15-Kilometer Hike Under the Tormenting Heat of the Sun at Minglanilla Mountains

That moment when you were unsure if you were willing to go but because it's an adrenaline-pumping type of adventure so you went for it (?) That's what happened to me last weekend LOL!

It was a Sunday and my friends tagged me for a hike. Unlike years ago, I go mountain hiking almost every weekend but now, I just seldom go now. Why? Oh, I just can't take the tormenting heat of the sun nowadays hahaha!

This time, we went hiking to Minglanilla. It's a 1st class Municipality next to Talisay City in Cebu Province. There are a lot of hiking trails in this area and this time, we had to depend on the digital trail map that my friends had. Initially, our plan was to exit Mt. Naupa, a very famous hiking area in Naga. Will we make it to the end? We'll see HAHA!

Journey to the Jump Off

We met at Cebu IT Park around 5 in the morning. We had our quick breakfast while waiting for the others. After almost an hour and everyone arrived, we went ahead to the station to ride a bus straight to Minglanilla. The fare costs Php 45 (0.81 USD) from Cebu IT Park to Pakigne, Minglanilla. Since it was early in the morning, traffic was not heavy. After around an hour, we finally reached Pakigne where we will meet some of our hike buddies who live in the South. Oh, we also had to buy our lunch since there is no eatery at the trail where we will be going.

After a few minutes of the last buy and all are settled in. We hailed a motorcycle taxi for Php 30 (0.54 USD) per person to Brgy. Manduang. It was part 6:30 AM when we arrived there.

Segment 1: Hiking from Manduang to Calbasaan

We usually start our hike early in the morning so that the heat of the sun will not tire us at the start. Our group started the hike at Brgy. Manduang passes through local settlements. The trail is still paved at this part, however, it's not something you can take for granted because.. eng eng eng... it is creeping ascending. hahaha!

Mr. Sun started to rise and we reached the open part of the trails. Man, we can start to feel the scorching heat of Mr. Sun! We took our time ascending since we were just getting started and we don't want to end our hike early. LOL!

Well actually, one of our friends was feeling IT already (we will hide the name as Ate Sherlyn). Unfortunately, she was feeling unwell and started to barf. She tried to endure it until we reached another local vicinity in the middle of the mountains.

Finally, we reached a local vicinity at Paginpinon and there was a store! Bonus! There was an ice cream merchant sooo we took our time and bought some refreshments. Good thing the refreshments kind of helped our unwell friend.

After a few minutes, we continued ascending and taking a rolling trail until we reach Brgy. Calbasaan, still in Minglanilla. There's not much for a stopover in Calbasaan so we went ahead to the highlight of today's hike.

Segment 2: Hiking under the Tormenting Heat of the Sun

Summer is indeed here in the Philippines and there is not a day that you will not sweat out. Unless you live in a house with air conditioning LOL!

Few minutes we started to ascend, Ate Sherlyn, unfortunately, couldn't take it anymore. So she decided to stop and look for a motorcycle taxi to go home. The rest of us continued the hike even under the heat of the sun.

This part of the hike is through rolling hills and a very open trail. Our target is to reach another local vicinity hoping for a store with a cold soda for refreshments.

It was already noon time so the sun was at its peak. It was very HOT so we had to use our umbrella to cool it down a bit. We haven't had our lunch yet so most of us were not talking already while hiking and just want to reach that store so we can cool down.

After half an hour, we finally reached the entrance of the local vicinity, and SURPRISE, the store was closed 😭 So, we decided to take our lunch at the trail while budgeting our water because there is no store anymore until we end the hike.

Segment 3: Took an Unplanned Route

At this point, we decided not to go to our original plan since it will still take us hours to reach Mt. Naupa, and we didn't have enough water, and the sun was tormenting hot. So we decided to go to nearby waterfalls to also have a quick dip and cool down.

The hike going to the river and waterfalls are also not for the faint heart. The trail going down is so steep and the soil is loose so you really have to have a good grip. This is the time that my left knee was already hurting. I endured it by taking smaller steps and slowing down my pace even more.

After an hour, we finally reached the river hinting that we are already near the waterfalls.

Segment 4: River Trekking and Getting Refreshed!

I was already exhausted and had been longing to cool down. Even though I was slow, I still kept going and trying to swallow my saliva since I don't have enough water.

The trail is not so bad since there are a lot of trees providing shade. The only challenge is that you have to jump on boulders while trekking. Good thing that we have been passing by a series of waterfalls that provided us with some refreshments. Because of the fiery heat of the sun, we decided to take a dip in the river.

Photo credits: (L) @wanderingfeetph, (R) Hive account@kev.incredible

We finally were able to soak in fresh water! I just enjoyed taking a dip, cooling down, and having fun conversations with my friends. The refreshing water caressing my skin is something that I miss most when trekking. After almost an hour, we decided to recommence our hike, and this time, we are finally exiting Brgy. Guindaruhan.

Water-Level Check: 10% of my 40oz Aquaflask. OMG kaya pa ba to? HAHAHAHUHU

The hike went okay. Although I thought that my knees were already good after that refreshing hike, after like 10 minutes, they started to act up jeez! Sooo I had to slow down my pace again and take careful steps one at a time.

There's actually another waterfall nearby but we decided not to go because we were all tired from the hike already. We just want an ICE COLD COKE!!!

Everyone was already serious and you can see on everyone's face the longing for a drink. After a few more minutes, we finally reached the vicinity!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!

We reached a store and we bought some refreshments, and finally COKE. It's not really Ice Cold but at least we were able to finally drink. We exited at Brgy. Guindaruhan, or also called "Crasher".

We hailed a motorcycle taxi to Tungkop in Minglanilla (I think it's at the boundary of the City of Naga).

The reward didn't stop at drinking Coke at the store. We went to Tabunok and had Lechon Baboy for our dinner. HAHAHA! Who says hiking could get you slimmer? Of course not because after the hike, it's a feast! HAHAHA!

The hike in total (according to my smart watch) is 15 KM, with an elevation gain of 1,045.6 meters, and a duration of 7 and a half hours!!! SHEESH!!

This hike is kinda traumatizing because of the tormenting heat of the sun. So next time, I'd go for a hike when it's not forecasted to be that hot, and the trail has a lot of shade. HAHAHAHA!

Hope you enjoyed this hike as much as I did, Hiveans! See ya!