ZIGZAGING AND CAPTURING THE BEAUTY OF KENNON ROAD

I had been to Baguio on several occasions beginning when I was just a little kid way back in the 70s.  My dad had a convention and he brought the entire family with him where we stayed at the prestigious Pines Hotel during its glory days. The tourist bus we rode still plies Kennon Road and that was the first glimpse I had of the famous, beautiful and challenging road to Baguio.

After that most of the trips I had in Kennon Road was often during the night where you don't have the luxury of seeing the rugged landscape of the Benguet highlands. We always go to Baguio on night time trips for us to have an unimpeded climb and the needed momentum which is less straining for the car's engine.  

My most recent trip to Baguio was on May 2013 where it has started to rain early but has not ushered the rainy season yet.  It always rains during the afternoon so we often do our city tour and shopping during the morning.

I made the drive going to Baguio via the Marcos Highway which is relatively easier for the car but I planned the return trip to Manila via the Kennon Road.  It's been several years since I drove this way so this downhill trip in the afternoon would be a scenic and challenging trip for me.  

Let me share with your first a little bit of history about this famous road. Kennon Road is a roadway in Benguet province in the Philippines connecting the mountain city of Baguio to the lowland town of Rosario in La Union province. The project begun in 1903 and opened for travel on January 29, 1905. It was originally called the Benguet Road and later renamed in honor of its builder, Col. Lyman Walter Vere Kennon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For travelers coming from Manila or the provinces in the central plains of Luzon, it is the shortest route to Baguio.

Coming from the lowlands, Kennon is one of the three major access roads that lead to the City of Baguio, located at about 5,500 feet (1,700 m) in elevation. The other roads are Marcos Highway (also known as Ben Palispis Highway in Benguet and as the Jose Aspiras Highway in La Union) from Agoo town, and Naguilian Road from Bauang both in La Union province. The upward climb reveals a picturesque view of the mountains, lush vegetation, and pine trees as you get closer to Baguio.

There are small settlements along the road, known as Camps 1 to 8 that were originally established for the original builders of the road, but have been occupied since by local residents. The Bued River flows along a rocky canyon from the lofty heights, and following this course the road was cut above the river bed.

Kennon is a toll road with the lower tollgate located about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from the junction at Rosario, La Union near Camp 1. The upper toll gate is about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Baguio City near Camp 6, Tuba, Benguet.

The steepest portion of the road between Camp 6 and Camp 7 in Baguio City is commonly known as "Zigzag Road" because of the numerous switchbacks (see Hairpin turn) required. The design of the road switchbacks along that section of the road are similar in construction to the agricultural rice terraces found locally in Benguet and the other mountain provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The construction of the road commenced in 1903 by cutting across the mountains of Benguet with the combined efforts of Filipinos, Americans, Filipino-Chinese and Japanese nationals. It was considered one of the most difficult and expensive civil engineering projects of its day, with expenditures by the newly established colonial government in excess of $2.7 million.

More than 2,300 foreign and local workers worked on the road. Aside from Filipino engineers and construction workers and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headed by Col. Lyman Kennon, foreigners from 36 countries were recruited to work on the road; the majority, about 1,500, were Japanese. Hundreds of workers died from malaria while more plunged to their deaths while building the road. After the road was completed, some of the foreign road workers decided to remain in Baguio to live permanently.

The original road was a Macadam Telford-type road which was later improved into an all-weather asphalt roadway. More recently, some portions of Kennon Road have been replaced with concrete pavement.

Kennon Road is one of the most hazardous roads in the country especially during the rainy seasons when most of the road accidents occur. The road is prone to closure due to landslides, particularly during heavy rains or during typhoon conditions.

Although Kennon is the shortest of the three major access roads, travel time is frequently as long as the other two because of poor road conditions. It usually takes an experienced commuter from 45 minutes to an hour to negotiate the 41.2-kilometre (25.6 mi) steep and winding climb by car.

 One of the best spots where you can get an almost entire view of the zigzag part of Kennon Road is this view deck where I am standing right now.  The view in the past was more revealing because of the thin vegetation during that time.  If you will remember the picture in the Baguio Oil Can shows more of Kennon Road than this recent picture where many parts of the road are concealed under a thick blanket of trees.  But nevetheless the view is still breathtaking and a little less dangerous to see.

During the drive downhill,  it began to rain sporadically spoiling our photo opportunity.  Kennon Road is indeed a hazardous road especially for the less experienced driver.  You might make the mistake of relying too heavily on the brakes which can expose you to the danger of brake overheating resulting to brake loss that may lead to a fatal accident. 

This is not the place to lose your brakes because the fall over the cliff will give you a slim chance of survival.  The best thing to do is to shift more often using your engine brakes.  This can be done by downshifting to a lower gear which corresponds to the angle of the road and speed of the car. Downshifting too low will result to abruptly slowing the car down which might damage the engine and will bring you more misfortunes.

This was the first time I drove to Baguio using an automatic transmission car. It was difficult to use the engine brakes at first because the engine brakes abruptly whenever I downshift.  But eventually I was able to adapt when I got the hang of it.  During the downhill drive to Asin Road, I was not yet accustomed to the engine brake in automatic transmission so I smelled a little bit of burnt odor during that trip.  So I said to myself that I will not commit the same mistake in Kennon Road.

The luxury of having your own car going to Baguio instead of commuting in public transport is the opportunity to pay homage to the King of Kennon Road or the Lion's Head. The Lion's Head is a famous attraction along Kennon Road, a major highway in Luzon, Philippines that leads to Baguio City. Located in Camp 6, the Lion's Head measures 40 feet in height.  It was conceptualized by the Lions Club members of Baguio City, during the term of Luis Lardizabal as mayor of Baguio City from 1969 to 1970 and as the club's president,  to become the club's symbol or imprint in the area. 

Prior to the artistic sculpting, the limestone was prepared by a group of engineers and miners, then the "actual artistic carving of the façade" was rendered by Reynaldo Lopez Nanyac, an Ifugao artist and woodcarver from the Cordillera Administrative Region. The construction project began in 1968 but was interrupted.  The project was continued in 1971 by another Lions Club president, Robert Webber, and was unveiled in 1972.

The forerunner of the man-made Lion's Head was a "large rock" described to be "naturally shaped like a lion", which prior to 1972 was the landmark that tourists observe along Kennon Road towards Baguio City.  However, according to the article Lion's Head in Baguio City - Philippines, the current Lion's Head landmark was also a limestone naturally shaped like a "male lion, with a mane".

It has undergone several coloration changes before restoring it to acquiring its traditional gold and black color. It was at some points in time painted white and brown, or yellow. It had also undergone restoration after being damaged by vandalism and by the earthquake in Northern Luzon in 1990.

 The remaining trip downhill was still an exciting one because of the heavy downpour during that time which prevented us from taking pictures of the several camps downhill.  There were signs of falling rocks over undercuts along the cliff and as the car goes under this undercuts, it feels like passing through a waterfalls.  That's the scary part because the entire Kennon Road actually becomes a landscape filled with waterfalls during heavy rains.  It was indeed an adrenaline rush for me and I think that is basically or probably the health benefit I got from this trip.  But it would be best for your health if the trip was done in more favorable or safer conditions.  But despite all these, Baguio will always remain a place for me  to visit in the indefinite future.