Mt. Talomo, One of the Most Unforgiving Mountains in the Philippines.

The Legendary 7 at 8,850ft ASL - (Left to Right: Karl, Krisza, Jayson, Flo, Martin, Suy, Neil) Video link at the end of my blog.

Mt. Kolelan a.k.a Mt. Talomo is revered as the guardian mountain of Mt. Apo. It is thought that during the past, it is much higher than Mt. Apo, but when it erupted, it blasted parts of its peak, hence it is now much lower than Mt. Apo. Still, Mt. Talomo is considerably high, with an elevation of 2,674+ meters above sea level (15th highest, some sources say it is the 21st highest).

Our group was supposed to climb Mt. Apo last April 1, 2016, unfortunately forest fires struck Mt. Apo. Our climb is indefinitely postponed. We considered Mt. Dulang-dulang as our Plan B (2nd highest peak in the Philippines), but due to time constraints in securing a permit, it was a no go and forest fires again struck parts of the Kitanglad range. It was again closed. Very disappointing!

Feeling desperate to climb, our group decided to climb Mt. Talomo (our last option). We did not consider Mt. Talomo at first as our destination since from what we have heard, it is one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the Philippines. I've climbed mountains before but this was my first major climb. I do not have a baseline on how difficult the trail was, but indeed it was so unforgiving. The entire climb was consistently uphill! I did not hire a porter, as I was really confident that I can climb this mountain on my own with my 15kg payload at my back. Think of it as my bragging rights! :)

Day 0:

A brief prayer before leaving.

Timeline:

9:00PM: Meetup at Ateneo Roxas. We hired a jeepney to take us to the drop off point in Tamayong, Purok 6.

10:30PM: Arrival at Tamayong, Purok 6.

12:00AM: Arrival at Sicao Village. ( We spent the night here to rest and prepared for the actual climb the next day)

When we arrived at Tamayong, Purok 6, there was no power! Good thing we brought headlamps!

It was really dark.

Taking rests. It takes around 2 hours to reach Sicao Village.

Rain started to fall and thick fog blanketed us. Mother nature is already playing with us.

12:00AM, we arrived at Sicao Village. After having noodles, we rested.

Day 01:

Timeline:

5:00AM: Wakeup call

5:30AM: Breakfast

8:00AM: Trek to Camp 1 (10 Hours)

6:00AM: Arrival to Camp 1

Weather is not good.

Boodle fight! Courtesy of Chef Nino and Chito! Lami!

L-R ( Norman, Krisza. Karl, Red, Martin, Flo, Nino, Henry, Jarisse)

Lezzgo!

Rest period while waiting for the other group to catch up. This is already the start of the non-stop uphill climb all the way to the top.

The trail is still very easy.

Mossy logs are starting to appear. The forest is really damp and moist.

Water source! You can refill your bottles here. It is safe to drink! It's also a great time to wash up.

Moss! Walang katapusang Moss!

Slippery! Even if it's not wet. :)

Taking every opportunity to take selfies at rest! We don't come here often.

The jungle is starting to get thick.

The trail is starting to get very complicated.

This tree was reportedly struck by lightning and it collapsed!

Tired and exhausted. We rested and waited for the other group to catch up.

Finally, the other group arrived. We are now complete.

This is my vantage point. I'm lying down on the forest floor. Awesome view!

Konting tiis nalang! Camp 1 na!

Campsite 1:

The weather is very unpredictable. When we arrived, it was just a little bit cloudy. Then suddenly, the rain fell. And so we thought it's just going to pass. We were wrong. The rain persisted throughout the night. Our tents leaked and were flooded. Obviously, we were not prepared for the weather. One tent was completely abandoned (na Ondoy). The remaining ones were leaky. So we desperately cramped ourselves to the other available tents. It was really disappointing! It even came to a point when one of our companions are already arguing on what to do. 

Fortunately, dinner was ready by 9:00pm (Chef: Nino & Chito salamat once again!). Tinolang manok! You should consume your Tinola after 3mins or else it will turn very cold. It was still raining a little bit. The summit assault tomorrow might be impossible, given the very bad weather. Very disappointing indeed!

By 10:00pm, we were already inside our tents. All we could hear is the sound of crickets, wind blowing and the individual drops of water falling onto our tents. It was the LONGEST night ever of my life!

Day 02:

Timeline:

6:00AM: Wakeup call

7:00AM: Breakfast then Summit Assault!

10:00AM: Leave summit (Back trail)

3:00PM: Arrival at Sicao Village

Wow! Clearing!

There was a partial clearing by morning. But I was not really expecting it would last. And it really did not. Just a few minutes after taking this photo, thick fog sets in. And it was like that the whole day! *Spoiler Alert* - No clearing at the summit. :(

Last group photo. Since only 7 of us decided to go ahead and make the assault to the summit!

Only 7 of us decided to push through with the summit assault (Myself, Neil, Karl, Jayson, Krisza, Flo and Martin). The others were not that fortunate since they lacked sleep and fresh clothes (nabasa lahat sa ulan), so they decided to return ahead of us to Sicao Village. We left our bags here at the camp so it would be easier for us to trek our way to the summit.

Summit Assault:

Without eating breakfast (since we really need to rush in order for us return to Sicao Village before dark) we proceeded with the summit assault. Some of our porters will just deliver the food for us (once cooked at Camp 1) on the next stopover.

You'll have to do a lot of log crossing. Very slippery!

The trail is no longer easy to spot. You'll easily get lost here in the forest!

Almost every after 15mins, we rest. The air is so thin already. Every step is a struggle.

Stopover. We ate our breakfast here.

Mossy Forest:

Before reaching the summit, you will pass by the mossy forest. It feels very enchanted. All the trees are covered with moss! The only thing that is moss free is the trail.

Creepy. Parang lalabas si Slender Man. Yikes!

Talagang moss lahat!

Summit:

The official height of Mt. Talomo is 2,674 MASL. But according to my altimeter, it's 2,698 MASL or 8,850ft above sea level. No clearing at the summit though. I could have seen Mt. Apo from the horizon. Sad!

Summit na! Yey!

MBA: Masters in Bukid Adventures!

Back to Sicao Village:

We left the summit at exactly 10:00AM. We arrived at the village by 3:00PM. We just did a 5 hour back trail, which is I think is pretty fast!

View of Mt. Talomo from Sicao Village. Biglag nagkaroon ng clearing! :(

Team MBA!

After experiencing Mt. Talomo, I can say that it is really a very hard climb! It might be one of the few places on Earth that I would not dare to visit again. That is how challenging Mt. Talomo is.

Mt. Talomo Specifications: From Pinoy Mountaineer.

MT. TALOMO
Calinan, Davao del Sur
Major jump off: Purok 6, Sitio Utan, Brgy. Tamayong, calinan
LLA: 2674 MASL
Days Required:/Hours to summit: 2-3 days / 9 hours
Specs: Major, Difficulty 7/9 trail class 2-5
Features: Mossy forest

Video Link: Mt. Talomo Video

Team MBA:
Nino Uyanguren
Chito "Miranda"
Neil Muega
Krisza Kintanar
Flor Clarion
Jayson Iran
Karl Lagnaoda
Jarisse Go
Henry Gomez
Paul Batacan
Martin Sturm
Mildred Racho
Jan Gacer
Norman Cagalitan
Jopeth