mt mayapay

Mt Mayapay is a dominant feature in the Butuan City landscape. You cant miss it when you are exiting the airport. To climb Mayapay takes some planning. You have to get permission from the local military commander in Butuan City. This requires an official letter to the commander which he needs to sign for you to carry with you. The reason for this is the army has a camp at the top of the mountain and they want to be informed about any "visitors" and make sure people are safe when climbing. Next having a guide is a good idea...we located Vincet and his 2 sons to show us the way up. We started from the cell tower side (east) at 4 am, had a short rest at Vincent's house and then proceeded up a trail on the south facing side. the view of Butuan Bay was magnificent as was the sunrise. We could see all the way to Camiguin Island. About 100 meters before the summit the path along a cliff face ran out and Vincent started leading us up through the bush. I had shorts and and rubber shoes on...and by this time it was clear that long pants and hiking boots were needed. By this time it was past 7 am so we turned around and left the summit for another day. The trail is steep in many parts and I spent a lot of time on my butt sliding down. There may be an easier way to the top on the other side but I'll leave that until next time.