Mount Kanlaon: Mapot-Mananawin Trail

Mount Kanlaon: Mapot-Mananawin Trail

Mount Kanlaon in the Morning

To Dumanjug

The first time that I set foot on that mountain was sometime in 2010. I was the one who organized the climb since there are lots of mountaineer to-be people who wants to go.

Me.. doing the jupshot fad

I decided to take another route since most of us were still working on a Friday night. I was the Dumanjug-Guihulngan boat route. I don’t even know which port we will be docking in Negros Island. Got there on a midnight but the boat leaves at 4am so we have plenty of time to do stuff. We just shared the food load for the people.

I somehow forgot the fare for the bus & boat but who cares! You will know the price once you get there. lol

Guihulngan Port 

It was not that bad. Got there quite early and we have to get a Ceres Bus ride to Canlaon City. Lucky we caught one... a very fast one! We arrived at Canlaon City on time.

Climb Starts NOW

We met the guides (Motmot & Co.) and ate our breakfast at the nearest carinderia and left in a multicab. We were about 8 climbers hoping to conquer the Visayas islands highest and one of the Philippines most deadly volcanoes.  It was said to have killed around 20 hikers to date. On my second climb 2013 there was also a reported dead body on the summit.

Me again in the saddle camp

But enough about the dead bodies! We started our ascend at around 10am in the blistering heat of the sun. The forest line was still far and we were all exhausted from the heat. I think I've evaporated the water in my body. But it was all fun. We ate our lunch on the trail. But it was already at the forest line so no need to worry about the damn heat.

We resumed the trek after lunch. This time, the canopy of trees cover the sun and everything was cool. The smell of dampness covered the area as it was a rainforest. On the trail, there was nothing manmade except them trees! Big trees, small trees, mossy trees, TREES!

Near the Summit

At around 5PM I noticed a very steep trail heading up. The guide lied to us that we are still hours away from the campsite. But upon checking on the altimeter of my watch it was nearly 2000masl. You lying bastard! After 30 minutes, we have reached the Leg 1, the Makawiwili Campsite. We didn't have time to do sight seeing as we can do it the next day. Our main objective was to pitch the tent and cook dinner.

Darkness falls in the mountain

We just cooked the usual spaghetti. But on the other tent, they were cooking birds! Maya birds! But then the storm came and ruined all the fun. No alcoholic liquor was spilled that night.

Was this our lunch or out breakfast?

Stormy Mountain

Then the heavy rain came. the 8 of us has to fit inside a 4-person tent to eat our dinner. The other tent was already wet inside just like an indoor Jacuzzi. Lucky our tent was not wet but somehow my tentmate got a slight fever. We slept early since the rain wasn’t planning to stop that night.

Makawiwili Peak 

Day Two: Nothing to DO

Got up quite early and saw one of the greatest sunrises! This day will be called the picture taking day. As the sun gets hotter and hotter, we ate our breakfast and began to break camp because the suns heat is not bearable anymore. We started our hike at around 10am and reached the Saddle Camp at around 12am.

A view of the summit from makawiwili peak

The Saddle Camp has no trees, just grass and a 20-minute hike to the top of the Visayas. But it was 12 noon, and staying inside the tent feels like sauna bath. We just cooked our lunch instead and ate it. Went down to Margaja Valley just below the campsite. I managed to mark my teritory on the nearby bushes (hence the bushman).

cooking time!

Bathed in the four-inch deep waters of Margaja valley was fun! Well, at least it took all the dirt away. Gathered some potable water at the nearest source and we went back to our campsite. It was still not recommended to climb the summit since it was still covered in fog. So we stayed at the campsite drinking the tasty liquor that we spared from last nights storm.

Stunning view of Margaja valley. Photo credits to Daks!

Then, it was nighttime, cooked our dinner, ate, then another round of drinking session above everybody else in the Visayas islands. The guides gave us Adobong Birdies or Fried Rice Field Birds. Those birds were considered pest on their area because they eat all the grains. So no pain... No grain. Had a bit of fun with the local guides but we have to sleep early for the next day. The summit day!

Day Three: Summit Day

Woke up early from my tentmate's ultimate snore and went out. Another best sunrise! There were no fog and the whole place was clear! We have to climb to the summit of Kanlaon to see the spectacular sunrise! It was a cold dawn maybe around 12 degrees. We hurried up the rocky face of the mountain. But always check for trailsigns especially when its foggy because you might be walking on the other end of the volcano or even worse you fall on a cliff and die! lol

Summit Picture taking

We will skip on the tiring 20 minute or less climb to the top of Negros Island. The crater was so huge and deep, if somebody would fall down, he will surely meet his maker. And another picture taking moments on top (I better find those pictures). I was wondering if there was a push-button for the volcano to spit out deadly magma that would be cool. NOT!

Me and the mouth of kanlaon

Went down to the campsite and cook then ate our breakfast. Then another tiring moment, the trek back down. This time is another trail called Mananawin. This will lead to Brgy Masulog. Another hot hot hot trek in the cogon fields. Those cogon leaves were very sharp I had several cuts in my hand that time. That was I think an hour of cogon field then the forest line for maybe an hour. We ate our lunch on the dead creek where some locals died there while training. The flash flood took them away. You can see faces on the rocks near the river. Maybe they are the ones who perished.

Going Down!

The Summit !

After the creek, you find a beautiful view of Brgy Masulog. But you have to trek in the blistering heat at around 1-2 in the afternoon without the covering trees. We were now in the great farmlands. Endless carrot and cabbage plantation! This time everyone was very anxious and that makes it more painful. Then we arrived at the sari-sari store selling ice cold coca-cola! Then, we took a dip near these miniature waterfalls with natural water slides  That really made my day! But we have to get back to Canlaon City its still around 40 minutes of travel.

Going down the mountain

Waterslide!! Oh yeah!!!

Canlaon City Party Time

The guide invited us to his cousins house to spend the night. Had a great dinner, cleaned up, smelled fresh and clean. Then, the drinking session commence! Everyone was drunk and they lived happily ever after! Oh.. We missed the 4am bus. I have to text my supervisor that I couldn't come to the office because something came up! Rode the bus to San Carlos City and rode a fast-craft to Toledo City, Cebu! This time we were feeling a bit of hangover but very much satisfied from the trek. Of all the mountains that I have been here in the Philippines, Mount Kanlaon is the best one and will always go back as long as I have time and money. (We went back a year later then another year later... and yeah I still have to write it).

There and back again! 

Casts: Uncle Bob (andrew), Dora (jazzy),Spongebob (don), Daks, Cute, Ching, Sheeny Babes, MeGuide: Motmot, Kim, Paul

Credits to the Photos: Sheena, Daks, Don,Jazz