The Ride to Morning Hill

Location : Morning Hill (Himontagon Hills), Loay (municipality), Bohol (province), Philippines
Mountain Bike Guide: Jeffrey Huerte

Hard Core Jeffery
After doing the zipline, trekking the mountain trails and exploring 3 caves, we should have called it a day. But Jeffrey suggested climbing Morning Hill on our bikes. Huh? It's far and it's an unrelenting climb! Hmmm...this guy is crazy. But hey, why not?

Stairway to Heaven
It was a long ride on the highway to Loay and then towards Jagna. On an obscure road with the sign, "Himontagon Hills", we turned left and began a brutal climb that resembled Stairway to Heaven. It was long and steep that screamed "granny gear". There was a reprieve, but what followed as a long and unrelenting climb all the way the peak.

View
Towards the summit, the view opened up to the panoramic view of the coastline. The peak was flat with another lower peak connected by a single-track ridge. The top was comfortable with its grassy coating. It offered a 180℃ view of the surrounding islands. Because of its isolation and view, it was popular among lovers. There were many pairs just waiting for the sun to set.

Downhill
From the higher summit, the ridge path was steeply going down before swinging back to an uphill climb towards the lower summit. It looked frighteningly scary to ride down on a bike - but I could see a line. It looked possible. Taking faith on my reading, I took the ride down...very carefully, feathering just enough to keep momentum but not locking-up so as not to go over the handle bars. I let go when the trail cleared up and pedaled all the way up to the other hill. What a rush! The interesting is, it wasn't difficult. It only looked scary. Jeffery followed suit and felt that surge as well.

Missing a Turn
On the way back, Jeffrey asked me to go ahead as he followed with his Go Pro video cam. I went fast and missed a turn. Jeffrey followed and caught up with me a distance away already from the turn. Instead of turning back, we decided to take our chance on this unproven trail.

Mud Ride
The trail quickly narrowed down into a mud trail. Mud was caking around our tires as we dismounted to push our bikes. There were many fallen bamboo trees obstructing the path. Obviously, this trail hasn't been used in a long time. The sun was setting and I was afraid we'd still be inside the forest by the time it gets dark. We chanced upon a bathing area along the river. It would have been great to clean up but we didn't have much time left.

The Church
Towards the end of the trail, we came upon a chapel popular to students who need to pass the board exam - that's right, the board exam. Story goes that one student prayed in the chapel to pass the test - and he passed! He gave credit to the chapel and told his friends about it. Soon, more and more students came. Coincidence or not, most of the students passed the board. Now, it's the Mecca for board examinees. The modest chapel now grew into a small church.

I would have wanted to take pictures of the bathing area and the church but I was all too muddy and tired.

Eating Mud Pies
Continuing on our bikes, we came upon a downhill section. To clean up our tires, we hammered hard, spinning all the mud away. Of course the same mud went into our noses, our mouth and our eyes. Mud tastes like shit - literally!

Short Cut
When we finally reached the highway, to my surprise, I noticed we were already halfway home! The gamble we took in taking the unknown trail was a shortcut! From there, we just hammered hard to get back home before it got dark.

Ending Thoughts
This ride was such a treat. First, it was completely unplanned - we should have rested after the trek and the caves. Second, Morning Hill offered a brutal climb and a spectacular view. Third, braving the downhill from high peak to low peak was a leap of faith. Fourth, we got lost and ended up on the brushy and muddy trail. Fifth, without even realizing it, we hit a short cut. Whoa! This ride is chock-full-of-treats!

Jeffrey, U da Man!

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Loboc Map

Loboc, Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

• Cruz Daku - 80-foot white cross erected in 1986 on top of Loboc's highest mountain
• Virgen de Guadalupe - giant statue of the Black Madonna perched on a Loboc summit
• River Cruise - river cruise on a floating restaurant serving lunch with cultural presentation
• Busay Falls - accessible only through the river cruise
• Loktob Spring - cold water spring, free admission, huts for rent
• Zipline and Cable Car Ride - at the Eco-Tourism Adventure Park

hotel

• Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
• Lyn's Backpackers Inn - family-run guesthouse in the heart of Loboc

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