A not-so-pabebe twin hike.




Mt Balagbag and Mt Maranat

770+ MASL (Mt Balagbag) and 811 MASL (Mt Maranat)
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 1-2 hours (from jump off to Mt Balagbag)/ 2-2.5 hours (Mt Balagbag to Mt Maranat summit)
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 1-2

How to get there

We  hired a van going to the jump off point in Licao-Licao. If you will be going there via public transport, ride a bus from Cubao going to Tungko. Alight at Jollibee Tungko. From there, ride a jeep going to Licao-Licao. Travel time is around 2 hours. Over-all one-way fare is around 70PHP.

The trail

From the jump off point in the Barangay tourism office to the summit of Mt Balagbag, referred to as the "Helipad", the trail is pretty much easy. It is mostly uphill with minor assault. Also, the trail is mostly open so be ready to get toasted by the sun. For me, it is somewhat similar to the trail of Bakun's Mt Lobo. Balagbag's trail is a popular training ground for trail runners and mountain bikers. In fact, we bumped into some of them during our climb.

Our group at the summit of Mt Balagbag

The challenging part of this climb started on our traverse to Mt Maranat. With the scorching heat of the sun and the long downhill and uphill trek to the summit, it was an extremely tiresome journey.


Halfway to Maranat, we had to cross the river to get to the other side. Some of us crossed by walking through the big boulders of rocks while the others crossed by using the rope attached to the other side of the river.


From the river crossing, we had to walk for several more minutes to reach the peak of Maranat. It was totally fulfilling when we reached the campsite. We were so tired and hungry at this point!


After eating our lunch and taking a quick rest, we took a dip at the Maranat Falls. It was a pretty hot day so the water current was not that strong. Nevertheless, swimming at the falls was still refreshing.


Just like our trek from Balagbag to Maranat, going down Maranat is another long journey. It was another series of up and down trek through the open grassland. There were also sections with boulders and flowing water. It was dark when we reached the jump off point.

This is my first time to do a traverse hike and I would say that it was really a tough climb. But, so what? We came for the adventure anyway!

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Here is an estimate of our itinerary:

8:00 AM - Arrival at Licao-Licao
8:30 - 11:00 AM - Start of Trek to Balagbag Summit
11:00 - 11:30 PM - Rest at the summit
11:30 - 2:00 PM - Balagbag to Maranat camp site
2:00 - 3:00 PM - Lunch and swimming at Maranat
3:00 - 5:30 PM - Maranat Descent to the Julma's "Ministop" Store
5:30 - 6:30 PM - Eat and rest at the stop over to regroup
6:30 - 8:00 PM - Descent to jump off point

Update:
If you are planning to climb Maranat, kindly secure a permit. More details here:
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2015/11/mountain-news-denr-to-require-permits-for-maranat.html