Mt. Cagua dayhike: A hike back to Prehistory
(Please go to: https://www.thegreenwayfarer.net/a-hike-back-to-prehistory-mt-cagua-dayhike/ for the account with pictures)
If our week-long, sea to summit expedition of Babuyan Islands this April 2017 is a meal, the hike to Mt. Cagua in Brgy. Magrafin, Gonzaga, Cagayan is the dessert which capped it off. A short and easy hike, it was a satisfying ending to our intense dayhikes, and day-long sea voyages.
Mt. Cagua is a 1,133-m high stratovolcano which lies at the northeastern tip of Luzon. It forms part of the Sierra Madre mountain range, as well as one of the volcanoes within the Babuyan volcano chain/Luzon Volcanic Arc. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau also identified it as one of six active volcanoes in the Cagayan Valley Region. Though featured in topographic maps, it was largely unexplored and undocumented by hikers until it was featured in the Pinoy Mountaineer (PM) blog last 2016.
Largely influenced by the PM Cagua expedition, and since we were already at Tuguegarao, our small team pushed through with the hike even though faced with uncertainties regarding transportation, and guides. Another opportunity to hike might not come again so we better try!
The hike required long travels: we left Tuguegarao a little past 0700H and arrived at Gonzaga after a 3-hour van ride. Another 1.5 hours of tricycle ride/ habal-habal brought us to the uppermost reaches of the road which, at 520 masl, reduced our hiking time dramatically.
Our goals were not too ambitious since we do not have the time: instead of the summit, we only aimed to reach the northern rim of the volcano which stands at 935 masl, and then, explore the sulfur vents below. The hike to the summit was not a possible option as it requires another 4-5 hrs walk.
Our hike was a gradual and straightforward ascent inside a forest, the trail of which is well established as it is used by locals when they go to their hunting grounds. While the Cagayan Valley is known for its sweltering heat the canopy of the trees shielded us from much of the sun; cool winds which blow every now and then continuously refreshed us. It carries with it the pungent odor of sulfur- a sign that we are nearing our target destination.
We reached the northern rim of the volcano a little past noon. What took 6 hours for the PM team (they started at a much lower elevation and carried overnight packs) we only hiked for an hour and eleven minutes! (Thanks to the efforts and driving skills of our habal-habal drivers!)
Up from where we stood the foothills laden with crops such as corn and rice spread before us. We could see the outline of the mainland Luzon, and after that, the vast ocean with the view of Palaui Island, and the faraway Camiguin de Babuyanes.
While the land-to-sea view was amazing, another striking feature of Mt. Cagua is the presence of fumaroles below the rim. From afar it looks like a sad, logged-out area with its barren landscape and petrified trees but descending 88 meters below, one is confronted by a primeval landscape of smoking sulfuric mounds, boiling mud, and loose rocks.
Yes, you can see the smoke rising in the air, hear the bubbling of boiling mud, smell the sulfur in the air, and feel the hot breath of the earth. It was a remarkable feeling standing so close to a force which shapes the landscape!
We went around the vents careful not to accidentally step on loose rocks and hot mud. Shortly thereafter, we went up the rim and headed back to the lower slopes. Our guides will be returning back to work on the fields again, for us, we have to endure the 10-km road strewn with rocks and the long trip back to Tuguegarao.
