THE THRUHIKE JOURNAL: Day 6 (Mantalongon to Balaas)

IT IS A COLD DAY AND IT IS DECIDED that Jingaling Campomanes, Mark Lepon, Christian Tan and Glyn Formentera would not walk with us today, January 22, 2017. They were planning to separate from us once we reach the foot of Mount Kandung-aw but plans changed as easily as water shifts its current. The artificial mood of yesterday left. Back to reality, of walking the Thruhike with only Jonathaniel Apurado as companion. We do not speak often because I walk far ahead of him. We only converse during rests and with locals. The Thruhike is not a jolly activity, it is solitude.

The Thruhike then is a pilgrimage of silence, imposed on you by no one else, except, by you. Seriously, the Thruhike is thought to be an amazing journey of the self through places where your soul would want itself to be – in the serenity of the hills. I can not yet decipher the intrinsic value of the Thruhike for I am yet at Day Six and the hardest parts are yet to come, although five days of hiking are daunting enough. I will soon arrive at places where either my will, my patience or my determination will be stretched thin or pressed hard. I have experienced these often during the early explorations of the Cebu Highlands Trail and I was fortunate it had a short time frame of three to five days. But this is different. This is 27 days!

After saying my appreciation and thanks to the officials of Mantalongon, Dalaguete, we set off at 08:30. The weather is almost Baguio weather, cool and very mild. A thick cloud dropped a wispy shower that vanished instantly as it began. Sunday is a day of rest for most of Cebu and the rest of the world. For most people visiting the outdoors, it is a trip to peaks, beaches or waterfalls. For most destinations, people are expected, whether on official routes or on “backdoors”. In a Thruhike, or for that matter, explorations, you are viewed with suspicion since you are not supposed to be there or there are no precedents of people turning their places into tourist destinations.

Sunday is then a day which I considered very much with importance in my itinerary. This is the Thruhike’s first and I designed it that we walk today for Balaas, Argao. Whether we arrive early or late, it does not matter, for people there are already familiar with us. We spent a night there last February 20, 2015 after a lengthy explanation. We were then in the middle of the Segment III Exploration Hike and the late afternoon brought us to there. It ended well and, today, it would not be difficult to obtain their goodwill again.

There is no other way to walk the “Vegetable Highway” except on pavements. As of today, I cannot see a good reason yet to find a trail to Argao. I see many and they criss-cross deep valleys and climb over hillsides, which might be romantic but impractical due to its difficulty. Whoever designed this road was a genius and this road was not made when things were started to be ran by people “running the country like hell”. It was designed and constructed by someone who belonged to a country that was supposed to “run this country like heaven”, if you quote a dead president’s statements which does not make sense.

However, I see such two options in a future shift of paths. The first would enter Argao through the Cambantug Mountain Range, cross the Salug River over to Cansuje, Argao and go north to Alumbijud, Argao. The other would be that you would have to go to the side of Badian from Osmeña Peak, follow a route over the mountain ridges that connect with that of Argao which are dotted with coal mines and pockets of lawless enclaves. If I could have started the explorations 10 or 20 years ago, I would have not been wandering on roads but on trails. The fact that I started this epiphany in 2011 and finished it only in 2016, is a testament of that shortcoming plus, another fact, that I have no big corporate backing or a team of corporate personalities.

You would have to appreciate of what I did in completing my explorations of finding a route for the CHT, which no one had ever done before on the island province of Cebu, without support, except from a few notable individuals like Alvin John Osmeña, Aljew Frasco and Jose Mari Gochangco, who believed in what I was doing. And you would also have to appreciate me even more of my boldness to go on a Thruhike of a CHT that was not even made and documented with the benefit of a global positioning satellite system but on the premise of memory borne out of the quirks of traditional navigation.

Anyway, this memory brought me to the sixth day in such progress and precision as good as using a GPS. The week-long rain that happened before I started the Thruhike had left its mark on the appearance of this road. Just repaved with solid concrete, rockfalls from above and landslides undermining below threaten people who use this. It is simply dangerous to use this road for the moment. We are forced to walk on the outer edges, a safe distance from a rock fall, of even a size of a thumbnail, could be life threatening if it falls directly on the head.

Hazardous that might be but one village seems to live with that. On the road to Ablayan, Dalaguete are many small banners placed on both sides of the road, aside from three bigger ones strung across, declaring a fiesta celebration. People were in a festive mood and screams of pigs were heard everywhere up a hill or down a gully. The road wove on more hazards but not that many anymore yet this is one scenic stretch highlighting the valleys around Mantalongon as the “Breadbasket of Cebu”. We arrive at Maloray, Dalaguete at 10:30 and you will see many little rice terraces planted with an upland variety.

Mount Kandung-aw towered over us but we had been there in February 2015 and is now included as one of the interesting features of the CHT. The peak is a good alternative to spend a weekend in these parts and would relieve the pressure off the very popular Mount Osmeña from local tourists. We walk on and we see a lot of people waiting for porters to carry their goods over the other side of the road since a big part of the road was swept away by the rains of early January. Likewise, farm produce were dumped here coming over from the other side where it is loaded onto trucks while motorcycles waited on both sides. Ah, commerce.

 

We crossed the chasm nimbly as locals do while a few motorcycles braved the slippery and steep stretch. Since we covered so much ground in the morning, I deem it necessary to take our noonbreak as early as 10:55 since the mild climate changed into warmth. I munch on two pieces Titay’s Liloan Rosquillos, six pieces of Park N Go Bakeshop bread, a Nutribar and my jumble of trail food. With water I popped in a Herbalife Natural Raw Guarana capsule into my mouth and watch three locals walk past me with big baskets at their backs, carrying 70-80 kilos of vegetable pears, cauliflowers and carrots supported with tumplines to their head. This road made their lives bearable.

At 12:00, we proceed up the road. We saw another road joining the ones we are following. The junction got washed and a temporary patchwork of rocks and concrete were arranged to hold the earth above it but got washed again. It looks scary and that is why I saw no trucks parked on this side from the chasm we crossed. This road goes up to Badian while our direction goes to Argao. We stop by a new parish somewhere in Manlapay, Dalaguete where parishioners in their Sunday’s best just came out from a church service. The rest took longer, since there is a shady spot and a cold Sparkle to beat the heat as Jon enjoyed talking with the locals.

The journey continues into the heart of Manlapay, the last village of Dalaguete, and then into Argao. At a road corner going to Balaas, Argao, I immediately dispatch a text message to the Argao Police Station so they will be informed of our presence and our activity. We arrive at Balaas at 13:40 where the honorable barangay chairman, Ricardo Gonzaga, and the village council welcomed us. They expected us at 16:00 since that was the one indicated on our itinerary but we somewhat have developed wings on our heels. Or is it that I just made this day’s schedule conservatively kind?

Why are we expected along the way? Well I found it out the hard way early in my exploration hikes, especially at San Fernando during Segment II which was done last March 2012. Since then, I made it necessary to make my activities known by sending out letters to Capitol and to the Cebu Police Provincial Office but, sometimes, it does not give assurance like what happened during the last day of Segment VII last August 2016 in Daanbantayan. To make my Thruhike seamless, I made a courtesy call on the Honorable Governor Hilario P. Davide III last November 25, 2016 and the rest is history.

Under the protective shelter of the barangay hall, we claimed our billet area. We released all the stress of the day and just enjoyed the stillness of rest. Across us is the view of the wide Salug River Valley, the Cambantug Mountain Range and Mount Lantoy. We are treated as guests and a plastic tray with cold Sparkles and bread came our way courtesy of Hon. Gonzaga and the people of Barangay Balaas. We arrived early and the early rest benefited our feet. We are now in the middle of the southern leg and we made good progress. Tomorrow would be different. We would be expected at Sibonga and it would be a long day.

Distance Walked: 13.47 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 793 meters and a low of 502 meters

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer

THE THRUHIKE JOURNAL: Days 4 and 5 (Cerdeña to Mantalongon)

DAY FOUR ::::: IT IS GOOD TO SEE SUNRISE after three days of moody early mornings. It rained the whole night but it was not that cold. The forest protected us from the elements. Although there was light rain today, it is so-so and is not bound to stay for long. I touched my wet clothes that I hanged under the canopy sheet. Partly-moist but wearable just the same. The Lorpen socks are now better than the time I removed it yesterday. This would be its last day of use and would probably be worn again on the northern leg of the Thruhike. Today is January 20, 2017.

It is 06:00 and I decide to tour the campsite for a good place to call in nature. When I returned, Jonathaniel Apurado is holding a pot that hot water is ready for coffee. Same breakfast fare of Knorr soup and rice as was done in past mornings. We break camp at 08:12 and it is a very very mild day. We would be walking on roads where, before, were trails. I may be a romantic but I am also a realist. Gone are the days when life was difficult for mountain residents. The presence of roads are a blessing for them, removing them from isolation, having access now to the economy of the lowlands, wide opportunity for education and better income which they could not wrestle in the past.

Despite the roads, the scenic views have not changed. The deep valleys on both sides are filled with seas of clouds after a rain. There are such few places in Cebu where you could view, while walking, both the western coastline, which includes Tañon Strait and Negros Island, and the eastern coastline, where you can see past Bohol Strait, Bohol Island and Siquijor Island. The route follows a narrow range of mountains, skirting two opposing big river systems, that connect the Southern Cebu Mountain Range, that start from Barili to Alcoy, to another mountain range in Oslob which is dominated by Mount Bandera.

A lone Brahminy kite flew over me and it circled overhead riding the thermals as I was about to make my way down to where this new road would join the road at Upper Beceril, Boljoon. We turned left and rest instead at San Antonio, Boljoon, at 09:25 near where we could replenish our water bottles. This is the road that goes to Nangka, Boljoon and this is the road where so much verdant hills are seen at closer distance on both sides, separated by narrow strips of farms. It is unpaved for the most part. Another scenic stretch which goes all the way to Nug-as, Alcoy.

We arrive at Nug-as at 11:35, hours ahead of schedule. We cannot just proceed to the next destination, which is in Mantalongon, Dalaguete, even if we are capable of doing it today. We cannot just alter the order of things this time just because I have the upper hand. There are times where you would have to honor what is on the itinerary and, for that matter, we would have to stay at Nug-as for the rest of the day. I have guests who would arrive later and we also have to meet our supply team tomorrow afternoon at Mantalongon. Good sense dictates that we would have to follow the itinerary to the letter.

The early arrival would do well instead for our bodies so it could recover from the hike of four straight days. This is another phase of the Thruhike where you would have to balance things out since the body could not bear the punishment for long. Remember, we still have 23 days more of walking. I do not want ourselves getting burned out halfway to the end or giving up somewhere along the way to injuries. Besides, I have a couple of sore toes to look over and a pair of shoes to dry. Considering all these, I sent a message to the Alcoy Police Station informing them of our presence.

We proceed to the barangay hall and asked permission to stay. It was not difficult to obtain since the one assigned today was someone who knew us from last time. We tied our hammocks on the same places where we fixed it last time. We do not have to use the sheets since there is a roof. We eat for the very first time a hot noontime meal of local noodles, the extra I carried just in case. I rehydrate a lot of liquid from powdered juice and Extra Joss and tuned in to an FM station signal coming from Negros Oriental. It was a very relaxing afternoon just lying down on a bamboo cot which the body really needs.

I would have stayed on the cot long but I have to find a cellular phone signal. We do not know if the GPS tracking device provided by Galileo Satellite Control System Philippines is transmitting our geolocations to them. The problem is that the only place where I could catch cellular signals here is on a waiting shed located 250 meters away. Photos and information from Day One to Day Four would be sent by my Lenovo A7000 smart phone and have to be posted in my Facebook wall to update my wife and family, my friends, my sponsors and my followers. It was slow at times when the signal appeared on a single bar and disappears from time to time. For text messages, I relied on my Cherry Mobile U2.

At 17:00, a police car from the Alcoy Police Station, led by PO1 Regidor, arrived to see how we are doing. They were sent to assist us if ever we encountered difficulty in finding our way in their area, which did not happen anyway. They stayed until 19:30. When we were on our own, we commenced our dinner of Korean spicy noodles with a sprinkling of shredded dried squid, sweet potato leaves and dehydrated seaweeds. We were well rested and waited for our friends to come but somehow they got delayed. We slept instead when the clock hits 22:00.

Distance Walked: 11.55 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 839 meters and a low of 359 meters

DAY FIVE ::::: JONATHANIEL APURADO WOKE ME UP at 05:00 that our guests have arrived some three hours ago. I am sure they would be tired so I let them rest for a couple of hours more. They have set up shelters in a car porch just a few meters away from the building where we are housed. They are Jingaling Campomanes, Mark Lepon, Christian Tan and Glyn Formentera and all belonged to the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. Their presence and participation are more of supporting the Thruhike. They would engage in a dayhike with us today – January 21, 2017, from Nug-as, Alcoy to Mantalongon, Dalaguete.

Jon had taken over the cooking and there is Knorr soup and rice, boiled quail eggs and coffee. After breakfast, we took down our hammocks and stuffed all our things inside our backpacks. I changed into a new pair of undershorts and a clean pair of Kailas socks. The Jack Wolfskin shoes are now dry as well as my “uniform”. We are now ready to start Day Five except that our guests were still asleep. We shook them awake at 08:00.

We all leave Nug-as at 09:25 and this was the most late that the Thruhike had started. I have an additional cargo, ten small bottles of Yakult Cultured Milk, courtesy of Jingaling, which I carried inside a plastic bag with either hand. The sun finally appeared but not that scorching. January and February are the best time to engage in a Thruhike here in Cebu. You will be facing the cold winds that the northeast monsoon would bring in from the icy winters of Japan, Siberia and China. The sun would slightly be at your back since winter solstice changes the angle of its shadow.

We cross the boundary into the Municipality of Dalaguete and the village of Catolohan at 10:45. A lone Brahminy kite appeared in the sky, this time, much nearer. We arrive at Nalhub, Dalaguete at 12:10 and stopped for our noonbreak. Jon and I subsist on our food supply while the rest make use of theirs. Cold bottles of Sparkles cured those parched throats. Afterward, I shoot a text message to the Dalaguete Police Station and informed them of our activity, providing them our names. This is now a necessity since our party becomes bigger and noisier and it might send wrong signals to locals.

After an hour, we proceed on our hike and passed by Langkas, Dalaguete at 14:00. The hills here becomes like those seen around Osmeña Peak which is good as scenic attractions. The road goes up and up but I kept on going without stopping. I have taken my regular doses of one Enervon Multivitamin capsule and two Herbalife Natural Raw Guarana capsules each day and these might be the reasons I packed so much power today? Perhaps, but it is too early to tell. The long rest of yesterday might have to do with it.

Anyway, I arrived first at the Mantalongon Vegetable Market at 15:00. I expect to be here at 16:00, enough time to receive my supply team who will arrive at 17:00. As soon as everyone were all accounted for, we walk to the short distance to the barangay hall of Mantalongon. We are expected today by their officials and we were provide the free use of a building with toilet and running water. Just a few minutes after us, the Toyota pickup of the supply team arrived very early. Driving is Markus Immer from Switzerland with passengers Ernie Salomon, Justin Apurado and Glenn Pestaño with son.

They are also with the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild and how glad I am of seeing all of them, giving their support wholeheartedly of the Thruhike as volunteers. I could not ask for more. The supply team had brought bread from Park N Go Bakeshop, courtesy of Randy Salazar, aside from our daily fare of food and fuel for the alcohol burners. Markus also brought two boxes of small brownie cakes baked by his wife Analyn as his personal contribution. I shared what we have with the barangay officials of Mantalongon.

We left for a while the barangay hall and proceed to the market to eat early dinner at 16:00. We found one local restaurant big enough to accommodate all eleven of us. It was the first time in the Thruhike that Jonathaniel and I eat food that was not our cooking. Glad that the itinerary brought us to Mantalongon and break that monotony. Again, Markus chipped the bill and we go back to our billeting area. The supply team left at 18:00 while Jingaling, Mark, Christian and Glyn decides to stay with us. They still cannot decide how they would spend the day tomorrow – a Sunday.

We partied in the room provided for us with the brownie cakes, juice and Korean spicy noodles. I took a bath for the very first time after five days and washed my upper “uniform”. Mantalongon is famous for its cold weather and that is why it is called as Cebu’s “Little Baguio”. The guys even had a “blade porn”, a bushcraft tradition of exhibiting all knives in one place – a sort of pageantry. Then the activity transforms into a pageantry of first aid kits and another for fire kits. My Term-a-Rest sleep pad proved its efficiency by providing me a good night’s sleep.

Distance Walked: 13.65 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 779 meters and a low of 603 meters

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer