Mt. Kitanglad

Even before we climbed Kitanglad, we were never quite sure where it ranked among the Philippines highest mountains. Some sources would say Dulang Dulang is the 2nd highest peak while Kitanglad would be the 3rd highest. Some would say Pulag is 3rd highest and therefore Kitanglad is 4th or 2nd highest, depending on the source. I always visit the site PinoyMountaineers, and it says there that Kitanglad is the 4th highest. 

But what is a few meters among us mountain climbers? And so, last July 12, 2008, we decided to scale the Philippines' 4th highest peak. Why Kitanglad? Pulag is in Luzon, so we would probably do it next year. D2, as Dulang Dulang is known among climbers, looks and sounds a bit more forbidding. In keeping with the tradition of the Social Climbers, we decided we'd do Kitanglad ahead of Dulang. Besides, Dave, one of the Social Climbers, has a farm in Malaybalay, and his sister has prepared a feast for us on the day before the climb.

Social climber tip: It is advisable to carbo load a day before the climb. Examples of carbo loaded food would be rice, bread and pasta. Eating lechon, is not carbo loading. 

Our base for the climb was Malaybalay City, dubbed "City in the Forest". It is said that when Spanish explorers reached the area in the 18th century, they asked the townfolks the name of their town, to which the natives answered in sputtering Visayan, "walay balay". Thus, the name.

Malaybalay is about 4 hours drive from Davao City, through well paved mountain roads. Numerous stalls, coffee shops and eateries dot the highway, where you can enjoy a hot cup of coffee or native choco while enjoying the enchanting landsapes of Bukidnon province.

The first thing you notice when you are in Malaybalay is its cool climate. It is also a very clean city. Kaamulan Park, at the heart of the city, is a must visit area. The cool tempearature and the sweet scent of pine gives one images of an ideal retirement haven!

We stayed in an inxpensive hotel in downtown Malaybalay for about 600 per person. No aircon but the comfort room was at least clean. And the hotel staff was kind enough to allow us the use of their lobby for our packing and re packing. But they did notice that unlike their past mountaineer guests, we had twice as much stuff that we were bringing on our climb. If you notice, we only drink Pale Pilsen. Not the pretentious light stuff.

From Malaybalay, we had to travel 19 kilometers north to Impasug-ong and turn left for another 9 kms. through unpaved but well maintained dirt road to sitio Intavas.

Social Climber tip: Jollibee opens at 5am in Malaybalay. We had breakfast there before proceeding to Intavas.

At Brgy. Intavas, we met up with our porters and the brgy captain of the place. They gave conflicting estimates of how long the trek would take. Some porters said 6 hours while the brgy captain said 10. We settled for the estimate of 8 hours.

We began our trek through a baranggay road surrounded by vegetable farms, a stretch of about 5 kms. to the foot of Mt. Kitanglad. The locals were really friendly and the porters were quite respectful. I guess their porters association there has really good leadership.

Social climber tip: When negotiating with the porters, include in their fees the budget for their food. This lessesns the hassle of cooking  and feeding them. It's cheaper and more efficient.

Some climbers who have climbed Kitanglad would say that Kitanglad is a walk in the park. A friend even ventured to comment that all you need are your "crocs" for the  climb. Well, if you are between 40 and 60 years old, like us, any mountain will always pose a challenge. All mountains share the same characteristic, they all go up! And that puts a strain on your back, your legs and sometimes, even your patience. Before climbing, be sure you are reasonably fit.

The trail to the peak is a pretty established trail. Porters go through it daily to bring provisions to the communications installations at the peak. However, the surrounding forest, the canopy, the flora and fauna of the place is "a fresh balm to the weary body" as Myra would put it. The trail itself is reward enough.

Lily, our resident muse, would often shriek in delight "huwoww!" at the enchanting sites of the place. And all of us would hurry to see what wonders she has discovered.

Reaching the peak could be disconcerting because you get there through the back side of a communications shed. The entire peak is occupied by towers and sheds and bunkhouses. After a tiring 7 hour trek, it could be a bummer. But then again, as i said earlier, the trail was reward enough, and we left it at that. The picture of the towers was taken at about 12 midnight.

The bunkhouse for climbers is a bit dissapointing. The place is rundown and the former occupants left it without cleaning up. Benjie had to commandeer 3 porters to spruce up the place, especially the CR. I was too worn out to even give him encouraging words, I just sat down, lit my Havanas, and contemplated on the nature of mountain climbing. Inside the bunkhouse, I could hear Benjie liberally spraying the entire place with Lysol.

At nightfall, the temperature dropped to 6 degrees and we huddled inside the bunkhouse. We even covered small cracks with masking tape to keep the cold out. Technically, the 8 bunkbeds could accomodate 2 persons each, that is if you are built like Palito. Some of us opted to sleep on the sala instead.

Social climbing tip: Cooking rice at high altitudes is not the same as cooking rice at sea level. Water boils at a lower temperature. Thus, cooking time is a bit longer. Which means the 1 is to 1 ratio of water and rice is not enough. You guys figure it out for yourselves.

Unlike the gloom when dusk fell, sunrise was a welcome surprise. Huwowwww!

Our descent was typical of any mountain descent. The difference was the 5 kilometer stretch from the foot of Mt. Kitanglad to Intavas. If you want to know how it was different, then I guess you would have to go to Kitanglad yourself.

The trudge down is still worth it, what with picturesque views like this.