Crisscrossing Mt. Loay to Kiblan route

My day hike schedule on Friday the 13^th (July 13) was a harsh crossover climb featuring two dominant mountain ranges in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur; Mt. Loay and the less-trekked Kiblan base located in barangay Coronon where the Binuangon Spring emanates. Kiblan stands for Kibarangan and Langan, two sitios in Coronon that assemble in a common point connecting the other sitio down east in Piton which eventually links to Coronon national highway.

Mt. Loay now starts to become very popular among day hikers in the region with its all-uphill terrain trail highlighted by farm lands and attractive summit. Add to that, this mountain will host a Vertical Kilometer race come August 18, making it an instant venue for trail running in Davao region. As usual, we were greeted with the beautiful view of the entire Sta. Cruz landscape and seascape in the summit. Mt. Bariraya (the one we referred to as G2 of the South), was very visible, making it the tallest peak in the strip made up of barangays Zone 2, Zone 1 and Coronon.    

I heard variety of bird species in the trail of Loay, most notable among them were White-eared Brown Doves and Zebra Doves, Bulbols and Collared Kingfisher. Just few steps from the trail head I saw one Pied Triller perching in one of the trees that formed part of the vegetation in Loay. Farm plants of banana and coconut are familiar sceneries in combination with vegetables and these wild edible mushrooms we commonly call “libgos”.

As we descended to a different path in Zone 1 ridge, we saw the 796 hill, the one visible in sitio Patulagon and Pintuan, dividing our vision to two famous companies in Franklin Baker and Seaoil Depot Plant. The same track was used by Vertical to Sky during the Mt. Apo Sky and Vertical Race last April 21. As we trekked further down to Kiblan, I was able to spot a different perspective of Mt. Bariraya at the back and the huge stone formation laid out in the hills of Langan. The trail was too tricky at times there were instances some of my climb mates stumbled along the way.   

After more or less two hours of downhill trekking we reached Kiblan junction, an area developed by the European Union-funded  project Upland Development Programme in the early parts of year 2000. The site has two hanging bridges, one being used as access to Langan while the other one serves as gateway to Kibarangan. I was told by my trail running colleagues that Kiblan was the jump off point to a more strenuous assault in Mt. Leong, the third summit featured in the Vertical to Sky Race last April.

A short trek up west from Kiblan is a natural pool that hosts congregated streams from Binuangon surface water basin. Here we were able to cool down and relax with the very cold pool water and the mini waterfalls adjoining its perimeter. Beside the pool is a lush forest shading almost the entire Kiblan.

After an excellent side trip we ran the remaining five kilometres of open trail from Kiblan to National Highway of Coronon.

This crossover climb in Loay and Kiblan was part of the annual basic Mountaineering Course conducted by the Local Government Unit of Sta. Cruz to its employees as a continuous effort to educate the participants the importance of environmental conservation and protection in view of the increasing ecotourism activities in the municipality. 

Mt. Puting Bato Guillon – Tayapoc Traverse Day Hike

My first stop for a long weekend on June 15 was a traverse day hike in Samal Island’s most popular trekking destination, Mt. Puting Bato. The hike was part of the training program for an impending major climb by my friend Ella who is set to take a Mt. Apo trek anytime between July and August this year.

  

I already visited this mountain 3 times as it hosted several trail running events in Samal, but this climb was the only legitimate opportunity for me to take photos especially in the summit area.

We took the Guillon entry point, the only trail with some upright tracks where Ella had a lot of enduring to do as a newbie in trekking although she said she had been doing outdoor hikes in her hometown in Malita, Davao Occidental. Unlike 3 to 4 years back, the trail head in Guillon is now very much accessible to any type of transportation modes. We started the trekking at exactly 8:00 in the morning where we met other weekend trekkers along the way.

After 30 minutes we reached the first campsite. This site serves as vantage to a great panorama of Davao Gulf and Davao City. Few minutes from Camp 1 is another part of the summit where the highest point is located. My GPS equipment recorded the highest point at 580 meters above sea level. And the third of the three stopovers in the summit of Puting Bato is the one accessible from Canibad trail. All in all, there are 3 collection points of entrance fees in Puting Bato at 20 pesos per site.

As we enjoyed the entire landscape of Samal Island at the peak, I saw two Brahminy Kite Eagles soaring around the canopy of farm lands in Samal particularly in Peñaplata and Babak District. Other birds I noticed were flock of Brown Doves in the stairway area connecting the first and second campsites. While not far from the trail going to Canibad I saw one White-winged Cockoo Shrike. Some butterflies also help embellish the peak of Puting Bato.

The route to Tayapoc is wide and established and is being covered with farm plants and bushes shading trekkers from the humid atmosphere of Samal. The beautiful site of beaches in Canibad is a scene to behold when descending via Tayapoc trail. In 45-minute time we arrived at the trail head of Tayapoc.

To some extent a day hike in Puting Bato can be a good start if one plans to climb a major mountain like Mt. Apo, Kitanglad or Dulang-dulang. After climbing it for four times I suggest one should do a traverse hike rather than a backtrack in order to appreciate Samal Island better.

Mt. Loay Independence Day Hike

Another good trekking destination in Sta. Cruz is Mt. Loay located in the mountain ranges o Barangay Zone 2 which I discovered on June 12, 2018 with some buddies from LOGSAC Jonas, Eidine, Julius Biala, Cholo, Cris, Froilan and Vertical to Sky Proprietor Doi Calbes who is set to hold a Vertical Kilometer Race in this mountain comes August 18, 2018. The trek, which happened after a short Independence Day celebration, was a sort of recovery workout for me after a 2-day Mt. Apo climb last June 9 and 10.

  

We started the trek at around 9:45 in the morning from the national highway of Barangay Zone 2, the familiar road going to Loay Elementary School. The total trail distance is 5 kilometers highlighting a 2-kilometer open road and 3-kilometer single track along a vast farmland of coconut, banana and fruit trees. While trekking we met several community members in Loay doing their daily farm routines.  

The total trail course has an elevation gain of 1,000 meters above sea level which definitely worn us all out prior to reaching the summit. Our only woman trekker Eideine Karla decided not to proceed to the summit because it was really very steep and the weather was extremely hot.

We arrived at the summit of Mt. Loay by 12:00 noon. The exact elevation in the summit is 1,040 masl, allowing us to view adjacent mountain ranges in Sinoron, Coronon and Zone 1. The most dominant peaks are Mt. Dioloy, Camotes Ridge, Pilan Peak and Mt. Bariraya which we all thought resembles Romblon’s Mt. Guiting-guiting at a far distance. The urban center of Sta. Cruz, including the huge Davao Gulf, are all visible from the summit.

A farm house owned by Mang Tony served as our rest area, also the very same hut where Eidine waited for us. An energizing buko break was provided to us by Mang Tony. After an hour of some fun convo we trekked down the same route at a faster pace we reached the trail head in 45 minutes.