Traversing Mt. Kalatungan and Mt. Wiji in 2 Days

Many people nowadays are becoming curious with mountaineering. More and more so, they opted into trying out this challenging sport just for fun and with fashion, that is, less of a passionate thing with nature. Of course, I also started out as a newbie and it wasn't an easy start; my high school friends didn't even pursued on hiking after what we experience the first time we climbed. But I didn't just joined in to blend in... training physically and focusing mentally requires a lot of courage to conquer not just the wild, but yourself.

Climbing Mt. Kalatungan as the 5th highest peak in the Philippines was indeed a tick-off-the-bucketlist. I joined this packaged tour (once again with Russel and Roz whom I'm always grateful for helping me out with my recent travels) and as usual, I didn't prepare much. While others have partially paid and committed in the event weeks beforehand, I connected with the group like in the last minute as well as my recent KD2 company, Kaiser. I just geared up a little and hit the road.

The whole team arrived in Pangantucan via Maramag, Bukidnon from Davao City in 5 hours for our climbing permit. All 26 of us continued then to Barangay Mendis jump-off with a brief orientation, and prompted ourselves for the start of the trek.

You would pass by a wooden bridge (photo above) and a hot wide open trail for the first few hours of the climb. We went by a tree house the locals built for a comfortable stopover and they call it the view deck. I never expected there was also a "Paasa"/thought-you're-almost-there trail in Buko-Buko Sa Anay where you walk on top of the mountain ridge but it was a cool picturesque spot. We didn't get much clearing. The clouds started to disperse until we reached the creepy uphill forest.

Buko-Buko Sa Anay...

The pacing was quite getting slow that its weakening me but I got to keep close with other subgroup; the others were already ahead, and the closest I had was Roxanne's company. I didn't brought my digital camera too, just my Samsung J1 phone camera, so I availed with their gadgets'! ☺

Enjoying the Paasa trail with Aldrin, Reynan, Mark Renan and Roxanne

and availing their GoPro!😂😂😂

It was getting dark almost 6 pm in the forest and I had to pee. I led off the way and let Aldrin advised the others behind so they can allow me to relieve myself but I ran off quickly after the break. I didn't noticed they were already too far behind me that I walked the mossy trails alone until dark 6:30 pm. I reached the junction campsite proudly but all there was were the porters heating us some water and refilling the bottles. The other hikers didn't wait up, proceeded to the peak to camp. I worried about the last hikers left because they have medical conditions as Ross Lyn and Sheila, my newly-found tent buddies disclosed to me before the start of the climb (conscience of a nurse); and Russel did said that we would just camp in the junction site if the situation to reach the peak is very uncertain. It was a drizzling night Russel came then and we started to pitch the tents and cook food. I ran up to Sheila and Ross Lyn when they finally  arrived beyond 7 pm. I offered them coffee and served them dinner so they can ease up directly inside the tent.

The next morning, we failed to meet the sunrise. I woke up at 4 am but the team was soundly asleep so I went back in. And there was light... very bright. We tried to catch up the rising of the sun but we got slower uphill even without our bags. The packs were left in the junction because we will be going back there anyway!☺ And I came to Mt. Kalatungan Peak without the sunrise. Show was over! We met the rest of the hikers packing and cooking there to get ready to get back on the trail.

Narrow trail to the peak

Mt. Kalatungan Peak

For only a minute, I descended back to the junction site to prepare for breakfast and traversing Mt. Wiji.

Danger Zone

I wasn't almost interested traversing Mt. Wiji... but I loved the feeling I got when I saw the dead old trunks and the danger zone even though it was foggy... it was invigorating. Roxanne and I enjoyed our hike talking out all what we think about life and love until we were left alone by the boys for almost 4 hours. We reached the..IDK if it's the right way having less trail signs and finally back in Barangay Mendis at around 7 pm not talking to the boys. 😂

Night trek chills behind those smiles

Ross Lyn, Sheila and the rest of the sweepers arrived at 10 pm in the captain's house where we rested and took a bath. We heard scary health news before they made it there but glad to hear there was also a nurse with them, Anthony; Ross Lyn had been injected with an anti-vomiting medicine and was carried by a porter, and Sheila doesn't want to eat anymore despite the exhaustion looking pale and fainting. It was a guilty sad end, with others who just took off wearing the pride that they made it earlier but the others were left wilted in the middle of the night. I just realized that it's not always a good thing to just conquer a mountain without caring much about others, but knowing WHO YOU ARE, what you have done, while the rest are experiencing the mile. 

Chillin' and Trippin' in Sicao Falls, Tamayong

My kind of Friday chill and Saturday trip with some close friends last weekend was definitely a blast! It was my friend, Vanessa who wanted to hit the highlands a few days back for a pre-climb adventure with John and others who had never tried hiking the long trails before, and I agreed to it even though I feel like I just got home from my Bukidnon trip that made me conscious of my growing mid-calf or gastrocnemius muscles.

Vanvan and I, from Agdao, met first at around 6 am and joined the boys in Matina where we waited to ride a public L300 van bound to Calinan market. From Calinan terminal, there are a lot of habal-habal around who would bring you to Tamayong Purok 4 in 40 minutes for Php60/pax. 2-3 persons would fit in one motorbike.

It's time to move our muscles! We started the trek in Purok 4 at 8 am, although the rough road is still accessible by a vehicle passing banana trees to Sitio Sicao. The trail could be confusing and we almost lost our way but fortunately, we saw a farmer and he pointed us the right way.

At past 10 am, we arrived at Sitio Sicao and registered at the hall for Php150 each. There were a lot of differences since the last time I visited here for Mt. Talomo in 2013. The small wooden bridge before reaching the village wasn't already there, the welcome sign was new, and more modern houses were built. There was also a store extended beside the hall, an open dirty kitchen at the back, and two comfort rooms. I thought we would be staying here for the night but Vanvan said we will be camping in Sitio Utan, quieter and nearer to the waterfalls which we will be taking the next morning.

We got two young guides to help us reach Sitio Utan and arrived there at noon. There, is a home where we stayed to set up our tents and to help a family with 6 kids.

View from Sicao Village downhill 

Walang forever besh! Lol☺

Sugarcane/"Tubo" break with our guides

Sitio Utan's basketball ground

We still have to cook rice for lunch and they asked for more viands beside the Pork Adobo Vanvan cooked beforehand, so we were able to eat past 1 pm. All worth the wait because John set up the food like in a boodle fight and we savored it with a spicy "Pinakurat" vinegar. However, one of our little guides was an Adventist who doesn't eat pork and many locals there have the same faith too. The rest of the afternoon was indeed a chill mood. When darkness almost came, we prepared spaghetti and tocino for dinner but after cooking, I timed out sober after 3 shots of Tanduay. I wasn't able to eat my dinner! They were trying to wake me up but I was fully asleep. I just felt very cold by midnight then went back to slumber after putting my socks on. We woke up as early as 4 am and prepared for breakfast and packed lunch. Finally, we headed to the waterfalls...

Pitstop!

3rd river pitstop | Over the top of a waterfall

Back view with Mackyboy

Potable water source

Technical descent

Crossing the strong current to Sicao Falls

Safety precaution to cross the river

The majestic Sicao Falls

We reached Sicao Falls in 3 hours.. (You wouldn't literally be in a hurry with Vanessa). Though we passed some difficult trails of slippery descents, it was way better without carrying our heavy bags (and I find John has a good pacing.) I was enchanted by its greatness and beauty. The water was freezing cold that watching it was enough for me, but John later invited me to go at the back of the waterfalls and I followed. I was frightened I might slip but getting there gave me the best feeling the entire trip. We didn't dive in though, still it gave me chills. Rey, Joshua and Vanvan just dipped for awhile chatting nearby like in a Jacuzzi. We planned to take our lunch in Tres Marias Falls which is just a little further from Sicao Falls (about 10 minutes river-trekking) but our little guides, "Sonyboy" and "Mackyboy" didn't want to go because they said its colder there. SO we hit Tres Marias on our own...

My best waterfall moment with Sicao

Tres Marias Falls

The 5 of us just watched the waterfalls for awhile, took some pictures and went back to Sicao Falls to eat. At around 2 pm we set back to the same trail. I was hoping we'd try the river trekking back to Sitio Utan but some guys said it was really difficult and risky. I was conscious of the time we've got to take so I didn't pushed it. We took the trail back in more than just an hour, picked up all our bags and went to Sicao Village for another 2 hours. Our 2-day climb was a failure; we need to extend one more night, but we're out of goods so we decided to stay in Sicao Vill. where there are a lot of stores to buy food. In the village, we already asked for someone who could cook us food so we could all lighten up and 2 women in the neighborhood agreed. We asked them to do the same for us the next morning, but with different menu, and we paid them well in return. 

The next day, we woke up unhurried and just waited for our breakfast delivery. We left after 8 am and hiked only 1 hour along the banana trail back to Purok 4. Wow!

☺...Random shots...☺

The Challenging Trails of Mt. Kitanglad and Mt. Dulang-Dulang

It takes passion to face the mountains. This was my only last conviction to push through my dream climb on the second and fourth highest peak in the Philippines since everyone but two, had finally decided to back out on the day. I was really anxious then, knowing that I would be the only female in the group, and pressured because they might be fast hikers I almost wanted to back out too. It is a rare chance to climb these mountains though, because after my Mt. Apo in 2012, I have really wanted to conquer the country's next top summit but getting a permit and slot was difficult for me alone. And now after four years, there wouldn't be another opportunity, so this is it! Why would I let it slip away? I called some friends to burst out my anxiousness and I was reminded to live life. They just supported me.

From Davao City, we went to Maramag, Bukidnon Tourism Office to get our permit; headed to Kitanglad, Impasug-ong and rode a habal-habal to jump off. We started trekking at around 10 am, took lunch at the first campsite and went on.

A view of a waterfalls

I thought it was a smooth ascent that we could reach the summit in 3-4 hours, as the local guides usually observed, but we made it in 6 hours. Albeit the metal stairs installed in Mt. Kitanglad trail, I felt this was the hardest for me.

Stolen shot!

The struggle was desperately real I cried and wouldn't want to go back there. I also regretted I didn't prepare my body well and I couldn't take the weight of my load anymore. I don't usually lend my bag but Russel took it when he noticed me silent, and he carried it for awhile so I can walk further. He always said we were almost there and I hated it because I gave my all but it was never close enough until my energy was exhausted. I kept on focusing with the strength I had in my mind, and also prayed gratefully to God despite the rain so I could be reminded how much I wanted this. It was getting dark past 6 pm when we reached the summit of Mt. Kitanglad and I promised myself to treat her with good long sleep. And I did! We woke up at 7 am forgetting to meet the sunrise and I nervously prepared for another difficult painful trail.

One of the bunkhouses, where we stayed in Mt. Kitanglad Summit

Russel tried to measure our readiness for strength and mentality first, he showed us the overview of our trail to Mt. Dulang-Dulang. It was far, technical. Thrill to the bones. I think I heard Kaiser said he's okay with Kitanglad by that time, but Russel prodded us "Sayang!" we're already there. Then I thought yeah right, we just have to sacrifice with pain and kill time.  I don't have so much at work. I took a deep breath; and we headed down for Mt. Dulang-Dulang.

The trail down had a likely 80 degree wall climbing spot. It was creepy rad and I loved it. It's the point where you don't have to hurry or else you'll die fast, but rather focus on clinging to the hard ground and sturdy roots that you'll almost literally have to kiss the wall. It's the moment when you breathe from your core and whisper hold on to the soil.

View of Mt. Kitanglad Peak with the towers

Rest mode☺

After this part, we moved on 'til we entered the mossy trails. I thought it was just okay but the farther we get, I felt like the forest was growing alive and greener. Then I was amazed at the exhilarating ascents we took eventually. There was a point where a rope was already set to help mountaineers clench onto something while going up instead of crawling the mud, and following a creek-like uphill. I hadn't noticed the time enjoying when surprisingly, we we're already at the summit at around 4 pm.

Mossy Trails of KD2

Chasing Kaiser☺

Mt. Dulang-Dulang Summit

Waiting for sunset...

The cold weather in Mt. Dulang-Dulang definitely sends shivers down my the spine. I couldn't sleep properly too, because my company snores very loud. Lol!☺ We woke up early to meet the sunrise but it got shy later hiding behind the thick gloomy clouds. We descended that day delightful and loving the trail so much than any other mountains I visited. For me, Mt. Dulang-Dulang has the best mossy forest!

KD2 Group picture down to Manny's Garden