THE THRUHIKE JOURNAL: Days 24 and 25 (Malingin to Bakhawan)

DAY TWENTY-FOUR ::::: WHEN I ARRIVED HERE YESTERDAY, I felt it was the sweetest moment of the Thruhike. I have walked over the last and the most difficult physical obstacle of the Cebu Highlands Trail – the Doce Cuartos Mountain Range in Tabogon. Here in Malingin, Bogo City, the high-octane stress and dread of the past 23 days are now beginning to lose its hold on me. There are now just four days left to finish this journey. I drank a warm Swiss Miss in a metal saucer to celebrate this milestone today, February 11, 2017.

In a little while, Day Twenty-four will roll towards another sunset. While I am beginning to feel light on both load and emotions, the idea of walking on the plains of Bogo City and Medellin is not a walk in the park either, especially on the latter. We will be treading mostly on a national highway that is straight as an arrow on some stretches which are almost devoid of shade. I gave up my breakfast of Knorr soup and rice after three spoonfuls and accept the parmesan cheese and wheat bread that were offered by Markus Immer. 

 

Markus, friend and benefactor and staunch supporter of the Thruhike, had extraordinarily delivered our supplies earlier than what was agreed at five different occasions. Not because he is Swiss, and the Swiss are very exacting when it comes to time, but because “he always has five minutes more time than the next guy”. That is his maxim and that is why he is extremely reliable. But on those five occasions, I beat him by an average of 20 minutes. I have my reasons why I arrived earlier than the supply run. One of these is that I planned this Thruhike as if I am engaging in a war campaign!

It is his wish and personal request to join me and Jonathaniel Apurado for the last stretch of the northern leg. He will have that slot and he will celebrate with us when we reach the end of this long journey on the northernmost point of Cebu, a handful of days from now. Still walking with us is Leomil Pino, who had been tagging for the past two days. But another fresh set of legs, Glyn Formentera, will be along for the dayhike just like he did on Day Five of the southern leg.

The Hon. Marilyn Calidguid and his councilman son, Darwin, both of Malingin village, sent us off at 08:00. Weather is warm and sunny. Not a good combination on the plains. We stop to honor the flag when the national anthem was sung at the Malingin Elementary School. Today, we will follow the old railway from here to Don Pedro Rodriguez, Bogo City. The paths are still there but the sleepers, the stays and the iron rails are no more. The path is now dirt which pass by fields planted with sugar cane on both sides.

This old railway was very relevant and useful during the years when sugar prices were booming in the ‘50s and the ‘60s, even up to the early ‘70s. This was the main artery that fueled the economy of the sugar producing towns of Bogo, Medellin, Daanbantayan, San Remigio, Tabogon and Borbon. The engines with their wagons brought the canes from the fields to the lone processing plant in Medellin, converted to molasses and were exported.

 

It is now a ghost of its old self. The skeletons now adorned somebody’s lawn like I saw in Malingin. But in the USA, they converted old and condemned rail lines into trails for tourism. One particular spot is the Katy Trail, named after the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad which stopped operation in 1986, is very popular for biking, hiking and handicapped-use rails-to-trails project. It is 300 kilometers long. How I wished Bogo City and Medellin sees the wisdom of this purpose and develop it for leisure outdoor tourism.

The fields are still planted with sugar canes with contract farmers doing the backbreaking work of planting, weeding, watering and harvesting. Part of the trail is planted with corn and the path goes through among stalks. A remnant of the old railway, stone buttresses that support a missing bridge over a small stream, remained. The former railroad are presently used to accommodate farm machinery and trucks. It is a good place to hike. There is abundant breeze coming from the north and the air is mild.

The old railroad goes its way through the plains and it intersects, for a time, a line of steel towers bringing in electricity from Leyte to power Cebu’s ravenous industries. We passed by the new administrative capital of Bogo City and I believed they are developing and leasing these lands for commerce and industry. Ever since it became a city in 2002, it begun to allocate land to accommodate its expected expansion. This small city has so much land area and many unused spaces. It has its own wharf but is also accessible to another bigger port in nearby San Remigio.                                                                                               

Unfortunately, somebody squatted on the right-of-way of the old railroad that would have brought us direct to the national highway, now known as the Central Philippines Nautical Highway. We have to detour to a small path to this highway in Don Pedro Rodriguez. Two hundred meters away is a crossroad where there is a very popular restaurant. We stop by here at 09:40 to rest from the unrelenting rays of the sun and rehydrate on cold beverages. Since I had a light breakfast, I have to open up one of my Fitbars for insurance.

After ten minutes, we are on our way again. I sent a text message to the Medellin Police Station to let them know of our passage through their area. The torment of the long walk along the concrete-topped and shadeless highway begins. At 10:05, we reach the Dayhagon Bridge. Underneath it is the Dayhagon Canal which separates Bogo City from Medellin. I have walked this less-known man-made canal last April 29, 2015, during low tide, from Hagnaya Port, San Remigio to Polambato Port, Bogo City, a distance of 11 kilometers. It was the stuff of adventures for I was alone and it was well-documented.

 

The sun was really unrelenting. Imagine a highway where there are no shades? What were planted on both sides are bougainvilleas, as unwelcoming as the highway to foot traffic with its thorns. There used to be trees here but Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) made short work of it. The highway danced and shimmered from the heat waves as if you are walking on a desert. Only fools like us walk this very long stretch at this time of day. By 12:30, we arrive at an oasis-like setting on the village of Curva, Medellin for our noonbreak. It is another crossroad with a bakery and lots of cold beverages. Light meals of bread, Nutribar and a capsule of Herbalife natural raw Guarana as supplement.

I studied my maps of the surrounding areas. These are mere reproductions that I screen printed from the Project Noah website, now mothballed, enlarged to fit in short-sized bond papers and protected inside my Sea Line map case. I have to improvise because government maps are utterly outdated. These can be oriented with a compass like you are using a real map. I am not going to take the old route which I used during the Segment VII Exploration Hike last August 2016. I aim to walk up the Panugnawan Hills and cross the wide valley to Bakhawan, Daanbantayan.

After an hour, we resumed our journey. We take the middle road. It goes up its way dictated by the heights of the Panugnawan Hills. At least, here, there are shades. Pressed from behind by Leomil and Glyn, I increased the pace. I do not know how I got a lot of power but, I believed, the daily intake of multivitamins and Guarana extract have made its effect on my performance. I have never felt something like this before because I have never tried one. Since it was provided to me and Jon by Markus on one set and by Mirasol Lepon of Herbalife on the other, I decide to make the most of it.

As I walked the whole stretch of the Panugnawan Hills, I scanned paths that go down that wide valley. I studied the terrain well and waited for the right moment. When I reach a chapel and a dirt road beside it, I have to decide at that instant else it would be another story. Making the right decisions when doing terrain analysis on an exploration that doubled as a Thruhike is very important. You just have one chance and there are no alternatives. It is a make or break affair. I scan the farthest reaches of this valley and something inside of me favored this path. We walk down the wide valley.

The dirt road weave its way among fields devoted for sugar canes and dotted with coconuts planted along the edges. Some fields are bare, some are full and healthy, while some are littered with dried leaves and shrivelled trunks. There is a community halfway and someone said we are in the village of Dalingding Sur, Medellin. This primitive road goes up and sugar canes are now tall and healthy, depriving my field of vision. Worse, paths crossing each other are now common. Would I go down right, go up on my left or should I go straight ahead?

I was right all the time with my choices. I came upon a hump and I saw another valley. I realized I am standing above the Dalingding Hills, a low range of mountains that run between Caputatan Norte, Medellin to Dalingding, Daanbantayan and parallels the Panugnawan Hills. Across me are the familiar hills which I have once passed last year going to the north of Cebu. Behind it would be Bakhawan and safe refuge.

 

For another hour we navigate another valley planted with the same sugar canes and finally arrive at a road corner located on a mountain pass of the Pangadlawan Hills. This road goes to a national highway by the coastline. We are now in Daanbantayan. Another hour more and we will be knocking on the doors of our host, Bakhawan Beach Home. My muscles are aching. My bones are creaking. My soles begins to go tender. The dirt road is rocky but we will have rest at the end of this.

We overtook two locals who I thought were men. Both of them were carrying bundles of long firewood above their heads and they were women. One is middle aged and the other must be sixty. My God, they were strong! I offered to carry their firewood for them but they declined. Their husbands are working in Metro Cebu and goes home every weekend. They are left to fend their children for the rest of the week and gathering firewood is one of the tasks to survive day in and day out. When they were done with that, they went back to carry another set of firewood!

When I arrive at the gate of Bakhawan Beach Home at 16:50, Doming the caretaker was already expecting us, smiling. I shook his hands and we all entered the spacious beach resort which is composed of two structures: Balay No. 1 and Balay No. 2. Lani Perez, the proprietress, assigned the second home to us. She is a long-time friend and is a supporter of my Thruhike as well as my exploration of the Cebu Highlands Trail which I completed last November. She also hosted my Exploration Team when we passed by here in August 2016.

I slumped on a wooden divan and closed my eyes after a tiring hike. Everybody were relieved. Doming had already cooled a case of one-liter bottles of beer in the ref. I was so thirsty that beer tastes like water and two bottles disappeared fast. I just sat there and enjoying the rest as the sun sets beyond the horizon. Oh, one more task to make. I sent a text message to the Daanbantayan Police Station to inform them that we are now in Bakhawan. I got a prompt reply. Only a few police stations reply. Most of them never ever cared or that their numbers are dead.

 

The Hon. Lucia Eleptica of the village of Bakhawan came when she heard news of our coming. We were welcomed to stay at Bakhawan and she promised a free-rein chicken for our dinner. It was the best that she could offer since we were already taken cared of inside the Bakhawan Beach Home. I gave my sincerest thanks to her and we are again left to the soothing sounds of the waves amidst the soft scarlet hues that colored the skies as the fiery orb goes its way westward.

We will have guests coming and they are all from the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild, a club that I founded. They arrived at 18:30 and they are Ronald Abella and his son, Christian Jacob, and the couple Mark and Mirasol Lepon. I am expecting another guest, a common friend between Lani and me – Bebut Estillore. He came at around 19:30 together with Lani. With everyone present, a grand dinner, courtesy of Bakhawan Beach Home, entice everyone to sit around the long table that Lani had acquired from the long houses of Papua New Guinea.

I checked in early and claimed the second room of Balay No. 2 to myself. The soft bed is good for two people and the extra space allowed me more room to roll from side to side unhindered. The sea is at low tide so I have no other recourse to freshen up except in the bathroom. The cold water trickling down from the overhead shower gave a wonderful feeling. It soothed worn out nerves that have been forged for the last 24 days by heat, dust, grime, cold, rain, thirst, hunger and heavy loads. After almost a half hour under the shower, the soft bed simply whisked me to Lady Starlight.

Distance Walked: 27.69 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 110 meters and a low of 3 meters

DAY TWENTY-FIVE ::::: THE ECSTASY OF A GOOD NIGHT’S sleep on a soft bed and knowing that you would do nothing gruelling for today is a heavenly feeling. And what good fortune and timely occasion when you have the place all to yourself – by the beach. The soothing sound of waves roll into your consciousness as your nerves get smoothed by the unending flow of cool breeze under a shade. The Thruhike is not all sun and grime, it deserves a break and Bakhawan Beach Home is the perfect place to be in for that affair.

I woke up at 07:00 and found the balcony abandoned. Last night’s party left an almost-full bottle of local brandy, empty bottles, empty cups and cups with stagnant brandy, peanuts and empty saucers, Nalgene bottles, LED lights, knives and bags. The two divans are all occupied and I see a hammock, back almost kissing the floor. I see a white head jutting out from a sleeping bag laid on the floor. The sea have receded far and exposed the tidal flats. From a distance, a small yellow boat is floating offshore. Today is February 12, 2017 and this day is reserved for rest and recreation.

 

Slowly, some absent occupants of Balay No. 2 begins to rise from their warm beds. Jonathaniel Apurado and Markus Immer come to life. Then a couple of guys with reddish zombie eyes stirred. Ah, the party people. Leomil Pino and Glyn Formentera, two of my guests who walked with us yesterday, shook off their sleepy heads and starts to get busy doing nothing. The tidal flats got their attention. Lani Perez, the owner of Bakhawan Beach Home was already up. She is busy talking to Doming, the beach caretaker. I smell food! Bebut Estillore joins us.

Bebut, my tormentor and drinking buddy of 20 plus years ago. He laughs his patented laugh which sounds like a hyena smelling something to eat. The laughter, it gets on your nerves when you are at the losing end of a friendly repartee. That is Bebut and he is one of my best friends and he is the godfather of my youngest son. We are kumpare but we do not call each other that. We call each other “Magua”, the anti-hero of the Last of the Mohicans. He brought special ground coffee from Bukidnon and, oh God, it tastes and smells heavenly!

More party people, Ronald Abella and Mark Lepon, joined their brethren on the wet sand. Mirasol, the better half of Mark, and Christian Jacob Abella, were the last to rise. No, they were not part of the night revelers. They are normal people who observe normal sleeping hours like me, Jon and Markus. Slowly the surf begins to reach back towards the beach. High tide would be at 16:29. I keep track of these little things which are found on my itinerary. Slowly, the long table gets filled with seafood galore. Fish soup, grilled squid and dried fish, and complemented with sunny side up fried egg.

 

I opt to have that Bukidnon coffee again after the meal. It is nice to just sit down and talk with Bebut, Lani and Markus slurping warm coffee with the cool breeze blowing. Slowly the small yellow boat approached the shore. Doming carried an empty pail to meet the two fishermen. The boat is half-carried and half-dragged up the sand into drier land. The three men slowly removed the net from the boat’s hold and dragged its end six meters away to be cleaned of debris, weeds and catch. Lani, Bebut and Markus joined Doming and the fishermen, then the rest of the guys offered their hands for the harvest.

The collective effort produced a half-filled bucket of fish, crabs, shrimps, squids and edible kelp. The sight of the catch is enough to send my gastric juices boiling. Unknown to us, the sea crawled slowly up the shore. Even though the sea level will reach its highest at four, I decide to take a bath on the open sea. I waded offshore for about 200 meters before I reached chest level. Fifty meters away are the reefs that clashed with the white capped surf. Swimming in ideal conditions of a warm day and crystal-clear water where you could see bottom. The tides begun its work clearly where I frolicked as the current sweep floating debris northward out of the Tañon Strait.

The warmth of the sun on my shoulders and the warmth of the water below me is a good combination of a well-appreciated idea of relaxation. It is therapeutic even. Floating on the surface removes that everyday presence of gravity. I think I have stayed long enough which is just about fair. I waded back to shore where waterline are at a level of a few inches higher than when I did an hour ago. Time to hit the shower to remove the salt from my hide and my elastic undershorts. Then the call to meals. Wow!

After the sumptuous lunch, the unfinished bottle of brandy became the object of desire. Packs of peanuts and fried corn are mixed in the fray. The party continues and laughter and jokes put the company fixed on the table on the view deck. The hours became a blur of creeping shadows that expose and hide all that were hidden and bare. Most of the guys took to the call of the risen tide but I have been there a few hours ago and the invite of a cool room is much desired. The soft cool bed under the beat of an old ceiling fan pushed me to dreamland.

 

When I regained awareness, the day have reached its moment when it gave in to the law of nature. Sunset is but a half hour away and the banter of the company I left for the comforts of an afternoon nap transforms into a melancholic and subdued silence. Everyone knows that we would all part on the first hours of daylight and those that would be left could have wished they have free time to walk with us for the rest of the Thruhike. Dinner comes and the voices goes up in a high crescendo once again but not like before.

There are cold bottles of beer but the eagerness of turning it upside down empty are not there anymore. It is a silent gathering, almost strange, and the silence seems to strangle the words from flowing out. I have a long day ahead of me and I turn in early inside the same bed I slept on. The worrying are no longer there but the early signs of rapture starts to boil inside of me. This kept me from drowsing for two hours or more. It is the same as those of anxiety moments that appeared prematurely hours ahead. There is the toilet to flush what it impose on the body though so, Good night.

  

Distance Walked: 0.0 kilometer

Elevation Gained: 3 meters and a low of 0 meter

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer

A LONG WEEKEND IN BAKHAWAN

I JUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY of an invite by a good friend to plant trees in her just-acquired property located in Bakhawan, Daanbantayan, Cebu on September 9, 10 and 11, 2016. The invitation assures me of staying (and dining) in her modest, home-like and very comfortable resort, Bakhawan Beach Home, at no cost at all to me. Not only that, the privilege extends to a young couple – Bogs and Bingle – whom I tempted to volunteer with me and give back for Mother Earth.

We three arrive at Bakhawan Beach Home in the early evening of the first day where we were immediately assigned a room. I insist to sleep outside on a cushioned divan so both Bingle and Bogs could have a sense of privacy. My friend, Lani Perez arrive an hour later where dinner was instantly served. A strong, but very quick, downpour came in the late hours but it had not ruined my instant bed nor it influenced me to transfer somewhere warm and sheltered.

Lani is an old friend of mine. We knew each other during the days when I was active then with my former outdoors recreation club – the Cebu Mountaineering Society. That was in the early ‘90s and she was then in the process of poking in on my close circle composed of younger but very opinionated members. Work and her passion of excellence took her abroad and I had not heard of her until we messaged each other in Facebook just this year.

Bakhawan Beach Home is the other sum of all her life’s work as an expatriate in different foreign lands. She collects old wooden furniture and tools – in her free time – that were discarded by modernism and she insists to preserve these, even if it costs her, and brought it here. These items became part of the internal and external décor of the two rest houses inside this very private beach resort.

Bakhawan Beach Home is a sponsor of my Cebu Highlands Trail Project which, as of this writing, will be terminating its course soon in November after I will walk the last few kilometers, starting from where it last stopped, at Lake Lanao, Daanbantayan, to the northernmost tip of Cebu – Bulalaqui Point. In fact, it provided billeting for me and my team last August 19 when we passed by here during the Segment VII Exploration Hike which was aborted the day after.

The night is cold but I am warmed by the body cushion, the pillows and the blanket under a deep awning facing the sea. It rained again in early dawn with flashes of lightning. Strong gusts blew and threatened bringing with it spray of salt and water. I refused to be awakened and snuggled closer into the warmed up recesses of my blanket. My mind wandered off into space and senselessness.

Sounds of surf materialize into my consciousness. There is light in the sky and my eyes could not deceive me that it is now early morning and the start of a new day – September 10. The sea is a calm mirror but a slow tide made its presence felt. After a breakfast of freshly-caught fish in soup, a dish of raw fish in vinegar, egg omelet and fruit, I prepare my work clothes and my tools which are just my Victorinox Ranger Swiss knife and my William Rodgers bushcraft knife.

Lani had informed me that the young people I have seen last night had planted seventy young cacao trees yesterday in an open lot. I would plant today green limbs cut from Mexican lilac trees (Local name: kakawate) between each young cacao as what I have suggested. Bogs and Bingle would help me with that. Both brought their tools like trowels, work gloves, a Victorinox Camper Swiss knife and a Tom Brown Tracker imitation.

The purpose of the Mexican lilac tree is to shield the young cacao from direct sunlight with its foliage during the time it starts to bloom. It is a fast growing species which is not obtrusive on its neighboring plants even if it is an introduced one. In fact, it gives off nitrogen and oxygen into the soil system making it fertile. The Mexican lilac is one of those exotic ones that have adapted well in Philippine clime and soil and highly valued by farmers and herders.

Lani showed us first her garden of organically-grown vegetables and herbs. Her Indonesian pepper variety has my attention for the ripe fruits were a gleaming healthy red. Then she has her pride of dragonfruit crawling cacti starting to flower. I have brought her one cutting which came from a wild-growing one that grew in the wilderness of the Doce Cuartos Mountain Range of Tabogon last August which is now showing signs of life.

Laborers were already at the scene and have started fencing off the property from grazing animals. Poles of mahogany wood were transferred from a small truck to the vacant lot. I carried four thin poles on my shoulders and place it down in the collection area. I scan the field of young cocoas. Between it are spaces wide enough to accommodate a bush that will “mother” them. In two bundles are the green limbs of Mexican lilac trees.

First of all, I have to make a digging stick from one of the poles. I chose a thick one and begin sharpening it with the faux Tracker. Then I started to dig hole after hole while Bogs and Bingle fill it up with soil and the upright limb. It rained, removing direct sunlight, cooling us a bit, but after that, it was difficult work. Sticky mud and humidity.

I have counted 35 holes but I still have to dig 25 more until one laborer with a digging iron decides to join me. In a matter of half an hour, the planting of the Mexican lilac limbs were finished. I brought more poles nearer to where the laborers were making the fences. I loved the labor even if it cuts the skins of my palms. I do not mind it. The exercise of my upper body is a good preparation for my Segment VIII in a matter of weeks from now.

When I found I have proved my usefulness, I depart from the scene and cross the road to a wide open space where sea and sand are accessible. No, I do not want to bathe. I just want to cool my body with the breeze as the warmth of humidity is now becoming a nuisance for comfort. After 15 minutes, I walk back alone to the resort and found Bingle and Bogs already there.

The sea is not that high enough to tempt me into it. Nor would the young couple. I decide to take a shower instead to tidy up for lunch would soon be coming. By the time Lani came from the field, it was served in Bakhawan Beach Home style which, to me, is such a splendid thing. All the ingredients came from her garden and from the sea delivered fresh and sparkling like the sea urchins and squids.

The afternoon saw Bingle and Bogs hurrying up to dip in the water and both tried their hand on a paddle board but I while my time instead reading a book. I expect an old friend to arrive soon. He did arrive, early enough to partake of another wonderful meal of spider conch, conetip shells, squids, seaweeds and more of the garden stuff.

Bebut Estillore was the most opinionated among our close circle of that era where we were young once. Despite the onset of years, Bebut is still my “tormentor” but his boast and his grand battle with the bottle is now losing its sheen. I guess, too much of that in the past – without me - have caused him to slow down. He just came from Bohol and was also invited by Lani to plant trees of which he will have his day tomorrow.

For the meantime, we shared a big bottle of the coldest Red Horse available, which were aplenty. Anyway, we had a deal. He would drink one glass only while I finish the rest of the bottle. Sounds fair. I believed there were six big bottles emptied as was the last count before I turned in half-drunk. I transferred to another divan on the second guest house in the wee hours of the night.

September 11 is the special holiday dedicated for the followers of the Islamic faith called Eid’l Adha. We will plant more trees today on the same property. There were poles to transfer from the truck to the ongoing fence work and the young trees in its temporary pots to the places where it will be planted. The rains of yesterday had made the ground wet, soggy on some parts.

Another upper body workout for me. My hands are still sore but I would not dig holes this time. I will just plug the holes with the young trees along with its complementary soil – gently with reverence. I place sweetsop, soursop, avocado and Malabar almond as well as bougainvillea within the fringes of the lot. Bebut crouched while he can and he looks like an old man now with his sombrero and a very unfamiliar slowness which is kind of strange from someone who was so hyperactive before.

We finished the work before noon. Another wonderful meal. After that, I joined the rest frolicking on the sea. Lani paddled the board to the farthest buoy where an empty small fishing boat is anchored. Bebut and I decide to try our skills with a small outriggered canoe and paddled in the direction of Lani, where the water is deep. The fisherman was catching his fishes underwater with a spear.

A squall begins to appear coming from a nearby island and we have to paddle back to shore. The seas became rough while the strong gusts carried us off course. Lani made it safely to shore while the wooden vessel was unwieldy but I steered it to shore safely and dragged it beyond the water line. The squall left as quickly as it had came. I washed myself with fresh water and retreat to the comfort of book and reclining seat.

The day wore out as last days would always do, kind of sad and a longing for the familiar. It had always been like that and today is no exception but the hope of coming back in some future date is something which is always cherished that the departure blues cannot rebuff. I have felt this ambivalence of emotions when I came here last April. I am sure I would be back to Bakhawan Beach Home. It is like another home but spacious and cool where the sky kisses the sea in a scarlet wonder of a setting sun.

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer

MAN-SIZED HIKE XXII: Ilihan to Lake Lanao

I HAVE ACHIEVED SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT after I have walked and finished Segment VI. Segment VI is the one I explored last February 22-25, 2016, starting from Caurasan, Carmen to Ilihan, Tabogon in four days and three nights and on a distance of 56.17 kilometers. I have accumulated a total mileage of 289.16 kilometers since day one of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT and this would increase very soon.

Today, August 17, 2016, I would start from where I left off the last time, which is from Ilihan, and hopefully, finish Segment VII on August 21 at Cebu’s northernmost end, which is at Bulalaqui Point, Daanbantayan. This will be the longest yet at five days and four nights and has a rough length of 65-70 kilometers. To recall, Segment VII had been denied me one time last March when the heat of the election campaign period and of El Niño forbid me to go on after I floundered in Mabuli, Tabogon on the first day due to scarcity of water.

The CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT was, at first, a personal undertaking which first has its beginnings with a dayhike with friends from Lutopan, Toledo City to Guadalupe, Cebu City in February 2011. It metamorphosed into a longer multi-day hike from Lutopan to Mantayupan Falls, Barili in March 2012 which I designated as Segment II. In October 2013, I completed Segment I with a cross-country hike from Mount Manunggal, Balamban to Guadalupe.

I would have finished the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT in two years were it not that I was holding a vital position in the company where I worked. If I would have to realize the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT in 2015, I would have to sacrifice my comfort zone and put all my energies into it. At that time, it was impossible and letting go of my day job would put me and my family in dire straits. So it goes that 2012, 2013 and 2014 passed by with just one or without any exploration hikes.

Realizing the immensity of this endeavour, I decide to form an Exploration Team (Eagle One) and a Base Support Team (Eagle Base) dedicated for the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT starting in 2015 so I could finish it before 2017. I took the XTeam to stressful and difficult day treks, without meals in between, during trainings in traditional navigation. Together with the Base Support Team, I taught them the basics of map reading, putting more emphasis on the more practical military methods.

I have picked my team carefully, after careful considerations of their capability, initiative and ability to accomplish the functions assigned for them like Jose Neo and Chad Bacolod of Eagle Base. Endurance and stability under pressure will be the hallmarks of Eagle One and these are composed of Jonathaniel Apurado, Justin Apurado, Jovahn Ybañez and the new member, Fritz Bustamante. I am the Team Leader, Navigator, Security Officer and Project Director all rolled into one.

I cannot accomplish this project without the logistics and the funds. Answering to my call for support in whatever form it may be, individuals, here and abroad, and businesses responded. Notable among them are Titay’s Liloan Rosquillos and Native Delicacies, Alvin John Osmeña, GV Hotel Philippines, Silangan Outdoor Equipment, Jonathan Blanes, Glen Domingo, Alan Poole, Jose Neo, Tactical Security Agency, App Ops Philippines, Lester Padriga, Harold Butanas, Lavilles of Australia, Bakhawan Beach Home, Glenn Pestaño, Amaya Montecalvo and Markus Immer.

The following also provided the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT, in one way or another, services and goods and acknowledgments which are valuable in accomplishing our goals like Drinox’s Kitchen, the Quijano Family, Melo Sanchez, Jeremiah Dayto, Matthew de Leon, Mountain Stories Blog, Warrior Pilgrimage Blog, Ham Radio Cebu, the Mountain Climbers Alliance of the Philippines, the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild, PAC Gear, and the Philippine Mountaineering Blog.

That 2015 produced amazing results which led to the explorations of both Segment III and Segment V and, partly, of Segment IV. Segment III was finished in just three days, instead of four days, in February. The route was Mantalongon, Barili to Mantalongon, Dalaguete. On the other hand, Segment V ran from Mantalongon, Dalaguete to Upper Beceril, Boljoon but the XTeam decide to walk the extra mile to Poblacion, Boljoon. It was done in two days, instead of three, last May.

The extremely-warm conditions of a queer climatic phenomenon in October caused by forest fires in Indonesia slowed down the XTeam and caused them to abort their Segment IV hike at Danasan, Danao City after four days but not after hiking the “no man’s land” coming from Gaas, Balamban. However, Eagle One returned in January 2016 to finish Segment IV, starting from Cambubho, Danao City and ending it, after two days, in another “no man’s land”, to Caurasan, Carmen.

After that, was Segment VI, and, now, this – Segment VII. Composing Eagle One are me, Jonathaniel, Justin and Fritz with Jose Neo at Eagle Base. Eagle One is equipped with dark sunglasses provided by Zue Fashion. Described below are the highlights, weather and other bits of information of the whole itinerary of Segment VII, which was aborted on the last hours of the fourth day:

SEGMENT VII, CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT

ILIHAN, TABOGON TO LAKE LANAO, DAANBANTAYAN

FIRST DAY

AUGUST 17, 2016

04:30 – Leave Cebu North Bus Terminal, Mandaue City for Ilihan, Tabogon by bus.

06:45 – Arrive Ilihan. Courtesy call on peace officer, recording our presence and purpose.

07:00 – Leave Ilihan for Labangon, Tabogon. Pace: Moderate to fast. Weather: Warm with cloudy skies.

08:15 – Arrive Labangon. Courtesy call on village head.

08:30 – Leave Labangon for the “Unnamed and Unmarked” Mountain Range.  Pace: Slow.  Weather: Very warm and sunny.

09:40 – Rest and rehydrate on unnamed peak, elevation unknown. Decides to name this    peak as Mount Lo-ong, in reference to its proximity to a small community of same name. Old path vanished due to thick vegetation.

09:55 – Proceed exploration. Pace: Slow. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny.

10:43 – Rest and rehydrate on another unnamed peak, elevation unknown. Decides to name this peak as Mount Lutaw, in reference to its proximity to a small community of same name. Rock surface bounced off heat to us. Found a blooming wild dragonfruit cactus. Collected four specimen samples. Took naps under the shade after a snack of rosquillos and dried fruits.

12:00 – Proceed exploration. Pace: Slow. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny.

13:00 – Rest and rehydrate at a rare habitation. Found trail to here after many tries. Local named Enteng, very helpful. Jonathaniel, Justin and Fritz proceed downhill to  fetch water at a small community of Timbangan.

13:35 – Proceed exploration. Pace: Slow. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny.

14:50 – Arrive at area of sinkholes and abandoned phosphate mines. Thick vegetation    cover many sinkholes. Two big sinkholes recently caved in. Dangerous to explore.  This is the place referred to by the locals as the Doce Cuartos, a cavern system of twelve chambers. Looking for paths on this trackless wilderness for the other side of the limestone cliffs.

15:35 – Rest and rehydrate after path finding.

15:45 – Proceed exploration. Pace: Slow. Weather: Very warm with sparse clouds.

16:00 – Rest and rehydrate on top of peak with a covered sinkhole. A small flat ground is encircled by a rim of dwarf forest and limestone rising ten feet above us.

16:15 – Proceed exploration after finding a notch on the rim. Pace: Slow. Weather: Very warm and sunny with clouds.

16:20 – Propagated VHF signal on top of the highest limestone cliff using a Cignus V85 portable radio with stock antenna at 5 watts power to a repeater tower of Ham Radio Cebu located in the Babag Mountain Range, Cebu City, 89+ kilometers away.  Communicated successfully with amateur station 4F7MHZ.

16:25 – Hereby named the unmarked and unnamed mountain range, not found in any old or current maps, as the Doce Cuartos Mountain Range, in reference to the cavern system of same name which is the most known feature.

16:30 – Proceed exploration and to find a suitable campsite. Stopped along they way to   drink water of an unopened coconut found on the ground.   Pace: Slow to moderate.  Weather: Warm and cloudy.

17:30 – Halt the day’s activity at a covered saddle. Set up hammocks and shelters and  produce campfire to smoke away mosquitoes. Countless cave bats stream out of underground habitats. Limit water use for drinking and cooking only.  Dinner is crab meat soup, rice and egg-chorizo omelet. Enjoyed coffee afterwards.

19:00 – Taps.

Distance Covered: 9.1 Kilometers.

SECOND DAY

AUGUST 18, 2016

 

06:00 – Wake up call. Start cooking fires. Breakfast is seaweed soup, rice and boiled eggs with coffee. Water supply very low. Campsite is among Leichardt pine trees which attract pollinators and a strange hummingbird.

07:55 – Break camp. Proceed exploration for a route to find a community or a habitation.   Pace: Slow. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny. Trackless wilderness, talus rocks, tight valleys and low hills. Conserve energy by following cleavage among hills and long rests under the shade. Forage wild papayas for fluid and electrolytes.

11:00 – Rest and rehydrate on last drops of water. Took naps under the shade after snacks of energy bar and dried fruits.

12:30 – Proceed exploration for a community or a habitation. Pace: Slow. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny.

13:00 – Arrive at small community of Tindog Bato. Rest and rehydrate with water, soda drinks and iced water.

14:00 – Leave for Manlagtang, Tabogon. Pace: Moderate. Weather: Very warm and sunny.

14:30 – Arrive Manlagtang. Rest and rehydrate.

15:15 – Leave Manlagtang for Guadalupe, Bogo City by bus to make up time when I found  we were navigating off-course by forty degrees due to the passage afforded by tight valleys.

15:50 – Arrive Guadalupe and proceed to walk a route towards the Hagnaya Port Road  found in Dakit, Bogo City.

17:00 – Arrive highway. Took early dinner at a small eatery.

17:30 – Leave highway for Malingin, Bogo City.

18:00 – Arrive Malingin. Courtesy call on village officials.  Set up hammocks and shelters.  Enjoyed coffee.

21:00 – Taps.

Distance Covered:  13.6 Kilometers.

THIRD DAY

AUGUST 19, 2016

06:00 – Wake up call. Start cooking fires.

08:00 – Leave Manlagtang for Don Pedro Rodriguez, Bogo City. Pace: Fast. Weather: Warm with sparse clouds. Followed a route of an old and abandoned railroad line.  Foraged sweetsops along the way.

10:30 – Arrive Don Pedro Rodriguez. Rest and rehydrate.

10:40 – Leave Don Pedro Rodriguez for Curva, Medellin. Pace: Fast. Weather: Very warm  and sunny.

12:15 – Cross Dayhagon Canal Bridge. Rest and rehydrate.

12:25 – Proceed hike. Pace: Fast. Weather: Extremely warm and sunny.

14:05 – Arrive Curva. Rest and rehydrate. Feet soles suffered from walking along treeless and shadeless sidewalks of the highway in Medellin. Prepared late lunch.

14:45 – Leave Curva for Poblacion, Medellin. Pace: Fast. Weather: Very warm with sparse  clouds.

16:50 – Arrive Poblacion. Rest and rehydrate.

17:15 – Leave Poblacion for Bakhawan, Daanbantayan by bus to make up time for my lapse in identifying and finding a suitable direct route to there. (The next morning, I found it.)

17:30 – Arrive Bakhawan Beach Home. Rest and rehydrate. Start cooking fires in makeshift kitchen. Dinner is vegetable in coconut-milk soup and milled corn. First bath after three days. Bakhawan Beach Home is a sponsor of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT.

22:00 – Taps.

Distance Covered:  30.4 Kilometers.

FOURTH DAY

AUGUST 20, 2016

06:00 – Wake up call. The proprietress, Lani Perez, and her staff at Bakhawan Beach Home hosted a breakfast for the XTeam. Food consists of dried fish, organically-grown vegetables, rice and fruit with coffee.

09:05 – Leave Bakhawan Beach Home for Dalingding Hills, Daanbantayan. Pace: Moderate to fast. Weather: Warm with cloudy skies.

11:30 – Arrive at Dalingding Hills. Rest and rehydrate.

11:45 – Leave Dalingding Hills for Libertad, Daanbantayan. Pace: Fast. Weather: Mild and rainy.

12:25 – Arrive Libertad. Rest and rehydrate.

12:40 – Leave Libertad for Lake Lanao, Daanbantayan. Pace: Moderate. Weather: Very warm and sunny.

15:20 – Arrive Lake Lanao. Water shrunk to just a small pond. Most of the lake had been converted into rice fields.

15:30 - Proceed for the village of Lanao. Pace: Slow. Weather: Warm and cloudy.

16:20 - Arrive Lanao. Rest and rehydrate.

16:30 – Elements of Daanbantayan Police Station arrived to respond to an “Armed Person Alarm” which turned out to be the XTeam. XTeam decides to go with the police peacefully, without any protest, so our presence would be recorded officially.

17:30 – I decide to abort the exploration, to include the final 7 kilometers or so for tomorrow, for the safety of the XTeam.

18:00 – Leave Daanbantayan for Mandaue City by bus.

22:30 – Arrive Cebu North Bus Terminal, Mandaue City. Terminate exploration.

Distance Covered:  18.12 Kilometers.

TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED: 69.89 Kilometers

One of the biggest obstacles to the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT is local cooperation or acceptance. Their life-long habits and beliefs, shaped by their isolation to modernization and urban fads (hiking, exploration), placed us in extreme disadvantage. I may have the documents to show the legality of our presence and activity but, still, we are viewed with suspicion. On our side, we interpret it as either indifference, arrogance or ignorance and it is most dangerous when strong spirits are mixed or there is too much politics in a place.

Next are government bureaucrats who are tasked to act on my request contained in my letters addressed to the office of the Provincial Governor and of the Cebu Provincial Police Office. Their ineptness and lack of initiatives have caused me dismay for they failed to disseminate the information contained in my letters that could have explained everything even before I was at these places like Daanbantayan. This is but routine and demands less work and I cannot understand why it cannot be done?

Difficult terrain is nothing, but when an uncooperative weather condition is blended into the fray, it would really really be difficult, like on my first day in an earlier attempt, and on the first and second days, on an unnamed and unmarked mountain range bounded by the villages of Labangon, Mabuli, Manlagtang and Somosa, all in Tabogon. There is no known water source on the range and whatever it had would have immediately wither under the onslaught of warm weather. That condition will bring down your water supply.

There were three highlights in the exploration for the route of Segment VII. First was the exploration of almost the whole mountain range, previously unmarked and unnamed in any map. Nobody goes there except of a few intrepid wood gatherers. It is an uninviting terrain of loose rocks, bare and sharp, which host a forest of unwieldy and spiny bushes and have no known water sources. It is my honor and privilege then to bestow it with a name that is just as enigmatic: Doce Cuartos Mountain Range.

Next is the rediscovery of a long-forgotten relic of an earlier era which was the route of a railroad line that serviced the sugar cane plantations of Bogo City to its destination to a sugar refinery in Medellin. Its presence in old maps gave me the more reason to include this in the route of Segment VII. The route goes straight and seamless until a big house blocked its route in Don Pedro Rodriguez, Bogo City. It would be wise for the city and the Province of Cebu to preserve this old railroad route as a Cebuano heritage.

Last is our privilege to be hosted by Bakhawan Beach Home. It is not everyday that we can enjoy amenities of an exclusive resort yet it is just fortunate that Bakhawan Beach Home is one of our sponsors. The XTeam are used to hard and uncomfortable campsites on all our exploration hikes but the soft beds under the warmth of a roof in close proximity to the lulling sound of surf on shore are just heavenly. It is then my pleasure to thank Ms. Lani Perez and her staff for the warm reception and accommodation given to Eagle One.

After I have parted from my employer in the last days of 2015, I was determined to finish the CEBU HIGHLANDS PROJECT before 2017. I trained with the XTeam when we have no exploration schedule to keep us fit. I refined and re-routed Segment I, especially the Lutopan-Guadalupe route, when the thought of a future dam construction occurred to me, which would surely bury the old route under a man-made lake.

I have, segment by segment, reached the threshold of completing the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT. Although I have aborted Segment VII, I have covered enough ground to consider it a success. The last stretch of untouched territory to Bulalaqui Point is just about seven kilometers long. A mere day hike. An “icing in the cake” when its time to be walked will come. Eagle One have accumulated, after the last segment, 355.33 Kilometers or Eighty-Seven Percent of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT.

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer