The Philippine's highest mountain is located in one of its southernmost main islands called Mindanao. Taking the Sta. Cruz Circuit trail required our group to fly to Davao City a day earlier than the actual climb to allow ample time to gather supplies and rest as this giant which stands 2956 meters above sea level deserves all the preparations and rest any mountaineer can muster.

The adventure starts with an open, mini-truck ride from Kapatagan to Sito Colan which allows you to have Benguet-feels with the cold climate welcoming you with views of fruit and flower plantations.

The trek starts easy through Sitio Tumpis which is surrounded by flower and vegetable farms and starts to get "interesting" when you enter the forest and start to notice the change of the environment.

Get ready for mud and more mud as you trek through ecamps like Basakan and Bugha-anan until you reach Tinikaran campsite 1 which has a water source and cr (I personally did not need one so I did no look for it).

Check out part 2 of this epic adventure as it picks up quite a bit due to the forest trail terrain, the boulder face (very "tricky" part of the adventure) and my very close encounter with its resident wild monkeys and the very eerie white sand e-camp, the crater/lake near its peak, the actual peak and my descent to Lake Venado via the "punyeta" trail and eventually the trail back to Sitio Colan