NAPO TO BABAG TALES CXXX: A Different Kind of Wilderness Survival Camp

THIS IS A STRANGE CROWD that I am facing today, March 23, 2018. Ricky Petiluna, the event organizer had assembled one which looked like it came straight out of Bohemia. Ricky himself is a front act of a local death metal band, the Kryptic Skulls. I assume the rest of the band are here and the rest are its fan base.

This band has a different philosophy. They are enchanted with nature and the outdoors. Everytime they have out-of-town gigs, they make it sure that, after the klieg lights, after the ear-splitting music, after the exhausting performance, after the shrieking crowds, they go straight to the hills of their hosts and launch their own nature appreciation therapy.

It has a different energy and it travels through their soundbytes. This event and the participation is testament to that. A couple of Boy Scouts took the opportunity when it was posted in Facebook and hanged on to the call of the wild. The venue would be at a place I designate as Camp Xi, easy to access but tricky to find.

 

All the participants are accounted for at the parking lot of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. We all proceed to the trailhead of Napo, the gateway to the Babag Mountain Range, Cebu City, Philippines. Going to assist me are Ernie Salomon, Jonathaniel Apurado and Randy Salazar. Their mere presence already elicits awe among participants as they have created names for themselves in our small outdoors sub-culture of bushcraft.

After a hike of an hour through the beautiful trails of Sapangdaku Valley, we cross a stream and ascend a ridge leading to Camp Xi. The campsite is ready with a good water source 150 meters away – spring, waterfall and stream; separate latrines for men and women; a firepit with adequate firewood; and a grassy meadow to welcome individual shelters.

The participants set up their tents and simple shelters. Some opt to find places to hang a hammock. After claiming their spots, I let them prepare their meals for lunch. Ernie and Jon cook the food for the four of us camp staff. I would start the training after siesta and that would be at 13:00. The weather is warm and humid assuring us sunshine all the way.

Before proceeding to the first topic, I talk about the purpose and the design of the BASIC WILDERNESS SURVIVAL COURSE. You see, the mountains consist of harsh environments, steep inclines, high elevations and unpredictable weather patterns. It is remote yet people visit these places to chase passions and desires. Accidents are most likely to happen there in a flash.

After that, I proceed to the Introduction to Survival. Survival is different from bushcraft. It is immediate and would bend rules and morality in the pursuit of life – of surviving. That is a hard reality which all survivors must live with while in the course of their dire consequences and the thereafter.

While nobody has that ultimate technique to survive accidents and calamities, a prepared mind would, at least, be blest by chance. Surviving the initial impact is one half of it while ensuring your survival until help comes in is the other half of that. In between, the mind controls everything from the way you think and even to the release of adrenaline. Your brain is a supercomputer but, unfortunately, it could only process one thought at a time.

Survival situations demand that you stay tough after the initial impact. Mental stability and toughness are very important characteristics of a survivor. You must develop a survival mindset. Do not engage in prolonged mind games of fantasy and false hopes. You should rein in your mind so you would not release excess adrenaline and cause you more confusions in a very stringent moment.

The best thing to do is stay still and fill up your lungs with oxygen. Your brain need it most to help you process thoughts. You are now in a high state of agitation and so does your brain. Your brain will be in hyper mode, collating and processing many thoughts all at the same time which is beyond human capacity. We can do so one thought at a time only. Just stay still and breathe regularly, supplying your blood system with oxygen.

In the hierarchy of needs and of nutrition in a survival situation, water is always on the top of the scales of both. Rightly so, for we are in the tropics and humidity plays a big role. With that, we surrender perspiration by the acts of our exertions and by what the climatic conditions imposed on us. Along with the lost moisture, is our body heat which we let go without our knowing.

When you stay still in one place, you lessen wastage of moisture and body heat. Then you confine the latter by setting up a shelter (if you still have one) or make one from scratch. That is the second need. The third would be food then warmth. Although food, and even water, would give you warmth, but heat from a naked flame or from the rays of the sun or from a person’s body is solace. Last is security which would complement well with the rest.

Our body has four hypothetical storage tanks that need to be replenished from time to time during survival. First is constant rehydration that would offset dehydration. Second is food that would give you nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins. Third is sugar which is converted by enzymes for your adrenaline rush. Fourth is fat, hardest to find in the tropics yet are wrapped as tissues in our body.

The next topic is about Water Sanitation and Hydration. The first chapter had mentioned the importance of water during survival. Water could be sourced from natural springs, water seeps, water holes, flowing streams, the atmosphere and from plants. It could be sanitized through boiling, through filtration and by desalination. It is wise to cache water  or travel early and take advantage of shady places and breeze if you happen to have less.

We move fast to the third topic of the day which is Knife Care and Safety. The knife is a tool and should not be used to what it was not designed for like digging latrine holes and as pry bars. It is a vital piece of equipment that should be properly handled and cared for because it is your link to your surviving. In all training I conducted, knife etiquette is learned first before you touch a knife.

Besides my rules, there is a knife law that forbids the display, even of concealed carrying, in public places unless you are in a lawful activity, which we are in right now. A knife should be in a sturdy sheath when travelling and should be unsheathed when at home to keep it from rust. There are many kinds of knives and it is important that you know the parts, blade shapes, grind styles and the tang designs. You must also learn how to field sharpen a knife.

After the much appreciated instructions about the knife, we move on to Survival Tool Making. Making a tool is essential in survival or even when not in that situation. I showed them the most basic of tools like the digging stick, traps and snares from pieces of bamboo that I was able to obtain, and the batoning stick.

I let the participants practice their knife dexterity by making their own spoons, jugs and cooking pots from poles of bamboo. They work in groups of five and closely supervised. Before 17:00, the groups managed to finish their tools. The first day lecture just end and everyone goes to prepare their dinner.

The first evening of the day is reserved for the Campfire Yarns and Storytelling. This had become tradition after it had its first introduction in 2011 during the first Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp. With the campfire as the center of social life, participants sit in a wide circle listening to funny tales and anecdotes, usually fueled by a moderate dose of alcohol. This last activity for the day ended at 23:00.

The second day, March 24, begin with Notches. There are five basic notches that are used regularly in bushcraft. These are commonly used in building shelters and creating tools. Again this is another exercise of knife dexterity together with the baton stick. Another stick is supplied each participant and they proceed to carve the five notches there.

The next chapter is Foraging and Plant Identification. Foraging food in the wilderness or on unfamiliar terrain can be very taxing to the mind. When you are stressed and hungry, you tend to remove all caution. Looks can be very deceiving in the tropics like fruits, leaves, nuts, roots, flowers and mushrooms. Likewise, you need to evade harmful plants while travelling your way in a jungle.

Short term food would be grub, tree snails, fresh-water shrimps and crabs and frogs. These can be picked by hand. Cook it if you must to remove parasites and bacteria. Long term food are meat from mammals, fish, birds and reptiles. For that, you must use a weapon, traps and snares. Traps could be anything designed to lure prey into a simple contraption of a hollow bamboo or a dam of rocks. It must work with the terrain, with gravity and the habits of creatures.

Snares are more complex. It has a spring mechanism and a trigger mechanism which would be initiated by the prey. Showed the students a very common snare employing a pressure-trigger mechanism. It could catch anything from birds to goats. Then again, you must use bait so prey would be lured to step on it. A single trap or a single snare would not yield you a catch but a trap line of 20 to 30 snares or traps would after ascertaining where would the prey would most likely pass or visit.

Related to these is the chapter on Food Preservation and Cooking. If you can eat a deer all in one setting, well and good. You are very fortunate to still possess a healthy appetite. Meat rot in a short span of time. During survival, meat can be preserved and its edibility can be extended for a few more hours to several months. You can boil it. You can dry it. You can smoke it. Or you can cook it with its own oil from its fat.

Fish can be preserved by drying and by smoking. Fruits can be digested after a drying session and provide you natural sugar. Common rootcrops, has high starch value, and should be cooked, by all means possible, to remove toxins and poison. Famine rootcrops need to be immersed in running water for five days before cooking. Salt and vinegar are good food preservatives. Vinegar can be sourced from any palm.

Last chapter for the day is Fire, Fuel and Campfire Safety. You cannot make a fire if one or all elements are not present, namely: fuel, heat and air. Lately, they added a fourth element – chemical reaction. Fire-making is 80% common sense, 10% skill and 10% perspiration. We are talking about the friction methods. Your fire can start if you can acquire and identify the right tinder, if you are in a dry place, and if you have the patience.

Aside from friction, there is the conventional method which are exemplified by the use of matchsticks, lighters, ferro rods and the flint and steel. Then there is solar magnification which can be done with magnifying glass. Then you have pressurized air, exemplified by the fire piston. Showed them how to use the flint and steel, which I paired with charclothe, and the ferro rod. I also showed them how to make a tinder bundle. 

Showed them how the bow drill method is made and spun. Unfortunately, I could only make thick smoke as sawdust embers refused to light up my tinder. Too humid. Likewise, for the bamboo method. It is now late afternoon and dusk is just around the corner. I let others try the bowdrill, the bamboo, the ferro rod, and the flint and steel.

In this second day, all the participants are exposed to a whole day of fasting. They have to experience the pangs of hunger. The stomach would crave for food and would challenge their concentration. It would increase drowsiness, decrease attention span as the humidity, the uncomfortable situation, even the crawling insects place them in an irritating mood.

After securing the fire, the four groups consisting of 5-6 participants each, begin their quest for dinner. Rice is cooked inside bamboo poles and when it is done, they go to the next phase, which is Nocturnal Hunting. No food, no dinner. All looked for edible snails on trees and fresh-water crabs on the stream. There was good foraging and Ernie cooked it for them, gourmet style. 

The second edition of the Campfire Yarns and Storytelling starts and wonderful tales begun to unravel, much more so when bottles of local brandy mysteriously appeared from out of nowhere, courtesy of two very resourceful participants, who hunted something different other than snails and crabs. The night extended well beyond midnight until the last drops have been consumed.

The third and last day, March 25, start with Customizing the Survival Kit. It is better that survival kits are made from scratch than bought commercially because a survival kit’s size and its components depends upon the type of the activity you are indulging in and the kind of environment you are going to visit. Your personal preference still matters.

Next comes Navigation and Understanding Trails. It is more on traditional navigation which use the natural terrain, shadows and the sky fixtures for travel; avoiding obstacles and exposed areas; and knowing how to identify signs on trails made by both animals and humans. Following that is Understanding Cold Weather. During survival, exposure to the elements is expected. There are five physical mechanisms that steal away body heat and the things that we should do to keep us constantly warm.

The last chapter is Outdoors Common Sense. This is the subject matter that I based from my yet unpublished book, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT. It is about trail courtesy and behavior while on the trail; choosing the best campsites; practicing stealth camping; increasing individual safety and security; wildlife encounters; and introduce people the idea of Blend, Adapt and Improvise.

After I have closed the training camp, I let them witness how the Blade Porn looks like. This is another bushcraft tradition which is unique in itself and is not found in any outdoor disciplines. This is a staple of good conversations and Randy explained to the crowd the innate qualities of each blade. A few of the participants place their blades to the collection and they begin to understand the purpose of this.

After an early lunch, we break camp and walk down the ridge to another different ridge, crossing a bit into Kalunasan. We finally reach the road at 14:00 and a transport begins to transfer the participants back to Guadalupe. This was one of the best survival training camp put together by an independent organizer. The participants are provided an event t-shirt and a badge plus a giveaway. Congratulations Ricky, I see one future bushmaster in you. Some day.

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BUSHCRAFT CAMP FOR KIDS IN BLUEWATER MARIBAGO (VER. 2)

THIS BLOGGER RECENTLY SIGNED a Memorandum of Agreement with BLUEWATER RESORTS, represented by its corporate marketing officer, Enrico Monsanto, as resource person for a series of bushcraft events in 2018 designed for children in all its recreational facilities located in Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Lapulapu City; Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort, Bohol; and Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort, Cebu.

The first of this is at the Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort. Participating would be children from the Dolpo Kids Club, from guests, walk-in registrants and from the staff of Bluewater Resorts. I would be expecting the presence of the parents and nursemaids too as was the last time I did this same activity last year (March 25, 2017). In fact, parents last year joined the kids carve their own bamboo spoons.

But before this, there was a teaser video released by Bluewater Resorts about the summer-long activities offered by their facilities for children and Bushcraft Camp for Kids is one of these. In fact, members of the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild made themselves available for a video shoot right inside Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort. Please watch the video:

Before 08:00 of March 17, 2018, I was already at Allegro Restaurant with Mr. Monsanto. With me are Jhurds, 8-year old Jacob, Jonathaniel and Jingaling. They will assist me during the Introduction to Bushcraft for Kids. I have subdivided this day-long activity to a Plant ID Tour, Primitive Cooking, Elementary Firecraft, Blade Safety, Knife Dexterity Exercise, Animal Snares, and Simple Shelter Construction    

A couple of Japanese minors and a Korean joined a handful of Filipino kids as I talk about the essence of bushcraft. Then I point to each and every tree that would help them find water in case of survival and other helpful plants which harbor useful parts. This was possible during the Plant ID Tour around the confines of Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort.

Considering that a bamboo is the most common plant in the tropics even in temperate parts of Asia, the idea of cooking food using a bamboo as an improvised cooking vessel is shown to the kids and parents alike in Primitive Cooking. A two-meter pole of green bamboo is opened with a knife with the aid of a stick. That done, rice and water are poured into and then a fire is started.

The kids are also taught how to create a fire by a magnifying glass and by a ferrocerium rod during the session on Elementary Firecraft. With a fine downy material, the kids shrieked in delight as they create fire when they scratched the ferro rod over it. Fire by solar magnification took time to evolve but with a charred clothe, a smoky ember appear, blowing it to life when placed among a bundle of dry tinder. Thick smoke erupted then fire.

The next topic is Blade Safety and it is this part where it is most difficult to proceed since the children would be exposed to harm. The edge and the tip of a knife are parts where it is sharpest and, therefore, harmful. Extra care should be undertaken when handling a knife, especially during the practical exercise. Close supervision would be properly exercised by my staff.

The kids are attentive during the lecture on the procedures of handling a knife, repeating it over again as I see fit and proper. It is very important that the direction of the strokes should be away from you and should be slightly downward. Then you may have to choose your most comfortable position and engage work in the safest location. Engaging in conversations while working is discouraged.

A knife at rest should be returned inside its sheath and it is forbidden for anybody to walk around with an unsheathed knife. Then there are rules how to pass a knife from one person to another. All of those are the most important and the children are now ready for the Knife Dexterity Exercise wherein they are made to carve a spoon from a piece of bamboo. Parents joined their wards, as well as the Bluewater staff.

After an hour of close supervision, the children proudly showed off their bamboo spoons. They have achieved this work on their own, mastering their fear and timidness and, once they have gained confidence on this single moment, they would be comfortable handling a knife with responsibility. Then a demonstration is shown to kids how an animal snare work and how to construct a simple shelter. The day is capped off by tasting the rice cooked in bamboo.

I consider it an honor and a sort of redemption for my brand of outdoor activities, to be accepted and trusted wholly by Bluewater Resorts, a certified green hotel and resort, to propagate bushcraft on their recreational facilities that involve children. Although bushcraft uses blades as tools, it is a child-friendly activity which nurtures the creativity of the child and aids the child the value of life skills, which is now beginning to wane due to easy access to WiFi and the electrical outlet.

This writer, who have toiled to create this blog from scratch and for which many original ideas came forth which animated the local outdoors scene from its dull one-dimensional existence. The Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp, the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild, the exploration and establishment of the Cebu Highlands Trail, the Thruhike, and the formation of the Camino de Santiago of Cebu, are all fruits of this blog which fired up the imagination of outdoorsmen who wanted variety.

At the end of the day I am more than satisfied that people – children most specially – are getting interested again on the long-neglected skills of bushcraft. It is not spectacular compared to most outdoor activities which has an abundance of supportive corporate names. Most often it is maligned and misunderstood and I have to fight it from within to remove those wrong misconceptions. I weeded out the wrong practices which popular and social media are erroneously propagating.

That rare opportunity and, forthwith, being associated with one of the best green hotel in Southeast Asia, gives a prestige which I have had not expected before. It is something that I would watch carefully when traversing over opinions and contents in social media. What I digress would surely reflect to names that I am currently associating myself with. It is an unfamiliar territory but I would not want it in any other way. It is just right. 

It was a long journey for me, jagged and steep, running against the wind to corner an elusive prey. I am now on to that special place where dreams become a reality. The sheep is now snarling like a wolf but it is just a harmless shadow. I let it be and so I claim my rightful place under the sun.

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NAPO TO BABAG TALES CXXVII: Three Raptors

FOR OLD TIME’S SAKE, I accommodated a request from my friends belonging to my former club, the Cebu Mountaineering Society. Actually, I had done so for them in July on a climb to Mount Babag from Napo and, again, just last December 28, on a hike through the Buhisan Watershed Area to Napo. This time, I would do so again for them from Napo to Bokawe to Guadalupe. Today is another brand-new year, January 2, 2018. Happy New Year!

The opportunity to go out again to the mountains instead of snoring through the party fats of the past few days brought about by holiday goodwill is most cherished. Without any second thoughts, I came first at the parking lot of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and waited for my friends. They came and they were Lilibeth Initan, Mon Corro, Paul Morgia and two ladies who, I think, are new members, since it is the first time I saw of them.

It was already 08:30 when we start from Napo. I would surprise them today by bringing them to my playground. They were indeed surprised when I brought them to a different trail right after crossing the foot bridge. The Manggapares Trail, from its very trailhead, is known by the locals only and my people from the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. It goes up upon the very moment you step on its path.

There are a few houses here and a flower farm at the beginning but, once you get past it, it is a very lonely trail. It is very shady. Mexican lilac (Local: kakawate), cassia (bistula), alom, beach hibiscus (malibago), Java plum (lomboy), mango, tamarind and bauhinia trees abound here. The ground is hard and rocky. Shrubs, herbs and grass line the path and elevation is forever rising.

Tagaytay Ridge is just one of the many ridges of the Babag Mountain Range that extend far to the east and it had been used for many years by the older generations when travelling to Mount Babag and beyond. Manggapares Trail is really an old trail that I once trod in the early ‘90s and have been forgotten when I laid low from the outdoors scene for years. I only rediscovered it in 2011 but, by that time, there was an earth-moving activity on the ridge. 

Yes, there was a crude road made so that heavy equipment and trucks could be brought up. Big holes were dug from the ground and a lot of cement were poured on it. These were the anchors for a series of steel towers that would soon be erected. My heart ached at the sight of these but, after many years, when the ground settled down and nature reclaimed what was theirs, I accepted the presence of the steel behemoths.

We reach the first of these towers. It now has high-tension cables over it, relaying electricity from a power plant in Naga City over the mountains and down the line from here across to Mapawon Peak in Kalunasan and beyond to the distribution facility in Cabancalan, Mandaue City. The second tower is on a higher elevation and is 200 meters uphill. We follow a path between a field of wild-growing sweet potatoes and yams, hoping not to disturb any reptiles snoozing among it.

The third tower is a bit of difficult to reach since a path to it is steep. Once you are below it, a row of Mexican lilac trees provide you shade from the sun. However, at this time of the year, there is no need for that. Northeast monsoon winds carrying the winter cold of Siberia, Manchuria and Japan reach the tropics making the weather very mild. The cooler wind is most welcome.

The path is now rolling terrain and we stop to rest at an abandoned backhoe. Why it had been left there to rust against the elements is a question which I have not had a credible answer as of this time. According to my local friends, it had fell twice on the side of the mountain but was salvaged each time. They were even more mystified than I am when the workers left it even if it was not broke.

It became part of the landscape and a landmark of sort. It is a natural magnet of conversations and people naturally rest here like we are doing now. We have just overcome the hardest part and it would be easy walk from hereon. Yonder is the fourth and fifth tower and a sixth on top of a hill. As we were going to the next tower, I happen to scan the sky and, above me, is the unmistakable silhouette of a rare Philippine falconet.

Tried to take a photo of the small raptor but the distance was just too great. My being close to nature all the time, have developed my observation skills to a finer edge. I can see many things that most people do not see, the finest details, and I am awed at such spectacles. The spectacles I yearned are not the landscapes and scenery but the ordinary ones which do not elicit a second look from a mainstream hiker.

Everything on my path is interesting and each rock, plant, footprint, soil, stream, insect, bird, or creature tells a story. It gives me joy to see all these in their proper order of things and that joy increases if you could see something beyond the ordinary. The outdoors is better appreciated if you would only relegate your ego to the background and put yourself into your most humble form.  

I am now approaching the fifth tower and, in a few seconds, would walk past it to the next one. If I was with my Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild, we do not walk past the fifth tower. There are trails here which we use just for ourselves. I do not often share these secret places to the mainstream, although sharing now the Manggapares Trail is already a favor. Must be their lucky day.

I walk to a high saddle where one of the peak hosts the sixth tower. It is a cloudy day and the lower hills and the metropolis are covered by fogs. The wind roared, bringing with it the cold winters of the temperate zone. Mon and the rest are trudging up the trail towards me. A familiar cry overhead changed my attention to the sky. Another raptor. It is not a Brahminy kite. Then it must be a serpent hawk! It is!

I am quite elated to see two different kinds of birds-of-prey today which are not so common in Cebu. Both were wedge-tailed and flew effortlessly! I developed a keen sense of amity for raptors after I had encountered a great Philippine eagle in the wilderness of Pangasugan in ‘92. It glided in my direction then under the forest cover and dropped a lone feather which fell on my opened palm. The ground around me dimmed when it passed by.

A path lay before me as I studied the landscape on the other side of the saddle. Bokawe. It is a big mountain district yet it is not a village. In fact, one huge part belonged to Pamutan and another smaller part to Sapangdaku. I could be wrong but the absence of boundary markers could be the reason. A road that I dread lay in wait for me below the mountain and I believe this path would lead me there.

We reach the road and, good thing, we walked just a couple of kilometers of paved concrete to the junction in Pamutan. Locals called this particular place as “bagsakan” - a term which meant as a place where the farm produce are collected, before being brought to the market. This is now a very popular place for hikers where they take rest and eat meals. There were five when we arrived and we took a table to feast on cold soda drinks.

More hikers arrived. A few recognized me. The shorts-and-black-leggings crowd. That is how they look now. Appropriate for a girl though, but… Only Paul and me are wearing long hiking pants. Mine is made in Cebu by Silangan Outdoor Equipment. Thin, stretchy and quick-drying, my pair of Silangan pants have proven its worth during my 27-day Thruhike of Cebu last year and to so many dirt times with the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild.

On this junction, four roads crossed each other. From the north is the road that we just walked in from Bocawe. From the south is the ones coming from Buhisan and To-ong. From the west – Pamutan; and from the northeast – Baksan, Sapangdaku and Guadalupe. We will go to Guadalupe and so we will take the last road. It goes downhill between a man-made forest of Burma teak.

The afternoon sun appeared faintly but we are now in a shaded road and would soon disappear into jungle. We reach Managobtob and transfer to a trail into the Buhisan Watershed Area. This is another of my well-kept secret paths which I am sharing to this group. I do not have to worry of their second coming, They cannot remember a thing nor any landmark anyway. This is the famed Lensa Trail which passes Camp Damazo.

Camp Damazo is holy ground to the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild and I have just committed sacrilege by introducing non-guild people here. It is okay as long as you do not tell them that. The path goes downhill and we take it very slow, warning them of the slippery surfaces. We cross a small stream and another before I let them rest near a water source to rehydrate.

Jungle travel is different from a normal mountain hike underneath a forest. In jungles, the air is stuffy, the heat so humid and your thirst doubled. Once we resumed our hike, I warned them again of harmful plants. There are so many on Lensa Trail and there are also many plants that they are not aware of but actually are growing here like the stinging tree (alingatong), Moluccan ironwood (ipil) and the Madras ginger (galangal).

The trail took us to a stream – Creek Bravo, and follow another trail that goes around a mountain until we come upon another stream – Banauan Creek. We take a rest here and showed them a small cascade, never knowing that this was the first site of the first Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp held in 2011. I tell them tales to distract and to refresh them since a jungle environment can be so demanding on your stamina.

Tales should be craftily woven to suit to a certain mountain and a person’s experience and when that person is an acquaintance, the moment, or should I say a forbidding peak, then becomes light to surmount. The humour to the story is what goads a tired hiker to discover for himself or herself the actual physical attribute that have almost waylaid that certain individual. The interest offsets the fatigue. I am talking about “Boy T’s Hell”.

This is a low peak but steep and this is the best exit to take in the hours when the shadows are now longer. Inside jungles, 2 o’clock looked like four. I follow a path where I can only see and the rest followed me. The good thing about a high ground is that you get all the light you need. The shadows disperse and you can see the skies clearly, almost without obstacles. We reach the peak after two false ones and take a deep breather.

We must follow a trail east of us that has long grasses to reach another mountain. The trail follow a long ridge, steep on one side, and goes up to link to another ridge. The northern branch goes down to a phoney forest of Burma teak and then a road. We are now at Baksan and we have to walk a paved road for a few meters before electing to transfer yet into another trail.

Again, they do not know this trail existed and it would take them all the way to Guadalupe. The path goes to a mixed forest of native and fruit-bearing trees like mango, Johey oak (marang), cottonfruit (santol), Java plum, breadfruit (kulo), currants (bugnay), star apple, tamarind and coconuts. The forest becomes a stunted limestone forest. This time, vegetation are cleared and fields of corn, cassava, lime grass and horseradish tree are planted.

Then we come upon the bare slopes of Guadalupe Hills – the one I loved to call as “Heartbreak Ridge”. Another raptor appeared from out of nowhere and, this time, it is a Brahminy kite. This would be the third one and it is the least kind of raptor that I would want observed. This is also the most common and it does not instill a sense of awe that I would have given to other kinds.

We pass by a hole in the ground. I explained to them that this whole range we are on was a battlefield during World War II and the hole was a vent from a tunnel made by the Japanese. The dome of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish is clearly visible and anytime from now we would be back to the parking area where we met in the morning. We did reach that at 16:30 and everyone were very happy of the long walk. I am too.

  

The best thing is to reconnect with them for we are not getting younger. The more time we have for times like this, the better. Maybe in the next episode, I would tell them all the secrets I kept. But, for now, it is best that we toast this New Year as a Good and Happy Year.

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BUSHCRAFT BUHISAN XLV: Rewilding

REWILDING IS THE RETURN of habitats to its original state, to include the re-introduction of wild animals that were once native there before its disappearance. My version of rewilding is the return of the wilderness into my system. Immersion in a jungle environment, on a place or a camp all to myself, far away from any human company, is my idea of rewilding and I have the perfect place for it – Creek Charlie.

I need to return to the wild alone today, October 27, 2017, and there is no other day. In a few days, I will be sailing to Mindanao so I could teach and share bushcraft skills for the very first time there. Whenever I do that, I always retrieve the essence of the forests, the jungles, the mountains, the streams and all that is in the outdoors for connection, inner strength and a renewed knowledge in woodlore.

I cannot explain that to someone who has a mindset that is so different from mine. I may dress and behave like anyone else but I am not what you think. I am now carrying thoughts borne out of my native origins which I have rediscovered and embraced long ago yet modern enough to write something complex as this article. Yes, Virginia, my philosophy of the world around me is in all my writings.

You know, I have been assimilated unawares to conventional ways but I cannot undo it. I do not hate myself for that nor feel uneasy of all these people around me whose mindsets are mechanically trained since childhood to think and act in a manner and behavior tailored-fit for Western culture. I could do nothing about it and I can live with that but it does not carry an obligation to explain everything to someone who is of not my kind.

However, you may understand me if you follow the gist of this article. So, rewilding is a sort of ritual that I have done countless times, before I proceed to do big tasks ahead. It had helped me release stress while I was in a corporate prison, working my ass off for my masters. Rewilding had enriched my spirit and my life, and lets me retrieve wisdom that are not available in conventional channels. 

Personally, I love solo walks into the mountains. The silence is something that I would not trade for a lively company or the spattering of friendly conversations. My kind of silence is the whisper of wind among leaves, bird songs, the frolic of water in a stream, the buzz of a fleeting bee, even the crackling of dry tinder before a robust flame. I longed for these kind of sounds. Primeval and distant. In silence, these are so sweet to the soul.

I followed a path that I know very well and the chance to tread on bare ground immediately connects me to sacred grounds. I became one with the forest. Unobtrusive in movement and clothes. Silent like a cat. No hurried steps, no pressure of time. Not even the presence of dark clouds overhead could alter my pace. I am that rare someone who found enjoyment in what I do – alone – even walking on the same trails and places.

My Silangan Predator bag swayed as I struggled for balance when a shoe failed to grip softer ground downhill, exposing my presence to whoever may walk this path. But I doubt that. I have still to meet someone who is brave enough to walk trails on a weekday. Alone. Too bad, everyone is a slave to the system and their time is programmed on weekends only. Cannot blame them. Better that way. I can have all the spaces without them. 

The sun warmed up the forest and steam begins to rise. I am sweating even when I am under shady trees. Wild gingers are flowering everywhere, even within the unwelcoming presence of a Burma teak forest. Long ago, our forest managers eat anything fed to them, planting exotic species, never knowing the troubles it brought to native species, insects, birds and soil. This man-made forest is a failed experiment even if the trees grew healthy. 

Creek Alpha is before me and the stream is full and merry. I followed it downstream, careful this time not to leave any trace. Common sense tells me to evade streams but I find good sense of forest people using part of the stream as a route. They know their own places and I am learning from them. I see where they placed foot on rocks and know what are they wearing for their feet. Because of them, Creek Alpha now has a name: Banauan.

I am leaving Banauan Creek and the phony forest and I am now on a trail in an environment that is much wilder. Presence of spiny rattan competes for your special attention apart from the softened trail. This path is one of the wonders of local knowledge. It simply followed a certain contour instead of cutting across a mountain. It benefits well my walk, rising gently to cross a saddle and going down gently to Creek Bravo.

Just like the first stream, Creek Bravo is also energetic and loaded. On a rock is a carcass of a juvenile monitor lizard which died several weeks ago. This particular stream is teeming with rocks of all ages and sizes, broken up by the force of water. Across me are the groves of water bamboos, fully recovering from wanton destruction five years ago. I have planned of reintroducing fresh-water shrimps here but I just could not source live specimen.

After that brief rest, I passed through an alley where “skin snatchers” abound. This trail is thick with rattan palms and their spiny tendrils, slender and barely noticeable, suddenly catches skin or fabric and you have to respect that. You take a few steps back and slowly remove the spiny whip. My copy of the Puffin Magnum knife becomes useful as it cleared a safe path for me.

The trail climbs up towards a ridge, leaving the marshy areas behind for stable ground. The ridge goes up gently but it is blocked by more rattan palms and by the equally thorny vines of the Asiatic bitter yam (kobong), which got cleared by my open-carried knife. At this instance, I carved a digging stick to extract from the ground a rootcrop from the wild yam which I intend to bring home. The thorny vines make a good hedge against intruders.

The trail led to a very beautiful forest. Both sides are steep but it is much vegetated. It goes up and up, but gently. I arrive a small clearing which I know as my dear Camp Damazo. It hosted recently the 7th edition of the Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp last June. Twenty-six participants came to learn basic bushcraft here which I first organized in 2011. The PIBC returned here after three years in Sibonga and Liloan.

Settling myself on a cheap laminated nylon sheet, I prepared my Swiss Army wood burner. I intend to boil water for coffee for it is 10:45 anyway. Found dry twigs which I break into short lengths and started a fire by a gas lighter. Placed a cup of water over the rim of the burner and feed more fuel into the burner. Water finally boiled after five minutes and I poured instant coffee. Paired the coffee with bread and enjoyed the moment of silence.   

Camp Damazo has recovered in so short a time, thanks to the rainy season. The campfire area marked by a cairn has settled well and new growths of vegetation begin to reclaim around it. A remnant of a bamboo pot with its lid lies nearby a Moluccan ironwood (ipil) and the stinging tree (alingatong) where a mass of dirt are left by the now missing army of ants after gnawing off clean the leftover rice many months ago.

I looked around the camp area. Madras ginger (galangal) bears little round fruits at the tips of its stems, ripe and drooping to the ground. The yellowish-green fruit became a diet of a passing palm civet (singalong) and left black round scats over a tree root. Tall arbor trees provide second-tier shade and jungle fowls loved to forage there when caterpillars infest the leaves. Much more so with raptors and lesser avian.  

I rest for more than an hour at Camp Damazo. I would have loved to stay here but there is something wilder somewhere over there. I pack my things back inside my bag and proceed to Creek Charlie. It is now 13:00 and, to my estimates, too late to explore more places. But there is a place that I once visited four years ago. I marked that trail but I was wondering what happened of that?

I followed the trail going to Creek Charlie, passing by where an unusually-shaped tree that looked like a brontosaurus, complete with feet, a tail and a long neck. This tree I also discovered four years ago but did not have the courage to approach and take a photo of it. I respect the presence of something other than it. Through the years, I was able to take photos from afar, then point-blank, when I think it is now used to my presence.

I am not superstitious and do not believe in those “third eye” tales, but I am convinced of the presence of these rarely-seen elements. I have seen and encountered many of these kind, even at closer range possible, yet I do not show fear and I let them be as they are. When you are a renewed Roman Catholic you would understand and be aware of their presence but it does not mean that you are impervious from harm.

Vegetation near it was being cleared and a hunter’s shed is being built near the trail, already shriveled, exposing horizontal wood beams that had once supported a roof of abaca leaves and walls of galangal leaves. I looked around where the hunter might have set his sights and I settled on thick debris that was supported by tree branches of the brontosaur tree and its neighbors. It could host a nest, an arboreal hiding place of wildlife.

I could only shake my head. Why would I trouble myself waiting for a prey in an uncomfortable location so I could get off a shot when I could do better with indigenous methods, with myself comfortably waiting in the confines of my home? I would not have to alter the surroundings. The only alteration I make is introducing a cord and using a young sprout to bend to my whim. 

Creek Charlie, I discovered, is part of the right fork of the bigger Lensa Creek that supplied water to the catchment basins, marshes, the man-made lake and, ultimately, to the MCWD consumers. This is a stream of primeval proportions. The rocks are bigger, water fall in cascades. You get caught in a flashflood here and you are dead. It is never a good idea to use this as a route but I know of a trail across me.

It is steep and follow a very narrow ridge, steep on both sides with one side on a deep ravine. The soil on this ridge is soft and it is not good to bring a lot of people here, especially people who do not carry the same mindset as mine. I crossed over another ridge, which can be reached by a short leap. The trail suddenly dies out and I am facing three possibilities, once upon a time paths before these were choked by vegetation.

I choose the marked trail and passed by a hole filled with very clear water coming from a spring. I did not see this before. The jungle is unfolding and showing me things that were denied to me last time. Must be because I am very patient or was it my awe and reverence for this place? I passed by the first of two bamboo groves. Poles are left by a forest dweller on the ground but I place it standing up beside a trunk. I might use this someday.

I am going to my sacred place in a jungle where it faced a distant lone mountain and the rising of the sun. I have bamboos to make a shelter – a sweat lodge – where I can do meditations in the future and be away from the complexities of urban living. It is there among giant figs (tibig and talo-ot) with buttress roots as tall as a man. Then I saw movement. Timid, confident and unafraid. Brown fur and a thick tail. Squirrel?

The Philippine squirrel (kangsi) is a very elusive rodent that is common in Palawan. But on my visit to Mount Pangasugan in Leyte last March 2014, my guide showed me a live one staying inert on a branch from a distance of about 50 meters. I could only see a brown smudge among the greens but its shrill whistle pierced the early morning air. You would think that the noise they made were done by birds.

I believed Cebu was part of its habitat when it was still all forest and too few people claiming farm patches. In case you do not know, there is a place in Sapangdaku Creek and everywhere in Cebu that are called Kangsi or Kansi. Nobody remembers why it is called that but I know why? The creature I saw disappeared among the roots and I found holes underneath it, the entrances are well used, indicating a healthy family.

Yes the forest is unfolding and showing me its hidden features. I am quite satisfied of my finds that I did not tarry long. I found my sacred place and the second bamboo is still untouched by humans. I go back to where I came from and crossed Creek Charlie once more. I take another trail to drink from a natural spring called Karamon. I crossed the headwaters of Creek Bravo and Banauan Creek towards a mountain road.

Across me is a trail that goes to Lanipao. It goes lazily downhill to the Lanipao Rainforest Spring Resort, Cabins Resort and a store that sells cold soft drinks. Walking on, I found another recreation center – Motmot Spring Resort – that was not here last June. Not only was the forest unfolding its secrets to me, it also include this road to Napo. So much for mysteries. Ha!

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BEBUT’S TRAIL XIX: Taro Tendrils

WHEN YOU ARE KEEN on exposing people to creative cooking using unfamiliar ingredients in an outdoors setting, it is just second nature for you to rise up from your comfort zone and heft a bag for the woods. Today, August 20, 2017, I would walk with seven others on the same route I walked last week - “Heartbreak Ridge”. Our destination would still be that shed in Sibalas. It is now a spot well-loved by the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild.

One of those who would hike up the infamous hill is the not-so-little Titay anymore. She will be with his dad Aljew. Titay have grown into a beautiful dalaguita - an adolescent lady – and how time flies. Also braving the bare hill are Bonna, Jhurds, Theresa, Jingaling and Glyn. We left the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at 08:30 after acquiring the ingredients for our noontime meal from its side market.

It is now 09:00 and it is very warm here as was last week. I am worried about Titay so I gave her my elastic headwear to shield her head, face and nape from direct sunlight. She begins to tire when she reached the steel tower and her dad has to goad her gently so she would overcome the last hump. Beyond there are bush and woodland and a shaded trail where many birds found refuge.

 

I bought this time two bundles of jute leaves (Local name: saluyot) which I preserved upside down and covered in loose layers of parasol tree leaves (binunga). I also acquired several pieces of okra, a few green pepper, onions, garlic and two bundles of vine-like taro root tendrils (takway). The main ingredient would be the young taro sprouts which I plan to cook in two different dishes.

If you have 230 grams of taro sprouts, if boiled, it provides you 3.22 g protein, 165.6 mg calcium, 0.92 mg iron, 1534 µg vitamin A, 0.05 mg thiamin, 0.18 mg riboflavin, 1.45 mg niacin and 48.30 vitamin C. It provides you energy with 110.40 kcal. (Source: Cooking Smart by Blecenda Miranda-Varona and David Arsulo Varona, Philippine Publishing House, 2005.) We have about 1,200 grams of that.

It can reduce high blood pressure, controls blood sugar levels, protects the skin, prevents different types of cancer, enhances digestion, increase circulation, prevents heart diseases, improves vision, boosts immune system, strengthens muscle and nerves. It also contains dietary fiber, which plays a very important role in the digestive system. Consumption of this can increase our gastrointestinal health. It also prevents diarrhea, cramps, constipation, bloating, excess gas, and improves the overall health of the body.

We arrive at the shed in Sibalas at 10:15. This wooden structure is built at the instance of Jhurds, currently Camp Red’s head shed, and with the assent of Luceno Labrador, the lot owner. Camp Red helped in reforesting the place with fruit, hardwood and indigenous species. The shed would host outdoors seminar someday but, for the moment, it sufficed as a place where we do “dirt times”.

As on previous occasions, the shed becomes the center of a few hours of camp life. The split log seats are there to give spartan comfort and respite to the tired limbs while the wide center table gives convenience to those who would prepare the food prior to cooking. The table is now accommodating the food ingredients and the tools for cooking. The men among us proceed to forage dry twigs and firewood. The ladies stayed to process meat and slice the vegetables.

Fire begins to blaze by the time Aljew’s firebox and my Swiss Army wood burner were set up. A pot of water is boiled first for that beautiful thought of a coffee drink. I took care of another pot for rice. One of the ladies, Bonna, watched the cooking on my behalf while I busy myself with the taro sprouts. You have to peel the outer layers first as it would cause itchiness on your tongue, gums and throat. It has a substance that is common among taro species.

It would be painstaking work. You have to use the edge of a blade lightly so skin will be stripped away and there are around twenty of these long stalks, which measure around two feet each. As you work on these taro part, you would notice that the color of dark purple adhere to your thumbs and fingers caused by the natural dye that is found on the insides of the skin. When done skinning, you chop the stalks about 2 inches long each.

On the other front, an earthen hearth is prepared for cooking the marinated meat on glowing coals. Aljew and Jhurds help each other that there is sufficient firewood to make this possible. Titay watched all these and sometimes would sidle by her dad and asked a few questions. Aljew taught her how to safely use a knife, chop firewood and feed wood on fire. This is another aspect of Titay’s ongoing education into a better adult that his dad envisioned of her. He is training her in this unconventional setting.

Half of the processed taro stalks, I would cook as a soup. I would not use any meat ingredient (subak) to achieve taste. The taro is the main ingredient and it has its own special taste, which is enhanced by the addition of jute leaves, sliced onions, salt and black pepper. It is a traditional Cebuano fare called bas-oy (vegetable soup) minus the meat.

Sliced okra is mixed with the other half of the taro tendrils. Garlic, sliced onions and green pepper are sauteed first before the taro is dropped into the strong-smelling oil that is simmered a bit. Care is observed not to stir the tendrils while it is cooked for a few minutes so it would not release a substance that causes itchiness. When the texture becomes brown, the okra is mixed to the fare and stirred while soy sauce is added.

On the other hand, the marinated meat took time to cook. Everybody waited. At 13:30, we got our meal. For the rest, it is their first time to taste young taro tendrils. I am used to its slimy appearance but, once you get to like its taste, you forgot about it and you crave for more. The taro adobo is the easiest to cook but it can also be cooked with coconut-based soup, simply fried in a pan, or rolled in rice-paper wrappers.

Plant identification is very important in bushcraft and survival. Today’s session educated the people from Camp Red the appearance of jute leaves and young taro tendrils. They were also exposed to the methods of cooking these. Sharing what I know and showing them how. The pots, plates and spoons are washed in a nearby well. In an hour we would be moving out but, for the meantime, we engage in small talks.

Aljew foraged a green coconut from a short tree and opened it. Titay watched how his dad did it. She drank the natural water straight from the small hole. The coconut was split in half by his dad while Titay scraped the meat with an improvised spoon made from the green husk. It might be ordinary for you readers but bonding with a daughter or son and exposing them to the outdoors is something you would crave for if you have the time.

By 14:00, our things are slowly returned to our bag. We took another trail that led to Baksan. We reach a road and it is a long way back to Guadalupe. We will pass by the Sapangdaku Spillway and going there would all be downhill by a concrete road. We crossed a bridge and walked the rest of the way to the church. Titay felt the fatigue and the pain but her dad never left her side. She reached our destination and she got her fish balls.

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