pagnapagna: Payogpog Falls

"Big, tall, wide, enormous and majestic are some of the waterfalls in our country but I also greatly appreciate the small and unpopular ones"

-pagnapagna

Please practice the leave no trace outdoor ethics when going to these nature places. Let us not vandalize, put graffiti on their rocks and stone walls. Manage and dispose our waste products properly.

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-my pagnapagna-

After a downhill road walk from Mt. Kalugong Eco Park, at the Halsema Highway, I rode a jeep (8:48 am) going to barangay Shilan which is still along Halsema Highway of La Trinidad.

I went down from the jeep (8:51 am) some few hundred meters before the Shilan Barangay Hall particularly at Marosan Restaurant (Km.10) to eat.

Roadside restaurant of Marosan's at Kilometer 10

Fried rice topped with fried pork
and at the side is something to dip on, soy sauce with chili.
I get carnivorous when i eat at roadside restaurants.

Afterwards, I walked my way to the Barangay Hall (9:16 am) to inquire about the other waterfall which i did not get to see during my previous visit at the Binanga Falls.

After getting instructions from an officer at the Barangay Hall, I walked along the highway (9:29 am) going to the intersection beside Tacdian Elementary School where I rode a taxi (Tamaraw fx) (9:34 am) which they call it "garrage".

The entry point is the same barangay road going to sitio Sabdang (where Binanga Falls is located) but it will branch somewhere along the way. This one goes upwards while to Sabdang goes downwards. We finally arrived at the sitio Sagpawe "turning point" (9:41 am) where they unload passengers. I paid 80 pesos for the ride.

Along the way, I asked people where to walk going to the said waterfall.

Few meters away from a sari-sari store, I turned right, off-road down to a trail (9:48 am) along some vegetable gardens then to a mountainside trail that led to the lower mountainside gardens.

A sari-sari Store.
A trail going down to the vegetable gardens is located just before the road bend.

At the vegetable garden, I have to hurdle some sprinklers along the way :-) . (see video below)

The mountainside trail going down to another vegetable garden.

A small gardener's house

I finally got to the creek below (10:10 am) and walked upstream.

The creek

There it was, the Payogpog Falls (10:20 am).

At the Payogpog Falls

Lingered at the waterfall, some small birds were flying around the pool area. They touched its waters as they flew around perhaps they were drinking.
At around 11:24 am, I went back to the mountainside trail then had a snack at a roadside store.

I saw this sign at a roadside sari-sari store.
Hungry, I asked the owner if what is "minodo"
(thinking that is a food, like noodles/mami or menudo).
She told me that it is a complete set of "Moma",
the one they chew for juices then spitted out
(betel nut, ash, gawed leaves, etc.).

I continued walking until I arrived at the "turning point" and waited for a ride (12:06 pm).

I chanced upon a jeep (12:27 pm). The driver was looking at me as if he was saying "want a lift?" so i flagged him down and he did slowed down and i hurriedly run and took a ride. Inside were some three to five large plastic bags of sayote (chayote/christophene/labu siam). It was a private jeep and from the looks of it, he was going to deliver or sell it at the downtown trading post.

I thanked him and I just went down at the Halsema Highway near the Tacdian Elementary School (12:33 pm). There i rode a jeep going to La Trinidad market area (km 5) (12:44 pm).

At the market area, they were having a Trade Fair for the "Strawberry Festival". I lingered there for a while and looked around at the various booths of the barangays of the municipality of La Trinidad.

The booth of barangay Lubas caught my interest as in their wall hangs photographs of a wide cave and it looked amazing. It is a prospect that worth a "pagnapagna". I inquired about the cave but unfortunately they said it is not yet open for the public that i have to talk to their Barangay Captain which is not around at that time.

I also had planned to go back to Mt. Kalugong Eco Park that day to take some late afternoon photographs, the sunset and all but I just called it a day.

I rode a jeep going to Baguio City and eventually took a bus going back to Home Sweet Home.

-end of pagnapagna-