ALLIANCE MATTERS V: Sibonga BMC

I AM STILL NURSING a fever borne out of a motorcycle accident that I got into on the night of July 29, 2014. My left chest is in pain, probably a slipped cartilage, and breathing is quite stiff. I also have a pulsating headache, a runny nose and an itchy throat. Yet, despite those, I am game enough to lend my presence, my time and my knowledge before outdoors enthusiasts today, August 2, 2014, at the Green Habitat Resort in the hills of Sibonga, Cebu.

When I gave my commitment to Barry Paracuelles a week ago, I will pursue it, no matter what. Like today. I was even getting too restless to look forward to this day that I am deprived of a good sleep the night before. I am excited to work with my local peers of the Mountain Climbers Alliance of the Philippines Inc. (MCAP), who included me as resource person for a Basic Mountaineering Course. Barry had designed the program of this BMC and this is, I think, a different kind of BMC.

I woke up at 04:15 and out of my home after a cold shower. The participants will converge at the 7Eleven across the Cebu South Bus Terminal while Barry had designated the office of Primary Structures Corp. in V. Rama Avenue as the meeting place for the organizers. By 05:00, I am already at the place. Since Barry had not arrived yet, I decide to enjoy coffee and bread at Pan de Manila at the nearby M. Velez Street and buy ingredients for my meal at the Guadalupe Public Market.

We leave at 07:00 for Sibonga. Primary Structures, where Barry worked, provided us free transportation. Some of those that will take the BMC are employees of Primary Structures. Got to hand it to Barry for organizing this event more than what I had expected it to be even to the extent of involving the company where he is working along with his co-workers. I believe that the main body of participants had left the assembly area as well in a bus.

When we arrive at the Green Habitat Resort, some of the participants were already there. I examined the place and it is a resort alright with five pools, a camping ground, a stage, several cottages while a creek runs beside it. The ground had been leveled off including the part where it once was a slope. I take a seat at the farthest kiosk where I am joined by Neil Mabini, Chad Bacolod and Xerxes Alcordo.

Barry immediately led the setting up of the sound system and the projector on the stage. I offered my Apexus tarpaulin sheet as an improvised projector screen. As everyone settled in among the PVC chairs, Barry started the BMC. The projector throw images from the laptop to the tarp sheet but daylight defeated the purpose. Nevertheless, Barry explained every detail of each chapter until such time when lunch break came.

After the meal, the lecture transferred to one of the cottages and the discussion of the BMC by Barry continues. By 15:00, my turn came. My topics are The Survival Kit, Water and Cold-Weather Survival. Some of the participants are a bit bored and sleepy so I decide to let them stand up and asked them to give 15 seconds of silence to the memory of Aldrin Cerba, who died during a canyoning accident at Canlaob Canyon in Alegria.

The first topic, The Survival Kit, cannot be discussed without a real survival kit. Of course. It is a very complex subject that would involve the exhibition of all the items found in a survival kit plus the WHYS and the HOWS of why it is part of the kit. The delivery of the lecture fluctuate between the hilarious, the serious, the scientific and the interesting. At least, I get the attention of the participants, most of whom are still new to the outdoors.

The survival kit, I explained to all, also consists of the different sub-kits like the first aid kit, the repair kit and the replenishment pouch plus a good knife. The knife could either be a fixed blade but very light like the Mora or the different versions of the Swiss Army Knife, especially with one that has a folding saw. One of the very important components of your survival kit is the thermal blanket, which you should have since you tend to visit higher altitudes, and fire tools, the redundancy of which ensures your overall security.

My next subject matter is Water. Water, I inform to all, are very abundant here in the tropics but is a commodity that had caused conflict in other places. Outdoor activities like those done in mountains demand water so much because dehydration is a natural process of the human body. You cannot remedy loss of body moisture except rehydrating several times as you can and filling up bottles whenever you can. Taught them of the places where to source water and what methods of treating water before drinking.

Last is Cold-Weather Survival. Since mountaineering is a high-altitude activity where exposure to cold is high, the best way to prevent hypothermia is to know the five mechanisms that steal heat away from your body: Respiration, Conduction, Convection, Evaporation and Radiation. For every natural heat-loss process, there are remedies for that which I clearly explained. When I thought I have reached the end of my lecture, I let them examine all the items of my survival kit.

Neil came in next with Technical Climbing. He discussed about the different ropes, its usage, care and storage. Apart from that, he showed and discussed the safety gears that are used with the rope during technical climbing like the harness, carabiners, descenders, flat webbing and cords, mechanical ascenders, chocks, etc. Other accessories like the safety helmet, rock shoes and chalk bag are properly explained according to its purpose.

When ropes and cords are involved, surely there would always be knots. Lots and lots of tying around. Ropesmanship is another topic that Neil is discussing to all participants for the rest of the afternoon. He taught the basics of knot-tying and the most common knots used in mountaineering like the square knot, the bowline, the figure-of-eight, the double bowline, the double figure 8, the Prussik knot, the munter hitch, the Kleimheist, etc.

The knots and all the equipment are then used for the Single-Rope Technique, a method of traversing up and down vertical places using the rope instead of a ladder. Neil showed everyone how to use the ascender and how to devise the cord to work with the ascender and your harness to gain altitude. He shows the technique in how to uncouple the ascender and transfer to a descender when he needs to go down. A belay is used to increase safety for the first timers.

When dusk came, everyone settled to their respective groups. There are several informal outdoor groups which carry funny names like Tribu Batig Nawong (literally, ugly faces), Yabag (unmelodious voice) and Orcs (they are not from the Lords of the Ring); and the serious ones like the Enthusiasts of Cebu Outdoors, Visayan Trekkers Forum and RECON MACE 7.

When I had ended my lectures, I set up my Silangan “stealth hammock” between two midget coconut palms. Overhead cover is my Apexus sheet which is anchored at its edges by sharpened wooden stakes. That would be my resting place for the night which, I believed, would be long. When fixing my shelter was finished, I start preparing my dinner. For this occasion, I brought my almost-forgotten butane stove.

After the SRT session, everybody gets busy preparing their own food. Each group has its own concoction and I thought I saw a bottle of hard spirits but I declined an offer of a drink. I believe the gut needs a filling first and it is still too early. A spoon rapped on a pot lid signaled the start of dinner. In a flurry of refills after refills, the food gets decimated and everyone are too bloated to make crazy somersaults on the swimming pools.

The groups are to each his own now and I carefully evaded the attention of the ones holding the bottles until I get to enter an open cottage and I got trapped with a group who knows my son very well as they are working in the same company. They are with a little-known business process outsourcing company located at the Cebu IT Park called Microsourcing.

They are now serious outdoorsmen and they asked me everything about “Mag-ne” and why I hid my face with different books on my Facebook profiles? I give them funny answers that tickled them to the bones especially now that the spirits in the glass begins to work on all of us. The rounds of the glass becomes tighter and faster and the laughter begins to get boisterous. Outside is pandemonium as some of the participants begins to make the pools work for their enjoyment.

When I thought I have enough, I work my way into my sleeping quarter. Fortunately, it is empty of stragglers. This would be my first night on my Silangan hammock and I am trying this for the very first time as a half-conscious occupant of a few hours. A built-in mosquito net protects me from those noisy insects and that gives me an assurance of a good night’s sleep, a peace of mind. The hammock is quite spacious which I had not experienced with old hammocks that I used before.

Indeed, the hammock worked wonders as I see daylight of the next day, August 3. Coffee are available everywhere but I kept to myself with my own supply which I get to share when someone overshoots his orbit. The rappel session starts early under the direction of Neil while I assist him with the belays. When it was over, the whole BMC class with their certificates takes a pose for the cameras. After that, everyone gets to relax and takes another dip in the pool as the bags are packed ready for departure.

BMC classes are now very common that it is now given free. This BMC, to keep abreast of the times, is given en gratis and would be a first in the annals of MCAP to be held outside of Luzon. However, Barry choose to involve topics which had not been discussed before in any level of any BMC to equip better the participants by its practical applications in the enjoyment of their interests among our mountains.

Because of that, I was moved, at the instance of Barry, to make better mountaineers and better individuals of the participants. I could not have been more happy than to become a catalyst of increasing their safety in the outdoors and of their survivability as well.

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BUSHCRAFT BUHISAN XXVII: “Riders” of the Storm

THERE IS ANOTHER WEATHER disturbance named “Henry”. It is not a hindrance to me on my outdoor sojourns. It may be a nuisance to others but it would never ever be a reason to postpone an outdoors activity just because it caused one a not-so-perfect day. A wet disposition, a cold atmosphere or a muddy trail are the least of my concerns. I just focus on the totality of the journey and bad weather can only lend a color to it. Nothing bad.

It had been raining since last night and this morning of July 20, 2014 is a bit cold. I will have to “ride” out the storm then. I am leading five others cheerily up “heartbreak ridge”. Rainclouds are a blessing up here on this exposed ridge of Banawa Hills whose features imitate the back of a giant lizard if you see it from Mandaue. The power pylon now sports a signage with a smiling skull which seemed to relish at the word “DANGER”.

Behind me are Jhurds Neo, Jingaling Campomanes, Nelson Orozco, Ernie Salomon and Nyor Pino. The bottom of the ridge where there used to be a cairn are now behind us and so is the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish which we had left at 07:15. We got past the tower and the World War II tunnel vent and met three perspiring youths with firewood on their shoulders going to where we came from.

We are now among farms of cassava, lemon grass, horse radish, corn and sweet potato but the hard packed trail cant downward and I take it slow as it is slippery. Ripe fruits from a Chinese laurel tree (Local name: bugnay) provide us something to relish. Old fruit trees populate the path but it is not the season for mangoes, tamarinds, star apples, breadfruits and Spanish plums. Met a man carrying a sack of avocados on his head. The route goes into different saddles until we reach the place called “the Portal”.

It is 08:30 and I need to reach our destination, which is Camp Damazo, before 11:00 but, infront of me, is the old trail that lead to it. Ernie insists on using it. It is long, difficult, gloomy, wild and it is a trail that I had last walked in 2012. Sounds foolish when I had already been using a shorter route. Well, I do not have to switch to “Plan B”. We take a muddy detour for Baksan Road. All of us are wet and I am happy to see that no one is wearing a rain coat.

Rain coats, for me, are for school children, for higher altitudes and for corporate people. Bushmen do not wear such, not in a tropical jungle, and they improve their resistance by adapting to the elements of nature. Exposure to rain and cold prime up my senses and I do not want it in another way. If you want comfort, then do not go out of your house on a rainy day. Watch TV on your warm sofa and drink hot milk.

We go down the trailhead where it led to a dry stream then go up a ridge. We are now at the teak forests of Baksan. I follow another ridge going down a low saddle and then into another ridge that climb up a hill which I liked to call as “Boy T’s Hell”. Ernie takes a dig at Boy Toledo, who is not present, as he recalled the latter’s dark skin turning white after climbing this low hill from another very difficult route. Very amusing story since I was there and it is worth telling. With a laugh!

We cut straight branches from teak trees so we could use it as walking sticks. This type of teak planted here is not an indigenous species but originally are from Burma and are not very receptive with birds and insects. It is a boon instead of a blessing. It does not make the soil fertile and does not like to share space with native tree species. Even with that, we carefully choose which branches to cut that would result to an even healthier tree.

We go down the hill and I looked for my trail sign. Found it and I see the route I took last July 5. I was alone then engaging on “Survival Day”. Three teak trees growing in between, I used as springboards to aid people during descent, after which it cross two small gullies and weave in and among low trees and shrubs until you reach a trail beside a stream which I designate as Creek Alpha for want of a name. Vegetation are now wilder here with different varieties of indigenous plants and trees.

I cross the stream and I see a single footprint on the sand. It belonged to a small man. Beside it is a paw print of a dog. It is a couple of hours old. I am now on the other side of the stream bank and I follow a path. I go down a branch of the trail which lead to the same stream. I need to check on the old location of Camp Damazo. I see a deep imprint of a paw, most probably of that same dog. I do not see traces of the man. Perhaps it is a dog trained to hunt. Dogs like that move a lot without waiting for a signal from its master.

The old campsite is just a small tongue of even ground between the confluence of two small streams. It could accommodate about five tents but during the first Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp of 2011, it was filled with nine tents housing fourteen participants, which Ernie and Boy T were part of. Water source then came from water holes dug beside the stream.

I do not like crowded campsites, that is why I transferred Camp Damazo to a better but safer location and that is where I am going to now. We leave the old campsite and go back our way but I change direction. The ground and foliage are so moist that we found it hard to look for dry dead leaves. I found dead branches with dead leaves hanging onto it. I select dried ones and we fill up a small plastic bag.

I follow the trail as it wind along the contours of the terrain and I see the same footprints. The hunter placed overturned rattan leaves on the ground. It is purposely done that way so he could find his way back and the lighter shade of the leaf’s underside could be seen better in dim-light conditions. It reflects light better when probed with a LED torch. The man used his head well or it could be that he learned it from others.

Blocking the path before me are two slender branches of a teak tree bent towards the other side. I thought it at first as a spring mechanism for a snare but I do not think so. Teak wood are not stiff and would easily bend but does not snap back when released. I looked closely and I see no cords but he placed crawling ferns over it. A debris shelter! So he must have waited for a prey and, that means, he is armed with a hunting rifle. So that is why his footprints have deep imprints?

I looked all around to guess where would he aimed his rifle sight? Surely it would be high on a tree but which tree? I see traces of somebody sliding down a steep hillside. So he must have hit his prey, probably a jungle fowl. No fool would go down that steep ground where I stood at without something to gain from. As I see all these series of events reading the tracks, I expound it to my companions, including a trail sign commonly used by “other people”.

We reach the second stream which I named as Creek Bravo. Somebody just harvested three bamboo sprouts (dabong) here where it is peeled on the creek bed. It came from the groves of water bamboo (botong) located just above us. There is no visible water on the stream but there is one underneath. Growing and clinging on a mossy stone are two young plants with glossy leaves which I suspect to be Philippine ginseng. Strangely unbelievable but I based on the peculiar design of the leaf edges but I could be wrong.

Nevertheless, we have to go. It is now 09:25 and the sky starts to open up with a slight sunshine touching the tips of leaves on the highest elevations. The path is muddy but all behind me knows how to deal with it. The Leave No Trace teaches people to “walk single file even if it is muddy”. We do not do that because we always think, we improvise and we adjust well to a situation. Common sense is much better than following a foreign ideology that had been ruthlessly made a rule by corporate outdoor clubs instead of as a guide.

I saw many muddy paths turned into “water slides” when people without real-world skills follow that dictum and gave locals a hard time to travel from their farms to the market and back and also for the children from their homes to their schools and back. That is really careless and downright aloof without regard and respect for the locals living on the mountains just because you want to portray yourself as a champion of the environment. Remember, they had been content of their lives for years until you came one day and made it miserable.

Anyway, we follow the path ascend to a ridge. In a short while we would be at Camp Damazo. My wet Silangan Greyman pants snagged on a rattan tendril and I slowly remove it. Steadily, we hike uphill and come upon a reddish cuckoo dove (tubaon) foraging on the ground. The small dove had not noticed our coming until we are near and it flew. We collect firewood as we walk until I see the “gate” of Camp Damazo. PIBC products - Ernie, Jhurds and Nelson, had learned well and all used their wits.

Dry firewood are hard to find, especially during rainy days, and it is rather difficult for people without basic survival know-how. I taught people how and why everytime I convene the PIBC or you may study my trail habits and be attentive when I am on a day hike. I am very generous when it comes to sharing knowledge and I always explain when I think there is an importance or I may find you very interested in what I do.

This campsite had been found and chosen during PIBC 2012 and revisited in PIBC 2013. Outdoorsmen from Luzon came here to learn bushcraft and survival on those two occasions and this place had produced the finest products yet of the PIBC. When coffee seedlings were planted here, I decide to respect the locals who nurtured these and transferred the 2014 edition in Sibonga. Besides, the campsite had widened during brush clearing by locals for their coffee seedlings.

As I meticulously break off dry twigs in pencil-lead sizes, pencil sizes and thumb sizes, Jhurds chopped small branches with his Spyderco Forester bolo. Nelson and Nyor make a “bird’s nest” of dry tinder and kindling. With a spark from a ferro rod, the tinder emit smoke and Nelson blow it to life. I placed my smallest twigs over it as the smoke thickened. Fingers of flame sprouted and it blazed more when bigger twigs are placed over it. Ernie automatically work on the food ingredients while I produce blackened pots.

We boil water for coffee first for hot coffee gives you heat, quenches thirst, makes you think better and unload a lot of tales. Nelson provide a small fire placed on a different location. Its purpose is just to provide thick smoke so mosquitoes and ants do not torment us. A pot hang suspended from a tripod and over a fire. In it is a kilo of rice. We will be having another “feast”, especially with Ernie around. Cooking on a dayhike is a trademark activity of the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild.

We do this because we do not hurry. Haste creates waste of quality time and energy and exposes you to accidents. Quality time is learning new ideas and knowledge from people and learning to appreciate nature better. Ernie cook a mixed-vegetable soup and blood clam (litob). Jhurds provide entertainment. Jingaling takes care preparing raw cucumber in vinegar while local sausage (chorizo) is grilled over coals. We eat lunch at 13:30 under a very breezy condition.

We leave after storing back our things to our backpacks. Oh, yes, I carried the Silangan Predator Z today and so is Jhurds with his Predator Alpha. We reach Baksan Road at 15:15 but we continue on to Lanipao and take refreshments. We proceed to Napo where we end our walk by riding motorcycles-for-hire for Guadalupe. We did not tarry long and we all decide to omit the post-event discussions as everyone are exhausted.

Although doing an outdoors activity during bad weather is not advisable, but you would have to do it sometimes. You have to prepare yourself physically and psychologically by training in a real-world situation because the really bad ones are those that hit you where you least expected it. “Murphy’s Law” is a demanding adversary which nobody had gained advantage of yet. But a prepared mind knows how.

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