From Concepcion the trail leads up the mountain to Tilud Pass, historic
since the insurrection because of the brave stand made there by the
young, ill-fated General del Pilar. The climb to Tilud Pass, from
either side of the mountain, is one of the longest and most tedious in
northern Luzon. The trail frequently turns short on itself, so that
the front and rear parts of a pack train are traveling face to face,
and one end is not more than eight or ten rods above the other on the
side of the mountain. The last view of the sea from the Candon-Bontoc
trail is obtained at Tilud Pass. From Concepcion to Angaki, at the
base of the mountain on the eastern side of the pass, the trail is
about half a day long. From the pass it is a ceaseless drop down
the steep mountain, but affords the most charming views of mountain
scenery in northern Luzon. The shifting direction of the turning trail
and the various altitudes of the traveler present constantly changing
scenes -- mountains and mountains ramble on before one. From Angaki
to Cervantes the trail passes over deforested rolling mountain land,
with safe drinking water in only one small spring. Many travelers
who pass that part of the journey in the middle of the day complain
loudly of the heat and thirst experienced there.
Cervantes, said to be 70 miles from Candon, is the capital of the dual
Province of Lepanto-Bontoc. Bontoc pueblo lies inland only about 35
miles farther, but the greater part of two days is usually required to
reach it. Twenty minutes will carry a horseman down the bluff from
Cervantes, across the swift Abra -- if the stream is fordable --
and start him on the eastward mountain climb.
The first pueblo beyond Cervantes is Cayan, the old Spanish capital of
the district. About twenty-five years ago the site was changed from
Cayan to Cervantes because there was not sufficient suitable land
at Cayan. Cayan is about four hours from Cervantes, and every foot
of the trail is up the mountain. A short distance beyond Cayan the
trail divides to rejoin only at the outskirts of Bontoc pueblo; but
the right-hand or "lower" trail is not often traveled by horsemen. Up
and up the mountain one climbs from about 1,800 feet at Cervantes to
about 6,000 feet among the pines, and then slowly descends, having
crossed the boundary line between Lepanto and Bontoc subprovinces to
the pueblo of Bagnen -- the last one before the Bontoc culture area
is entered. It is customary to spend the night on the trail, as one
goes into Bontoc, either at Bagnen or at Sagada, a pueblo about two
hours farther on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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