Dayhike to Mt. Kapugan in Kiangan, Ifugao

After an early dinner in Banaue, we proceeded to Kiangan, Ifugao, to spend the night there. Its a historical town, being the oldest town in the province. The heart of Ifugao settlement and culture, it used to be the capital of the province, and also known as the surrender site of Gen. Yamashita at the end of World War II.

With sore legs and knees, I still joined the Team Mandirigma on a day hike to Mt. Kapugan, the town's highest point at 1305 MASL. After I bought hot pandesal from a store near Kiangan Youth Hostel where we stayed, 2 tricycles brought us to Mt. Kapugan's jump off point.

Mt. Napulauan to Hapao Rice Terraces

This is a very late post of my hike in Mt. Napulauan last October 2013. Prior to the hike, I only had a practice dayhike 2 weeks before, so I thought I'm in shape. But I was wrong. I'm not prepared enough to keep pace with the rest of the Team Mandirigma, where I was a guest climber. The mountain has this technical description from Pinoy Mountaineer:

MT. NAPULAUAN
Hungduan, Ifugao
Major jump-offs: Poblacion and Brgy. Hapao, Hungduan
LLA: 16°50′N, 121°10′E, 2642 MASL (#15; 1580m gain)
Hours to summit / Days required: 9 hours / 2-3 days
Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 7/9, Trail class 3

Friday night, we rode a night trip bus from Sampaloc (Manila) to Banaue (Ifugao). After breakfast in the town, we bought our supplies for an overnight adventure.