I
HAVE THE WHOLE afternoon to myself today, December 22, 2013, after I
had a good rest in the morning. That rest was spent reading books
about the The Nullarbor,
compiled by the Australian Geographic Society, and Rory Stewart’s
2002 journey on foot in Afghanistan which he documented in The
Places in Between.
I
was really tired last night after a whole day of travel to Guintarcan
Island, Cebu and back for a humanitarian mission sponsored by a
Danish organization with which trip started at 2:00 AM and ended at
8:30 PM. It was the biggest relief operation I have had led
involving two loaded trucks and five small seacrafts that target
2,000 households.
After
I have had my lunch at home, I commute my way to Jones Avenue thence
to Guadalupe. I intend to launch into another solo walk for the
Babag Mountain Range to entertain myself of the joys of walking
alone. I also intend to answer the challenge brought forth by a
Davao mountaineer belonging to the Mountain Climbers Alliance of the
Philippines in Facebook.
To
recall, Maximo Lucentales III posted on his wall that he do not mind
climbing the same mountain over and over again as against the popular
notion of other mountaineers who climb many mountains as they could
in a year. I commented that I have done so 68 times climbing Mount
Babag in six years and I find it awesome. He replied to get my 69th
and make it awesome too.
Inside
my bag are ten t-shirts which I thought had seen some good days and
now ripe for giving. I also add a number of dried fish from
Guintarcan, a kilo of rice, sachets of coffee and a hundred pesos
worth of bread. I will play a poor version of Santa Claus to the
Roble homestead hoping to make my t-shirts worthwhile for Manwel and
his uncles and his male cousins.
When
I reach the trailhead at Napo it was already 2:20 PM. I retrieve my
AJF Gahum knife from
inside the bag and place it hanging by my side before crossing the
stream for the trail. I reach the Lower Kahugan Spring at 2:45 PM
and place my Nalgene bottle underneath the trickle of water. The
natural spring had slowed and only a trickle made it through the PVC
trough although a lot of the spring water are wasted passing by
another channel.
It
is almost late and I may have to hurry to my destination. The sky is
beginning to darken as rain clouds pass overhead. I did not bother
to fill my bottle at mid-level. I will take a short cut instead of
the long route which I always used regularly. The problem with this
short cut is that it is very steep and may be considered as “the
longest short cut in the Babag Mountains”.
I
did arrive at 3:10 PM and the place seem empty. Yapping dogs meet me
and I sit on an empty bench quite winded. Tonia Roble came out of
the house and she immediately seek Fele and the rest. I place all
the t-shirts in array on the back rest of another empty bench. All
male of fifteen years and above will have the option to choose one
from among the ten now good for the taking.
When
Tonia came back, I gave her the dried fish and rice. The bread are
shared to everyone in the late afternoon while I enjoyed myself
coffee. Then four hikers arrive. The Roble homestead is a natural
resting place since it is halfway to Babag Ridge. Besides that, the
Roble family could provide refreshment of coconut water upon request.
The four guys gladly finished their coconuts before proceeding on
their uphill journey.
I
test the slingshot that a fellow bushcrafter from England had given
me. It is made of polished yew wood with rubber tubing and leather.
It is very light and the fork is sculpted to make it very ergonomic –
easy to the hands. I find its use very satisfactory and I could feel
that hitting targets accurately with it are achievable. It arrived
in a package together with a World War 2-era Italian Navy utility
knife a month ago.
I
enjoy the few hours there until it is time to go. Tonia gave me raw
cassava tubers and local maize as a gift. My wife would surely be
happy with the cassava as it is the “labo” type. I go
down the trail and reach the Sapangdaku Creek. Then I continue and
reach Napo at 17:000 where I rode a motorcycle bound for Guadalupe.
Since there is still light, I finish one small bottle of cold Red
Horse before I went home.
Document
done in LibreOffice 3.3 Writer
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