AFTER THREE YEARS, the PIBC
returned to the place of its birth: Camp Damazo. It started there in 2011 until
it experimented in holding it at Sibonga in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, it was held
in Liloan. During that period of six years, it had hosted 97 participants who
learned basic tropical bushcraft skills. This year, another set of 26
registrants would flock to the jungles and enhance their knowledge about the
outdoors.
The PIBC had become an institution
in itself, exceeding its expectations when it was held for the very first time
in 2011. By 2012, it had accepted the first participants from outside Cebu and
by 2015, the first foreigner. The format used had changed and improved through
the years and used as basis for trainings that this writer conduct in other
places and for organizations like MCAP, CLIMBER, Archdiocese of Capiz, PECOJON,
Liloan DRRMO, 5th CMAG, Bukal Outdoor Club and Bluewater Resorts.
The PIBC officially starts every
June 10th and culminates on June 12th, which happen to be, you guessed it,
Philippine Independence Day. It follows the dates faithfully, whether it fall
on weekends or weekdays. PIBC is a patriotic activity which rekindle each
Filipino’s love of flag, country and freedom. It also is a venue for outdoors
learning and education, as well as a campsite for camaraderie, kindred and
friendship.
Warrior Pilgrimage and the Camp Red
Bushcraft and Survival Guild collaborated through hard work and dedication for
many years to bring again this seventh episode. Assembly area is the parking
lot of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish on the first day (June 10).
Participants, instruction presentors, camp staff and volunteers start to
arrive. Among them were four from Luzon, one from Leyte, one from Palawan, one
based in the USA, one from Switzerland and three minors.
The famous Duke Bus of the
Municipality of Liloan, our main transport for the last three episodes, came
again to ferry all to the trailhead in Baksan. From there, the participants are
engaged to walk in a Discovery Hike to introduce them and increase their
outdoors awareness. It follow Lensa Trail, crossing streams, following a ridge
on a combination of forest and jungle, and finally arriving at Camp Damazo at
10:00.
After a short briefing about camp
rules, locations of latrines and campfire and the camp staff, the participants
proceed to erect their shelters. Most have tents but some have hammocks. Jhurds
Neo (PIBC 2012), camp ramrod, assigned an area for participants and another one
for volunteers. Humidity is high and, as with previous experience, rain is
expected to fall. Meals for lunch are prepared and eaten as the minutes ticked
to officially start the activities. After forsaking siesta, all gathered under
a wide tarp canopy at 13:00, and all ears now for the lectures at hand.
This author, discusses the first
chapter: Introduction to Bushcraft. It tackles the meanings and the
jargons used in bushcraft, its environment, the psychology of an enthusiast,
its methodologies and its difference from survival and from mainstream
activities. Comes next is Ethical Bushcraft. The best practices of
leisure bushcraft, using its own principles of Blend, Adapt and Improvise. It
covers trail travel, campsite location and safety, fire management and camp
hygiene.
At 15:00, Knife Care and Safety
gets discussed by Aljew Frasco (PIBC 2013). This chapter changes back the
perspective of the knife into a useful tool. The Philippine law on the knife – Batas
Pambansa Bilang 6 – are explained thoroughly and clearly as well as ethics
and safety, care and sharpening, blade shapes, parts and grinds, and the
Nessmuk Trio. At 16:30, this author take over once more to demonstrate Survival
Tool-Making. This chapter is a practical exercise in knife dexterity and
safety. Dr. Guille Zialcita (PIBC 2016) discussed the part that touched on
fishing applications.
When dusk came, all activities
ceased and the participants focused on the preparation of their meals. By
19:30, the campfire is lit and the place begun to be populated by participants
and camp staff and volunteers. A social event, Campfire Yarns and Storytelling,
is an integral component in camp life. Tales and stories caught everyone’s
attention and their humor as the small company gets fueled by a moderate round
of alcoholic drinks. The social activity ended at 23:30 but a set of night
watch starts their task until such time they are relieved after one hour and so
on until daybreak.
The second day (June 11) starts
with breakfast but after that, all will deny food the rest of the day, not
until they have accomplished foraging their own food which comes later in the
night. The first chapter is Foraging and Plant Identification. This
author discusses about traps and snares, luring methods and trap lines, and
foraging food and non-food. It also identifies which plants are edible, harmful
and poisonous. The participants are then shown the different traps and snares
that are set up in camp.
Next at 10:00, is Common
Wilderness Treatments, discussed by Eli Bryn Tambiga (PIBC 2013). It
tackles common injuries in the woods like open wounds and bleeding, fractures,
hypothermia, heat strokes, hypoglycemia and the methods to contain it as well
as a practical in using a triangular clothe as bandage and sling. At 13:00,
Dominik Sepe (PIBC 2012) discusses about Notches and Lashings. After a
half hour of demonstration, the participants proceeded with the business of
working with knife and baton on a stick and produce five different notches.
When everybody is about to settle
down at 15:00, Outdoor Cooking and Food Preservation came next. This
author talked about the ways how meat, fish, vegetable and fruits are
preserved. Getting equal discussion are the different kinds of fireplaces.
After the lectures, author shows how the Trailhawk System of cooking
rice in bamboo is done. Five groups came to possess five different bamboo poles
to process into cooking vessels. A fire is prepared and rice are cooked inside
it.
After the first group have cooked
their rice, they commenced to Nocturnal Hunting. The jungle and streams of Camp
Damazo host small edible creatures and have sustained participants of the PIBC
during the early years and now, after an absence of three years, these
creatures are good enough in numbers for the taking. Ernie Salomon (PIBC 2011),
the camp fixer, would ensure that the foraged creatures become a gastronomic
treat for the participants and volunteers alike.
For one-and-a-half hours, the five
groups filled their respective catch bins and ensured their meal, ending a
day-long fast. Dinner is most sweet when you personally toiled and foraged your
own food, offering an empty stomach a way out of its hunger pains. All dined
together, the rice inside the bamboo pots exude a sweet aroma which made the
food more desired. Everyone were happy and exchanged jolly conversations in
between swallows.
The second Campfire Yarns and
Storytelling started at 20:30 and almost everyone felt relaxed that all had
already overcame their ordeals of drowsiness, hunger, thirst, humidity and
other stress-causing conditions and it becomes second nature for all to gift
self with toasts of success. A few took the pleasure of an early rest, easing
on the thought that tomorrow would be the last day and they had proven
themselves for the last two days. Alcoholic drinks, cached underneath the
ground for a week made its regular rounds again to stoke interesting
conversations until midnight.
Last day (June 12), the Blade Porn,
a traditional bushcraft camp activity wherein knives and hatchets are laid on a
blanket to elicit good conversations, began. The number of blades far outnumber
the owners three to one but this author believed most of the campers carried
more than six with them. Then came the Patriotic Time. Jingaling Campomanes
(PIBC 2015) led the singing of the Lupang Hinirang and the reciting of
the Panatang Makabayan.
After a late breakfast, we broke
camp and cleaned up Camp Damazo. To see to it that we do not leave trace, a
task group led by Jonathaniel Apurado (PIBC 2015), left behind to pick up
rubbish that may have been missed out, dismantle camp furnitures and snares,
and see to it that the campfire and firepit embers are completely extinguished.
Because of the unexpected late participation of additional volunteers, a lot of
ground had to be cleared. As per assessment, it is recommended that the PIBC
would have to be held somewhere other than here for the next two years.
The exit route is shorter than the
ones we took two days ago but it is steep on the last part. It goes out to the
Baksan-Pamutan Road. A trail across goes down to Lanipao Rainforest Natural
Spring Park and it is there where we would go. The fresh-water pools are
perfect for bathing and to cool our bodies down. Aside that, cool refreshments
would be provided; raffles and giveaways, blanket trading, and the distribution
of training certificates would also be done there.
The following participants finished
the 3-day Basic Tropical Bushcraft Course:
Ronilyn
Ambal Frederick Ygnacio
III
Eulalio
Conrado Salazar Raul Andre Jose Ben
Ronniel
Abellar Vladimir Lumbab
Mark
Brylle Moniva Aileen Estoquia
Katrina
Mie Javier Jayson Binamira
Buen
Josef Andrade Joan Binamira
Rodillo
Arnejo Sweet Honey Acenas
Martin
Ibañez II Bonabella Canga
Honey
Vina Alquizola April Joy
Delantar
Shelley
Kim Binghay Floramae Dellosa
Luzviminda
Viray Felipe Arturo Enriquez
Dave
Judson Sy Alvin John Osmeña
Frederick
Ygnacio Jr Markus Immer
The giveaways were provided by
Derek Manuel (PIBC 2016) of Derek’s Classic Blade Exchange; John Robert (PIBC
2016) of the KnifeMaker; Paracord Manila; Silangan Outdoor Equipment; Titay’s
Liloan Rosquillos and Native Delicacies; Tingguian Tribe Outdoors; Zue Fashion;
and the Camp Red Buscraft and Survival Guild. Transportation provided free by the Municipality of Liloan. Warrior Pilgrimage is the media
partner for PIBC MMXVII.
Document done in LibreOffice 5.3
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