ADRENALINE ADVENTURE HIKE: Segment I-A

THE CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL, is best appreciated in segments. But Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei of the Adrenaline Romance Blog, thought of it otherwise. Why not walk it in half-segments? Although I have tried it (and completely forgotten that I did) but, I believe, it is STILL a wonderful idea. Two weekend days. Overnight. Yeah, why not?

Segment I, the most intimidating of the eight segments, because it goes up and down through three separate mountain ranges, cross two major river systems, and break your will huffing and puffing while carrying your load for 4-5 days. I have walked it straight but once only last November 2017 and, if only it would be possible, I would not walk it again that way.

 

Why not break Segment I into two sub-segments like I used to during the exploration phase of the Cebu Highlands Trail and, unintentionally, during the Thruhike of January-February 2017? Why not indeed? Frankly speaking, it benefits me well. The two-day hike removes the stress that the third, the fourth and, maybe the fifth day would give to a person.

Why not? Why not? Oh, why not? Thank you Adrenaline Romance. You just gave me an idea how to safely proceed about the segment hikes of the CHT. This blogging couple, is one of my supporters during my 27-day Thruhike. They even provided me a replacement bag – a 50-liter High Sierra Titan – halfway in my Thruhike after a local bag created problems on my shoulders.

Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei, in one of their articles, choose the CHT as one of the seven destinations in their bucket list for 2018 but they do not want to hike it through for they simply do not have a generous time in their lives, they, being company employees. They fund their trips from their hard-earned salaries and write about it in Adrenaline Romance.

Their blog is what kept them going. The couple made mincemeat of any difficult challenges and obstacles and what becomes of it are well-written essays of their adventure experiences. They are into rock climbing, scuba diving, caving, mountaineering, snorkeling, canyoning and, of course, blogging. They walk the talk and, for that, they influence people about adventure destinations and activities and what gear and equipment you need.

Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei are product ambassadors of Deuter and Se7en Outdoors, a local apparel provider. Aside that, they are honorary members of Project Blue, an environmental advocacy organization. The couple, from to time, gets invited to cover events and services with their famous blog as medium like Bluewater Resorts, Trexplore, Bellevue Hotels, to name a few.

But, today – February 17, 2018 – their quest of the CHT starts on this early hour at Ayala Terminal, Cebu City. I would be their guide and we will be walking from Mount Manunggal, Balamban, to somewhere in the Transcentral Highway in Cebu City. Sounds easy but it is not. Not because it is difficult terrain, but because of my unreliable memory. The CHT is a product of traditional navigation. No GPS coordinates. Just memory only and it wreaks havoc on your itinerary!

The van-for-hire dropped us on a corner where there is a feeder road to Mt. Manunggal. Astride motorcycles-for-hire, we arrive at the famous parking lot of Manunggal. We checked our bags and retrieve items that we need for the hike. It is like a ritual. At 08:00, we go down a path that leads to the campsite where there are tents and people. We simply pass by going to a trail that these campers know not.

No, it is not a secret trail. Locals use this trail once in a while. Only a few hikers walk this trail. I am a regular here and I once walked it alone on a Good Friday. I talk as I walk and Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei were laughing as I told them my encounter of a big snake on this path. I jumped downhill out of fright, rolling and panting. Who would not? It travelled alongside you!

The path goes through second-growth forest and an original forest that clung to the steep rocks. The ground is muddy but we walk on firmer parts. As I walk I also talk about plants. An unusual vine bear oversized beans. I did not know matchbox bean vines (Local name: gogo, bayugo) grew here. It is so huge! Showed them rhododendrons (yagumyum) and Asiatic bitter yams (kobong) and explained what they for are.

Once we got past the forest I showed them a speck of white on a trough between two hills. It is a saddle, of course, and it is our next destination. It is called Inalad but it is pronounced as Ina-a-a-ad. The quirks of Cebuano vocabulary. We will arrive there at noon and we do not have to hurry. They were shocked at my casual disregard of distance.

I have to take it slow. I am nursing a fever. I have to honor a commitment and I must not let them down. Also, they must not know about my condition. Slow is better. We must not hurry or we get stressed out. It is a long day and tomorrow is another long one. I must conserve my strength for tomorrow for it is much different than today. Patience would win the day for me.

 

We go down into a grassy and open field and entered another forested but very tight path among rocks. Rock surfaces are well-polished by water and I take them so super slow here. I am wearing my Hi-Tec Altitude low-ankle shoes and I developed a certain level of trust on this pair. My High Sierra Titan bag looked heavy with a rolled Therm-a-Rest hitched underneath it.

On the other hand, the Adrenaline Romance pair wore their Deuters and the bags are almost like a part of their physical bodies. They move with it without any extra effort. They are good product ambassadors and Deuter did not err in choosing them. They looked also great with the CHT t-shirt made by Silangan Outdoor Equipment.

The trail goes into farms and we meet one family trying to wiggle themselves out of a path that was choked by a falling tree. Some of the higher branches and twigs have blocked the way and the children and women have to squeeze through with difficulty. The mature male among them, equipped with bolos, do nothing and just let the weaker ones manage themselves.

When they were gone, I break off the twigs and slimmer branches away from the trail. The bigger ones, I stepped on and put weight to break it in two. I am used to this work: Clearing debris in my playground at Camp Damazo and doing trail maintenance. Of course, I have with me bigger blades then. On this hike, I have only a Mora Companion, a Victorinox Trailmaster and a William Rodgers Bushlore, which I did not use.

We arrive at a homestead and rest for a while. It is 10:00 and we did good. We are now  halfway down the mountain and in about a half hour we would be on the shores of a stream. To celebrate that, I asked from Sheila Mei to part a chocolate bar to a shy small girl that had been spying us from a window. She goes to school far far away, up and down this mountain. They are deprived of little comforts which urban-bred ones take for granted.

After a rest of five minutes, we proceed down the trail, passing by little streams and more homesteads. Once, I stopped on the path to study a trail of a farm animal. It is the one made by a swamp buffalo and there is only a single line of hoof prints. I quizzed Sheila Mei about this anomaly. Actually, there is another set of hoof prints along the outer edges of the path and it could not be easily seen unless you study it at a different angle.

We arrive at the bank of the upper Lusaran River. This is one of the three major river systems of Central Cebu and it flows out of Balamban to the Tañon Strait. We will cross this stream five times and will have to remove shoes and socks. Walking barefoot on the sandy bed and on sandy banks made a soothing effect that removed the kinks in our nerves. It is a wonderful feeling.

Walking on solid ground once more, we met the first of the many animal farms tethered on to trails, most of these have their young with them. We met two cow families while going to Inalad, where we arrived at 11:30. That is 30 minutes early despite the deliberate slow pace. Inalad is a marketplace and the boundaries of Balamban, Toledo City and Cebu City converge here. We took lunch on one family-run restaurant and enjoyed siesta.

The 30-minute nap was good enough for me. The fever is almost gone save for brief dizzy spells. At 13:00, we leave Inalad for a feeder road that goes all the way to Tongkay, Toledo City. The village is located on the bottom of the valley and Sheila Mei bought a few vegetables there but failed to find a common ingredient: lime (lemonsito). We also filled full our water containers, renewing the weight we lost to eaten food and to rehydration.

We cross the uppermost Hinulawan River where it drained to the man-made Malubog Lake. We follow up a path that rode the back of a ridge. It is very warm, the sun slaps hard at your right, the part where the mountain is almost bare. Gaining more elevation, we come face to face with a bull, standing over the path. I make grunting sounds and the bull gave me space but regained that space immediately after I passed.

It created a bit of a problem for me. The bull refused to vacate when Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei slowly approached. Both made a difficult detour on a very tight space where the ridge is narrowest. My heart trebled its beat when the bull approached the duo. Unexpectedly, the bull slurped Gian Carlo’s hand instead. What a close call.

Once I reach my old campsite, I break off the trail and follow a narrow path that led to a hillside farm. A slight drizzle begins to appear and it elicits a frown from me. I hope it does not rain hard. The path disappeared when I got past the plowed field and blazed across waist-high grass to reach a ridge, which led to the present campsite. We came 90 minutes earlier than what was indicated in the itinerary and we are just walking very slow.

The slight drizzle became light rain and I have to set up a shelter over a space reserved for cooking. My hammock can wait. Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei found the shelter convenient to set up their dome tent nearby. Pouring drops of rain fell from the shelter eaves and I have to wait when rain begins to disappear. Winds added chill to the situation.

At 16:30, the shower stopped and there is still a lot of daylight. I hastily set up my hammock between two trees. Then I transferred my sheet from the cooking area over my hammock. The campsite is on a cleared ridge where a forest claimed the other side. We eat our supper early, availing of daylight. The grounds and vegetation are wet and it begins to go cold. We turn in early at 18:00 and the hammock felt warm.

I awoke at 21:00 hearing great gusts of wind roaring from below the valley. It never affected us. In fact, warm air dislodged from the valley floor by colder wind made its way up to our camp, giving us a comfortable night. This micro climate will stay for a few hours and would soon dissipate. I have noticed this phenomenon in my older camp down the mountain.

I feel good rising early on the second day – February 18. The long comfortable sleep was most welcome for my body. I did not feel any effects of fever today and that is good news for me because it would be a challenging task for me later. After a very early breakfast, we break camp at 07:00. We follow the path up a peak and show Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei, a big hole on the very apex. I believe this was used as a mine vent.

Beyond the peak, we follow a very narrow ridge that led to another peak – Etwi. The landslide that blocked the trail below Etwi had been cleared and it led into another narrow ridge that led to Maraag, a part of the Sudlon Mountain Range. A concrete marker bears information that this is now part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape.

At Maraag, we savor a bottle of softdrink each and munch a few stale bread. After ten minutes, we proceed to the “hog’s back” (buko-buko sa anay) on a paved road but switched to a feeder road for Panas. I surely marked the place of the trailhead I took last time in my mind so that I would not miss the route to Bonbon again.

The trail is well-beaten but once you get past homesteads it becomes narrow. Some of it pass by scrubby grass that grew persistently despite being trod by many feet everyday and you get the impression that a trail do not pass by here. We cross the headwaters of the Bonbon-Mananga River System several times and these are brisk clean brooks.

It always excites me to walk this stretch because it keeps my mind to work and think, to read the right track from the false ones, and to study the terrain with much concentration of thoughts. These things make up traditional navigation so honestly demanding from even the most trail-savvy traveller. The changing contours here are themselves very demanding.

After four hours of walking, I am rewarded of an arrival in the last homestead in Panas that was a half-hour early than that found on my itinerary. We were not hurrying. We were just in a strolling pace, most of the time stopping briefly to talk about a plant, an outstanding land feature, previous observations, local attitudes, scenery and landmarks or even the shape of a hut. There is a clean water source here and we take some.

We rest for about five minutes and then proceed on, following a trail downhill to a forested part. I try not to miss this trail this time and it is well-marked in my mind. The route inside the forest is steep and slippery. Too few hand holds and most of them were unreliable taro stems and abaca trunks and springy vines that break at the first sign of force.

We arrive at the rocky bank of Biasong Creek and follow it downstream. We walk for about a half hour when I found a perfect spot to stop and prepare our noontime meal. It is shady with a wide sandy beach. Sheila Mei cooked our food with the butane burner and we proceed with lunch and a few minutes of rest.

 

After an hour, we are now fully rejuvenated and proceed on with the last hours of our journey today. The couple was amazed at the clean water of the stream as well as beautiful spots good enough for river bathing. Ahead of us is the sound of rushing water falling in a high elevation but we are deprived of its presence since it is impassable from our location.

We go over dry ground, this time, skipping the sheer obstacle and, from our new location, caught limited glimpses of the not-so-known Bitlang Waterfall. The trail put us on the part of the stream where there is another branch whose mouth is choked with humongous rocks. May God bless those souls caught up in here during a flashflood. It is a meat grinder.

Downstream, Biasong Creek gets tamer and tamer as black PVC pipes competes space with rocks and debris. These pipes channel water to communities and a local resort. We arrive at the resort and outside it is another local unofficial resort. We cross the last of the stream and walked again on dry ground to a store in Biasong selling cold softdrinks. We deserve that.

After fifteen minutes of rest and snacks, I followed a different direction this time given by a local as shorter than that of going to Bonbon and we do not have to cross another stream. Okay. Goaded by local knowledge, we followed a paved road and it seemed to rise forever. It did go downhill going to the St. John Marie Vianney Parish in Maomawan, but it goes up again.

 

We finally reach a place named Tugop, which is a part of the village of Babag at 16:30 but there is something wrong with the new route I took. It is much tiresome compared to the older route and there is but little difference in distance. It was recommended by a local because they travel nowadays on motorcycles and it is very convenient for that kind of travel. But, for walking? Nah.

Well done Adrenaline Romance, you made it this far and, on many times, bettering the itinerary by 30 minutes to even 90 minutes. Amazing! You have proven your steadfastness and your commitment to the first of the many that you would soon impose on yourselves. This is no easy walk but you are rewarded with scenery that was denied to most people and the experience that you could better describe in your popular and highly-rated blog.

The mysteries and idiosyncrasies of the CHT would simply be laid before you once you set your sights on the rest of the paths. You are on the right track to that quest and there is no turning back. Happy trails...

Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei wrote about their Segment I-A experience on their Adrenaline Romance Blog under two installments:

 Cebu Highlands Trail Segment 1A: Mt. Manunggal to Mt. Tongkay
  Cebu Highlands Trail Segment 1A: Mt. Tongkay to Tugop
        

Document done in LibreOffice 5.3 Writer

Photos courtesy of Adrenaline Romance

MAN-SIZED HIKE XXVII: Manunggal-Babag-Lutopan

THE CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL is a long trail comprising of roads, dirt paths, farm trails, highways, even an old railroad and a stretch of trackless wilderness from southern tip to northern tip. These were stitched together by this blogger for almost six years before being hiked through in 27 days last January-February 2017. You would marvel at its length and you would be amazed that this blogger walked it on sheer memory.

It is divided into eight segments, the author noting that a guided thruhike is a far possibility as of this time since the routes had not been documented by any radionavigation system, being the CHT is but a product of memory borne from the oddities of traditional navigation. In segments, the CHT is simply manageable and the chances of error are small which could be rectified by creative ways.

 

In segment hiking, you could either start from the heel of Cebu, going up north to the “finis de tierra”. Or you could do it in numerical order from Segment I to Segment VIII. Whichever, the author simply designed it for the convenience of travel, with easy access from start and finish. Segments vary from two days to as much as five days. Segments also make it easy to carry your load of gear, food, and fuel and other supplies.

I have not yet opened it for guided walks but I accommodated the request of the Bukal Outdoor Club, for them to try the CHT. I have complete trust in this group for they trained themselves in jungle survival and wilderness first aid. They choose Segment I, the route that would start from Mount Manunggal then to Mount Babag before it terminate at Lutopan, Toledo City. This could be a test hike and to test my memory.

Segment I is one of the most difficult hike of the CHT and could stretch from 56 to 60 kilometers in length. It pass and traverse over three major mountain ranges: the Central Cebu Mountain Range where Mt. Manunggal is located; the Sudlon Mountain Range; and the Babag Mountain Range where Mt. Babag is located. It also cross two major river systems of Cebu: the Lusaran River and the Mananga River.

 

After lunchtime of November 30, 2017, we left the terminal at Ayala Center. Thirteen members of Bukal Outdoor Club came and two from the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. We have an itinerary to follow which is very important since it would determine the food we bring. Going up and down difficult terrain for five days hefting heavy loads is not easy, especially under a warm tropical sun.

We alighted at the Trans-Central Highway where there is a feeder road that lead to Mt. Manunggal. From there we follow this dirt road which pass by the village of Sunog, Balamban. The village now charge visitors eighty pesos each if you camp at Mt. Manunggal, which we will soon be, and at Mt. Mauyog. Personally, I do not have any qualms about this if it benefitted the folks and improved the services, then, so be it.

We arrive at 16:00 and set up our shelters. Part of the entrance fee is the use of the bathroom and piped water. Which is fair enough. I do not know about how the caretakers dispose of other people’s garbage. As far as I know, hikers and mountain climbers take care of their own garbage and bring it with them. I believed the bulk of the garbage are those that are brought by locals, especially during the annual March 17th revelry.

It was strangely warm in Mt. Manunggal where, in another time at that hour, it would have been already awfully cold. I expected a sleepless night since I would be laying down in a hammock under a simple shelter of taffeta sheet which are open on two sides. The ingredients for their first meal is now dispatched into a grand dinner. There was a glass of brandy doing the rounds and I stayed until about 20:00 when wind begun to chill a bit.

When it was still dark, and cold, hushed voices awakened me. In the clear air, the metal clank of pots are distinguishable and I could hear the hiss of a butane stove. Somebody woke up so early to prepare breakfast. I would want to rise but there is not much I could do except slurp coffee. I could do that later. The second day, December 1, is really the start of the Segment I hike. The start of their adventure.

After a filling breakfast, we break camp and started very early at 07:30. Our first destination would be Inalad Saddle, which the itinerary says we will reach at 12:00. We would be following a trail that only a few people use and it goes down the upper part of the Lusaran River. I know this path well, having passed by here on many occasions until someone closed that part which offered shorter route to Inalad.

 

We go down from Mt. Manunggal over a very beautiful trail, grassy and forested and squeezing among rocks in a tight cleavage until we rest by a place called Kapiyoan. Going with us is a dog from Sunog. It followed us because we have food to spare. From there, we go down some more among cleared patches, solitary houses and swidden farms and cross small tributary streams and landing on the sandy shore of the Upper Lusaran.

We cross the stream five times and climb up on the other side and follow a narrow trail that follow gently the lower contours of a mountain range of Cantipla. We ultimately reach Inalad at exactly 12:00 and buy prepared food from a local restaurant. One of the hikers  has to cut short participation because of prior commitment. Inalad is a marketplace and is the common boundary of Balamban, Cebu City and Toledo City. After lunch, we spend our deserved siesta. So is our guest dog.

At 13:00, we continue on our way by crossing the Trans-Central Highway into the side of Toledo City. There is another feeder road that would lead to the village of Tongkay. It snaked its way, gently meandering into a valley surrounded by mountains. When we reach the village, we registered our names into their visitor’s log after a courtesy call. We cross the Upper Hinulawan River, which drains to Malubog Lake, and climb Mount Tongkay. 

This is another good trail but you would not appreciate it since the warm early afternoon sun would be directly facing your right. Although it is well vegetated on both sides, the path is bare. The trail goes up and up until it becomes tricky. While the trail goes on its hog back, I prefer to cut across a hillside farm, oblique, right on the face of the mountain until I come upon low vegetation where I turn at a right angle towards the campsite uphill.

  

Before climbing Mt. Tongkay, everyone filled their water containers full at village since the nearest water source would be at Etwi, half a kilometer away. What weight they disposed to the two meals at Mt. Manunggal were replaced by water and everyone struggled the trail to this campsite, which we reach at 16:30. Tents are set up on the open ground while Jethro and I opt to sleep above ground in our respective hammocks.

Soon there would be a spectacular moonrise as the moon approaches its full waxing in two days. Across the campsite is the saddle of Inalad and the imposing height of Mount Gaas. Further away, lost in its mantle of clouds, is Mt. Manunggal. We are overlooking the valley and, soon, warm air from below would slowly rise, giving us a comfortable night with just the right temperatures. A forest rising from the other side protect us from the south wind.

Dinner is prepared hastily while there is still daylight and our adopted dog liked it very much. We made a campfire to celebrate the good hike for today. Another glass of rum make its round among the campers under the silvery light of the moon. Wind shrieked among the lower valley yet it never affected us. It was comfortably warm in our campsite. When the last of the fiery liquid were completely gone, we made for our waiting shelters.

The third day, December 2, made its presence known with the crowing of the cocks, tame and wild, and by the hiss of the butane burner. The camp becomes alive as daylight augured for another round of adventure. Segment I is divided into two sub-segments. The first installment, the ones we have walked yesterday and later for today, is unknown territory which this author and only a few has walked.

After breakfast, we break camp and kept to the trail to Mt. Tongkay. On its very summit is a deep vertical hole, perhaps the vent of a large copper mine and everybody carefully study its depths from the lip. Continuing on, we followed the path on a narrow ridge that connect to Etwi Peak. Landslides effected a difficult passing underneath the mountain but all made it safely. This ridge goes on to another ridge which becomes the Sudlon Mountain Range.

We arrive at Maraag, in the village of Sudlon I, and there is a store that sold cold soda drinks. We stayed here for about ten minutes. There is now a road here that connect to the Trans-Central Highway if you go north. We go north but we veer to a feeder road that goes to Panas. It is a dirt road with several trailheads, tempting you to take one. I have taken each and every trail in the past, borne out of confusion, stress and failing memory.

Never have I stuck to one path on those occasions and I was literally lost except for my first attempt. That path is the one I am looking for. I have to be accurate this time. I have fourteen people to take care of and our line would stretch long on “uncharted” territory. I found the trailhead and my confidence builds up. The trail lead us to solitary houses, farms, headwaters, forests and grassy meadows. It is a warm day and my memory begins to lose some.

I have to backtrack on one when I found going the wrong way and I have to reconnoiter on other times, the stress begins to build up on me and I have to call a time out at 11:00 as the sun bore its intensity on me. I begged for coffee underneath the shade of a big star apple tree. I have to rest else I would burn out. The rest for thirty minutes, coupled with coffee and powdered juice, have stabilized me and I took the trail once more with gusto.

The trail goes on its serpentine path, going up and down, mostly down, until I reached the home of Yolando Obong at 14:00, whose place I passed by in 2015 during a penitence hike. The house is abandoned yet there are fighting cocks leashed to the ground while hens and chicks rove around and everywhere. Mr. Obong would be back later to feed these fowls, I am sure of that, but I could not wait. We rest here for a while and fill our bottles from a spring.

We must go down to Biasong Creek then go to Mt. Babag and we have squandered a lot of time that we are now behind schedule. Once we reach safely the village of Bonbon at dusk, it would be alright to walk in darkness to our next campsite. We leave for the stream, following a trail which I thought was the one based on a two-year old memory. Although I passed by here in January during the Thruhike, it was done in reverse from Biasong Creek.

We go down a steep and difficult route inside a jungle. There were trails but it ended on holes where charcoals are made. I tried the gully but I stared on a very steep precipice as it is a dried up waterfall. My hair stood on its tiptoes as I realized we could all be swept away to kingdom come if ever there is a big downpour. I advised everybody to backtrack and go back to where we came from. My memory simply failed me again and I am tired.

It is now 15:30 and too few daylight hours to make another try to the stream. We have to go back to Mr. Obong’s place and set up our campsite. We have adequate water there. Defeated, I set up my hammock and shelter far from the rest. Dinner is prepared. There is another spectacular moonrise over the Babag Mountain Range, the place where we should have set up camp tonight.

Mr. Obong arrived at 22:00 and how I was glad to see him and talked to him about our earlier debacle. He is feeding his fowls in the dead of night for his late arrival and he promised me the correct path early morning. He also warned me that strange men not from his place pass by here at dawn. He just leave them alone. True enough, there was a man in a hurry passing by where I slept at around 02:00 and he was not carrying a torch.

The fourth day, December 3, saw us falling behind schedule by almost 24 hours. I have to remedy that and do some improvisation once we reach Biasong. We thanked Mr. Obong for his help and for accommodating us in his ground and bade goodbye. Refreshed from a good night’s sleep, I am now on the trail to Biasong Creek at 07:00. The ground is slippery as it is steep with very few good handholds to anchor since most plants here are spiny.   

 

After 45 minutes, we were on the stream. The water is at a moderate level. We followed an invisible path where we are able to keep our shoes dry. While trying to grip a steep rock face, one of my shoes slipped from a slippery toehold and I fell into a waist-high depth, totally incapacitating my use of my Lenovo A7000 smartphone and my Cherry Mobile U2 analog phone. Without these, I cannot give updates of our locations. 

We arrive at Biasong at 10:00 and sucked dry, bottle after bottle of cold soda drinks. We haggled with a Suzuki Multicab owner and we were transferred, all 15 of us and a dog, to the place where we were supposed to spend our campsite last night, disregarding the need to cross Bonbon River and walking the road to the Trans-Central Highway and to Mt. Babag. Even with that, we are still a full five hours late. It is almost 11:30 and we eat lunch brought by another Bukal Outdoor Club member who joined us.

Fully rested and full, we continue at 12:00, following the dirt road, passing by Mt. Babag, until it becomes a mere trail. The Babag Ridge Trail is a beautiful stretch of forested country unknown to a lot of people. Lately, new hikers begun to discover this and they failed to know the places where the old World War II trenches and tunnels were located. Everyone were aghast at this hidden gem and it goes through another forest, mostly of crawling bamboos (bokawe) and, facing before us is, Mount Bocaue.

We did not climb the peak as we were on a hurry. We are racing with time and there are too few daylight hours left. We need to be in the village of Buot, Cebu City before sundown and walking in darkness into our next campsite would be okay since we will be on roads. In the meantime, we are on a trail yet and following a wrong one would spell disaster to our itinerary. I concentrate on landmarks instead of being concerned with time and pace.

This is a long ridge. We are walking almost the entire length of the Babag Mountain Range. We reach Mount Samboryo and my worries of getting lost are losing its grip. The trail goes down but some people before us, on board dirt motorcycles, have ruined the path, loosening a lot of rocks and tearing soft spots which became difficult to tread on. These people simply do not respect the locals who used these trails for their livelihood and for their children going to school.

We cross a hanging steel bridge and arrive at Buot at 17:00. We douse another batch of cold soda drinks before going the long way to Odlom. This time, we would be walking uphill on a combination of paved and dirt road. It is a long uphill walk. The soles have seen its beating from four days walk and extended for another many hours of night walking. It begins to be painful as the leg joints begins to complain.

 

The pace becomes controlled and careful so as not to overburden the feet soles. We arrive at Odlom, a part of the village of Sinsin, Cebu City, at 19:00 and we have to walk another hour to the Manipis Road and then 30 minutes to Camp 7, in Minglanilla. It extended to two hours because of frequent rests. At 21:00, we finally arrive at the DENR’s Biodiversity, Coastal, Wetlands, Ecotourism Research Center for our day’s campsite.

Our stay at DENR-BCWERC was made possible through my request which was approved by Dr. Alicia Lustica, the center head. It is composed of the Cebu Experimental Forest, a nursery, caves, trails, a small waterfall and wildlife. Unknown to most people, the center accepts ecotourism tours as it has a 240-meter Kiddie Trail; a 1.3 kilometers EcoDiscovery and Heritage Trail; and a 1.2 kilometers Ecstacy Trail which include visiting two caves.

Dinner came at 23:00 and it was another grand meal worthy of remembrance. There was a bottle of brandy somewhere but I opt to chase sleep. I am really tired. I was using the wrong bag. It was the Mil-Tec rucksack whose waist belt was inadequate to transfer the weight to my hips from my shoulders. I was hefting all along for the past four days the whole load on my upper body. I was supposed to reserve this bag for overnight trips only. Memory fail again.

The fifth day, December 4, is just a stroll in the park. Our destination is Lutopan, a progressive mountain village of Toledo City. We left the DENR-BCWERC at 09:00. The road goes down but long and paved. We are nursing bruised soles. What more for our adopted canine who walked bare? We reach Lutopan at 12:00 and rode a bus bound for Cebu City. What a great canine migration and adventure.        

Document done in LibreOffice 5.4 Writer

Photo credits to Apol Antenor, Kier Mancao, Nyor Pino and Mariel Reyes

MAN-SIZED HIKE XV: Mount Manunggal to Bonbon

I AM NOW FOCUSING MY sights on my unfinished Cebu Highlands Trail Project. Recently, I completed Segment III on February 19-21, 2015 after a hiatus of one-and-a-half-years which were spent on other activities. Next in line would be Segment IV and Segment V. Segment IV is the hardest of all and I had scheduled it in October 2015. Segment V is easier and I decide to explore it first and, that means, I have to move it backward from early 2016 to May 2015 instead.

Just like I had done before Segment III, I will prepare the Exploration Team through endurance training and long hikes. For this purpose, I will retrace the route I had taken to complete Segment I last October 26-27, 2013, which is from Mount Manunggal, Balamban to Guadalupe, Cebu City. I have tried this again alone on a “penitence hike” during the 2014 Lent, which saw me floundering on the trail caused by my self-imposed fasting, on a time of the warmest days of that year.

I failed to finish one-half of that pilgrimage but I have gained my soul back from the quagmire of sins. This rugged route, coupled with the hottest weather, is a test of endurance and may make or break an iron will. I have nothing to prove now but my companions of this different training-and-penitence hike would soon find out. They are Jonathan and Justin Apurado – father and son – and both are members of the Exploration Team.

We start from Citilink Terminal, Cebu City at 14:00 of Holy Thursday – April 2, 2015. The van-for-hire drop us at the road corner leading to Mt. Manunggal at exactly 15:30 and we walk the length to seek our campsite. We found favor on an unfinished concrete structure instead on the traditional camping ground for the posts are convenient for our hammocks to tie on. Our overhead sheets, we would convert instead into wind breakers for there are no walls.

As soon as we have secured our places, I prowl down the mountainside to forage dry firewood. The recent activity of March 17th, the Death Anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay, have caused scarcity of wood on the upper slopes. I found a few though that had been left by people at the lower reaches and carry it up. Justin and Jonathan give life to a flame by a flint strike on flammable tinder from pine trees.

It is a beautiful landscape at dusk. The red glow of a setting sun cooled as it touched the horizon behind the Negros mountains across Tañon Strait while a full moon rose over Camotes Sea. Presence of pine trees softened the strong aroma produced by the warmth of an afternoon sun on the soil and on weeds. Two fireplaces, two AJF Folding Trivets and two pots, one containing milled corn while the other water for coffee, are set up.

The coffee was good but we need to eat dinner quick before the fog begins to carpet us with its cold embrace. By now, strong breeze begins to claim every nook and cranny of the abandoned concrete edifice that we claimed as our camp. Jonathan and Justin were able to cook spicy beef noodle soup, dried fish, chorizo Bilbao and milled corn. We eat silently after a prayer. There is an abundance of water near the Pres. Magsaysay monument and obtaining it is never a problem.

The evening begins to get cold as gusts of wind slowly whittle away our body heat. Jonathan shared to me his brandy in a flask and I happily take two shots. I prepare my rosary to begin praying five decades of the Mystery of the Light. Tomorrow would be very warm and we would be following a long route marked by many ascents and downhills. So an early rest would suffice. After the night prayer, I immediately turn in to my waiting hammock and so are father and son.

The windbreakers we prop alongside our hammocks are inadequate. Winds increase chill factor and I have to abandon my place after an hour and transfer to a room which, thankfully, is the only finished part of the structure as it has walls, shuttered windows and a functioning door. I untied my tarp sheet from the posts and lay it on the cold cement as my ground sheet. Next is the hammock and I place it atop my ground sheet and wiggle inside it. The coldness of the floor is numbing.

I force myself to be comfortable and grab that sleep. After 10 minutes, Jonathan and Justin followed my lead. They too had found the chill factor brought by the wind too offensive for their liking. We all lay on the cold floor on the flimsiest of material to cushion our bodies against. During the night, the winds unleashed its strength as roofs made violent sounds. It was a long night and I was denied sleep even as I tried many times to ignore the discomforts. It gratifies me to know though that I had dreamed at the moment when somebody rose from his frigid bed.

My eyes are heavy as I force myself from sleep. The early morning light had not yet achieved intensity but I find it annoyingly bright. Maybe my lack of sleep had to do with that. Meanwhile, I need to answer the call of nature and I go down a trail to look for a good place. I see familiar shapes of “wiper” leaves in my dreamy stupor. After that, I go back and coffee is ready. Warm coffee in the morning puts you back to reality but I need to dry clean my hands first before a fire before handling my cup.

We eat a breakfast of quail eggs, spicy noodles, rice and dried fish at 07:30. The next meal would be dinner and we will fast in between considering that it is Good Friday. We quickly wash our pots and utensils and put everything in our backpacks. My Silangan Predator Z bag weighs about twelve kilos. Its weight would be felt during ascents and during the last hours of the day. We secured more water before going. I open carry my AJF Gahum knife. Same with Justin with his local kukri while Jonathan opt to open carry his Nikon camera.

The trail goes downhill and uphill into a forest and down again into grassy areas, crossing many dry brooks, treading on rocks, evading thorns from bamboos, rattan and wild yams. The condition of the path are much better than the last time for this route had been used during the death anniversary of Pres. Magsaysay and by mountaineers training for a big climb outside Cebu. I pass by the place where I was spooked by a big python last time and I throw wary glances at the grasses.

We pass by hilly farms of tomatoes, bitter gourds and green pepper and walk under trellis until we reach a big abandoned house. This is a landmark of sort for its blue color stand out against the green of the hills and it marks the halfway point to Inalad. The morning is really very warm with the sun scorching our heads. I covered myself with a military shawl but it only favored my cheeks, ears, forehead, eyelids, nape and part of my nose. My body is very hot and I need to sit and rest under the shade for a good ten minutes to settle it.

By 10:20, we proceed down a long ridge to dried rice paddies and arrive on the bank of Bangbang River. We rest again for ten minutes, at least. I immerse my shawl in the stream and press it over my head. Trickles of liquid cool my head, part of my face and down on to my neck. We cross the river without getting our feet wet for the water had receded in the mild El Niño. From the river, it is now all ascent. We follow a path beside a small stream and then follow it until we reach the saddle of Inalad at 11:40.

We are behind schedule but reaching the place before 12:00 satisfies my requirement. The climb to Inalad near noon had heated my body so much and no amount of water could simmer it down. Although there are cold drinks available but it would defeat the reverence of Good Friday. It would also put to doubt my integrity and of the activity which was labeled as a “penitence hike”. We will fast but we will only subsist, at the most, on bread and water when it is needed.

I begin to feel rashes on the anus as I take a sit on the concrete pavement. A man’s brief cannot make rashes like that and I remembered the leaf that I use as the culprit. It has unusually thick membranes and the leaf stalks are reddish. Worse, my eyes begins to be irritating. I feel pain when I close it and when I open it back and I am in dire need of a nap! The only way to rid of this pain is to keep the eyes open and moving the pupils from side to side. (Sigh!)

This journey is very testing indeed to me as I am deprived of a good night’s sleep causing me swollen eyes and then that troublesome fat ass of mine. Well, I am used to discomforts and I do not take these as alibis to cut short a wonderful journey of the soul. That will not sit well with Jonathan or Justin. They had prepared for this and I am obligated to give them the satisfaction they deserve. This is a rare hike and nobody had done something like this. This is extreme.

By 13:00, we cross the Transcentral Highway and take an unpaved road to Tongkay, an upland village of Toledo City, which is nestled in a valley. My eyes at first react to glare and strong light but, as I walk further on, the irritation lessened. I covered half of my face with the shawl but remove it when I pass by people to greet. We reach the village center and go inside a public elementary school where we rest for a while to rehydrate.

We cross a stream and my final test for the day starts. It is an ascent to a campsite on the slope of Mount Tongkay. The heat in the middle of the afternoon is overbearing and almost take a toll on my resolve. Nevertheless, I conceal it from my companions but, I take time to recover my breathe once in a while. The trail is a never-ending crawl of steep and mildly-steep terrain.

I see a mature Johey oak tree (Local name: marang) looming tall down a slope and I finally solved the mystery of a fruit peeling that I saw while walking here last year. I believed it is not introduced since this mountain is very isolated. From what I heard of stories, Mt. Tongkay used to be abundant of Philippine macaques (unggoy) until being hunted out by people. The survival of a marang tree attests to the once-rich diversity of this mountain.

Once I reach a point where my former campsite can be seen, I am disappointed to see that the trees had been cleared. What used to be the only level place where there is thick vegetation offering protection from the heat, cold winds and from observation is now a graveyard of dead trees. I see the culprit: a lone farmer. He passed by us while we were resting. He is carrying a freshly-cut tree trunk. That campsite is usually warm when evening falls because it catches warm air rising from the lower valleys.

Nevertheless, I do not possess a single-dimensioned mind. I have another ace from up my sleeve, another alternative campsite, but it is farther up a slope, on a ridge. We have a lot of daylight hours left as it is still 14:00. I am already spent out but I gathered my last ounces of strength to get there. We pass by a newly-cleared slope that was converted into a farm. The route was supposed to pass by here but it is gone. I followed the furrows until I am on grassy vegetation again.

We reach the almost-bald ridge at 15:30 but we lacked water. I could have that later. We rest for about 10 minutes before I choose Justin to accompany me to fetch water. We bring all our empty bottles while Jonathan would make a fire to prepare coffee. Justin and I proceed to Mount Etwi, which can be reached by following a string of narrow ridges, and go down to a community. The natural spring is dry but a local told us of another source, about 300 meters down a slope. It is just a hole on the ground with slow driblets of water.

It took Justin 30 minutes to fill up five liters of water on empty bottles. The afternoon light is dying and we retrace our route to our campsite. Jonathan had already finished with the coffee and I welcome it very very much. Oh, I thought I am going to quit back at the lower slopes an hour ago due to heat and lack of nutrition. Surprisingly, my eyes feel better now. The sun is losing its intensity as it is approaching dusk and I have hot coffee to enjoy. Nobody beats coffee in the outdoors!

This ridge we are going to camp is actually a short saddle between Mt. Tongkay and a false peak. There are trees on the eastern side and that is where we will all hitch our hammocks and our overhead shelters. We tie on our hammocks among tree trunks. Then we revive the fire and start cooking our food in darkness. I provide lighting with my LuminAid solar-powered emergency inflatable lantern. I am hungry and I will rest early tonight. Our dinner are noodles, chorizo Bilbao and milled corn which we had at 20:00.

I change my brief into cycling shorts to give me peace of mind on my simmering battle with the rashes on my anus. It is windy on the ridge and it cannot catch warm air from the lower valleys like a camp in the middle of a mountain slope do. Although our hammocks are in the treeline, strong breeze ruffle the tarp sheets. Time and time again I wake up to the sound of the wind on my shelter and I have to adjust my body inside the netted hammock as it keeps on sliding down. A bad fix.

I wake up at 05:30 and take an early morning leak. Dew adhere on the grass leaves but the ground is dry except on the ground where it is higher than our camp. We were just below the fog line. If it would have, we would have felt cold and moisture. Jonathan and Justin rouse from their sleep and begins to arrange the wood to start the fire. The day starts with coffee and then breakfast of noodle soup, Chorizo bilbao, quail eggs and milled corn.

Campsites on ridges and peaks expose you to severe warmth even in early mornings. We hurriedly break camp and leave at 08:15 for the direction of Mara-ag. We pass by the peak of Mt. Tongkay and I show Jonathan and Justin of a deep hole on the peak itself. This is not a sinkhole because the mountain is not made of limestone. It is solid rock and it might be man-made.

I have heard stories that the mines of Atlas Mining Corp. (now Carmen Copper) located in Lutopan, Toledo City have reached underneath Cebu City and as far as Argao in the south. This could be a mine vent. After that, we go down and follow the narrow ridge to Mt. Etwi, where we sidestep it, and arrive at Mara-ag Ridge at 09:00. I indulge myself with powdered juice drink on a small store. An exit at Cantipla, Cebu City would be appropriate and we just have to follow the road we are on north.

I ask Jonathan and Justin if they want to end this day at Cantipla or would they want to cross the Bonbon Valley and the Babag Mountain Range into Guadalupe, Cebu City? Both choose the longer option and I have but to satisfy their explorer spirit. We ask from a local of the shortest route to Bonbon where I do not have to follow this road to Sudlon and I was given direction to a dirt road which goes to Morga.

We reach a corner and I grudgingly follow this road but, once I saw a well-beaten trail, I change options. I follow the trail instead into hilly farms and solitary houses. I believe I have found an old route because it is well-used despite the presence now of farm-to-market roads and modern transportation. I am onto something better and I see wild vegetation where I thought had vanished in our mountains. The sun is very tormenting but we are on a shady route.

I come upon a fork on the trail where I have to choose one. Both are well-beaten and both are going down separate long ridges. I opt for the rightmost and it brought me to a rare patch of forest. We stop in the middle of the jungle and answered the call of nature. I found my rashes getting to be irritated more with sweat running on it. In my complete bliss, I fail to notice the prickly flowers of a local grass called madyong. I removed the spiny little balls one by one from my bike shorts and Silangan Greyman hike pants.

The path now begins to disappear – almost - and I suspect I missed the main path. I follow this scant path to a small mountain brook which still has running water. We cross it and climb up a slope into a grassy meadow and into a farm. I see the path I missed and I reclaim and follow it to a shady location where there is a house and a water source. A good place to rest from the sun and to replenish our water supply.

Places like these are a long way off from schools and I wonder how the children manage to study? I pity them that I leave a small pack of Titay’s Liloa-an Rosquillos – a small token for me but is a rare luxury for them. I am rewarded with smiles and that is enough for me. Someday I may start another outreach here. Kindness begets kindness. Residents could not understand why urban-bred people like us would rather walk when we could afford to ride. That is where they shared their knowledge of places and it comes handy.

We go down another long ridge with a route cutting through several small mountain brooks, going up a hill with farms and a few houses until we stop on another house with a water source and a small bamboo bench underneath an ancient soursop tree (siko karabaw). We take time out by boiling water for coffee on Jonathan’s Trangia stove. It is extremely hot and the slight shade is a comfort. This forced fasting had sapped me of energy. Since it is 12:30, we decide to cook our last instant noodle as our meal.

The family had been so kind to offer us their lawn space and their company. Their patriarch had been so conversant that I leave my sachets of coffee and powdered juice, rosquillos and 20 individual packs of dried squid as gratitude. Just like the previous homestead, their knowledge of their own place is so valuable. We go down the last ridge and, 20 minutes later, we are on a stream. I do not know yet the name but this will have a name soon.

The stream had lessened due to the onset of hot weather and the pools and estuarine plants contain thick algae. Plant chemicals are very rampant here since it is carried during rains from farms located on the higher slopes. It is my first time to walk here and there is a path on the riverside that crossed among boulders. We pass by another smaller stream where the confluence is choked with huge chunks of boulders. Nature’s work is still ongoing here and I would not be in these places when there is a strong rain.

We come upon a smoky place where a local couple are dozing under the shade. They are making charcoal. Downstream is a high waterfall and there is no way to go beyond except by following a path up the bank where the smoke is most intense. We climb it and there is a long trail that pass by an island in a stream and ending at a private resort in a place called Morga. So the stream is called Morga Creek.

I follow three boys going home from the resort and we come upon a flood plain where the community of Biasong is located. I have heard of this place many times and it is my first time here. They are preparing for their fiesta tomorrow. We rest at a small store and douse our thirst with cold soda drinks and a big bottle of cold beer. We tried to negotiate a motorcycle ride but the drivers are all busy betting on cockfights.

We choose to walk to Bonbon by following Morga Creek downstream, then switching to a trail that goes over a hill, then down a road to the village hall. I make sure that Jonathan and Justin go first on a motorcycle before I ride mine to JY Square. I arrive at 16:00 and I was hoodwinked by the driver to pay 80 pesos for a ride that would have cost 40 pesos. Karma has its own sweet time. On the other hand, I have found a new route for Segment 1B of the Cebu Highlands Trail and that is more important.

Document done in LibreOffice 3.3 Writer