Hiking matters #780: Climbing Mt. Dialanese, Quirino’s highest peak

It has been my longtime dream to climb the highest points in all the Sierra Madre provinces, and climbing Mt. Dialanese (pronounced “djalanis”), the highest peak in Quirino, would be a big step closer to the goal – which is why I lost no time in taking the opportunity to do it, with the help and support of the Quirino-based Kiyaw Mountaineers. Like the province itself, Dialanese is home to Dumagat, Bugkalot, Gadding, and other indigenous communities and like the other Sierra Madre high peaks, Mt. Dialanese lies deep in the forest. From Manila, we – myself, Daryl, Charina, Kate, and FR – traveled  overland via the scenic Malico road. As we approached Maddela, the appearance of Mount Dialanese itself, majestically rising to over 1,800 meters above sea level, bode well for our team.

From Maddela, we took a 4×4 monster jeep to the trailhead, Sitio Dialanese, and we started trekking at 0504H, in a bid to complete the entire hike – normally a three-day affair, in one long day. Immediately, we went through woodlands and some river crossings. before entering the deep forest.

We saw a green pit viper along the trail, and there were giant beehives above us that we dared not disturb! . Incredibly, we could hear the barking of the deer while ascending the forest.

By 1108, we reached the campsite, where we decided to have lunch – and wait for the rest of the team. At that point, however, it became clear that the entire would not make it to the summit at the rate we were going, so Daryl and I proceeded, together with the guide, to aim for the summit on behalf of the whole team. From that point, the trail was overgrown and required a lot of acrobatics through the mossy forest. We reached the summit at 1424H, after 2 hours 20 minutes of trekking from the campsite!

We were back at the campsite by 1615, and then it was still a long way to go – we reached the trailhead at 2023H, after 15 hours! As if to bid us farewell, thousands of fireflies put on an unforgettable show on our way back from the mountain. Overall, it turned out to be a challenging hike, a worthy member of the pantheon of mighty Sierra Madre peaks—some of which I’ve also climbed like Cagua Volcano in Cagayan, Mount Bintuod in Nueva Vizcaya, Mount Kemalugong in Nueva Ecija, and Mount Mingan in Aurora—and I wish the Kiyaw Mountaineers all the best in their efforts to document and establish more trails in the province.