“A dream climb”, this
is what I dubbed with the High Conqueror’s Holy Week climb which traverses to the
three major peaks of Kitanglad Mountain Range namely, Mt. Kitanglad, Mt.
Dulang-Dulang and Mt. Maagnaw. Looking back, this was a climb that I’d always
fantasized. As a grade school kid whose favourite past time was wandering on
the hills of Tagoloan in Misamis Oriental, my eyes wandered around the mountain
ranges of Northern Mindanao. “I’m going to climb you someday”, those were the
words, a whisper from within. I was having a very strong conviction, although it
was quite impossible back then but this dream was actually written in my heart…
waiting for a right time to be awakened. I love heights and my excitement overwhelmed
me whenever I set foot at the top. This is what keeps me going; this is what I
believe in.
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Mt. Kitanglad
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I took an early
flight from Manila to my hometown Cagayan de Oro with my High Conqueror’s
buddies where the group converged at SM Cagayan de Oro to buy stuffs for our
five days hike. Five days climb indeed! Questions keep flashing in my head; can
I survive in the jungle for five long days? Am I fit for this climb? Are the
foods enough? Is Mt. Maagnaw safe? With a little hesitation, I had no choice
but to lead the group of astute mountaineers conquer the three highest mountains
in Bukidnon. They made me the “Chief Strategist” a better version of “Team
Leader”, so I better make all necessary things secured and prepared. I’m into
it now, there’s no turning back! Well, I thought to myself, more challenges mean
more excitements. If others can do it, Gbins can also do it!
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| Sitio Intavas and Mt Kitanglad |
After having our
necessary things and foods secured, we had our lunch at one of the
restaurant/grill along JR Borja Extension where we were treated with a
delicious inihaw na chicken and bulalo. The dining was great and everyone was satisfied. Past 12pm, we headed to Agora terminal and from there we took a bus
going to Valencia where our group alighted at the crossing with a signage that says
“To Mt. Kitanglad” in Impasug-ong Bukidnon. It was already late in the
afternoon and the group of Dodong Ladera and Lito Saway our porters for the
triple traverse were waiting for us for almost two hours. We took a
multicab ride to the jump-off, which I arranged through Sir
Walter. Sitio Intavas, the jump-off for Mt. Kitanglad is a perfect place to
relax and unwind. The night at the village was very calm and peaceful. The
whole area was like a fully air-conditioned place. We rested a little early to
prepare ourselves for the main event tomorrow.
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| Farmers transporting their newly harvest vegetables |
Day 1: Mt. Kitanglad: So Close but yet so Far
Away
We kicked off at 9am in the morning starting at
the rough road passing by several beautiful vegetations. The trek started out
like a walk in the park where our eyes feasted with a great view of Mt.
Kitanglad in front of us, a vegetable farm town along the trail and the amazing
view of Sumagaya-Kimangkil mountain range behind us. Our relaxing hike didn’t
last long. As soon as we started our ascent to Kitanglad which starts at the
PAMB signage, the reality of a major climb just caught me up. This is it! My
heart started pounding hard, with a heavy load to support our 5 days
hike, I’m beginning to feel exhausted. Is this a result of my lack of pre-climb
training or I just carried a full and heavy backpack to support a long climb?
Well, I guess it is the combination of the two. Since the trail to the summit is
well established with some steel ladders built in four different steep parts, it
was quite an easy trek but not really. Easy because no one will ever get lost
but just like any other major climb, it was a heart-pounding all ascend climb.
Sometimes the communication’s towers look so close but yet it is so far away. I
actually run out of patience because the summit is within my grasp but yet it
is not. It took me almost seven hours to reach the top of Mt. Kitanglad.
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| Vegetables Farmtown |
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| High Conquerors at the foot of Mt Kitanglad |
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| One of the steel ladders to Mt Kitanglad |
Day 2: Traverse to Mt. Dulang-Dulang:
Highness and Steepness times Two
Morning at Mt. Kitanglad is just simply amazing.
A cup of coffee made the day a perfect one. Yes, this is a dream can true for
me. I am finally here! After a heavy breakfast and photo ops, we started our
decent to a very steep trail going down deep into the jungle of Inablayan. I actually wanted to just hold on
the grass on my way down but for safety, I opted to use the rope which was
installed by our guide. This section of the trail is the most common among
mountaineers as the highlight when doing an assault to Kitanglad from
Dulang-Dulang. After a brief stint at the steep cogon grass, the alluring
Inablayan mossy forest welcomes us. The trail here is rolling and is well-established
which made our trek a relaxing one. As we get closer to Mt. Dulang-Dulang, we
could see the very steep trail upward. At a glance, climbing up to the summit is near to impossible but as we get
closer to the trail ahead, the very steep part was negotiated with a rope. The
trail here is muddy and slippery. After more than an hour of a 4x4 climb, the
summit of the 2nd highest mountain in the Philippines greeted us.
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| Sunrise at the summit of Mt Kitanglad |
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| Negotiating the obstacle course at Inablayan |
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| Gecarl at the summit of Mt Dulang Dulang |
Day 3: Traverse to Langkayugan: Hikers turned
Treasure Hunters
After our summit group pic and a brief prayer, we started our descent to
Langkayugan via Dulang-Dulang west ridge. Fifteen minutes later, we were
walking along an almost untouched mossy forest. The Dulang-Dulang west ridge
proves to be the best part of the climb. I slowly grabbed my camera and stopped
and stared at the pristine forest with a feeling of awe. Wowwww! Everyone were
enthusiastic, the scene was like a Grammy Award… flashes were everywhere. After
several hours, our guide Lito Saway found a strange cemented concrete block along
the trail. The intriguing part was that, there were arrows that point
upward. “This could be a treasure”, Dodong Ladera said. We stopped by and checked
the thing. “Can you dig it?” I asked Lito. “We’ll try, we don’t have tools to
dig or break it”, Lito said. We stayed at the area for over thirty minutes and
finally, we gave up. As I walked down in the very steep part with no trail,
questions just kept on popping my mind. “How could one put a big concrete block
on this kind of place where the nearest village is two days away?” Well,
there’s a reason to be back! After our steep trailblazing, we finally reached
the Langkayugan River. We had our quick lunch then continued our assault
to Langkayugan. Along the trail, Lito our guide went for honey bee hunting
which caused panic among HC members who run randomly upward to Langkayugan. But
of course, an energy booster honey which is the best trail food ever, was
served a few minutes later... Thanks to Lito. Before five in the afternoon, our
group reached the Langkayugan Campsite. The landmark here is the Hunter’s Hut.
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| Mt Dulang Dulang summit |
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| Dulang Dulang summit camp group pic |
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| Dulang Dulang west ridge mossy forest |
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| Langkayugan ridge line trail |
Day 4: To Mt. Maagnaw: Beware of Holes
After a very good
night sleep at Langkayungan campsite, everyone was fired up and recharge. I
love the Langkayugan camp site because the place is not as cold as Dulang-Dulang camp site. This is our 4th day in the wilderness but
everyone didn’t show any signs of exhaustions. To add the positive outlook of
the day, our breakfast was equally great with crispy danggit, noodles and
coffee. And mind you, even without taking a shower for four days, by just
brushing my teeth… I felt refreshed!
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| Langkayugan campsite |
At 8 in the morning, we started our assault to
Mt. Maagnaw. The trail here has some similarity with that of Mt. Kalatungan
Camp 2 to Mt. Wiji assault but here is longer and steeper. Most of the time,
the climb were negotiated by just holding and hanging on the grasses. Halfway
on our climb, the views were both amazing and fantastic. In front of us, we
could see the long Maagnaw ridgeline, while turning 180 degrees; we could see
the full view of Mt. Kitanglad and its towers (Northeast), Mt. Dulang-Dulang
(East) and Langkayugan just below us. More than 2 hours of tiring ascent, we
were finally at Mt. Maagnaw. But wait, this isn’t the summit yet. We were on
the Maagnaw pseudo peak. From our vantage point, the real Maagnaw peak is on
the Northwest direction with a very long ridgeline that connects the two high
points. Maagnaw is mostly tall grasses, with several dead trees and a few
bonsai trees. We decided to set camp just a few meters below the pseudo peak
and along the ridgeline. We later called the area HC Campsite.
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| Steep trail to Mt Maagnaw |
After having our
lunch, we commence our trek to Maagnaw peak. The ridgeline trail was very
challenging with a lot holes along it. This is because of the decomposed logs
that were mixed on the grasses. I set foot on the soft parts of the trail more
than 5 times burying my foot at knee deep. Pulling out was a drainer, it was a
very tiring experience but it was worth it. Two hours later, we entered into
the mini forest and to our surprised; there was another Hunter’s Hut with some
freshly cooked rice scattered. It seemed like someone just left the place a few
minutes ago. After a brief stop and photo ops, we headed towards the summit.
Several minutes later, we were back at the Hunter’s Hut at the mini forest. We
were just circling around the forest and it seemed like our guide cannot find the
way. We insisted that going west ward is the right direction but our guide kept
on moving northward. After a two full circle on the forest, our guide finally
gave in and checked the area were we thought was the right way. He was
surprised to see it! Finally, we arrived at the summit at past 4 in the
afternoon. The views at Mt. Maagnaw summit is no difference with its pseudo
peak. It is mostly grasses with a mixture of bonsai and dead trees. The clouds
were slowly building up making our photo sessions a little blurry and misty. We
stayed at the summit for over 30 minutes then hit back to our camp with the sun
almost down. We reached the HC Campsite at exactly 7 in the evening.
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| Hunter's hut at Maagnaw mini forest |
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| HC Campsite Maagnaw |
Day 5: Leaving Maagnaw via Kibangay Ridgeline:
The Super Cogon Slides
Morning in Mt.
Maagnaw was really great... the sunrise
was both awesome and fantastic. As the sun rises, it cuts the
slopes of Dulang-Dulang thus turning the mountain like an inverted letter C
while its scattered rays turned Mt Kitanglad and its towers into a golden colour. The views from HC campsite was simply amazing. It was so relaxing and it really drove us to stay a little longer. But
just like any mountain climbing, we have to go down. Past 9 in the morning, we
started our descent via Hunter’s trail to Kibangay. The ridges that connect to
this mountain and the nearest village are long and rolling with a lot of
pitcher’s plants along the trail. The highlight here is the cascading COGON
SLIDES which was the swiftest way to go to an almost 100 meters down below.
After the exciting cogon slide, the trail becomes muddy and steep passing by a
thick forest then to a beautiful vegetable plantation. Past 4 in the afternoon,
we arrived at the Maagnaw Chieftain house and a minute later we were offered
with a Talaandig version of Kapeng Barako which turned out to be the best
coffee that I tasted so far. Yeah, it was really the best… when you’re out in
the mountain for 5 long days; everything just really tasted great! I’m not
kidding, try the Talaandig native coffee and you’ll know the difference. After
our brief rest at the Chieftain’s house, we hiked for an hour going to Lito’s
house where we spent our night on a comfortable and descent bed… finally!
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| Morning @ HC campsite... Mt Kitanglad (Left) & Mt Dulang Dulang (right) |
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| Mt Kalatungan (HC campsite view) |
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| Mt Maagnaw peak (HC campsite view) |
I was not expecting a 5 days hike with less pain... this climb goes down to one of my favorite. TRIPLE TRAVERSE! I endured your challenge. Until my next adventure... GOD BLESS!
High Conquerors Triple Traverse Participants:
1. Gecarl Binongo Chief Strategist
2. Allan Dela Cruz
3. Ian Tan
4. Krezen Angeles
5. Ruby Sumague
6. Lito Sabino
7. Luwi De Mesa
8. Cha Luayon
9. Meynard Ricarte
10. Warren Ortanez
11. Blanca Songco
