Planning the Trip - The Route

A primary consideration in planning a trip is the route to be taken. Of course there is the financial consideration but you won’t know how much you will spend if you don’t know where you are going, where you will be staying and what you will be doing. You can always scale down later. On this trip, it really wasn’t very difficult to decide because I have been wanting to do 2 things for the longest time and these are a) to drive over the top of the main island of Luzon and b) to drive thru the fabled and supposedly picturesque Halsema Highway locally known as Mountain Trail. Driving thru the top of Luzon is a much easier objective with sufficient stops in between and relatively good roads ensuring safe passage. Driving the Halsema Highway is different story altogether. They don’t call it Mountain Trail for nothing.

Until recently, the road has remained mostly in a state of disrepair with attempts at paving washed away by landslides that occur yearly during the Monsoon season (June to October) when many accidents and deaths occur and the road is often closed to vehicular traffic. It is still represented in most maps as a dotted line which does not bode well. Recent efforts by the government have apparently resulted in some success between Baguio and Mt. Data (about halfway) with the remainder projected to be completed sometime next year. Still, passage is advised only for the sturdiest of buses and public utility vehicles that regularly ply the route or capable high-clearance and/or 4-wheel drive vehicles. It goes without saying that driving skill and a penchant for self-punishment is required. Despite all this, the route promises great vistas and an experience that can only be had in about the last patch of pristine mountain countryside traversed by a major road. Having put this off for so long, I want to do it now before the road is finally fully paved and the stretch goes the way that Baguio did. Nonetheless, the final decision to proceed with this leg of the trip will depend on the actual road condition to be inquired from the nearest Department of Public Works and Highways office and/or from a bus driver who had just recently passed the route. I do not intend to risk life, limb or property for a thrill that may prove costly.

Another parameter in planning the route was driving time between stops. While my wife will act as back-up driver, I wanted to limit each leg to not more than 6 hours. On this basis, I wish to avoid the alternate 12-hour route home passing thru Nueva Ecija that does not present anything remarkable to see much less worth spending the night for.

The final decision made on the route for this trip was whether to start by way of the western coastal road or start with Baguio and (try) to do the mountains first. The deciding factor again became the Halsema Highway. Getting detoured so early in the trip could put a serious dent on the whole thing. Reservations for resorts and hotels already made this early will be missed and we could certainly find ourselves without a room in the inns on Christmas week. The only place we would skip starting thru the western coastal route would be Baguio in the event that we got detoured in Sagada. Fortunately, the hotel in Baguio did not require a deposit.

The final route is as follows:

Leg 1

Route : Manila – Bulacan – Pampanga – Tarlac – Pangasinan – La Union
Travel Date : Dec. 25, 2007
Estimated Distance – 270 Kilometers to San Juan
Approximate Driving Time: 6 Hours

Leg 2

Route : La Union – Ilocos Sur – Ilocos Norte
Travel Date : Dec. 26, 2007
Estimated Distance – 290 Kilometers to Pagudpud
Approximate Driving Time : 4 Hours

Leg 3

Route : Ilocos Norte – Cagayan – Isabela – Nueva Viscaya – Ifugao – Mt. Province
Travel Date : Dec. 28, 2007
Estimated Distance – 490 Kilometers to Sagada
Approximate Driving Time : 6 Hours

Leg 4

Route : Mt. Province – Benguet
Travel Date : Dec. 30, 2007
Estimated Distance: 130 Kilometers to Baguio
Approximate Driving Time : 6 Hours

Leg 5

Route : Benguet – Pangasinan – Tarlac –Pampanga – Bulacan – Manila
Travel Date : Dec.31, 2007
Estimated Distance – 240 Kilometer to Las Pinas
Approximate Driving Time – 6 Hours
Total Distance Traveled – 1,420 Kilometers

Leg 4 Alternate

Route : Mt. Province – Nueva Viscaya – Nueva Ecija – Bulacan – Manila
Travel Date : Dec. 30, 2007
Estimated Distance – 410 Kilometers to Las Pinas
Approximate Driving Time – 12 Hours
Total Distance Traveled – 1,460 Kilometers

T minus 37 days.

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written by  Joey Carlotta on November 18, 2007 from Manila, Philippines
from the travel blog: Northern Luzon Loop (CANCELED)
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