Mt. Magdiwata - The Tower Trail

Mt. Magdiwata - The Tower Trail

San Francisco, Agusan del Sur

Be an almighty force. Bring the mountains to their knees and let the storms announce - she has arrived.
 

A glimpse of Agusan Marsh behind me.

It was never in my plan to hike Mt. Magdiwata too soon - just six months after I summited it with Philsaga colleagues. But the moment I got back to site after my February field break, Ava, the curly haired geologist, invited me to join her in her first ever hike. And who am I to refuse? The mountains are calling and I must go, right?

In turn, I invited Kleng, the long haired mining engineer, who resembles Nam in the Asian romcom hit Crazy Little Thing Called Love. She was game without any pabebe and papilit so come Saturday afternoon, we traveled to San Franz and booked into Paseo Suites.

Sunday morning (rain is falling, steal some covers, share some skin). Ok, enough with one of my favorite Maroon 5 songs. The next morning, which was a fine, sunny Sunday, Kleng and I met up with Ava in Jollibee San Franz for breakfast and to buy our packed lunch. Wow! Ava was with Cherry, the shy, dimpled girl of Mine Geology. We thought Toffer was with them since Ava confirmed his attendance to me. Maybe, Toffer is a little bit of pabebe, pwede ding pabusy (lol)! Nevertheless, there were four of us, all girls, already in our trek attires, and ready to conquer the mystical Mt. Magdiwata.

After breakfast, we walked to the municipal hall of San Franz where Juancho Vicente and some young members of SAFMOC were waiting for us. I cheerily greeted Juancho, whom I already met during my first Magdiwata climb. I inquired about the possibility of tackling another trail - the Tower Trail which I heard offers a better vista at the peak compared to the traditional trail. It's doable because it's a lot easier and faster compared to the established traditional trail. Also, since it would be my companions first time to hike Magdiwata, we insisted to add portions of the traditional trail for them to experience the mountain's sparkling waterfalls and rock pools. Juancho and our SAFMOC guides agreed. So it's solved. We would be tackling two trails that day but will only summit the Tower Trail.

With our SAFMOC guides.

Four girls, four guides with one motorcycle each. We jumped up into the motorcycles for back rides and soon enough we're at the foot of Magdiwata. An hour of hiking or a couple, we reached the Tower which is a cellphone signal tower (Smart I think). Our guides then asked the tower's caretaker for permission to climb it up. The guide consented and he explained that me and my Philsaga colleagues are all slim so our combined weights wouldn't pose a threat to the tower. Bolero ka Manong!

Free buko!

Stairs leading to the tower.

With Klengsters.

The tower of the Tower Trail.

Our guides then set-up their ropes and started to harness us one by one to the mid-tier of the tower. Kleng confessed she is acrophobic but I salute her for the courage of exceeding her fear. She was able to join us at the top! And for that, she and all of us were rewarded with expansive views of Agusan Marsh. From our spot, we were able to identify the towns of Rosario and San Franz. I was reminded again of my long time dream to be able to sail Agusan Marsh entering from Bunawan and ending at Talacogon. That would also include a one or two night stay at one of the marsh communities, experiencing the food, culture and way of living of the people of Agusan Marsh. Hopefully soon (but Mayapay first)!

Climbing up.

All girls, all mines.

With our guides.

After the Tower Trail, we tackled the more technical and harder traditional trail. And there's really no way of avoiding it, just a few minutes in the trail, we got already wet. It started to rain too after lunch so we just enjoyed swimming and dancing to Budots in one of Magdiwata's waterfalls.

Past 3pm, we hiked back to the foot of the mountain and traveled to San Franz for a shower. After that? Socials over barbeque and beers together with our SAFMOC guides.

When dab was still a thing.

Any hard lesson in this climb? When life rains on you and drowns you down, just go with the flow, swim with the current, and don't forget your BUDOTS dance steps.

Climb Date: March 4, 2018

Summit Elevation: 633masl (MSUPeak), -600masl (Tower Trail)

Difficulty Rating: 5/9 (Wet Trail), 3/9 (Tower Trail)

Jump-off Point: HOT FM

Exit Point: same (back trail)

Days Required/Hours to Summit: 1 day/2 hours (Tower Trail)

Features: Palm oil and coconut plantations, Smart tower, Agusan Marsh view

Geology: Intrusive rocks, mostly diorite

Guide: San Francisco Mountaineer's Club

Contact Person: Juancho Vicente, SF Tourism Officer

I started vlogging during this hike and to better imagine what I wrote above, here's the link of our hike. First video is the Tower Trail, second one is the Wet Hike. Please do check-out my Budots skills. 😂