We gathered ourselves for a short orientation by Karl de la Peña in front of Montessori and Fil-Estate entrance as we equipped ourselves with a powerful tool – PRAYER.

After a short orientation and a prayer, we started walking along J.R. Borja Ext. road, went straight ahead to Galaxy crossing section, passed by some quarry spots on the river side and hiked for about 2 kilometers until we’ve reached the starting point of the river trek.

Confident enough with my leather sandals, I didn’t hesitate to cross the cold crystal clear waters, as the current was manageable enough to allow us through it very smoothly. There were cases when some of us have to improvise their footwear by tying up with rubber band behind the ankles to prevent from getting washed out by the current and refrain them from slipping off the rocks and mud.

There were already established tracks used by the local residence so trekking was really easy. But if you really want to trek on the river ‘mismo’, that won’t be a problem too. There were times when we have to climb some slipper boulders, turned around some washed logs, vines and twigs, and even the easiest single track can hurt when you’re lucky enough to be caught by thorns from small plants. With all these challenges, such activity is guaranteed that you’ll never get thirsty while trekking.

It is quite amazing how I was not able to expect such awesome place exist near the city. For about 4 hours of walking (approximately 4,300 steps from starting point), we’ve reached the cascading waterfalls located in Sitio Mapawa.

We took our lunch near a waterfall about as high as a 3-storey building and a green (if not raining) lagoon at the bottom. On the left leads you to another set of cascades and a man-made stairs to climb until you’ve reach the area which is already a part of the Mapawa Eco Park. The actual ascent could take you to the top of the waterfall. There were actually a lot of levels on these cascading waterfalls with lagoons and somehow we’ve managed to climb up to the 2nd level only. Dito daw madalas yung rapelling at dati’y nagshoot ang Extra Challenge a few years ago.

At around 2PM, we started to pack our things to leave. The gray clouds started to show up too and we’ll still have to walk back but this time, we’re not going on a backtrack but instead, we headed west to Indahag. We’ve crossed some cornfields, picked some guavas along the way as we follow the tracks to “Torres”, a popular biking trails here in the city that exits to Camaman-an.

Special thanks to ATTACK Outdoor Club for making these things possible.

Main trail starts with a bit rocky slippery ascent

It will just take about 8 kilometers from the city until you hit the trails in Malasag, situated along the slopes of Cugman watershed,  facing the Macajalar Bay in Cagayan de Oro. Mapawa Nature Park and Eco-Tourism Village are just one of the tourist attraction there. Aside from being host of religious activities during Holy Week,  it is also a perfect place for outdoor adventures like hiking, campings, and biking. The reforestration project in Malasag hills helps maintain the peaceful and rich sceneries of its forests, perfect in simulation for pre-climb mountain and nature trekking.

Taking our first stop near DENR in Malasag

It was a gloomy Sunday morning when the trek starts from the crossing highway of Cugman. It is a family outdoor activity organized by the klub. They brought their family and relatives with them. With my Camelback filled with pack lunch and extra dryfit shirt, handheld camera, water bottle placed in a beltbag and umbrella, everything was set as we headed up for about half an hour until we’ve reached our first stop near DENR. Everyone enjoyed the first few kilometers of the hike as the kids were amazed by the green surroundings.

Let's go-cart at starting trail!

Not just a kilometer away, after passing the crossing near Eco-Tourism Village, a PHIVOLCS station can be found. A few meters ahead, we found two young men with interesting rigs. They were taking a rest at the corner of the trail that leads to the forest. They were gathering woods and this home-made wood carts with wheel bearings and wooden steering helps them transport wood down the village. These look like mini-versions of the carts in Puerto! Onli in da pilipins!

Refilling from a natural water source in Malasag

After half an hour of hiking into the woods, we passed by this tubod with bottomless natural cold water. This serves as water source for the local people especially to the personels assigned on stationed telecom towers in the woods of Malasag. If ever you’ve consumed your water after the first part of the hiking, there’s nothing to worry as this refilling station is safe, natural, no chemical, cool, bottomless and it’s FREE!

Fallen logs found along the trail

It is common to see large fallen logs and vines along the trail and it is very important to look ahead to avoid hitting or caught yourself with these natural things. Enjoy the view. Take a look around. We went there not just for hiking but feeling the nature. It’s one of the closest thing we could experience the life in the wild. Malasag may not be as cold or as thick like Mt. Dulang-Dulang. It has already good established trails but still, we remained cautious sometimes. Malasag forest has lots of thorny vines and ferns.

We took lunch at the shed located in the highest peak of Malasag eco-park. Though the Macajalar bay isn’t visible from the place, we enjoyed staring over the hills of Bukidnon and the river in Catanico.

We had our backtrack after our lunch. Same trail but different pace. Views were different. It’s like taking another trail. The cool forest warmed up a bit in the afternoon. It doesn’t have it’s own weather unlike other mountain ranges. But it isn’t about how high a mountain or how far have you walked. It’s about the bond you are creating not just with the nature but also with your buddies. That hike gave me the chance to see and know more about these friends I’ve spinned with. They are dads with firm grip, quick mind and big hearts. Somehow, looking at them made me realize and take me a peek of what I wanted to become. Everything’s amazing.

Father and son.

Related links:

• Gardens of Malasag Cagayan De Oro
• Malasag Eco-Tourism

See some photos:

mountaineer equipments

In preparation for the D2K (Mt. Dulang-dulang to Mt. Kitanglad) Traverse mountain climbing this coming June 12-15, ATTACK decided to organize an event for the benefits of the members – the BMC or basic mountaineering course. Though the group have been into mountaineering for the past years, it would be necessary to have this course where most of the mountaineers here in the country (or even in other countries) serves this as a prerequisite before a major climb.