Dulang to Maagnaw Part 2

The best highlight of this trek was the traverse trail from Mt Dulang Dulang to Mt Maagnaw. The mossy forest was so enchanting and still pristine. The trail was not as used as the trail connecting Mt Kitanglad to Mt Dulang Dulang. 

The mossy forest

The trail was a series of rolling uphill and downhill, inside the forest of kitanglad mountain range. After a few hours of walking we emerged on a clear part of the ridge from there you can see both the peak of Kitanglad and Dulang Dulang.

You can see the summit of Mt Kitanglad

It is always a good idea to have lunch where there is a water source nearby. So we push forward to get closer to our destination point and try to maximize the good weather and sunlight that we have. After a few action packed moments we arrived in our lunch area. 

Re Group point

After lunch we continue our journey to reach the campsite.We then emerged to Langkayugan ridge. 

The trail going up to Langkayuga

The ridge.

Our hopes for the good weather was suddenly abated. At 3pm the rain started again and it made our ascend to Langkayugan peak challenging. And the plan to camp on that peak was not a good choice as the area was exposed to strong winds and rain. Our guides decide to look for an area inside the forest to be our campsite for the night. We cut the distance from the Langkayugan peak to Mt Maagnaw peak by more than 30mins. At 6pm just before the sun give way to the darkness we arrived on the campsite. Immediately pitch our tent as the rain starting to get intense. We hope for a good weather the next day as we will now close to set foot on top of Mt Maagnaw. 

To be continued.. 

All pictures used courtesy of John Arvin Ramos. 

Dulang To Maagnaw Traverse

After a year of waiting we finally nailed to set foot on the mountain that will complete my quest to finished the 9 out of 10 highest mountain in the Philippines.

We could have finished it last 2013, however due to mis communication we had not. So we need to ascend again Mt Dulang Dulang for the 2nd time. We could have just chosen to just ascend Mt Maagnaw, however since we have days to spend we choose to traversed these two mighty peaks.

So just a few months after our Kitanglad to Dulang Dulang traversed I already do my assignments of finding the right contact to help us with our Maagnaw Ascend. The climb would have not been possible if not for those people who helped us in every way possible.

Then the journey begins..

Day 1

Arrival in Laguindingan Airport - Proceed to Malaybalay - Spend the night in the house of Kagawad Gola.

Day 2 - Ritual and Proceed to Jump off

Most of the morning was spend hearing the wisdom and virtues of Datu Migkatay.

Ritual Part 1 ( Picture courtesy of John Arvin Ramos )

Ritual Part 2( Picture courtesy of John Arvin Ramos )

With Datu Migkatay and family after the ritual ( Picture courtesy of John Arvin Ramos )

10 mins before 12pm we arrived in Bulogan Jump off - Meet our porter guides and then the rain starts as we are about to start walking.

The wide and muddy trail leading to the forest of Mt Dulang Dulang ( Picture courtesy of John Arvin Ramos )

We reached the campsite amidst of the dark and cold rain at 7pm. We immediately pitch our tent, settle ourselves inside it , trying to get warm.

At 6am we awoke and gets mesmerized by the mist and beautiful garden of mossy forest.

Morning at the Campsite ( Picture courtesy of Mari Porlit )

We are thankful because after the nights incessant rain, we are blessed with the morning sun. We have now a chance to dry our tent and our wet clothes prior to the day's battle. We prepare our breakfast while waiting for our clothes to dry or to just lessen its wetness. At 9am we start our assault to the peak of Mt Dulang Dulang after 45 mins we reached the peak of the 2nd highest mountain of the Phillipines.

Iconic pose on top of Mt Dulang Dulang ( Picture courtesy of Bon Pajotal )

The tree ( Picture courtesy of Bon Pajotal )