Baguio City: Camp John Hay's Yellow Trail
June 12, 2015
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| a distant view from the trail |
An
Independence Day adventure to Baguio City, the Summer Capital of the
Philippines, due to its topographical location one finds best for hiking,
trekking and walking as well. The first trail I had conquered, the Baguio Camp
John Hay’s Yellow Trail. Four of my friends and my sister head to the said trail. They were the kind of friends that are easy to be around and go around (chuckles), friends with the same type
of humor, love for adventure and level of appreciation for best places and so
with good food, which also makes them awesome travel buddies.
Now trekking
and hiking to a high altitude means an adventure, exciting and challenging. Proximity of Baguio City,
a one hour away from my hometown Naguilian, La Union via public utility bus
such Partas and Farinas.
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| wild flowers along the trail |
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| we took the opportunity to take picture backdrop with the famous CJH Manor Hotel |
We had left
our town at around 6:30 in the morning and we arrived in Baguio, an hour later,
we took a taxi that goes straight to the second gate of Camp John Hay. From the
gate, we headed towards Techno Hub, a portion of Camp John Hay where you can
find offices, shops, cafes and restaurants, and straight to Manor Hotel which
we took awesome pictures then we headed to Tree Top Adventure where we started
the trail.
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| stairs to tree top adventure |
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| a quick gear before walking and running... |
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| the yellow trail is abundant with mountain ferns |
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| you can find an intriguing color tiny blue fruits with flower along the trail that will attracts you and take a shot |
As we are
walking on the trail a biker were passing us by, from the opposite direction a
couple were walking a Japanese couple as I recognized by their voice and
another were Germans, two kids and their father passing by as we are getting
wild strawberries.
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| wild strawberries...some are sweet and some are not, though pick the red ones |
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| the yellow insect.. |
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| just keep walking... |
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| be careful with those roots you might stumble down |
About the CJH’s Yellow Trail, the trail network is
actually the route used by the horse rental operators for tourists who wants to
experience horseback riding and has also gotten popular among hikers, bikers
and fellow runners out for a good sweet sweat. Why Yellow Trail? The reason Yellow Trail was named such is
because of yellow-colored horse manure found along the trail, hence it is used
as horseback riding. Another route is the Blue and White Trail, also
within CJH's vicinity, which will try in the near future. I was wondering why it’s
called Blue and White Trail, thinking?
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| the big tree and rock, you can always pass this location along the trail |
Entrance is free and it's easy to find your way in
and out. With pine trees and scenic mountain views, it's hard not to feel
happy when you're surrounded with pine trees, not to mention a panoramic view
of the mountains from the trail, and the smell of the trees (Saleng in Ilokano
dialect, it is used to create fire quickly). The total length of the route, out
and back was 9.6 KM.
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| walking pa more |
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| pose in front of one CJH Forest Cabins |
The terrain offers rocky, dusty sections which are
easy on the knees but you have to watch out for pine needles on the ground
which can be very slippery, as well as the tricky bits - tree roots on the
trail which can cause nasty falls.
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| an old paper tree in front of CJH Forest Cabins |
Towards the end of the route we passed by the
entrance gate of the United States of America Embassy and we take the advantage
of taking some shots and posed, then we head out to CJH’s Forest Cabins, then
we had a snack near the CJH’s Mini Golf Course for kids, now I remember that I
had a picture back when I was young, mom and dad brought me here.
After the trail we took a jeepney ride going to
town and went
to Cha Chias Restaurant (foods...lutong bahay at its best) located at the back of Ina
Mansion.
Yellow Trail
- Location: Camp John Hay
- Entrance Fee: None
- Required Conditioning: A
little bit challenging,
- Trail Difficulty: Easy
to Goodbye World
- Trail Type: Single
Track
- Trail Features: Roots,
lots of roots. rocks, some rocks. Horse s**t, be careful you might step on
it, saw only one horse sh**t.
- What to bring: A bottled of water, extra shirt/s and face towel for your sweet sweat.. happy trailing!
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