THERE IS NO GREATER EXCITEMENT in the outdoors than
that of hunting a campsite. It rivals a little with exploring a route, which is
the most challenging. A campsite used for bushcraft differs so much by those
used in mainstream outdoor activities. Bushcraft prefers places that is not
conspicuous and flashy. The heart of finding a bushcraft camp is the discovery
of a clean water source which should be farther away. Access to a stream is its
other consideration and, of course, bamboos.
It is April 23, 2017, sunny and warm. I am not alone.
I am with the guys and gals from the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. I
am leading the small party. We just left Napo and I have my sights to Camp Xi.
This campsite which I always favor nowadays is accessible and easy on all ages
and physically-challenged people. Camp Xi is a complex. It has many levels with
good campsites and are inconspicuous when observed from the main trail.
Although I had already identified four possible
campsites previously but I am not the one who is satisfied of first
impressions. I need to search further for the best camping site. A gentle slope
goes up from the Sapangdaku Creek and you only have to follow a trail. We stop
by an abandoned house and plucked water apples (Local name: tambis) and
star apples (kaimito) to refresh ourselves.
A cloud passes by and I resumed my uphill walk. I had
been here a few times, the last was on September 4, 2016, and during that time,
I noticed a good campsite. I did not stop to look around then as I was just
passing through. After 20 minutes of huffing and puffing, I found the place.
What I saw last time, I thought, was the whole area. I was wrong! It is bigger
than I thought it was. To know the place better you have to walk into it.
Uphill of me would be another trail that goes down a
small creek where there is a small waterfall. I could have plenty of water from
there. Boil it if it makes it safe to use. The stream has bamboo groves and
firewood are plenty. Well, I got all I need and I do not have to search far and
wide. The new site is perfect. It has shades from mango trees.
Basically, it is ground good for tents and simple
shelters. Places for hammocks are almost absent except for one or two places.
There is a natural lecture area and there is a place to build a campfire. This
is a good camping ground for next week’s event that I am hosting free and
another one in May for a survival training camp. This is it.
The ridge I am on is actually bounded by two streams,
the names of which I do not know. Maybe the farmer who farmed uphill would give
me that information. I hope he is present. I walk uphill but the farmer is
nowhere. I decide to go down the stream and prepare our meal somewhere there as
it is now almost 11:00. We cross the stream and climb up a path beside the
small waterfall. There is a huge marang tree (English: Johey oak) that
grow here and it is quite shady. We will rest and cook food at the headrock of
the waterfall.
I am quite amazed at this tree whose presence was not
even appreciated by locals. They misunderstood it with something else – a tipolo
– a close relative of the breadfruit. This tree could may well be an heirloom
species, an original resident when Cebu was lush with indigenous forest. While
the rest were busy preparing something to cook, I need to take a nap on the
bosom of the marang tree as the day is very warm.
I must have slept for about 15 minutes. The guys are
still in the middle of their cooking. They used tin fire boxes and aluminum
Swiss Army burners for better management of fire. I fold my cheap laminated
nylon sheet which I used as ground sheet and stow it back inside my Lifeguard
USA rucksack. I decide to visit a small pool located upstream. The coolness is
so inviting but bathing is not in my plans today. I went back to the guys.
I go down to the foot of the waterfall and goes up to
the ridge where there is a small flower farm. The farmer is there and we talk.
The stream where there is a small watefall is called Sarapia Creek. The other
stream on the other side is Lungnan Creek and, beyond another ridge, is Busan
Creek. The ridge I am on is called Kampredo and a hill across where there is a
lone steel tower is Mapawon. My education today is answered.
I take note of these things because I am a writer and
an outdoors educator. I need to be accurate with my facts. To those who sat in
my camp classes and to those who read my blog, you only learn from the best, as
I strive to be that, to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. I thanked the farmer
and go back to my buddies. The meal is served just in time. It is another feast
for these hungry bunch.
After lunch, as part of our entertainment, we parade
our blades on a piece of log. The blade porn, is a bushcraft tradition which
naturally sparks off good conversations and good camaraderie. We in the Camp
Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild have adopted it here in Cebu and introduced it
to the rest of the outdoors community as a novel activity. There never was like
this until I pioneered leisure bushcraft here in 2010.
We washed black pots and dining implements and slowly
packed it inside our backpacks together with the extra blades. We would go to
Mapawon Peak and we took a trail that only few people use. I have walked this
trail a few times and I liked it because I do not have to meet the mainstream
outdoors crowd. I liked it that way and it is exclusive, for the moment, to my
bushmen. The trail passes by a small flower farm and goes down a small gully.
We pass by an abandoned farmer’s shed and this place
is mango country. There is a trail on our right that goes downhill and another
on my left but I focus on the one ahead of me. It wind along the contour gently
and the trail goes steep a bit as it climb up a hill. We arrive at Mapawon. On
the peak is a dilapidated hut, long abandoned, and there are two big holes
filled with water. Two PVC pipes separately supply water to the holes.
It is also a good place to make camp here due to the
presence of water which were piped from somewhere along Sarapia Creek. It has
trees that gave shade and to set up hammock-and-shelter sets. There is a ground
down a saddle that could host tents. One of these days, I would also use this
as a bushcraft camp.
We go down from the peak to the saddle where there is
a power pylon. We pass underneath it and climb another hill which the farmer
said was called Katugasan. There is a stunted avocado tree that bear
shiny-green little fruits. There is a trail to the left that led to a rose
flower farm but I am not interested of getting snagged with thorns and touch
substances like chemicals.
We reach a tamarind tree that marked another trail to
the right but I am interested only on the main trail which I have been
following for more than an hour. Then the vegetation disappeared. Right before
me is the trail but all around it is a bare hillside and it is quite steep. It
would have been easier if we walk from down up to here. Going downhill is kind
of complicated. There are no vegetation to hold on to as anchor.
I got two fat guys with me and two females. The rest
are regular guys who spend some good time outdoors. The path is now loose
because there are no more green things to retain ground moisture. I hate
mindless cockroaches who wantonly cut trees and shrubs just to make charcoal.
It took us almost an hour on this part to see all landing safely at the
trailend. We are now on the road and we walk a kilometer more to reach the
parked Fuso Canter.
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