Life circumstances had stopped me from mountain climbing activities. As the famous quotes say “The mountains are calling and I must go” but for me, “the kids are calling louder that I can’t be with the mountains for a while.” But recently I saw a trail run advertisement and feels like I wanted to go, lol. But, I know I’am still not physically fit to do that, so I decided to book for a minor climb instead and I have chosen the Mt. Megatong.
Mount Megatong has an elevation of 430+ MSL. It is considered a minor and friendly climb as they have said. And it’s doable to do day hike. Beginners are welcome and many are climbing Mt. Megatong as a tune up climb, trail run practice and sometimes they held the trail run competition too in Mt. Megatong.
Trail Seekers AdvenTours are the first group to explore Mt. Megatong and made it open to public with the permission from the local government. The group offers an all in package to hike Mt. Megatong.
How to Get There
Mount Megatong is located in Sitio Talos, Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte. There are 2 ways on how to get there.
DIY Bus Travel From Davao City
There are available buses in Ecoland Terminal, Davao City that is bound to Sto. Tomas. Look for Bachelor Express bus line. The last trip schedule is 7PM, Mondays-Sunday. Air-conditioned Bus Fare is PHP120 (SP) and PHP150 (Regular)
From Sto. tomas 7 Eleven, take a local transport – Skylab. And then let the driver know that you need to go to Sitio Talos and jump off at the Lantawan ni Bakoko.
The suggested time guideline to start trekking Mt. Megatong is 2AM. If you travel by bus, estimated time of arrival is 9PM. Trek starts 2AM but you can rest and relax in Lantawan ni Bakoko.
Joiners Tour Based in Davao City
Another option to get there is to book for a public joiners that offers destination to Mt. Megatong. Trail Seeker AdvenTours offers an all in package tour in Mt. Megatong, with breakfast to summit included, they offer Davao based, Tagum and Sto. Tomas based as well.
CMPB Adventure also offer dayhike package to Mt. Megatong with van transport from Davao City to Sto.Tomas and vise versa. But sometimes, if guests are few, they will transfer you to Trail Seeker AdvenTours since they are based in Sto.Tomas and handled Mt. Megatong tours.
Jump Off Area: Lantawan ni Bakoko
We booked for a Mt. Megatong Dayhike via CMPB AdvenTours. Our meet up time is 11pm and we arrived in Lantawan ni Bakoko around 1AM. Upon seeing the area, I realized that DIY bus travel is also fine and cost efficient because even if you arrived in Bakoko around 9PM, you can actually rest and take a nap while waiting. There are sleeping area, stage and tribal house, mini lounge in art gallery and a huge space to take a rest before the trek. There are also a tribal village in Lantawan ni Bakoko, and their houses are well built with concrete materials and they are uniform in design and structure.
There is a mini store too, you can get coffee, snacks, souvenir items and including trekking rod with Mt. Megatong name embedded on it. If you rent the trekking rod, you only need to pay 20. And if you want it as souvenir, you can take it for only 50.00. I do recommend to buy it as a souvenir, this way you can help the locals too.
Short Briefing
By 1AM, the organizers gathered us for a short and quick briefing and prayer. They discussed the leave no trace policy, do’s and dont’s. The elevation details and how to survived and reached the summit. Majority of the guest are first time to hike Mt. Megatong. As per the organizers, Mt. Megatong is a beginner friendly. They explained why the trek should be started around 2AM, it’s because estimated time to reached the summit is 2-3 hours, and we need to have breakfast at the peak. Aside from that, we need to descend early too as Mt. Megatong has open trails and we need to avoid the sun at noon time or so. Who would want to walk under the sun around 10AM and onwards? It’s exhausting and not safe! Heat stroke is deadly.
They explained as well that there are no side trips because most guests will be so tired and exhausted after climbing and river trekking. I wonder if the “friendly” hike they have said is true. Hmm..
Journey to 1st Ridge Peak
We packed light, just water, trail foods and breakfast. We ready our headlights and off we go at exactly 2AM. It was raining in Davao City by the time we are about to leave. In Sto. Tomas, weather condition is not great as well, cloudy and it rained prior to the day we hike. We still went ahead because I used to hiking mountains on rainy days, foggy, muddy and slippery, I’ve tried that in many mountains, so we give it a go. No rain in Sitio Talos that day but the trail was so muddy and the mud was so thick and sticky that makes our shoes heavy and makes it difficult to trek. It was almost an hour like this and my headlamp died – I forgot to charge it! Good thing, the guide lend me his extra headlamp. After an hour, we’ve done through the sticky muddy trail. And then a mixed of ascending and flat trail going to peak 1.
The 2nd Peak
We continued to push through even though our legs are tired. The ascending portion going to peak 2 is starting to get harder. It seems hard for me because I didn’t do a leg workout prior to this. The last slope going to the 2nd peak is a little hard for me. The angle of the trail seems like in 90 degree, and you need to literally crawl going up. Around 3:40AM, we reached peak 2.
Reaching the Summit of Mt. Megatong
We were already exhausted and we must be in the summit before sunrise. This time, ascending takes much effort and seems like our 4 wheel drive human feature needs to be activated. We refer this to crawling. I literally crawl my way going up. There was a part when you need to grab the ropes for you to get up, it’s like rappelling. We reached the summit quarter to 5AM. We were the last to arrived from our group! I thought I can’t make it!
Breakfast at the Summit
The Mt. Megatong summit offers a beautiful and scenic view of mountain ridges. We spotted sea of clouds as well. It’s a perfect view as the sun slowly rises up. The sun is so soft to skin and feels like I was refreshed. I had witnessed again the same scenic view when I was active in mountain climbing like before. The same feeling of “my heart is full”. All struggles along the trail reaching the summit are all worth it.
We explored the summit and take photos. Rest and then we had our breakfast. We bring our own breakfast and other group had their breakfast prepared by the organizers. They shared some to us. But I ate only few to avoid feeling bloated along the way. I do recommend getting a tour with breakfast included from Trail Seeker AdvenTours so you don’t have to worry about it.
Descending from the Summit
Around 7AM, we started to descend from the summit. The first part of going down is okay. Some were running down the trail. Wish I can do the same but my ankle is prone to sprain injury, I can’t remember exactly how many times my ankle was injured and I am avoiding that as much as possible because I don’t want to be a burden to the group, carried due to injury. It should be a fast pacing since it’s going down but feels like it’s more tiring, I need to control my knee not to give in because it feels like my knees will fold anytime. We took many rest at that moment while enjoying the views around.
River Trekking
This is considered to be a side trip. It’s like a mini canyoneering. The river has huge boulders around, water levels differs in some area, there were parts that water are knee level and some are chest level. There are parts in the river that we need to squeeze ourselves and slide down the water. We experienced walking side by side too within the wall of rocks because water below is deep. You need to carry your bag up above your head to avoid it getting wet. The river is so long that it took us quiet time to reach the end. The river trekking adds more to our adventure in Mt. Megatong, however, I was too exhausted from the hike earlier, plus my hiking shoes was damaged and spike was detached, and I didn’t do any cardio or leg exercise, so the whole trekking was a struggle to me.
Overnight Camping Option
Dayhike is a continuous hike from 2AM until 10AM for us, with breaks and rest in between. Some arrived at the basecamp earlier, as it really depends on your pacing. It is exhausting if you are not physically and mentally prepared. Another option for a relaxing hike, plus no rush and you can enjoy the view in the summit is to do overnight and camp at the summit. You can start trekking 3PM or 4PM then reached the summit 6PM.
Budget Breakdown
- Bus Davao City to Sto. Tomas – ₱300 (back and forth, ₱150 one way)
- Local Transport Skylab – ₱100 (back and forth, ₱50 one way)
- Guide Fee – ₱120 (₱600 for 5 guests)
- Registration Fee – ₱200
- Food (Packed Breakfast & Lunch along the way ) – ₱500
- Total ₱1,220
Other Option – Book for an organized hike via CMPB Adventure with van roundtrip transfer – ₱1,399
Hiking Tips
- Do cardio and leg workout even if it’s a minor hike, don’t underestimate Mt. Megatong
- Best time to visit when good weather condition, to avoid sticky muddy trail. If you want more adventure, rainy day hike is awesome too!
- Pack light when hiking
- Wear quick dry clothes
- Wear quick dry shoes for river trekking. Or bring trekking sandals so shoes won’t wear out during long river trekking
- Bring headlamp, and extra headlamp or battery
- Bring trail food
- Bring enough water. Only 1 water source and it’s in the river
- Sip little water only when hiking to feel more lighter
- Eat not too much so you won’t feel bloated and heavy climbing up
- Take a rest, stop if needed but climb faster to reach the summit timely
- It’s open trail, bring sunblock
- Descend early to avoid the heat in an open trail
- Rent out or buy hiking rod to support locals in Mt. Megatong
- Observe local etiquette, there are tribal villages in there
- Observe cleanliness
- Leave no trace policy
Personal Reflection
Overall Mt. Megatong is a very exhausting climb but worth it. It’s a minor and friendly climb but to me it seems like it’s a major climb already. It’s been years since the last time I climbed a mountain. When we descend and upon looking back at the peak, I feel amazed that I conquered it even without proper physical preparation. But I do recommend to prepare physically to make your day hike more enjoyable and no body pain when you go home. Another thing is, even if it’s a day hike only, never underestimate a mountain and the nature. After all, we humans are so tiny that are trying our best to conquer it. The journey and trail may be difficult to climb but the summit will reward you a beauty that you can only see when you are at the very top.
