THIS
IS AN URGENT outdoors activity: Finding a new route to Camp Damazo.
Camp
Damazo is the place where the Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp
or PIBC will be booked on June 10, 11 and 12, 2012. This Camp Damazo
is located somewhere among the most hidden of nooks of the Babag
Mountain Range here in Cebu City, Philippines.
In
2011, Camp Damazo was located upon the banks of an unnamed mountain
stream where the first PIBC was held. Now it is moved further inland
on a high ground. The route to the old Camp Damazo was made possible
by following Bebut’s Trail from Guadalupe then taking a switchback
to Lensa Trail.
That
path demand lots of patience and stamina and exposes people to
extreme heat at the dreaded “heartbreak ridge”. For this year’s
activity, I may have to reroute the way to Camp Damazo that would be
friendly and, at the same time, awesome to the participants of PIBC
MMXII.
Coming
with me are the “Ramrod” and the “Fixer”. No, they’re not
the characters in a Robert Ludlum novel but they are Randell Savior
and Ernie Salomon and they are officially appointed as PIBC MMXII
staff. Going along to get the early treat of PIBC MMXII as future
participants are Silver Cue, Dominikus Sepe and Mr. Bogs.
As
Camp Ramrod, Randell will oversee the administration of Camp Damazo
like space allocation, hygiene, firewood and water needs. Today, May
20, 2012, I will give Randell the leeway to choose for himself the
best route that would suit his idea of optimum adventure. Very well,
I will lead him to those places after receiving his gist.
As
Camp Fixer, Ernie will do the task of preparing, fixing and cooking
for PIBC MMXII participants and staff. Such superb culinary skills
done in the setting of the harsh outdoors are rare which Ernie could
dish out with competence. Ernie, on loan from the Redtrekkers, will
give samples of his menu today.
So,
this is an exploration activity and I will lead and go down trails
that I have not had the pleasure of walking but had known of its
presence. This is traditional land navigation and I will have to
utilize a small compass on the handle of my machete which I thought
all along as just for display and, therefore, unreliable.
We
start from Guadalupe at 7:20 AM climbing over Heartbreak Ridge at a
fast pace. It really is fast and unrelenting that I reach the power
pylon in just fifteen minutes. It is hot even at that early hour. I
pursue the higher ground and stop at the tunnel vent. Somewhere far
far behind me is Mr. Bogs who go down on his knees. Dominikus and
Silver assisted him.
Meanwhile,
we wait for the trio and once we got shade behind our backs, it had
made the previous predicament a non-issue. We reach the Portal at
8:30 AM and I am impressed that we really shaved off a lot of time
and I am not wrong in choosing the right people with me. We decide
to bypass the Portal for that small community where we usually get
our water source.
We
stay for a half hour making coffee and eating a full plate of ground
cassava pudding that a local offered to us. Oh God, it is delicious!
It is my first time to eat such native mountain delicacy. We leave
for the Portal and follow for a while Freedom Trail before taking
that mysterious path that slice down into the jungle fringes of
Buhisan.
The
path lead to a thick, but very virgin, jungle; a lot of places dark
and gloomy populated by huge fig trees, thorny vines, spiny rattan,
avian and a few bats that got startled by our passing. This is an
environment that I love to study and live off. This is perfect for
bushcraft and survival.
I
ward off the spiny plants with my wooden staff while I hack at the
more threatening ones with my Mantrack machete. It is just a narrow
path among a cobweb of thick vegetation that branch into two but I
take the rightmost. Following still the path, it turned into a faint
parting on the ground that lead into a dry waterway where it follow
its course until it ended into a stream.
This
stream is so pristine and clear. Moss are all over the stones and on
some trunks and branches of trees. This is virgin territory that I
could not believe existed in a a fast-developing metro like Cebu.
Small fish abound on the stream and, perhaps, fresh-water shrimps and
crabs lurking beneath the silt and sandy bottoms.
I
look for the continuation of this trail across on the other bank and
I do a little exploration while others waited. Randell, on the other
hand, with Dominikus, try to look for a way downstream. The path I
seek follow another dry waterway that goes uphill but I take a detour
and try another faint trail that lead me into a small stream.
The
place is so silent except for the hum of cicadas and bird calls.
Among the sounds, I thought I heard a scream of a hawk warning me
that I am in her territory. Another scream shatter the silence and
it is different from the first one and kind of throaty like that of a
mammal’s. My hair rise at the excitement that I have just faced
and I aim to mark this place for my second return – preferably
alone.
Keeping
this place a secret, I follow the way downstream to where Randell and
Dominikus are waiting. The stream joined with another one and it
gets wider. This bigger stream of the two is the ones that I used to
explore two years ago and I know where it will flow.
I
pass by the bend where Ernie and I used to do bushcraft cooking
sessions. That time the stream was dry but now it is full of water
filled by a small brook that flow into it. We follow the stream into
what used to be a Gabion dam and onto another long bend where flood
water could have flowed into a marshy place. Plant types indicate
that this is marshland.
From
there, the vegetation parted wide as we trod on the catchment basin.
This is the heart of the Buhisan Watershed Area and I could see the
sky beginning to go cloudy. I see a fig tree up ahead and beside is
another mountain stream, but bigger and wider. By now, slight drops
of water begin to fall. So what, we are in a rainforest.
We
pass by a deep pool of water where children and adolescents take a
bath and it is full today. We arrive at a place on the river where
two streams converge like a “Y” and where there is a very small
waterfall. We rest for a while on the wide shale headrock and
rehydrate.
After
several poses before a camera, we proceed by taking a trail between
the two streams. The ground is marshy but with a lot of huge
mahogany trees choked by a colony of rattan palms. As before, I ward
off the stingy spines and leaves with my wood staff while those who
failed to notice these get snagged.
On
our right is the highest waterfall on this side of the Babag Mountain
Range. We push on ahead for about two hundred meters and pass by the
creek where it would lead to the old site of Camp Damazo. Randell,
suggested that we skip this stream and find the second stream after
it; the one where we have taken lunch in October 2011.
We
found the stream after a tiring walk of over four hundred meters. We
arrive at the place and I feel good because, from now on, there will
be no more trekking on streams. I never like the idea of walking on
streams because it is time consuming, dangerous and you are easily
seen by people. Some people here are armed with rifles.
Anyways,
I dig a water hole beside the stream as Ernie begins to work on the
preparation of the meal. Food would be mixed-vegetable soup, pork
adobao, raw cucumber in vinegar and milled corn. The viands will be
prepared free of monosodium glutamate. I foraged wild basil and
cayenne pepper along the trail and I mix this with the soup giving it
a spicy and sweet scent.
Cooking
is done by using three camp stoves and an assortment of cooking pots.
When it is through, we start eating at 1:00 PM. Washing of dishes
and pots comes after and the water hole supply all the washing water.
At
1:15 PM, we start to ascend the high ground for Camp Damazo. We
follow Lensa Trail to get there. This is the trail that I discovered
in April 2011 when I find the river trekking too constricting for my
comfort and dislodged Ernie and another companion who were getting
weak with thirst on a stream bed that has lots of water.
On
the way, I rearrange dry wood lying on the ground by propping it
beside tree trunks with only one end touching the ground. Moisture
will accumulate on wood if left lying on the earth and would not burn
when you use it for cooking or for a campfire. I will need a lot of
firewood for PIBC MMXII and I need it dry.
The
good thing about the present location of Camp Damazo is it has a good
supply of firewood, it has good security, it cannot contaminate
streams, it is near to a natural spring and it is cooler. We located
the exact area and it could accommodate ten to fifteen tents spread
out in a wide terrain. We were also able to secure locations for
latrine.
That
sums up the exploration and survey of the route and exact location of
the campsite, so we proceed for the exit route which bring us out to
the road that lead either way to Pamutan or Sapangdaku. We decide to
follow the trail to Lanipao instead.
What
used to be a beautiful trail a month ago is now a newly-graded road
that is not only ugly but is also a bane to the knees. That trail
was a welcome ground with soft grasses and gentle roll of land that
is very friendly with your feet and your pace. Now, it is graded
mechanically and is too steep for comfort.
We
reach Lanipao and douse our thirst with cold soda drinks and beer but
I prefer the latter. Then we walk a concrete road down to Napo and
waited for available motorcycles to take us further down the road
back to Guadalupe. From the church grounds, we transferred to Red
Hours Convenience Store and discussions and ideas flowed along with
cold beer with the final conclusion: I and my crew are ready for
PIBC MMXII.
Document
done in LibreOffice 3.3
Photos
courtesy of Randell Savior
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