Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Hibok-hibok, 1994

It was good Friday I think, when we travelled from Davao City (from Mt. Apo) to Malaybalay, Bukidnon. There were no buses plying that day, so we rented a jeepney. We took the newly-constructed road, mostly unpaved, route via Buda, Bukidnon; this means we will not pass the Agusan provinces anymore as this is a much longer route. The jeepney took about 6-7 hours to reach Malaybalay! We thought it would take us only 5 hours.

From Malaybalay, Bukidnon's capital, we rented another jeepney that would take us to the municipality of Manolo Fortich, the last town of Bukidnon bordering the province of Misamis Oriental and near Cagayan de Oro City. One of our members in Congress Mountaineers, is Malou Acosta, and she and her family are hostic us in their house in M. Fortich. Malou's mother is also a Congresswoman, representing Bukidnon's 1st District.

Mt. Kitanglad is Mindanao's 2nd highest mountain, and I think the country's 4th or 5th highest mountain. Climbing this mountain, however, is not as difficult as the other mountains. There were plenty of telecomms towers and structures at the summit! The jeepney can reach up to 2/3 (or 3/4?) of the summit, so we had to walk only about 1/3 of the distance from the highway.
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Mt. Hibok-hibok, Camiguin

Camiguin is an island-province north of mainland Mindanao. To its north is Bohol province, to its south is Misamis Oriental and Agusan del Norte provinces. Per square kilometer of land, it has the most number of volcanoes in the country. It has around 7 volcanoes, 6 are inactive, and only Mt. Hibok-hibok is active. The province is also known for white sand beaches, sweet lansones, a tall waterfalls, and other natural attractions.

From Bukidnon (after climbing Mt. Kitanglad), we went to Cagayan de Oro City. Took a bus to a municipality of Agusan del Norte, took a boat from there to Camiguin. Climbing this province's highest and active volcano is not difficult. We actually climbed it and went back in about 5 hours. You will pass plenty of steaming holes around the volcano approaching the summit. These are the volcano's vents, along with hot springs, and they help taper the volcano's potentially dangerous fury. Hence, despite its being an active and always steaming hot volcano, there are no dangers of serious and dangerous eruption....