READING
A TRAIL SIGN is one of the skills that a plain outdoorsman should
recognize and develop. Comprehension and common sense are the only
tools by which to successfully interpret a sign left behind either by
an animal or by a human. Likewise, stalking is another ability that
is perfected by a hunter but can be used almost effectively by a
common drifter in his search for food.
These
two compliment each other and so, this blogger organized another free
outdoor activity which discuss about Basic Trailsigns and Stalking on
August 26, 2012. This is a series of teach-ins under the Grassroots
Bushcraft Teaching Series of the Warrior Pilgrimage Blog.
Attending are Silver Cueva, Jhurds Neo, Dominikus Sepe, Eli Bryn
Tambiga and Edwina Marie Intud. Also around are Ernie Salomon, Nyor
Pino, Anthony Espinosa and the father-and-daughter team of Benjie and
Jerii Echavez.
As
usual, everything has its beginning at the parking area of the Our
Lady of Guadalupe Parish where we assemble, take breakfast and buy
food provisions for our lunch, which we will later prepare inside the
wilderness of the Babag Mountain Range. We follow Bebut’s Trail
and we leave at 8:45 AM. We climb Heartbreak Ridge very late already
and I fear that the sun and the heat will torment us.
I
intentionally slowed my pace so Benjie and Jerii will not be stressed
and get fatigued so early in our hike. I just need to get all out of
this stretch and go straight into the cool refuge of the tree cover
which is about five hundred meters up the trail. I notice the blades
of grasses still retain moisture and dew at this late hour where, I
know, the sun would have scorched the leaves dry and cause
disappointment to a lot of hikers. The sun did come out but,
surprisingly, it is a degree cooler.
We
reach the Portal and my original itinerary will have to be altered
because I found it too demanding for the new attendees. So, we will
go instead to Kilat Spring to cook our food there and, at the same
time, do my lecture. I notice four fully-grown and one juvenile
mahogany trees were brazenly cut by cockroaches with chainsaws.
Hidden from my view but very audible is the hum of chainsaw. Oh God,
I hate that sound!
I
document the stumps with my Samsung camera and proceed to
Kilat Spring with a heavy heart. There is a path through there and
it is called Kilat Trail. It is a wild trail that I discovered in
September 2010 while contemplating of exploring another part of the
Buhisan. Few locals go there and the trail then teem with a thousand
butterflies, some snakes and lizards and a Malayan palm civet.
Today,
it is now used by cockroaches with chainsaws and they leave trail
signs like tree stumps, felled trees, cut branches and dried leaves.
I have counted NINETEEN stumps of mahogany trees and TWO stumps of
teak trees. They trample everywhere and alter the trail that leave
me and my party getting lost. I walk in circles and use a compass to
no avail until I have to use the high ground to analyze better the
location of the natural spring.
How
could people cut trees so easily inside of a protected area? How
could people that were supposed to protect these trees are not around
to enforce environmental laws? The Buhisan is the last one wild
place of Metro Cebu that is wide and is thick enough to shelter
wildlife and endemic plants and it is already threatened by the near
location of an upscale housing project known as the Monterazzas de
Cebu. Now, cockroaches with chainsaws pierce this piece of
wilderness with a lot of trees cut down and getting away with it.
I
hear a kukuk
calling and I answer it with a poor – nay, throaty - imitation of
its birdcall. Then I thought I hear a monkey screaming somewhere
deep in the jungle. I dismiss it yet Anthony heard it also and he
told me that he and some friends once released seven Philippine
macaques into the Buhisan a few years ago. Wow, I didn’t know that
and that answered my curiosity of hearing a mammal-like cry in a
different part of Buhisan last May.
I
expect sunbathing reptiles along the trail but they are not there
anymore. Too many people, I mean cockroaches, might have disturbed
their habitat with all those sounds they make or they may have been
hunted down for food by these same folks during their illegal logging
operations. Small clearings made by these cockroaches have
disoriented me no end and contributed to my boiling agitation.
I
reach the high ground and walk towards a faraway mango tree that
marked the trail to Kilat so we could take rest under its shady
branches. I am stressed but I insist that I will go to the natural
spring to fetch water for our cooking for everyone have used up their
water reserves during the search for the true trail to Kilat.
Silver, Dom and Eli volunteer to go down with me. The hard part will
be bringing all that water up.
When
everyone got settled with plenty of drinking water, I start the
informal lecture. I start with trail signs and “trailsigns” over
a cup of coffee. I let them recall of what unusual items they have
seen along the trails that we have passed. All agreed that it was
caused by humans. Of course, it could not be denied that humans
alter and disturb the trails like those resulting from cutting of
trees and those telltale signs of plastic waste strewn all along the
length of the route.
There
are, however, small things that you see which are ordinary and do not
demand your keen attention while there are those invisible to the
sight which only the trained eye could only notice. Everything you
see, smell, feel, taste and hear that is not in its natural state
should be analyzed and studied. It could be a disturbed pebble, a
bent grass, an offensive smell, a dent in the ground, a coarse
texture on a smooth rock, a cotton fiber caught by a thorn, etc. All
these things tell a story.
Animals
leave their signs unintentionally and by instinct. Usual places
where animals leave their signs are at water sources when foraging
for food and on boulders and trunks to mark their territory. Humans
leave signs unintentionally and by purpose. The aim of leaving a
sign is to mark a trail for directions and to leave a clue such as
that made by signatures. Signatures tell something genuine or just
ego-releasing graffiti.
Trailsigns
can be made from simple items like stones or sticks or hash marks on
trunks. The latter is considered by others as graffiti and cruelty
to trees. Hack marks could also be left on rocks, especially on
limestone, to aid local travellers at night and outdoor ethics are
out of the question. Just the same, all these processes tell a
story.
On
the other hand, there are certain procedures for stalking either an
animal or a human being in the wilderness. The most basic rule is to
never let yourself get skylined. You have to use cover and land
contours to your advantage. Camouflage is essential here and, where
there is none, stick to the shadows or keep yourself as small as
possible from observation.
Another
important technique is to use the wind as your ally. The wind drowns
out your movement sounds and blow away your odor, provided you are
facing the wind. If you’re in the other direction, your stalking
is no good and useless for surely the wind will carry sound and smell
to your prey. The rain also aids your stalking for it covers the
sounds you make and neutralizes any man-smell you emit.
Stalking
also demands certain rules when observing a prey. Avoid standing.
Stalked animals and people instinctively use their field of vision at
a level where big predators like humans are most likely to be seen.
Watch your prey instead with chin very close to the ground to prevent
yourself getting silhouetted. Avoid exposing straight-line patterns
and man-made items. Cover these or leave it behind.
Follow
movements with peripheral vision. In much the same way, do not get
caught by the peripheral vision of your prey. Lessen your movements
by approaching cautiously. When prey turns head at your direction,
do not move jerkily as if to hide from detection. Freeze and move in
slow motion. Imitate the dance of the chameleon and the measured
crawl of a cat. Jerky moves catch attention and make lots of noise.
Lastly,
do not fight nature. Let nature do the work for you. Consider all
the natural elements as your ally and brother. If prey follows a
certain pattern, use common sense to get to the place first before
your prey does. That way, you make yourself unexpected as the prey
is preoccupied with its backtrail.
By
the time I finish my short instructions, Ernie snuff out the flame of
the last stove that simmered the last pot of milled corn. Ernie has
a certain flair when preparing and cooking food in the outdoors which
make him valuable. Such skills are hard to master in an outdoors
setting with few resources like my proclivity to exclude MSG in all
my activities.
Ernie,
by his own power and creativity, is able to cook mixed-vegetable soup
and pork adobao with a side dish of raw
cucumber-and-tomato-in-vinegar in masterful fashion. All take
several digs at the delicious food and are quite refreshed after
that. Their morale and their strength soon returned to replace the
wrinkles on their faces.
We
wrap up the session by going down to Kilat Spring. The going is easy
and all are now in a relaxed mood compared to the agitated tense they
have felt in the morning. From the spring box, the trail is now easy
to follow and we reach the Portal in no time. We did not rest and we
pursue Bebut’s Trail back to Guadalupe where we arrive at 3:45 PM.
Everyone transfer to the Red Hours Convenience Store for the Camp Red
ritual of post-activity discussions over ice-cold beer and Glenn
Pestaño is already there to enjoy the company.
Document
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