MAN-SIZED HIKE XXVIII: Lutopan to Guadalupe

THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO just does not give up. Failure is not an option for them but an opportunity to better them next time. I led a Selection Hike last time in October from Lutopan, Toledo City to South Poblacion, San Fernando which was 41.64 kilometers. There were twenty-one people at the start yet only fifteen made it less than twelve hours. The rest would have to do a repeat which I am organizing today, December 30, 2017.

The route, this time, is the traditional route of the Camp Red Bushcaft and Survival Guild, which is from Lutopan to Guadalupe, Cebu City. It is 36 kilometers yet it has to climb up the Babag Mountain Range and be finished in under 12 hours. Many have cut their teeth here and I just hope that those who were denied the last time would finally be able to break the curse. The Selection Hike is one of the requirements for membership into the guild.

We meet at the Cebu South Bus Terminal at 05:00 and I forgot about the holiday weekend rush. There were many people going home to the towns to celebrate New Year and the line is very long. We were able to ride a Toledo-bound bus at 06:45 after almost an hour of standing along the queue. Once the bus made its way, it stopped to pick up more passengers. It arrived at Lutopan at 09:00 and so we begin this stark holiday-season walk.

The pace I pushed was moderate, intending to preserve strength at its most crucial moments, which is the last half. We would arrive in darkness, I am sure of that, because of our late start, which was beyond our control. The 6-man Liloan Triathlon Team, totally driven high by the result of their participation of the October selection hike, came again to better their time in a terrain almost the same as from last time.

Bonabella Canga and Glyn Formentera, who both were overcame with fatigue and the 12-hour time limit during the last test, made themselves available now, along with first-timers Aaron Binoya and Kim Binghay. Going along as overwatches are Jhurds Neo, Aljew Frasco, Christopher Ngosiok, Justin Apurado, Locel Navarro and Mark Moniva. We all sacrificed comfort for this, which most are doing now for the approach of New Year’s Eve.

From Lutopan, we followed the paved concrete road over Cantabaco and Camp 8, Toledo City; Camp 7, Minglanilla; and stopped at the road corner found in Manipis, Talisay City for rest and rehydration. From this road corner, we took another road, partly paved and partly bare, most of this downhill, passing by Cebu City’s remote mountain villages of Sinsin and Buot. When everybody arrives at Buot, we stop to rest and to rehydrate.

There would be a one-hour noonbreak but there would be no lunch of cooked meal. What we would eat could either be bread, sandwiches or pre-cooked food. The Selection Hike is designed not as a race, despite its time limitation, but as a physical test for people from Camp Red and those who would like to associate with us, as a sort of an evacuation drill, under a scenario of foreign invasion, war or increasing distance from a threat of biological and chemical gases or radioactive fallout.  

Across us is the hanging bridge which spans our side to the other bank 30 meters away over the Bonbon River branch of the mighty Mananga River. We cross this swaying span and the misery of the hikers begin. The trail goes up to Mount Samboryo, a hill held in awe by locals. It should be because it is steep and there are swamp buffaloes on the loose with their young. You give it a wide berth when it stares at you with the evil eye.

We stop for a moment halfway to gather water from a water source. We proceed on and pass by a farm then climbing up a ridge and rest again. Two trails faced us: the older one which led to Cabatbatan and another newer path that goes up over the divide of Samboryo, passing by a razor-edged ridge and grassy meadows among muffin (sic) peaks. I lead the party slowly up the mountain, containing adrenaline level to a minimum.

The ground is stable than was the last time I passed by here a month ago. Dirt motorcycles causes so much damage to the trails here to the consternation of locals who used these trails to carry their produce to the markets and back with their week’s subsistence and also where their children use in going to school. Some homesteads decide to fence off the trails going to their farms for good measure. Seems the best way to discourage mindless cockroaches astride these machines.

The trail goes on a rolling terrain of short grass and farms on one side and forest line on the other side. Across us is the Sudlon Mountain Range and the wide Bonbon River Valley. Our quest took us to a beaten trail that goes down gently until one section of our party encountered a farm animal tethered across a trail. I passed by this cow and it moved timidly to the side when I made noise.

I find cows and swamp buffaloes blocking a trail normal although it should not be there. Farmers are just totally irresponsible and they never give a thought that people use these trails but what could we do when they grew up with this wrong habit. The cow became spooked when Jhurds brandished a stick to move it away and fell on all fours. The owners noticed it and they became agitated. I go back to control the situation.

All is well when the cow stood up. But it is best not to add fuel to a spark and thaw it with apologies instead even though it is their fault in the first place. There was a rush of adrenaline on this episode and we took advantage of it with increased speed over many road rises which seemed to never end. We reach Pamutan Junction at 16:30 and stop to rehydrate. We were all stressed out and that is not good. Jhurds decides to pull out due to a household errand.

From hereon, it would all be downhill through paved roads that pass by Baksan. It is a long concrete road and not friendly to our now-tender soles. I would have loved to take a trail that goes direct to Guadalupe but it is now dusk and most of those who compose this party has no experience in night navigation. I would not dare compromise safety for pain. Pain can be tolerable at times if you know how to turn off nerve receptors.

Those who are most fit and who seemed to have a high tolerance for pain vanished from view. I would have loved to be at the forefront but I have other matters to attend. I need everyone to beat the 12-hour limit and I decide to be at the tail, to be where the last people are. I became a one-man cheering squad trying to raise the morale of the last people in my field of vision.

I am with the last group and we arrive at the parking lot of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at 20:44 or 11 hours and 44 minutes. The Liloan Triathlon Team, six people, arrived first at 20:21 or 11 hours and 21 minutes. Bona and Glyn, finally made it, especially for Glyn who failed on two occasions. It cannot be denied that both arrived at 20:31 or 11 hours and 31 minutes. Bona has her iPhone application to show me, to include the number of steps and calories burned. All that, for a happy 36 kilometers of torture.

Happy New Year!

Document done in LibreOffice 5.3 Writer

Photos by Christopher Ngosiok

MAN-SIZED HIKES XXVI: Lutopan-Tubod-South Poblacion

ONE OF THE BEST TRAINING route for stamina and endurance which I first tried in August 2012 for the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. It follows Segment II of the Cebu Highlands Trail, coming from Lutopan, Toledo City but it veers down the coast once you reach Tubod, San Fernando. I miscalculated its length though, based on an estimate, and measured it at around 31 kilometers. Actually, I found out later that it is more than 41 kilometers.

The Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild has a few requirements for membership and one of these is called the Selection Hike. It is a cross-country day hike that needs to be finished in under twelve hours. This present long day hike is the first time that I would implement strict time pressure. Although, this is a guild activity, I considered many non-applicants to join so local residents would get used to our presence and activity.

Thirty-six signified their intention online but only twenty-eight committed individuals arrived at the assembly place at 7Eleven, across the Cebu South Bus Terminal, at 05:00 of October 8, 2017. We board a bus bound for Toledo City and arrive at 07:00 at the outskirts of Lutopan, now known as Don Andres Soriano. Across the highway is the village of Bunga and there is a road which, many years ago were mere paths of residents.

At 07:10, the Selection Hike begun. The day is starting to go warm but it is nothing. Adrenaline is on our side. We passed by Bunga, some upland rice farms and Lake Poog. Due to an unusual number of participants, six Camp Red regulars accompanied me. They are Jhurds Neo, Aljew Frasco, Jonathaniel Apurado, Justin Apurado, Christopher Ngosiok and Jingaling Campomanes. Half of them have been here.

Six of the participants are members of the triathlon team of the Municipality of Liloan and I expect a torrid pace, which I do not want to happen. Although we are under time pressure, this is not a race, and I have to curtail the speed that would accommodate the slowest. Besides that, I am not that young anymore and I need reserves of energy during the last stretch, which would be to the coastal highway.

We go down the valley of Lamac, in Pinamungahan, and reach its market at 10:00. Here, participants and veterans take time to rest, rehydrate and take snacks. After 15 minutes, we continue and crossed a spillway to another village of Sibago. The valley is humid and it begins to take its toll on some of the participants. Rest spaces under any shade are most welcome as the pebbled road begins to create pressure to the soles. 

Going out of Sibago is climbing up a trail that is bare and rocky. Except for three of my wards, the rest do not know that there is a store selling cold softdrinks and I relied on that presence so I could have a modicum of control for the weaker hikers. The triathlon team is still strong, much more so with marathoner Eduardo Eduria, the most senior among us yet possesses the greatest stamina.

We overcome a hill and we are on to a road that is the boundary of Pinamungahan and San Fernando. Just a few meters is the store and how everyone loved to just sit and relax and eat bread, energy bar or good old raisins and peanuts paired with cold softdrinks. I did not allow a long break this time like we used to in the early selection hikes where we cook food with real fire. I, myself, has bread as my meal. 

 

We have an hour of break and that is part of the time needed to finish this test in under 12 hours. We arrive here at 11:30 and, by 12:30, we proceed on our quest. We will be treading this time on a dirt trail that was carved by sleds of many generations of swamp buffaloes, which I loved to call as the “Carabao Highway”. It is a scenic trail that passes on a single ridge of mountains that goes north and south and is found exactly in the middle of Cebu.

This is my sixth time to walk this beautiful trail and the last time was leading eight pilgrims during Cebu’s first Camino de Santiago last July 2017. It was raining then and the path was muddy, slippery and nasty. I thought I heard thunder from afar and I looked back to see dark clouds northeast of us. We are walking south and making distance from it. Suddenly, the afternoon air is cooling down. Breeze blow from our back and it is so soothing.

We arrive at a concrete marker. It is square with the names of the places at each face. This is where the most scenic spots can be seen. You would not see the sea on each side of the island from here but the valleys of Magsico and Anislag are a dramatic sight. We have passed the part where the trail is carved a meter deep by the sleds and the ground from hereon are hard sod. It is now 14:30 and there is a threat of thunderstorm behind us.

We reach the village of Tubod after 25 minutes. This is the midpoint of our Selection Hike and there is a good water source here which comes deep from the ground. We only halted for a while to top off water bottles and then we proceed down the road to the direction of the coastal highway. We stop by a store to rehydrate on cold softdrinks for about 10 minutes but we were off again, spurred on with beating the 12-hour limit.

The road goes down until we arrive at a bridge and this is now the difficult phase. It goes uphill and uphill. Road rises, which you thought was the end of it but, once over the top, you see more. Hiking from Lutopan to Tubod was hard already and you expect to claim the reward of your troubles by following the last half of the journey in splendor. This was not to be and two of the participants decide to end their journey. They thought this was picnic.

Those who persevered would discover that, right after the endless road rises, are another endless downhill stretches. Our foot soles are now tender to the constant pounding on hard surface like pavements of asphalt and concrete. I would prefer walking on the side of the roads where there are grasses but underneath it are hidden pebbles which would be painful when stepped upon, a concession you receive when you wear light hiking shoes.

I arrive at the village of Magsico after a series of horseshoe bends. There is a store that I knew from last time to enjoy cold softdrinks because we will have a long way to go and too few daylight hours left. It is now 16:30 and I am worried about the rest for they begin to feel pain. There will be more downhill stretches beyond here although not that steep anymore. The hard part here is that it is a broken road strewn with holes and pebbles.

When some of the participants arrived, I resumed towards our destination for the day. Twelve came with me while the other thirteen needed a breather. The line stretched long this time. Pain on the soles and knees, fatigue and humidity were the culprits. This time, pain on the weight of the backpacks came bearing on our shoulders. The contents inside the bag are just water, extra t-shirt, a knife and a first aid kit. Gravity multiplied the weight.

We passed by the village of Tabionan at dusk. Pebbles are all over the road while asphalt pavements stubborn enough to withstand rain and heavy vehicles remained, creating a patchwork of lunar-like landscape. You have to find the best spots to step on and you need light. I do not have to use one since all behind me started to light their way. Motorcycles passed by leaving trails of dust and annoying muffler roar.

You cannot always walk on the best places because these are marked by motorcycle drivers, locals who knows every inch of the road and they always travel at full speed. They cannot brake and wait for you to step aside. If they do, they would steer wildly sideways. Most of the time, they do not honk their horns and, sometimes, their motorcycle headlight is not functioning. You can see their narrow well-beaten paths on both sides.

You cannot walk at the outermost, on the shoulders, and you certainly cannot walk on the middle. You walk single file and warn each other of oncoming motorcycles and step aside together. You stay alert and keep conversations and jokes to a minimum. Silence, borne out of coping pain, step after step, becomes mandatory. You go slow or fast, pain is still there. Then you see light coming from a cement factory and your morale goes high.

There are two cement plants in San Fernando and the one operated by Taiheiyo Cement Corp. is the one where we are bound to. The visible light comes from its smoke stack but it is still three kilometers away. I see a light behind me in a long line bobbing left and right and I thought I saw a few walking lights some 300 meters away. That is a good sign. We will overcome pain and we will reach our destination safely. 

  

I arrive first at South Poblacion, San Fernando with Eduardo Eduria, Maria Theresa Lanit, Jenmar de Leon and the Liloan Triathlon Team and they all made it in 11 hours and 37 minutes. Next to come are Rany San Juan, Rodel Arnejo and Christopher Ngosiok at 11:38. Coming too at 11:39 are Locel Navarro and Justin Apurado. Then you have Mark Moniva, Joy Delantar and two guests at 11:44. Randy Salazar nipped the bud at 11:59 for that 41.64 kilometers of happy torture.

For those who did not make it, there is always a next time and it would not be here, thankfully. Honestly, I cannot do this all the time. I had a hard time up there. My age caught up with me. Besides, I was nursing a pinched nerve in my lower vertebrae and, although pain was tolerable, it was annoying. It limited my movement and I have to think about it all the time, keeping in mind not to over exert.  

Document done in LibreOffice 5.3 Writer
Some photos by Christopher Ngosiok