Dean Visits 7: Trekking Mt. Tabayoc, Benguet (Philippines)

Greetings my fellow Steemians! In this travel blog, I will share with you my experience in trekking Mt. Tabayoc.

Mt. Tabayoc is a mountain located in Kabayan, Benguet, and is considered to be the 2nd highest mountain in Luzon. Its peak is around 2,482 meters above sea level (MASL), which is equivalent to around 8,143 feet. Trekking it wasn't easy due to the condition of its trails. Thus, for safety reasons, first-time mountain climbers are usually discouraged to ascend it. On the foot of Mt. Tabayoc, you can find Lake Tabeo, surrounded by grassland and agricultural plots by the locals. The lower part of the mountain itself is a montane rainforest, while its upper parts is made up of montane mossy forest. Its forest is considered a hotspot for biodiversity, so taking any plants and animals is strictly forbidden, unless you're authorized to do so. Here's the trekking experience me and my companions had:

We started our trek around 1pm, when the sun is still bright. As with most rainsforests in the tropics, the forest cover makes it hard for sunlight to peek through, so making your climb when the sunlight is at its peak significantly lessen your safety risk. The start of the trail is generally easy. We passed through a grassland, the grasses became more dense and taller as we pushed forward.

As we went further up, the number of trees began to rise until we reached the lower montane rainforest part of the mountain.

Along the way, we heard many animal sounds, mostly by insects. We were intrigued to hear a unique bird sound, our guides told us it is a local bird species endemic to the mountain. We tried to keep our eyes open, we were hoping to get lucky enough to see it and maybe it could hang around for us to observe it. No such luck. But I was greeted by the fella when he jumped into my hand, maybe it was curious to the color of my gloves?^^

After around an hour of non-stop ascent, we finally reached the upper part of the mountain. This time around, fog wasn't the one that hindered our visibility, but actual clouds! The trees were noticeably smaller and surrounded by moss and plants that are adapted to near constant cold and humid conditions. The trail, needless to say, was more slippery.

When we reached the actual peak, it was still a mossy rainforest, so no views like the ones in Mt. Pulag. You could, instead, try to go the viewing which would take you around 30 minutes more trekking (see my first link below the title). As for us, the weather seemed to turn for the worse, plus we were losing sunlight, so we decided to call it a day and made our descend. There are parts of the trails which have holes as a result of old trees that fell piling up together. Some of the could easily fit a whole human adult body. If you ever try to climb Mt. Tabayoc, pay extra attention to your steps.

After our descend, we had dinner and most of my companions called it a day. I was tired and sleepy too, but I took some time to take photos of the night sky (refer to the last photo in this previous post of mine. I wanted to wake up before dawn and try to get some Milky Way shots. But even my phone's (which I place near my head) alarm wasn't able to wake me up! I slept log a complete log until it was 6am. Oh well, perhaps next time I come back. :)

Have you climbed a mountain lately? Tell me your experience. Or are you perhaps planning of a mountain to climb?

_{!steemitworldmap 16.616791 lat 120.826406 long Trekking Mt. Tabayoc D3SCR}

---

Thank you for visiting! :D