Kitanglad-Dulang Dulang-Maagnaw Triple Traverse

“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.

Mt. Kitanglad

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!

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.

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.

Vegetables Farmtown

High Conquerors at the foot of Mt Kitanglad

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 2^nd highest mountain in the Philippines greeted us.

Sunrise at the summit of Mt Kitanglad

Negotiating the obstacle course at Inablayan

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.

Mt Dulang Dulang summit

Dulang Dulang summit camp group pic

Dulang Dulang west ridge mossy forest

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 4^th 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!

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.

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.

Hunter's hut at Maagnaw mini forest

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!

Morning @ HC campsite... Mt Kitanglad (Left) & Mt Dulang Dulang (right)

Mt Kalatungan (HC campsite view)

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