Trekking Mt. Malinao

Province of Albay

21, 22 May 2011

We are set to climb Mt. Mayon on May 21 to 22 and this is going to be a major climb. A week ahead, I have packed my bag, attended the pre-climb meeting and almost ready to go. I was really very excited and a bit nervous thinking that I may not be able to climb up to the summit.

Jump-Off Point

My excitement ended up with a mild disappointment when I received a text message from our team leader Guido saying that due to the resent activities of Mt. Mayon, the local government had issued a 6-kilometer permanent danger zone prohibiting any activity within the said zone.

He suggested that we climb one of the other three peaks in Albay instead and here comes Mt. Malinao. From a large group, we were down to five (5). We were then called "TIGAS 5" by our team leader.

On a nice calm morning of May 21st, Walter and myself proceeded to the Legaspi bus station where we waited for three more hikers including our Mt. Malinao team leader Darren who travelled all the way from Manila. We then took a 45-minute ride on a van from Legaspi to Tabaco. From there, we took another ride on a jeepney going to the jump-off point at Brgy. Malolos.

Water Source

We started trekking the mountain at about 9AM. The first part of the climb going to the camp site was a bit tiring having to carry atleast 15kg of backpack. We had refreshing coconut juice "buko" along the way to camp site. The trail was nice and weather was good.

We reached the camp site at about 1PM. The view from this point was magnificent overlooking the beach and the city of Legaspi. The view of Mt. Mayon was even more magnificent than viewing it from the ground. I had a feeling of nostalgia looking at the sun setting. At night the sky was filled with stars and the moon was very bright. I was actually singing "O Naraniag a Bulan", O Radiant Moon, one of my favorite Ilocano folk songs.

Camp Site

The following day, we woke up at about 4AM, took our delicious "mongo sprout" breakfast and prepared to climb up to the peak.

Trail Leading to Mt. Malinao Summit

This second part of the climb is our "moment of truth". We could not almost see the trail and if it was ever visible, it's too narrow, just like a knife edge, and slippery. Most of the time, our trail guide Biboy had to clear the trail with a "bolo" - big knife, before we can proceed. Very challenging climb indeed. The trail is constantly steep. Adding up to the excitement, poison ivy and "limatik" or bloodsucking leech is almost everywhere. I got bitten and only noticed it when I saw my left foot bleeding without a stop but it was never painful.

I remembered "Ka Roger" who would jokingly shout "Hindi ito Malinao!! Malabo ito" he is technically saying, it's a hard climb. Darren would also ask us "Have you ever thought why are we here? hahaha.."

We reached the summit at about 10:15AM after almost 5 hours of difficult climb.

The peak is thickly forested with century old tropical hardwoods, we have not seen the volcano's crater because of thick fog. The view is limited to only one side because of the dense vegetation. The peak is covered with thick fog and visibility is not so good. We were all very proud being able to sit down at the summit and had some few photos. We started our descent at about 10:30AM. Something unexpected happened along the way when our trail guide Biboy reacted as if he was panicking. My companion Walter and myself leading the trail were a bit shocked too and we ran back up the trail thinking that the "nice" people could be there. To our surprise later, Biboy just told us he saw a "Baboy ramo" - a wild pig.

We were back at the camp site at about 3PM, broke camp and continued our descent to the jump-off point. We were all glad to be back at the jump-off point by 6PM.

This climb was the most challenging climb I've ever had so far. Ka Roger would always call it "nightmare climb". Thanks to Darren, Biboy and the rest of the Trail Adventours team in Albay for all the guidance.

I enjoyed it. See more photos.

-o0o-