We can never defeat bad weather but we can go around it…… or just go back!!!
January 9, 2014 – Travel Day
We left Manila around 10PM via private transport. T’was pretty exciting since I will be doing another long drive to Banaue. With 6 passengers on-board my Strada, we had to maximize available space, so Sir Albert and Sir Rheign were on the pickup bed with our gear. Riding shotgun was Sir Jann while Mam Joanne, Mam Sherry and Sir Jayson were at the back seat.
January 10, 2014 – Climb Day
We reached Banaue around 5:30AM. The weather was unfavorable and it made me somewhat sad. We did last minute gear checks and had our breakfast in Las Vegas Inn and Restaurant. It would take another hour for our jeep to arrive, enough time for us to freshen up a bit and relax. The trip to Barlig took another 3 hours. In Barlig we did the necessary arrangements and prepared for the climb ahead. We were still worried with the weather although the sun shone from time to time. We ate our lunch and relaxed a bit while waiting for our guide and porter. We started our ascent to Mount Amuyao summit around 2PM, a bit late of our planned IT.
This was my third time to climb Mount Amuyao. Second time for Sir Albert and Sir Jann. First time for Sir Jayson, Sir Rheign, Mam Joanne and Mam Sherry. The trail was pretty familiar for us who were returning climbers and we knew where to place ourselves to avoid the limatiks hehehe. The climb was great with no sun to burn us. There were rain showers from time to time which gave us chilling sensations. We reached the waiting shed around 5PM and we rested for a while. We were determined to reach the summit of Mount Amuyao that day.
The climb to the summit was very very cold and with the wind blowing hard, with the rain shower coupled with the very steep trail, it was an unpleasant experience. We reached the summit around 7PM and boy it was chilling cold!!!! We settled to stay in the bunker house so that we can dry ourselves properly and avoid the chilling wind outside. It was a long night. Cold and chilling (it was 11 degrees centigrade inside the bunker) we went to sleep after a hearty dinner. I was in deep thought if we can do the traverse safely the next day ……..
January 11, 2014 – Decisions, decisions, decisions ……..
I woke up around 5:30AM (well I woke up from time to time during the night to check the team), to assess the weather and I was disappointed. It was still raining and the wind was still blowing hard. The temperature was 6.1 degrees centigrade outside!!!! I told myself that I would cancel the traverse if the weather does not improve around 8AM. When my companions awoke I discussed with them our options and asked for their vote if we should do the traverse or not. It was really hard to make a decision. I for one would love to complete my third traverse of Mount Amuyao but not to the extent that team safety is neglected. 8AM came and there was still no clearing. The weather did not improve at all. We decided to go back to Barlig and do plan B which was to do a roadtrip from Banaue to Sagada then Baguio,
When we arrived back in Barlig, our guides arranged for our transport back to Banaue. The weather there was fair but we would never know what the weather was if we decided to push for Pat-yay. When we arrived in Banaue in the afternoon, the weather was still unfavorable. I just told myself that “At least we were all at peace with ourselves knowing we were all safe with our decision and knowing that we will enjoy our Plan B :)”  We enjoyed our overnight stay in Banaue although. I opted to sleep early to prepare myself for the drive to Sagada while my companions had their socials in the other room 😉
Thanks to Sir Jann, Sir Albert, Sir Rheign, Sir Jayson, Mam Sherry and Mam Joanne for the fun time. Hope you can do the traverse successfully in the future. God bless!
For more photos click HERE
Thanks for reading 🙂
