is located in the town of Balungao in Pangasinan.

Mt. Balungao taken from the winding road heading to the Balungao Hilltop Adventure

Mt. Balungao...taken from the TPLEX...clearly resembling a woman's breast (Susong Dalaga)

We arrived at the Balungao Hilltop Adventure (previously knows as Mt. Balungao Hot and Cold Spring Resort) at about 0730H and were gleefully assisted towards the registration area. After signing waivers, we secured a guide (Joven was the guide assigned to us) and put on our hiking gears.

The trail is located at the back of the hall cum registration area. While Mt. Balungao is just a shade below 400 meters in height, it is known for its incessant assault from base to summit. The good thing is that the trail is established and forested up until the grassland just before the summit. As such, many mountaineers especially those based up north have included Mt. Balungao among their training climbs.

It was 0815H when we started the climb. From the base, we scaled rocks and boulders (maybe a sign of its volcanic past...yes Mt. Balungao is a dormant volcano) and even had to cling on to the roots of trees for support. There are a lot of kakawate trees in this part of the trail. This rocky/bouldery trail shall continue until the upper portions, where you will pass by a bamboo grove (similar to that in Pico de Loro). This will then give way to the grassland, which signifies that you are already very near the summit.