Warrior Pilgrimage: THE TRAILHAWK JOURNEYS: AkyatCon 2.0

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES MOUNTAINEERS, Inc. introduced AkyatCon in 2016 to the outdoors community. This was a national convention for responsible mountaineering and for the conservation of mountain environments. It is where professional and leisure hikers, local communities, conservation workers, students and academics, national and local government agencies, and other stakeholders share their accomplishments, projects, technology, information, knowledge, and experiences.

The following year – 2017 – the UP Mountaineers celebrated their 40 years as a school-based mountaineering organization, and as an advocate of responsible mountaineering and environmental protection. Running parallel to that was their hosting the second sequel and highly successful AkyatCon, in cooperation with the UP-Diliman Institute of Biology, on the dates of July 28 and 29, 2017, at the Institute of Biology Auditorium, Diliman, Quezon City.

AkyatCon 2.0 featured discussions on mountain biodiversity and conservation, outdoor ethics, mountain-related policies and implementing issues, cultural and gender aspects of mountaineering, explorations and expeditions, emerging/current mountaineering techniques, technologies, issues and trends in mountain sports. UPM aimed in enlightening participants of such topics especially with the growing popularity of mountaineering as a sport and as leisure activity available for everyone who wishes to experience the outdoors.

From out of the blue, I was invited to give a talk about the Cebu Highlands Trail for AkyatCon 2.0, which I accepted. I could not believe it then. No less than the UP Mountaineers extending that invitation to me even when I have not submitted any abstract nor an application. It was beyond my expectations yet I had to honor that and prepared my presentation and sourced funds for my travel to UP-Diliman in the National Capital Region. This was something big which I did not let pass away.

I did not know that the AkyatCon 2.0 organizers have taken an interest in my Thruhike of the CHT – all 400 kilometers and 27 days of that – and it took place on center stage, which is one of several plenary talks scheduled for two days inside the 150-seat auditorium. I added more spice to that by mentioning the explorations of the eight different segments for almost six years and the difficulties of engaging an expedition without support from big corporate names. These were the very ingredients that the CHT came to be.

I forgot to tell you that I am not a mountaineer. I am just an ordinary outdoorsman who walked and ranged mountains as a form of exercise, as recreation and where I earn my keeps. I am a bushcraft enthusiast, a wilderness guide and an experiential educator specializing in the outdoors. The CHT is just a by-product of my creative mind. I just want to inspire people that you can make your dreams come true with hard work, patience, persistence and a dash of audacity.

I arrived at NCR by plane on July 26 in a very dour morning. There was a tropical depression and it was raining hard. I need not worry about AkyatCon 2.0 since it is mostly indoors. I availed of the offer of a mining executive and friend to enjoy the privilege of staying at the Holiday Inn Manila for a day. Yes, for a day, this lowly bushman lived like a king and I took advantage of the uncooperative weather by exploring every nook and cranny of my comfortable kingly chamber.

On July 27, I transferred residence to Navotas City. The couple Jay Z and Carla Jorge have hosted me several times when I visit Luzon for my training sorties and I took this opportunity again. Carla is a public teacher while Jay Z takes care of their startup business – Pacing’s House of Barbecue. They are very generous when it came to sampling their menu to me. I could never say no for theirs is the most delicious fare on this side of town. This time, I dined like a king.

Then came the BIG day, July 28. That was my schedule and I was the second speaker. The AkyatCon 2.0 have already started when I arrived and the first of three plenary talks for this day – Eco-Climbing in the Philippines by Anthony Arbias – was now in its infant stage as I settled in one of the cozy seats of the auditorium. Listening to Mr. Arbias, I began to learn many things. AkyatCon 2.0 was a very good event for improving your stock knowledge and I commend UPM for this idea.

My turn came and I talked casually about the CHT without any script. The slides lets you in on the groove naturally. Did you not know that long ago I have this fear of speaking before a crowd? I do not know what happened in between but I found out that I have this natural gift later in life like wine when it goes through its aging process. Yes I was quite aware that I was in a bigger stage. I was in UP-Diliman! Right before me were authorities in their own right, academics and idealistic thinkers. The best in the land.

I was given an hour for my discourse and that was fair. I just add incongruencies to elicit laughter so I could steer my presentation back and forth without interrupting the natural rhythm of the slide sequence. Adding icing on the cake, I talked about my recent Camino de Santiago, which overlapped some of the routes of the CHT. Questions came my way but they were the merciful kind and I was able to satisfy people. A token of appreciation, a terracotta plaque designed by Roberto Acosta, was presented to me after my talk.

With my talk over, I went back to the lobby area so I would meet the very people who made possible my participation in AkyatCon 2.0 and they were Leonard “Bunny” Soriano and Jom Daclan, the UPM President. Tope Ordoñez, also of UPM, informed me of a room reserved for me. I returned to the auditorium to listen to the last plenary talk – An Everest Base Camp (EBC) Backpacking Experience by Ed Magdaluyo and Doreen Candelaria.

Lunch got served in the canteen of the Institute of Biology Building for the registrants, organizers and guests. Bottomless coffee was available provided you brought your own cup, this is in line of UPM’s pro-environment advocacy: Green Is Good. UPM was generous of my participation that they had provided me free stay for one night at the UP NISMED Hotel, where I headed that way on foot. The weather was still gloomy and the star gazing session at nighttime was now in peril.

In the afternoon, breakout sessions were held. There were three topics each hour and you have to choose one and you have all the four hours of the afternoon to navigate your way from one topic to another. For the first hour alone you have the following subjects to choose: 1) Down-to-Earth Approaches to Light Backpacking; 2) Speed Ascents; and 3) Top of the World: Identifying Factors that Influence a Person to Become a Mountaineer.

For the second hour: 1) Mt. Maranat, Mt. Balagbag, and Oriod: Forest Protection Activities and Rules and Regulations for Hikers; 2) Wildlife Act: Reporting Protocols and Do’s and Dont’s; and 3) Mountains on Hiatus. The third hour was this: 1) On Philippine Caves; 2) Open Source Mapping, GPS and the Mountaineering Community; and 3) Friend or Foe: Introduction to Philippine Snakes for Mountaineers.

For the last hour of the day the talks were: 1) Experiences of a Woman Backpacker Traveling Solo; 2) Bikepacking 101; and 3) Trail Running 101. After the first-day sessions, I walked back to the university hotel in a slight downpour, following a path that passed through their famous botanical garden. Rare trees that I often saw on my ranging were all here and, where a few that I know not its name, it was here with labels. I wished I had more time and better weather to be with these native trees.

Second day, July 29, I checked out of the hotel and went back to the event site. The plenary talks started as scheduled and these were: 1) Accessing the New Adventure Economy as a Tool for Landscape Conservation by JP Alipio; 2) Carrying Capacity and Beyond by Caloy Libosada Jr.; and 3) Best Practices in Mountain Management by Philip Bartilet. When the talks were finished, everyone went out of the auditorium and into an indoor market.

The lobby was dedicated for booths and tables displaying branded outdoor bags, apparel, shoes and other items, sold at slashed-down prices, and I took advantage of that by acquiring a pair of Hi-Tec shoes. The crowd had doubled and I began to see familiar faces like Adonis Lloren of Lagataw, who would be giving a talk later in a breakout session; Jay Servano of Silangan Outdoor Equipment, my CHT sponsor; and Marc Gana, whom I mentored in a bushcraft camp at Mt. Balagbag in 2012. Or virtual FB friends like Fred Ochavo, Vernie Villarosa and Jay Plantinos

After lunchbreak, the breakout sessions began where you would have to choose one topic again from among three on the first hour: 1) Useful Plants in the Wild; 2) Impact of Social Media in Mountaineering; and 3) On Biodiversity. The second hour came: 1) From Capitalist to Naturalist; 2) The Tungtong River Conservation Project; and 3) Project AlaGALAan: Proper Etiquettes in the Outdoors.

The last breakout hour sessions were like these: 1) The Sicapoo Exploration; 2) The True Story of Rene, Abel, Kit and Lorna; and 3) The Palanan Co Sierra Madre Trek. Then all the audience returned to the auditorium once again to listen to Carina Dayondon talk about her topic – First Filipina Attempt on the Seven Summits. There was a raffle session after this where the top prize was an Insta360 camera.

It was just unfortunate that the outdoor activities of bird watching and the native tree tour got aborted due to unfavorable weather, along with last night’s star gazing session. On the whole, AkyatCon 2.0 was another success, maybe better than the first, and I wished there would be many sequels to come or maybe they would bring AkyatCon to the rest of the country. In my own little way, I would endorse AkyatCon anytime to as many people as possible. It is a treasure trove of knowledge and a bridge to start new friendships.