Gotad ad Kiangan 2015

Gotad ad Kiangan is a 4-day festivity held every year in Kiangan, Ifugao to showcase local culture and arts. I missed the main events on May 1st, however, I am delighted to have attended the 3rd day of festivity which features ethnic games participated by the different barangays (suburbs) of Kiangan. The ethnic games, in older days, were held to decide matters which involves mostly land disputes.

(Participants of the Oggob game getting ready.)

First ethnic game held was the Oggob. Participants are males dressed in their traditional clothing called wano. Object of the game is to hit opponent's upper back area with a plant stalk. Basically it is like playing darts and your dartboard is your opponent's back.

(Oggob participant about ready to throw plant stalk dart to opponent's back.)

(The opponent missed hitting the upper back)

I was quite lucky enough to have a very good spot to shoot the above events. The mayor of Kiangan who is probably the most welcoming mayor in the Philippines let us use the veranda of his office to snap some photos.

(With Mayor Joselito Guyguyon.)

Second ethnic game played was the Hanggul or arm wrestling.

Third ethnic game played was Bultung or wresting. Object of the game is to throw opponent on it's back.

Third ethnic game was Ginnuyud or Tug of War.

(Ginnuyud participants.)

(MY) Essential Things to Pack for Mt. Pulag Climb

A list of things I brought with me on our first Mt. Pulag Climb.

1. Three Season Tent
Lightweight three season quality tent would be ideal to bring to Mt. Pulag for shelter. Taped fly and floor seams is a must. Though winds could be strong at night time, guy lines on tents are still not necessary.

(Kelty Salida 2: 2 person tent but can fit 3 person nicely.)

2. Backpack
I packed light and only needed a 34L backpack with me. Rain cover is a must and line the inside of your backpack with tall trash bags for added protection. Tie bulky items outside your pack with bungee cords.

DSLR bag attached with a bungee cord on top of my Deuter Futura backpack.

3. Appropriate Clothing
For the ascent, I wore workout clothing. Sweat-wicking polyester cloths (think Adidas Climalite, Nike Dri Fit) is the best apparel to wear as they tend to "cool" you down as you sweat. On my case, however, I wore a cotton shirt on my ascent as I am more comfortable wearing one size larger shirts on warm days. For the ladies, forget wearing a regular bra, wear polyester-spandex yoga bras or yoga padded tank tops with mesh vents.

For the summit ascent, I layered up, thermal long sleeves, fleece mid layer long sleeves, then a light winter jacket. I wore lightweight hiking pants over my workout pants. At midpoint during the ascent, I had to take off my light winter jacket as I was burning up. However, at the summit, my jacket kept me comfortably warm from cold winds.

Beanies, gloves, and wool socks are a must too.

4. Footwear
A quality hiking shoe is essential in hiking as you heavily rely on your feet to bring you to your destination. I chose a waterproof and lightweight hiking boots with supportive mid cut as I am an underpronator and tend to twist my ankles.

5. Food
We packed light on food. We enjoyed Mountain House freeze dried foods. It is very easy to prepare. A pack feeds two. Their new Pro-Pak packaging creates less bulk for packing. We particularly enjoyed the Mountain House Beef Stew and Mountain House Chicken & Rice. For trail foods, we did have some granola bars, peanut butter and bread.

6. Water
I filled my 2L bladder hydration bag with just 1.5L of water. Take a sip, don't gulp, on your hike. Our guide fetched us plenty of spring water near the camp site for cooking. None of us got sick from drinking the spring water directly from the source.

7. Cookset
For our group, two Esbit 3-piece lightweight cookset sufficed. Boiling 16 oz of cold spring water took less than 10 minutes utilizing one hexamine fuel tablet.

8. Sleeping Bag
A lightweight sleeping bag with rating of 15'C kept me warm all night at Pulag.

(Mylar sheets under yoga mat.)

9. Sleeping Mat
I'm not making a career in mountaineering so I didn't bother on investing on backpacking sleeping mats or air pads. Instead, I bought me a cheap closed cell foam yoga mat and did just fine for me but if you have back problems or if you can't absolutely sleep on a hard surface, do yourself a favor and get a quality sleeping mat.

10. Emergency Mylar Blankets
I've brought with me 84" x 52" mylar blankets to line the inside floor of my tent. I think it did help with insulation. I didn't feel the coldness of the ground sleeping over a layer of yoga mat, mylar sheet, nylon tent floor, and tent footprint.

11. Sunblock

12. Trekking Pole
Again, I'm not making a career climbing mountains so I bought me an inexpensive trekking pole set with cork handles. Cork does a good job keeping your grip when your hands get sweaty. The trekking pole I bought came as a pair but I only used one pole with my dominant hand.

13. Camera
The best camera to bring is the on e you have with you. I brought with me my Canon 60D with 18mm-135mm lens. Bring extra batteries for your cam if you plan on shooting long exposure shots.

14. Emergency Kit
Great to have emergency kit when you need them. I packed moleskin for blisters, triple antibiotic, non sterile gloves, gauze, medical tape, ace wrap, few yards of duck tape, swiss knife, etc. Ended up using the duck tape and ace wrap to mend my sis' backpack.

15. Headlamp/ Flashlight
A 110 lumen headlamp would be sufficient on your early morning ascent to the summit, working at your camp, going to the bathroom. I packed with me a 1000 lumen flashlight which I use primarily since I don't see very well in the dark.

16. Medications/ OTC meds
Aside from your prescription meds, bring some OTC antidiarrhea, anti-inflammatory, antihistamine meds just in case.

17. Toiletries
Baby wipes are excellent for hygiene needs and as a facial wipe (If it's good enough for baby's bottom, it's good enough for the face). Bring less than travel size pack amount of face moisturizer, body lotion, deodorant, and mouth wash.

18. Your wallet, ID for DENR registration, cash to pay for your fees and tips for your guide and porter, pen & small journal, cell phone.

20. Trash bags to pack your trash with you.

Our First Mt. Pulag Climb & Itnerary

We are a fairly young group of 7 attempting to climb Mt. Pulag for the first time except for one person in our group. We initially hired a van to bring us to the mountain but the recent rain and road widening has made the road muddy and slick prompting our driver to take us in his 4wd vehicle. We left Baguio City @ 0530.

(Our group getting ready to go.)

(Heading to Pulag via Ambuklao Rd.)

(View of Ambuklao Lake from the road.)

@0700, after two hours from Baguio, we stopped by at Sitio Jang Jang for breakfast. Jang Jang eatery has a simple suspension foot bridge nearby if you want to experience walking on such bridge.

(Local dog crossing the simple suspension bridge.)

@0800, we reached DENR office where every climber must watch a 30 minute video about Mt. Pulag. Registration fees are to be paid in here too. I believe we paid PhP 1700 total fees for our group of seven hikers.

(Current road widening going up to Ranger Station.)

@1015, we are at the Ranger Station which is the start of the climb. A guide is compulsory. Guide fee is PhP 120 per person. Porters are also readily available must you need one. Porter's fee is PhP 600 for 15 kg weight max.

(Our porter Theresa with the strength of an ox!)

(Group stopping for Lea's camera.)

@1320, we reached Camp 1 which is shaded resting area. We took 15 minute break and snack after a get a move on-or-turn back now 45 degree climb which our guide said is a short cut road.

(Rey's shot of Mt. Pulag view from camp 1 trail.)

@1430, we finally have reached Camp 2 or the camping ground. We pitched our tents immediately as the skies don't look too good. Our guide and porter even helped with pitching our tents. Apparently, we were first group to reach the camping ground and we picked the best spots.

(Kelty Salida 2 tent. A+ tent. Stayed dry amidst rain. No condensation)

(Rey's Brown Trekker tent. Ample vestibule area. Condensation could be an issue.)

(Our nice guide Robert voluntarily made this simple tent for our kitchen area using his own tarp & materials.)

(Our group camp. All tents stayed put against rain & strong howling winds all night.)

(View of the camping ground from a higher ground.)

(Our guide's tent made it possible to use our Esbit cookset to prepare our Mountain House freeze dried foods.)

In the afternoon, it rained on and off and we are very thankful of the makeshift tent our guide has made for us. Our guide came and checked with us in the afternoon and showed us how to tie an adjustable guy line knot.

We slept early to have enough rest to climb the summit in the morning. Though we climbed in a summer month, the cold can wake you up at night especially if you are not wearing wool socks and gloves in your sleep.

@0400, we started our ascent to the summit and reached the summit after 55 minutes. Though we didn't witness the sea of clouds phenomena, the skies were clear and the sunrise was just mesmerizing.

(The whole group.)

@0830, we descended from the summit to the camping ground. We immediately un-pitched our tents, had quick breakfast, and started going down the mountain.

("Lonely Tree" per brother Rey.)

(Lea stopping by for a cold natural spring water drink.)

@0930, we rested at Camp 1 area. We pretty much caught up with everybody who descended earlier than us.

(Camp 1: Rest Area)

@1030, we are at the Ranger Station. We had snacks in one of the stores while waiting for our ride to arrive.

(Store owner's dog.)

@0200, we are at the DENR office for log out and of course to purchase souvenir items. The shirts they sell are fairly priced at Php 180.

@0400, we are home sweet home at Baguio City.