Mt. Matutum (2,286 m)

General Santos

Days had passed after a failure attempt of the highest mountain in Jagna, we decided to climb the highest mountain in General Santos. They said General Santos is a critical area because of the terrorist. Hmmm, I don't think so.

How to get there:

We took Cebu Pacific Air from Cebu City to General Santos. Got a taxi and cost us 300 pesos. Arriving the city proper, I felt safe and secure. So whatever the rumors I have heard about General Santos that it is a dangerous place,they're all wrong. We stayed in Hotel Filipino for 1,200/night. The hotel seemed overpriced but we were too lazy to find more hotels.

The next day we went to Tupi. We took a tricycle and asked the driver to drop us to the bus station going to Tupi (8 pesos each). We took a bus from General Santos to Tupi for only 40 pesos each. We went to the Municipal Hall but the lady had informed us to go to Tourism Office which is located at the right side of the Municipal Hall. When we were in Cebu, we had a contact person named Mr. Sanico (0910)389-4941 and we asked him that we will be arriving in Tupi to ask a permit to climb the mountain. He said we can go to his office anytime. So when we arrived there, the permit is already prepared. We were assisted by Mr. Rolly Tutor Visaya, he was so kind to us and did the best service for us. He gave us some information about Mt. Matutum and gave some advice as well.We paid 150 pesos for my permit plus 250 for Lyngve's permit. We were informed that the guide will only cost us 500 pesos back and forth. Wow! It was the cheapest service ever for a guide.

From Tupi, we took a bus going back to General Santos. The next day, we took the same bus and asked the conductor to drop us at crossing Polonuling. We took a habal-habal for 150 pesos. It was a 20 mins ride. While riding on the habal-habal, you will see huge farm of Pineapple owned by Dole. We stopped in a small village under B'laan Tribe. The guy inspected our permit and introduced us to our guide(code number 27).

We started the trek around 11:00 and reached the summit at 16:00. There are a lot of leaches on the very first part of the trail. I hate leaches so when they hear me screaming, they know what's going on with me. It took us 2 hrs to arrive face one, a huge open area where you can eat your lunch or you can even camp there. It was raining so we decided to continue the trek. We waited until the rain stopped. We had a ten-min lunch and continued the trek. The second and last part of the trail was a bit tough. There were fallen trees and big stones that we needed to pass thru. My body was really flexible that Lyngve told me I look like I am from a circus, silly! Well, it was not easy, it caused me sore legs and backache. Then we reached the summit with fogs or clouds on the view. It was only the three of us at the summit. We took some photos, pitched our tent and changed some dry clothes. At night it was cold and raining. The next day, our guide informed me that he was not able to sleep because his tent became a free swimming pool. I felt sorry for him. This is the second climb I experienced that our guides were not able to sleep because the water gets inside their tent. Who in the world would like to sleep in a cold and wet tent, nobody! I suggest that DENR and/or DOT must provide good tent, sleeping mattress and sleeping bag to the poor guides and porters. These guides and porters are the ones representing the beauty of the mountain so I think that they deserve to be treated good and get the best trekking equipment.

We descended at 8:00 and reached the foot of the mountain at 14:00. I was so slow this time because of my sore legs. It was a non-stop descent. It was raining and to make sure we won't freeze, we had to keep moving. When we arrived at the water source, the guide offered me to ride a horse for 50 pesos, so I did. It was fun! It was my first time to ride a horse. Back in the small village of B'laan tribe, we paid the guide 1,000 pesos instead of 500 pesos. He was nice to us and he deserves to get more than 500 pesos. We took a habal-habal for 120 pesos. From crossing Polonuling, we took an ordinary bus to General Santos and paid 30 pesos each.

It was a fun filled of experience. Dead nails, sore legs, backache, stiff neck, cuts, bruises, adventure, new friends, great bonding with Lyngve, healthy lifestyle, name it! It was awesome!

If you have question, feel free to leave a comment or email me at emilyngve@gmail.com

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