BUSHMAN BLOGGER BADASS

BEFORE I BECAME ENGROSSED in both writing and blogging, I was a no-good kid riding on the seams of notoriety associated with the wild side of youth life. Yes, I ran with the badasses of my time but I ran a bit slow and that kept me out of real trouble. Although I was kept by my elders to study in a Catholic high school to iron out my seeming abhorrence of authorities, it had only made me a half-ergot and half-human and I got kicked out, just the same, by the friars.

What made me stand out from the rest of my ilk is that I have a wise grandfather to check on me. Nah, he didn’t carry a big stick but he kept a lot of books – good ones that would certainly make the wish list of any library of that day. He taught me to read ALOUD. He says he is half-blind and I believed him until I discovered one day that he could see fully behind those dark glasses. The ruse served its purpose well for I begin to develop a love for the books!

When he passed away years ago, his touch remained so. His main preoccupation – writing – begins to manifest in me in a seemingly slow process of self-discovery that alternated with elation and dejection. After I took a two-plus-decades-long personal pilgrimage of toils and adventures brought on by different occupations and diversions, I wrote my first article for an unheard of blog in March 2006. It was an experiment that was received well by some people and that encouraged me to approach writing as a hobby.

I have my own writing style though. This style is a mere reflection of the hundreds of thousands, nay, millions, of words, sentences, paragraphs and quotes that I have digested through the years reading books, novels, magazines, newspapers, documents, even chocolate and candy wrappers. The old man had taught me to read books like a scholar would, introduced me to woodcraft and encased in me the charm of the old world.

When I took a side glance at writing, I do it not for monetary reasons but as my own method of releasing stress and create a memory bank. My writing converted an abstract me into concrete through this blog, WARRIOR PILGRIMAGE. This blog is dedicated solely for my outdoors pursuits, which had taken a lot of my weekend time, and gave me the chance to introduce myself and Philippine bushcraft to the World Wide Web. For that matter, writing is absolute in all my activities.

Without a doubt then, I am a REAL outdoors blogger. A real badass outdoors blogger. I live what I write. I walk the talk. So do a few other bloggers who wrote with what they did outdoors. Our kind command readership following for the interesting articles we wrote (in which we were sometimes exposed to dangers) and, for that, we are anchors of opinions that would shape the very actions of other people. We write to entertain, to educate, to share, to push away the boundaries of silence and ignorance.

I choose not to be silent for I am no stone. Everybody can be everywhere and the outdoors is not the monopoly anymore of a few people, including me, but not everyone could write with passion after every activity. More than a thousand blogs are regularly updated in the Internet every week for the benefit of mankind. It is a diverse cornucopia of ideas and information and blogs dedicated for the outdoors are part of this. Warrior Pilgrimage is part of this. This blogger is part of this. 

 

What really is the beef behind this article? When you put forth an article, people read. You get comments or you get not. It depends and a lot loved being Mr. Anonymous. You get a pat at the back, some not and some are spams. Those that do not agree make the article worthy of readership traffic. An argument would spark somewhere down the ladder of opinions and, sometimes, in the heat of the exchange, unsavory words and sarcastic phrases take shape. The delete button would have been useful but, in my case, I let it be.

I visit other people’s blog too to read articles and that includes all the reactions. When someone posts an article about his solo climbing activity, there was a deluge of comments. One particular comment, with complete arrogance hidden behind anonymity, caught my ire. Mr. Anonymous says to the blog owner that he is just “another wanna-be blogger wanting to be a mountaineer”. I would have defended the blog owner with sharp replies but when you are an ethical blogger you should hold your punches.

I praised the blogger for his bold post about solo climbing. I am also a soloist. I had hiked mountains alone many times. I would prefer being myself than with other people and I had written countless articles about my solo treks and, so far, none had challenged me on that aspect. The Leave No Trace is very explicit about the dangers of hiking alone among mountains but when you declare your adherence to LNT and do something contrary, you become a rich target of Mr. Anonymous and they are legion.

As for me, I had never ever been a fan of LNT because I love more my freedom of unimpeded movement and I do not care if you agree or not. I am an unconventional outdoorsman that find joy in the methods and things done the old way. Even as I love solo walks in the wilds, I would not encourage it to anybody. I do not want to give an impression that it is alright. A lot of would-be soloists had encountered muggings, getting robbed, caught in snares, swept by floods, got injured or fell to their deaths because they do not know the real world.

I am sorry for shooting down your expectations but soloing is not for everybody. You need to have experience, skills, agility, endurance, strength, wit and cunning and a lot of common sense. A big knife would be a big help on the trail. Not inside your bag but carried openly to manifest your true worth as a real badass. No timid steps are accepted in the big outdoors but solid footings declaring your right to be there. Haste and overconfidence would lead to carelessness and your own demise. A knowledge of modern or traditional navigation is a must going in tandem with wilderness safety and bushcraft.

The elation to accomplish your trip by your own self without companions to bolster your confidence is unquenchable. Daring yourself and coming out to do the same thing is like an aphrodisiac. Believe me, it is an elixir for troubled thoughts and sagging spirits. Apart from that, you do not just walk in without considering your own safety. If you do not know how to blend in with your surroundings and without good knowledge of trailcraft, you better give up that idea of solo walks. Leave that to fools like me.

This fool writes and belong to a line of warrior-poets who you thought vanished many years ago. Fools like me are not born everyday. Of course, not all outdoorsmen could write or blog and not all writers or bloggers could become outdoorsmen. Writing, they say, are for the desk-bound and for the faint-hearted. Then where does that place me, huh? What you do not know is that when all outdoorsmen start to write then you will have a safer world to live in or, for that matter, a safer mountain to climb at.

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COMPLEAT BUSHCRAFT X: Knives and Hardwood

A KNIFE IN THE HANDS of a working man, will become an extension of his hand. By his proper handling and dexterity on a piece of wood, it diminishes the common perception that it is a weapon. The aggressive appearance wears out and, what has been considered as an instrument of physical harm, metamorphoses and mellows into a useful tool.

The knife is a tool, first and foremost. If used irresponsibly, it will cause harm just like fire. Prehistoric man invented the knife for the purpose of surviving and to convert complicated work into very simple chores. Later, the knife took on different shapes and length and had been used as an instrument of early warfare and aggression. Since then, the knife had not shelved the gruesome image of its past.

Carrying of knives are now regulated to protect people even to the extent of limiting its length and the taking away of the tactical look of its edge. Visit the ports of entry and the malls and I am sure your blades do not get past the sentry - almost. The knife then gets relegated to certain workplaces, inside homes and the wide outdoors. These are the last frontiers by which knives are carried openly.

I am an advocate of the carrying of a knife outdoors and I carry not one or two but three or more. Not for self-defense please but for carrying out tests and for using certain knives for certain tasks. Today, November 3, 2013, I carry my tomahawk, my William Rodgers, my Victorinox SAK Trailmaster, my Case XX folding knife, my Puffin Magnum rip-off and four Seseblade Sinalung. Quite an array, isn’t it?

Perhaps you might squirm why I carry so much excess baggage with which items and functions are redundant. You know what, redundancy is security ensured. But, primarily, I am on a bushcraft lecture today and that is to teach people how to make a wooden spoon. Carving a spoon from wood is one of the methods by which you train yourself how to use the knife as a tool. It is one of the many ways to create a bond between knife and user.

I provide the tools in case people do not bring one but I doubt it. I know, for sure, that Glenn Pestaño carry a lot blades. He is a true-blue member of the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. Others like Chad Bacolod, Johnas Obina, Bogs Belga and Xerxes Alcordo might not be the least of them who carry knives. I am also sure that they have aces inside their respective bags.

After meeting all of them inside the Cebu South Bus Terminal, Cebu City, we leave for Ocaña, Carcar at 7:00 AM. We start our hike at 8:50 AM to the campsite located at Lower Sayao, Sibonga after securing the ingredients for our noontime meal. It is not the best time to walk the road at that hour but I cannot do something about it. It is a fact of life and I believe I have the stamina to overcome the extreme heat.

Glenn carried his bug-out bag and it is very heavy. He should know that BOBs can kill. He did not last halfway and he passed that burden to a passing motorcycle of whose driver he knows very well. Chad, Xerxes and Johnas lagged behind trying to adapt to the situation and continued walking without complaint while hugging to shades offered along the route.

It is 10:30 AM when we arrive at the campsite. I have no water in my bottle since the time I left the bus terminal and, yes, I am very thirsty but not dying. Endurance and self-discipline kept me going without water. The others have also used up their supply of water during the hike owing to heat and the rigors of walking an ascending terrain. I assure them we will get water but we need to rest first and cool down our body.

We leave our things and down we go to a small valley and up into a small hill and down again into another hidden valley where there is a small ricefield. Nearby is a clear-water spring where there is a lone woman washing clothes. The spring provides irrigation to the rice paddies and it will fill up our water bottles soon. Once done, we go back to our campsite to prepare our meal and to rejoin Bogs who stayed behind to prepare a fire.

Bogs finished the coffee and it returned our sanity. Picking up three long sticks from the ground, I lashed a cord and made a tripod which I will use to hang a pot to cook rice. I place the contraption above the fire and adjusted the rope holding the pot so heat could cook the rice efficiently. Then the blades gets its chance to break away from their hiding places.

On a tarpaulin, the blade porn starts rolling and I join them. Cameras flashed as everyone try to make something out of these rare moment. The blade porn is a valued tradition among bushcrafters and it is a feast for the eyes as well as the chance to keep camaraderie close. There it is, an event that is worth mentioning at coffee table conversations.

Suddenly, by twist of fate, the participants of this spoon carving session will get the chance to test all the knives on display. Glenn provided a local hardwood variety for all to shape by chopping, whittling, cutting, scraping and by gouging. Folding saws and multi-tool sets gets its test on the hardwood as well. I brought pieces of broken glass and this is a very efficient alternative to a crooked knife, which is rare in these parts.

I am the cook and I am busy slicing potatoes, carrots, sponge gourds, squash, eggplants, gumbos, bell peppers, string beans, onions, spring onion bulbs, green peppers and tomatoes and crushing garlic. I fry the garlic, onions, green pepper and tomatoes in oil, before I mix the rest on a frying pan over a fire fed by firewood. Adding water, I stirred the ingredients until it boiled before adding two teaspoons of salt. Then I sprinkle fresh spring onions and Malabar nightshades and let it settle.

I have achieved a good taste by just these without using monosodium glutamate or its derivatives disguised as “magic mixes”. What made this very engrossing is that it was done outdoors without the assurance of a comfortable environment and supplies usually found in kitchens. Truly, outdoor cooking is an art where taste could be achieved by the right frame of mind instead of relying on artificial flavors.

By 1:30 PM, we start our lunch, although late but never too late. Everyone take several refills for their plates. Water is abundant but it gets used up until a few ounces are left. After the meal, I return to the water source to fetch water for drinking and washing. The boys continued what they started. By now, the general outline of their spoons begins to take shape.

All the blades had been used and tested, in one way or another, and the carvers had clearly understood the differences and characteristics of each blade and, somehow, one or two blades found itself as mainstays on their ongoing tasks. While all concentrate on their work, exchange of ideas and observations work freely amongst themselves and that is the essence why bushcraft is so different from the rest of the outdoor interests.

Bushcraft includes hiking and climbing mountains just like conventional outdoors activity, but the learning of skills is its greatest attribute and wholly encouraged, where ideas are tested and used each time. Real knives are carried, not cutie knives for closet queens, and we promote open carrying while outdoors nor wince at the prospect of exposing the knife to extreme use.

Warm food just off the fire are always eaten and there is always a campfire everytime the activity goes overnight. We do not abide the principles of LNT but we know what is that for and we know what we do. We accept criticisms from all conventional outdoors people but we are so different from them by a wide league that it is not worth the time to think about and talk sense into it.

We leave Lower Sayao at 3:30 PM, walking down to Ocaña on the same route we took in the morning. At the highway, we found it difficult to catch a bus for there are a lot of people wanting to go back to the city at the same time after spending a long weekend vacation. I failed to consider the effect of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

We improvise instead and ride different tricycles from one town to another. It may be not the most efficient form of mass transport yet the tricycle brought us nearer to the city by “town hopping”. I reach home at 7:30 PM and I am quite satisfied of my recent activity. I am hungry but the memory of the noontime meal last long in my innards.

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