2022-002 | ADRENALINE ADVENTURE HIKE: SEGMENT IV-B

TEAM ADRENALINE ROMANCE HAD walked through the first half of Segment IV and came out stuffed with better appreciation of the Cebu Highlands Trail. The challenges of the fresh sceneries that the “no man’s land” route provided have excited Team Adrenaline Romance so much so that they filed a leave of absence the soonest time possible.

 

When we breezed past Mount Manunggal on our way to Lawaan, Danao City the last time, they begun to enjoy the landscapes of their backtrail and picked off the familiar landmarks which had given their confidence a shaky ground to stand on. The second part of Segment IV – Segment IV-B – has different difficulties than the first and it offers another different side of Cebu. This is still a “no man’s land”. 

We choose the Cebu North Bus Terminal as our meeting place on October 13, 2018. Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei arrived first. Later, Apol came, and we found an empty bus bound for Danao City. The bus left Mandaue City at 05:30 and arrived at Danao at 06:45 and we found a small eatery to take breakfast. We also bought extra food for our lunch which our itinerary says 12:30 at Mount Mago. 

We left the busy city center at 07:30, each astride in tandem on a motorcycle-for-hire, bound for the village of Lawaan, our last place of engagement two weeks ago. We arrived there at 09:10 when the motorcycle I rode conked out and we waited for another. We hit the trail at 09:15. We were following a paved road that was quite shady and very peaceful. We faced a road junction and followed the one on the left.

 

The road rose in elevation and we were now exposed to the morning sun. As we walked over a ridge, we saw Mt. Kalabasa of Danao City; Garces Peak of Asturias; Mt. Matun-og, Mt. Mauyog and Mt. Manunggal, all in Balamban; and – surprise! – Mt. Babag, Cebu City. These were the great landmarks that we saw on our northerly quest that created furrows on our foreheads. As we checked our backtrails, these were now just drops of water in a pail. 

Walking on, we passed by a farmer harvesting pomelo from his fruit-laden trees and gave us two which Sheila Mei and Apol devoured without a trace and brought another with us. We walked on and we arrived on the trailhead in the village of Pili, Danao City. There is a trail that goes to Mt. Mago but I have to make a courtesy call first to a military detachment located nearby. 

After my business with the authorities, we pushed north at 10:20, following the trail that go over the ridges of this unnamed mountain range. The path is soft earth blazed by generations of feet while all around us are green meadows. It is rolling terrain without forest cover. On a rise, I read an elevation of 755 meters from my Casio Pro Trek.

 

We still brought a pair of Versa Quicktalk Go UHF/FRS transceivers which we used for our communications in Segment IV-A. While I took the point, Gian Carlo swept last and Apol and Sheila Mei in between. We used the radio to check each other out when visibility is hampered by rolling terrain or when a branch of a trail placed Gian Carlo in a bind. 

We arrived at the camping grounds of Mt. Mago at 12:40 and quite famished. We spent noonbreak here under the shade of one puny tree, enjoying lunch from food we bought earlier and finishing the one last pomelo for dessert. I noticed a pond. It had always been there the two times I was here. I excused myself and made a brief inspection. 

I found out that it is a seep that overflowed to a very tiny brook. I deduced that it became a small stream, ultimately dividing Carmen from Tuburan, until it became a river that flows out to the Camotes Sea. This unassuming pond could be the headwater of the Panalipan River! We took water from the pond and washed our plates, spoons and forks from twenty meters away dowhill.

 

We left Mt. Mago when dark clouds appeared with the clap of thunder and followed a trail in a forested area. The ground is dry and plenty of loose soil and pebbles. We came upon a very steep part which was kind of tricky. This path is so enchantingly silent that only locals know and, of course, me. Overnight campers would never go beyond Mt. Mago. We rested after that descent and rehydrated. 

From then on it would be rolling terrain once more, passing by solitary houses and farms and, sometimes, a family of cows blocking the way. The trail goes down to the remote village of Bangkito, Tuburan. We passed by a public school, going into their center where there was a basketball game in progress. Everyone stopped playing and looked at us. 

This was one of the critical areas during the insurgency problem in the ‘80s until the early years of the third millennia and everyone wanted to make sure that we were not armed. When they resumed their game, I released a sigh of relief. Then and there, I did a courtesy call to their village council while Team Adrenaline Romance stayed behind to fill water from a water reservoir.

 

On the way back, I brought a cold big bottle of Coke. We emptied it fast and we hoped we could produce another one later. We prepared our campsite and then our dinner. When the food was almost cooked, I went back to the community store to buy another cold big bottle of Coke. But it was the last they sold to me earlier. 

We had our dinner and pairing it with warm Coke was not bad after all. That night there was another basketball game and there were many onlookers from the different places. After the game there was a disco. The noise interfered in our quest to snatch that sleep. Motorcycles would park nearby and leave. Nevertheless, it did stop at 03:00 of the next day, October 14. 

We woke up collectively at 05:30 with eyes that hungered for more sleep. We prepared breakfast and, after eating, we broke camp. I went back to the village center to give the village council my appreciation of thanks in the form of a certificate, as I did yesterday with the villages of Pili and Lawaan. This was for their hospitality in accepting us in their localities and aiding me and my team during the exploration phase of the CHT and that epic Thruhike.

 

We left Bangkito and went east for that deep valley under the shadow of another mountain range found across us: Ngipon-sa-Ilaga. I almost missed a trail were it not for a girl who was observing us. After asking her directions, we followed the trail down the deep valley of Anahawan. It would twist and wind its way among the lower foothills of Mt. Mago. 

Cows and carabaos were tethered along trails and we have to make wide detours. When we reach a stream we rest for a while from the brunt of the morning sun. This was the same stream that I suspected to have originated from that small pond at Mt. Mago and this could be the upper portions of the Panalipan River. Downstream of me are small waterfalls and Team Adrenaline Romance had to change to Project BLUE t-shirts for a photo ops.     

After a generous rest of thirty minutes, we resumed our journey. The trails pass by meadows and farms and a very old oleander-leafed euphorbia (Local name: soro-soro). The biggest I have seen. This marked the start of the ascent to Taguini. The trail is well beaten and easy to follow.

 

We arrived at Taguini so early at 10:00 but it was empty of people and traders. I expected a market fair. I missed by a day! Anyway, we are two hours early for a noonbreak and we decide to have that at the village of Caurasan, Carmen instead. So we spent rest here and bought locally-baked bread and paired it with cold soda drinks. 

After twenty minutes, we resumed the last few kilometers of Segment IV-B. Team Adrenaline Romance, perhaps, assured that the last half of the CHT was about to end, walked with a confident and springy stride this time. We reached Caurasan at 12:30 and checked in at their village center with our identification cards with a civilian interloper who insisted on voter’s ID! 

After that, I did another courtesy call on a military detachment nearby and then we ate lunch there. We left Caurasan for the town market of Carmen astride motorcycles-for-hire. The ride down to town was a long one and we arrived at 14:00, time good enough to take it easy for our return to Cebu City. Team Adrenaline Romance celebrated their feat with an early dinner in a Japanese restaurant inside SM City.

Team Adrenaline Romance had achieved one-half of the CHT by finishing Segment IV-B, which was 17.68 kilometers in length. With that, they extended their mileage total to 207.73 kilometers which was quite impressive! They had adapted to the rigors of what it was like when walking a long trail like the CHT which is partly wild, very humid, unimaginable difficulty in terrain and somewhat dangerous!  

The lands we passed by in all of Segment IV, to include parts of Segments I, II and III, were indeed very dangerous if we walked it in another time, say 1987 or 1995. That is the reason why adventure tourism and outdoors leisure activities did not grew beyond the known safe havens. Many have tried to open these corridors among Cebu’s mountains but it never prospered. 

The exploration of the CHT and its opening to the public as a guided adventure hiking tour came at a favorable time when such threats and troubles to foot travel have disappeared although residues of it remained which comes in the form of suspicion and distrust. By and by, people will come to terms with their past and embrace change which is harmless, fun and productive.  

Gian Carlo and Sheila Mei wrote about their Segment IV-B experience on the Adrenaline Romance Blog under two installments: 

Cebu Highlands Trail Segment IV-B: Lawaan, Danao to Bangkito, Tuburan.

Cebu Highlands Trail Segment IV-B: Bangkito, Tuburan to Caurasan, Carmen.

THE THRUHIKE JOURNAL: Days 17 and 18 (Bangkito to Tabili)

DAY SEVENTEEN ::::: THERE IS A GOOD PROMISE from the heavens today, February 4, 2017. Yes, there is sunrise and the hillsides are painted in golden yellow. The small village of Bangkito, Tuburan would be bathed in sunlight soon. Although I may have the best sleeping place among my companions and among those who provided security for us, it is as if, just the same, I was sleeping outdoors. The cold penetrates layers and obstacles and no amount of hunkering and shifting of body could stop that until you use your head.

I put on a dry pair of socks last night but the real winner was, once again, a plastic bag covering the head. Yes, the lowly plastic bag. Just big enough to fit on your head and small enough so it will not slide down and suffocate you. Tried it first at Cantipla Ridge, Cebu City on a very wet day last November and I was surprised that I was able to sleep through the night without shivering. I stopped the shivering midway through last night only when I touched one of my empty plastic bags. They make noise, you see. My apologies then to to those experiencing a sleepless night.

Jonathaniel Apurado has helping hands this time cooking the food. Mark and Mirasol Lepon lent their kitchen knives, pots and their strange alcohol burner to the fray. But there would be no Knorr soup this time as I had some of it donated to the 13-man squad from the 78th Infantry Battalion who walked here yesterday from their detachment in Sacsac, Tuburan to secure our presence. Once again, I secretly passed some food for our army whom I feel should be fed better than just sardines and crackers. I shared a pack of Titay’s rosquillos to a group of kids as they happily show it off through their wee little forefingers.

We have a breakfast of miso soup with real floating seaweed, corned beef and a funny looking rice. Coffee then provides the closure after another morning ritual of swallowing capsules of Enervon multivitamins and Herbalife natural raw Guarana plus Yakult cultured milk courtesy of Jingaling Campomanes. The village center is a beehive of activity of children enjoying their weekend as well as folks looking forward to visit a market fair in an adjoining town of Carmen to trade their produce.

The 6-man team from the PNP Special Reaction Unit just had their breakfast courtesy of a village councilor while the Army is still haggling with a resident about a couple of native fowls which are to be their breakfast and lunch. I thanked each village official for accommodating me and my companions, to include the PNP SRU and the Army’s 78IB. The route of the Cebu Highlands Trail have chosen their village as either a stopover or as replenishment area and good things will happen once tourists come to walk it.

The 78IB guys choose to stay for awhile as we said our goodbyes at 08:40. They have things to do, building trust and communication lines with the villagers and that breakfast which has yet to materialize. The PNP SRU would walk with us down the only link of Bangkito to the rest of Tuburan municipality. We would split at a spot where there is a trail that would lead the Thruhike down to the boundary with the Municipality of Carmen.

The trail is good, muddy at many parts, and the challenge begins. It is not steep. It gradually goes down a small stream and on another bigger stream. After crossing it, the path goes up. It would have been easier in another time but today, on Day Sixteen, it sucks. Too many people have trodden it in the early hours of the morning, bringing with them water from the stream that their footwear carried, which mixed and mired the already muddied ground from yesterday’s rain.

The trail have widened to even as wide as six meters as people tried to walk on places where there were no mud yet. Then more people with their farm animals choose virgin ground and everywhere where it is possible to move forward and you got there a morass of a trail. It was hard on the steepest stretch where an effort, a step forward, would make you slide two or three steps back on account of gravity. Mark and Mirasol are struggling hard. Jon and Justin Apurado are doing well, barely.

I am listening to my feet. If it complains of the wet Kailas socks that I had worn for the second day, then I have trouble and change that with a clean dry pair tomorrow. If not then life goes on and it goes on its third day tomorrow. The Hi-Tec Lima shoes begun to show kinks in its armor. The thread that have sewn the rubber soles with its nubuck leather uppers began to loosen. I see a tell-tale sign that one of the pair would give up. For now, it would nurse my feet. For now, it will carry me along.

We pass by a natural spring and refilled water bottles. Soon we would be on the market of Taguini, which is a part of Caorasan, Carmen. We did arrive at 11:45 but not after muddying our shoes and trousers up to our knees. We ordered cooked food in one of these small huts that do business only during Saturdays. Sent a text message to the Carmen Police Station regarding our presence and the Thruhike when I found a signal hovering on the second bar, which is good enough.

Although the weather is mild, it is so humid. After an hour of rest, we follow a very rough road that goes on its rolling passage among hills and, at one time, over a long and steep climb. We intend to do courtesy calls on the village chairman of Caurasan, Hon. Tirso Andales, and on another Army detachment of the 78IB. We arrive there at 14:00 and we were properly received. At 15:00, we leave Caurasan bound for Bongyas, Catmon. A strong downpour overtook us along the trail, slowing us down. There is not much daylight left, especially official daylight government hours.

I noted that Mt. Kapayas could be scaled at a lesser height from where we passed. The narrow trail is winding, soft on some parts and, on another stretch, so slippery. It is also tricky since it connects with other trails and that was what happened when I got led into Amancion, Catmon. I blundered as my judgment got the better of me. Maybe fatigue and too much brain stress, evaluating all the risks we got past, to include dealing with people.

Fortunately, a lone woman walking towards us showed us back to where we came from and, not only that, she is going home to Bongyas! She gave her name as Belen Oro and she saw us at Taguini while we were having lunch, never expecting that she would meet us here. She just visited her sister after she sold all her budbud kabog, a native delicacy. She would guide us to the residence of the village chairman instead and told us that the village chairman’s wife is her older sister. We just had a stroke of fortune, oh dearest me.

We arrive at the home of Hon. Sulpicio Branzuela at 17:00, visibility good enough to offer recognition on our faces. The dear village chairman remembered me from last time, almost exactly a year ago, when I started my Segment VI Exploration Hike. I asked permission if he would so allow us to pitch shelters at the back of his humble home. He agreed but it would not be outdoors. He would accommodate us all inside since the weather is a bit disagreeable. Indeed it is cold at this hour and it would be colder still in the coming hours.

A roofed shelter is the best thing to dream about and that turned into a reality. The gods must have favored us. We were all wet, hungry, tired, thirsty and cold. Marciana, his wife was more than happy to welcome us. She misses her children, who are all grown up and married. I could feel the loneliness of the old couple. Their children, like everyone else, began to like living in the big cities where there are so many conveniences of life. They know that life on the mountains is hard.

Yes it is indeed hard. Marciana told me that she carried a half sack of millet in the morning to have it milled but came back disappointed. It meant that she has to balance the 8-kilo sack over her head on a slippery trail going down to the village center of Bongyas, which is one-and-one-half kilometers distant, and then paying 50 pesos for a motorcycle to bring her to Catmondaan, on the coast of Catmon. Finding that her regular miller is indisposed, she has to hire a motorcycle and pay another 50 pesos to take her back to Bongyas and then hike up that 1-1/2 kilometers back to her house in the afternoon. She is 68.

She showed me the unground millet. This was the staple food of ancient Cebuanos, before the Spanish came. It is not grown elsewhere anymore in Cebu except in Bongyas, Amancion and Cambangkaya, all in Catmon municipality. Boboi Costas of the Provincial Tourism Office have personally tasked me to document where the millet is specifically found and grown. I had taken a picture of the millet and has a name now of one of the traditional growers. Not only that, Marciana, knows how to make magic with the millet.

We cooked dinner on the couple’s hearth. Although firewood is offered, we insist we use our own alcohol burners and fuel. We got four alcohol burners glowing simultaneously to boil water for coffee, cook rice, warm up pork and beans and make my Korean spicy noodles more alive and tasty! We dined together with the old couple and their home begins to go warm as conversations light up the dreary cold night. There is electricity but, the couple says, they had it just last year. What available outlets present, are left to the mercy of the battery chargers.

The winds howled outside. Cold could have crept early if we have pitched our sleeping quarters outside. The good village chairman and his equally good wife made a difference why we are warm tonight. We have rugs instead of ground pads, we have pillows instead of stones, and we have blankets instead of fogs. Our warm bodies, closer together, made our sleep most comfortable as possible. On a night like this, someone said, angels come down from heaven and hover over every night to watch over honest people. Just my dream.

Distance Walked: 13.37 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 687 meters and a low of 341 meters

DAY EIGHTEEN ::::: WE COULD NOT BELIEVE our streak of fortune we had yesterday. We were truly blessed with meeting the right people. It surprised me that people with simple but beautiful dispositions in life are still that many in these places that, not too long ago, if my memory serves me right, were a hotbed of insurgency. I know these many places I passed by since Day One because I read it in newspapers almost everyday in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, and gets mentioned sometimes in the early years of the new millennium.

I know it was like a nightmare for those who stuck to their farms and homes here up to the very end when darkness was finally overcome by the goodness that were a combination of Cebuano cultural traits, justice and reform, and faith in God and governance. Of course, I may have had second thoughts when I first did these exploration hikes to complete the Cebu Highland Trails but my trust and belief in the goodness of man, no matter how hard fate and injustice may have caused him in the past, won out. I will not deny them that chance of good fortune if ever the CHT brought in ceaseless blessings for them.

The coldness of early mornings are getting intense as I walk more to the north. Februarys are always like that in Cebu when the northeast monsoon winds carry the winter cold of Japan, Siberia and China to the equator. I am the first to rise for I seek the call of nature. When I came back, Marciana, the wife of the village chairman of Bongyas, Catmon is already up. His husband, Hon. Sulpicio Branzuela, had fired up their hearth, feeding it with more firewood. A big black pot belch steam coming from the insides.

Jonathaniel Apurado finished checking last night’s charging of the batteries on his Nikon camera and Cherry Mobile U2 phone. I took advantage of the vacant portholes and charge my own Cherry Mobile U2 and Lenovo A7000 smartphone, even though how little time left to fill those hungry batteries. Although the rain had stopped on this cold day of February 5, 2017, the ground and everything above it are wet. The valley below me is shrouded in fog and I thought I heard thunder.

Justin Apurado decides to move from his warm bed and goes outside to worship nature. The couple Mark and Mirasol Lepon are still absent from my view. They slept inside a room which the Branzuela couple have offered them. Marciana, the wife, informed us that they are cooking something for our breakfast. It was awkward on our part to decline their offer. We promised them however that we will leave some of our food with them as our token of thanks. We explained to them that we will be supplied food and fuel soon.

Day Eighteen promises a re-supply at Tabili, Catmon later in the day. We only need to get there and wait for the supply team. It is already fixed. Planning the Thruhike took me many years but putting in the pieces to make the big pie took me just 60 days, give or take 5 days. If you compare mine with big expeditions, I think mine comes to the term as short notice. Only one sponsor, Derek’s Classic Blade Exchange, opened up their purse early to start my machinery moving. The rest flood me theirs on the last minute which induced me a dose of panic buying.

The good Branzuela couple, distinguished family of Bongyas, cooked milled corn and free-rein chicken soup for a grand breakfast. We all eat on their round table. The lady is a good cook. She mixed an edible legume which enhanced the taste and thickened the soup. It is so different from all the rest. When we have finished, we leave our Knorr soup packs, rice, sachets of soy sauce and vinegar, cooking oil, Tang, Goya and Ovaltine chocolate drinks and Blend 45 coffee. Not only that, Mark gave Marciana his DIY alcohol burner and DIY windscreen. The old couple were mesmerized by our alcohol burners.

Outside of the house is a dead black bird. It was not there yesterday. It froze to death. How strange? There must have been angels here last night. We said our goodbyes to the good couple as we start to walk down the trail to the main village at 09:46. We spent a longer time with them as we were endeared to their fine manners. The ground is slippery. Marciana said that this is not the right season to plant millet and so there are no fields to take photos of.

From Bongyas, we walk on a road that is only paved where the wheels would roll about. In between and on the sides are green grass. We follow this strange road, passing by a part of Anapog, Catmon, wherein it becomes unpaved and muddy. A few motorcycles ply this road to pick up passengers. Twice I saw small Suzuki 4-wheel drive flatbeds, a Japanese surplus import that became a choice vehicle for farmers and upland residents. It is cheap, sturdy, low gasoline consumption, navigates easily on narrow roads and spare parts are common.

By 11:50, we were now in Agsowao, Catmon. We observe noonbreak and munch on Nutribar. Cold Sparkles complete our rest and rehydration. After an hour, we proceed to our destination. The road is now paved with disintegrating asphalt. I did not feel a soreness on any of my feet even though I am wearing a damp pair of socks and damp shoes. This would be the last day for the socks and I would change into another pair tomorrow. A short thread that sew the rubber soles of the Hi-Tec Lima shoes with the upper nubuck comes loose. Ah, the beginning of the end.

We come upon a concrete sign announcing that we are now in Tabili. A noisy party stopped when they sensed strangers and a drunk party-goer pretended to befriend us. Asked so many questions and repeating the same questions over and over again. I know that scene. Better leave the premises because it is pointless talking to someone who is suspicious and tipsy. He thinks he is James Bond and we are KGB. I ignored him but he found Mark a willing listener and we waste more time there.

It was farther than I thought, the location of the residence of the former village chairman, the late Dante Limana. I have nurtured friendship with him ever since the time I met him here last February 2016 while I was doing the Segment VI Exploration Hike. I came to know of his death just last month when I visited this same place. Before he died, we met at the Search and Rescue Summit in Cebu City last July 2016 and gave him a Seseblade Sinalung knife. It is tragic on my part because I found him to be a good public servant with a bright future in politics. He was 36.

His father-in-law was expecting our arrival today and he is there by the time we arrive at 14:59. After the usual cordiality, he assigned our place of rest at the back of the house. There is water and a hearth and we are under a roof. Maybe tomorrow, I will have my first bath. There is a young katmon tree that Dante had planted. His yellow Suzuki Scrum is parked nearby. This small truck carried him safely to the hospital, driven by his 9-year old son. He was in ICU but succumbed a few days later.

At 16:00, the supply team arrived. Markus Immer, as always a reliable fellow, delivered the goods. With him were Ernie Salomon, JB Albano, Jingaling Campomanes, Locel Navarro, Ronald Abella and Christopher Ngosiok. They spent three hours with us, emptying a bottle and half of local brandy, unloading funny tales and controlled laughter. Too bad, happy times do not last long. Justin, Mark and Mirasol went with them as they left us at 20:00. The silence was deafening.

We made our way to the back of the house and distribute the supplies between us. Part of that is our fuel for the Trangia burners. We got a lot of Park N Go bread and parted some to Dante’s father-in-law. We also got more Yakult Cultured Milk and add these to the plastic bag that I am carrying with my hand since Day Twelve.

We strung our hammocks but used it only as a mosquito net. No hang time. It would be cold but I have not felt it yet. Jon begins cooking the first of the fresh supply of Korean spicy noodles and a hundred grams of rice. We forgot that we had not taken dinner. The company of noisy visitors caused that. Anyway, I will have that bath tomorrow.

Distance Walked: 11.56 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 559 meters and a low of 234 meters

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer

THE THRUHIKE JOURNAL: Day 16 (Lawaan to Bangkito)

IT STILL RAINED TODAY as it had last night. Although I expect extreme changes in weather for this Thruhike but never so depressing as it is today. I am told that there is a weather disturbance. I am warm inside the village hall of Lawaan, Danao City but, outside, it is wet and cold. Today is February 3, 2017 and we will be commencing soon with Day Sixteen of our Thruhike. The couple Mark and Mirasol Lepon, our donor for the Herbalife Natural Raw Guarana capsules would be going with us.

Jonathaniel Apurado would not be tinkering with the cooking pots and burners today. We will have another breakfast of warm free-rein chicken soup prepared by the people of Lawaan for us. Hon. Pilarino Montes and Hon. Shirley Ramos made it sure that we will be full for the day’s journey to Bangkito, Tuburan. Jon’s son, Justin, would be hiking with us also. Jon and I have food good for three days that Markus Immer and company brought yesterday. I would be meeting our supply team three days from now.

The skies are crying and I could do nothing about it except steel myself from the cold. I am used to these kind of weather. I would have warmth and comfort at the end of the day’s walk, which would most likely be in Bangkito. But I love these moments. It raises the bar of my alertness. I know it would come out naturally, providing me sane decisions in situations where most people would melt. Years of learning my own behavior and how my brain worked have taught me patience and timely decisions, or what we call as common sense.

Of course common sense forbid you to go outdoors in stingy weather but there is always a narrow crack of opportunity that only a very few skilled people could identify and take advantage of. It made their lives more meaningful and these few thrive where others dared not. I may not be one of them but I follow in their footsteps and it made my life gratifying and those that are or were with me. We simply enjoyed the adrenaline rush and the experience simply embed in our subconscious as added knowledge which would be useful in dire situations.

We leave Lawaan at 08:30 but we have company. Ma’am Shirley would walk with us up to their boundary with Pili, Danao City. The village secretary is also going with us as well as five of their peacekeepers. Well, they came of their own accord and they were most happy that we made their village as part of the itinerary of the Thruhike. Lawaan is the traditional convergence area of agriculture produce coming from the mountain communities of Danao, Asturias, Balamban, Tuburan and Carmen. It has a public market, public schools and the San Isidro Labrador Parish.

Its standing as a leading village on the mountains have been challenged lately by another, whose thrust is more on tourism. Tourism gave more revenues which, in turn, translate into more services and infrastructure projects. The Cebu Highlands Trail passes between these mountain villages and peripheral tourism gets developed over time and becomes an income-generating vehicle for communities. The value of the CHT is not yet appreciated since it had not reached its time but, when hikers become a regular sight, expect a boom in services and goods.

Under the rain, my brain goes numb. It goes its usual behavior, directing the body to increase its production of heat and oxygen. The body oblige and the heart pumps blood at a higher pressure, creating friction, while the lungs inhale pure mountain air, cooling the human dynamo at an ideal temperature conducive for the processing of good thoughts, of good common sense. It is not easy. You have wet clothes and the natural drainage goes to the shoes and the socks, making it water logged. Your bag goes partly wet adding more grams of unwanted weight.

I am prepared for these things. So are Jon and Justin. But I am slightly worried of the Lepon couple. Not that I do not trust them how they would fend off a cold and wet walk, they simply do not know what to expect yet. This is their first day and they would be tested here. Today would not be a long route, tomorrow is. And a little harder. Anyway, we are all with the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. We all specialize in skills for the real world. Adaptation to any environment is one of those. We liked it better that we are part of the landscape instead of the other way around, which most are doing.

The peacekeepers are walking ahead but I paced myself to make life more comfortable for Ma’am Shirley and their village secretary. A small Suzuki vehicle owned by the village of Lawaan trailed us, its welcoming presence designed to accommodate the ladies should they feel tired and cold. The ladies are partly wet despite their jackets and umbrellas. Sometimes the gusts made the umbrellas ineffective. This used to be a trail and now it is a concrete road, recently paved. I could do nothing about change. I work around it. The road goes higher as it twist and bend among the slopes like water.

Ahead are people and motorcycles. As we go nearer, we found out that they are the contingent from the village of Pili, led by their chairman, Hon. Joverlito Martel. They were expecting us and they have prepared another meal of free-range chicken soup and milled corn. We just had one during breakfast and brought some leftovers for our lunch but it is bad manners to decline a meal offered by friendly villagers, let alone from their highest village official. Ma’am Shirley and her retinue walked with us for another kilometer up to a place called Purok, from whence a trail to Mt. Mago is located.

At that moment, under the onslaught of a feisty weather outburst, we all decide to add the offered meal to our lunch instead. We will bring this along the way. I, in behalf of my team, sincerely thanked everyone from the villages of Lawaan and Pili for their kindness and generosity. I have not experienced something like this in the southern leg and it moved me. We were treated like VIPs here and these kind people went out of their way to relish and enjoy our company even in the most unkindly weather. No words could describe my feelings.

That was not the end of it. Four peacekeepers from Pili would accompany us to Mt. Mago as our guides and escorts. They were in raincoats and rubber boots. Jon, Justin, Mark and Mirasol are in raincoats too. I am the only one who is not wearing rain protection. I simply forgot about my garbage bag converted into a crude raincoat as my adrenaline goes high treading on muddy trails. The winds lashed at the plastic garments and rain punched a million needles at us, almost horizontal. I sent a text message at 08:47 for the Tuburan Police Station informing them of our coming, since there would be no more cellular signal up ahead.

The peacekeepers walked at a good pace which suits me but I have to look back and stop from time to time to keep us close together. The ground is slippery. Rainwater filled every hole and furrow and it overflowed. The fields are shrouded in clouds and fog. Visibility is good for 20 meters, at times at just 5 meters or so. Winds have not wilted its stranglehold on the exposed ridges. Chill is bearable but in a few hours it would be cold. At 10:40, I sent another text message to the Cebu Provincial Police Office, while I still have a signal, informing them of our direction. I got a feedback. It gave me a sense of security, at least.

We reach the concrete marker of Mt. Mago that marked the corners of Danao City, Tuburan and Carmen. It is almost 12:00 and we decide to stop here for a noonbreak and make use of that meal of native chicken, milled corn and rice for the nine of us. Then I remembered the estofado chicken Candelario Garces gave me yesterday in Kaluwangan II, Asturias as he was celebrating his birthday. I added it to my own share of the lunch and it was delicious. I could have eaten it in better conditions were I have the opportunity and so would have relished its taste better.

Everyone were really hungry and cold. The meal, or what used to be one, lay on a bed of banana leaves. We ate it under the shade of a small tree. Mt. Mago is almost bare save for vegetation growing among narrow gullies and tiny cleaves and on a rare spot like the small tree that we are sheltering under from the rain. There is a small pond which water meander into a small water course. This could be the source of the mighty Luyang River that flows out of coastline Carmen and into the Camotes Sea.

I have to release the four peacekeepers from Pili of their responsibilities for we know the way to the village of Bangkito. I thanked them and parted a little something for them which made them smile. As they walked away, Justin propagated a VHF signal for the direction of the Babag Mountain Range, in Cebu City, using a Versa Duo 2-way radio with stock antenna at 5 watts power. He was communicating with the repeater tower of Ham Radio Cebu, 40 kilometers away, and connected successfully with station 4F7MHZ under adverse weather conditions.

As navigating trails finally returned to me, we immediately left the peak and follow a trail that goes downhill. Several landslides have erased trails but I managed to seek out a path across these and we found ourselves on the safe side. Met a man from Bangkito carrying a big basket full of cabbage on his back supported by a tumpline on his forehead. The chance encounter in the foulest of weather provided us information that this same trail is used by them going to Santicon, Danao City, to include 20 of their children who are studying there.

I trembled at the thought of the children when I looked back at the landslides we just passed. The good thing is these children do not walk singly or in separate groups. They all travel in one group. These children were forced to study in Santicon since their school in Bangkito was also forced to close due to few students. It is about five kilometers away, most of it on open terrain, exposed to all the harshest of elements. It is a very remote country. A place that could host and hide predatory individuals and insane criminals.

We reach Bangkito at 14:15 and I made a courtesy call to their village officials. The lady councilor knew me from last time and it was easy to obtain permission from them to spend a night in their village. They assigned their multi-purpose building as our billeting place but the rest decided to strung their hammocks and canopies near the closed school building. So little have changed since the last time I was here in October 2015, during the time of the Segment IV Exploration Hike. I saw for the first time a blue concrete box which served as the source of clean water for the community.

So I have the village hall to myself and dried my clothes, socks and shoes outside when the weather turned nice with a faint presence of sunlight. My things inside my bag were dry, thank God. Those that were half wet, I let dry. I lit my Trangia alcohol burner alive and boiled water. I need hot beverage to keep me warm. I got my Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate drink and I felt better. I splayed my ground sheet on the concrete floor and, over it, the Therm-a-Rest provided by sponsor Michael Schwarz. It would be cold tonight but the sleep pad would be a good provider of warmth and comfort.

A six-man team from the PNP Special Reaction Unit arrived at 15:30. They were directed by CPPO to provide security for us on the duration of our stay in Bangkito. To remember, we have cops coming in to watch for us but they did not stay overnight. These were in Alcoy (Day 4) and Barili (Day 8), which were good enough. In Mt. Manunggal (Day 13), they stayed but we did not see each other. Tonight we will be with them. Finally. I have to thank the leadership of Police Sr. Supt. Eric Noble for taking primary importance of our safety as well as taking cognizance of the value of the Thruhike for the Province of Cebu. Such intelligent officers are hard to come by.

As everybody were preparing dinner, a squad of thirteen soldiers from the 78th Infantry Battalion came at 18:15. They were sent by their headquarters through radio dispatch from their detachment in Sacsac, Tuburan. They came on foot and on short notice. They barely have food for the night and not all have sleeping gear. But they came, to provide us another layer of security. I pity them and I decide to donate my excess food for them. Three meals of mine and Jon’s. Mark and Mirasol parted some of their food supply too.

I did not expect that CPPO and the AFP Central Command would send their forces for us at the same time in one place. While it may have boosted our safety, I have contrasting thoughts. Were there sightings of armed rebels? I know the places that I have visited in have been a hotbed of insurgency in the past but I do not see a resurgence of that, given the fact that the Philippine government have opened up negotiating channels with the CPP-NPA-NDF, although stalled, but both parties talk the same language since the current administration is top-heavy with people from the left spectrum, led by the president.

The timing of the separate arrivals of the PNP SRU and those of the Army detachment of the 78IB could have caused a misencounter. There was no assigned challenge and counter-challenge, a common procedure among government operatives. Both do not know each other’s presence when they were directed to serve their missions here. There was no proper coordination. Fortunately, the latter did not arrive in darkness. It sent shivers through me when I go through the notions of that. Even today as I write this several months after.

As expected, the cold came in. I could not sleep properly knowing that there are many good men within my proximity suffering from the cold staying out of doors to watch over me and my companions, complying with their mission. How could I be so insensitive? I went out and checked on their conditions. The cops were in the best place for they arrived first and so have chosen the choicest spot. The army guys were in a place that was, to me, not even a good choice to stay warm, but made up for it by being the most secure just in case. They ditch comfort for survival. They think like me.

Distance Walked: 9.48 kilometers

Elevation Gained: 780 meters and a low of 440 meters

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MAN-SIZED HIKE XX: Cambubho to Caurasan

THE SMOKY HAZE OF INDONESIA’S forest fires in October 2015 had denied my Exploration Team the completion of Segment IV of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT which is from Mount Manunggal, Balamban to Caurasan, Carmen. The haze had proved to be a tough obstacle in our quest and it had sapped away our strength, our stamina and our determination to achieve our goal, due to extreme heat, but we had already walked as far as Cambubho, in Danao City and used up our remaining strength instead to find refuge in Danasan.

That time, I promised to walk the remaining stretch of Segment IV on another day. By that feat alone, my Team had already accomplished 59 percent or a total of 212+ kilometers of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT and I scheduled this unfinished stretch of Segment IV for 2016. We will now be passing the dreaded mountain ranges of Cebu's Midnorth Area and this would be one of the hardest stretch of the eight segments allotted to the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT.

The CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT is a personal undertaking that have had its beginnings from my passion of hiking and camping among mountains. I realized that the island of Cebu can be walked along its most rugged spine from north to south or reverse. It only takes a steely determination and navigational savvy to achieve this to offset what I lacked in funds and sponsors. Later on, people began to appreciate how this project will benefit Cebu and its people. Patterned after the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail of the USA, it will be an attraction soon for foreign and local tourists when completed.

The Exploration Team that I organized is not at its peak for this remaining stretch of Segment IV and I have only Jonathaniel Apurado to accompany me. We will be on a wide stretch of country where, many years ago – and still is – considered too dangerous for mainstream outdoor activities. We do not have the benefit of a guide nor of a local who may well act as liaison. This would be exploration at its best, travelling by traditional means, aided only by a compass and by printed versions of small maps from a website.

I am pressuring myself to end the exploration phase of this ambitious project in 2016 and make the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL available to the public by 2017. I have done this almost singlehandedly and I am determined to finish this to the end even if I am left with rags to wear. What you do not know is that I will leave a legacy of dots in a box – a template – so others who will follow after me would refine the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL as a first-class long trail that would attract international backpackers and encourage local ones to enjoy their own mountains.

Today, January 29, 2016, is the day where Segment IV will be completed. I and Jonathan had prepared well our stamina, including the basic items that the Team need. This Team, to include reserves Justin Apurado and Jovahn Ybañez, is better prepared and organized than the previous ones I had led so there would be no more waste of time. The sacrifices and preparations during our training had worked so well during Segment III and Segment V where the Team had shaved a day each from its original schedules.

I will lead again my Team into places where many mainstream outdoors people have not been into before. There is more to Cebu and adventure can be most enjoyed here horizontally instead of vertical ascents. This is a three-day hike that will start from Cambubho, Danao City and, hopefully, would end, at last, at Caurasan, Carmen. I will follow a hypothetical route that will surely pass into places between Danao City and Carmen and, probably, might stray into Asturias or Tuburan.

Failing to set up my alarm for 04:30, I was roused from my sleep by Jonathaniel who called me up at 05:00. By 06:30 I am at the highway fronting the North Atrium, in Mandaue City. Jonathaniel and I board a public utility jitney for Danao City where we arrive at 07:20 to take breakfast near the terminal. From there, we hire two motorcycles to take us up to the village of Cambubho, the same place where we terminated Segment IV on October 24, 2015.

As in every organized explorations, there is the Base Support Team. It will monitor our progress and will give weather updates to us and then informs the outdoors community in Facebook. We will miss the services of Chad Bacolod, a fine communicator from Ham Radio Cebu, who is temporarily based in Iloilo City. Another crew, Jhurds Neo, of the Camp Red and Bushcraft and Survival Guild, will be alternate on communications and would be mobilized when in emergencies.

We are proudly wearing the team uniform jerseys provided for by Silangan with the name of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT emblazoned on the front. Silangan Outdoor Equipment is my official outfitter since I endorse their products through my Warrior Pilgrimage Blog and in fora where the outdoors community interact. I am wearing their Greyman Hiking Pants and are bringing also their blue-colored side pouch and their second generation hammock. Likewise, I will be using a new pair of Hi-Tec Lima hike shoes that the Lavilles Family of Australia had provided me.

Aside that, the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT is officially sanctioned by the Cebu Provincial Government as a legitimate outdoor activity that would help them identify places where adventure tourism would be developed on the once-remote mountain areas of the island. This, after my meeting with the Honorable Grecilda Sanchez, board member representing the Third District, and Ms. Mary Grace Paulino, the provincial tourism officer.

The following are the narrative of events in chronological order that tell the whole picture of SEGMENT IV-B, CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT:

DAY 1 – January 29, 2016

• Leave North Atrium, Mandaue City at 06:30 by jitney bound for Danao City.
• Arrive at the Danao City Terminal at 07:20.
• Leave Danao City proper for the village of Cambubho at 07:40 after breakfast.
• Arrive at Cambubho National High School at 08:35.
• Start of first day hike. Leave school premises at 08:45 for the village of Bayabas, Danao City by paved road. Pace: Moderate to fast. Weather: Sunny but cool.
• Retrace route back to Cambubho and proceed on to the village of Lawaan, Danao City. Change of original plan.
• Arrive at a road corner which led to the villages of Santican and Pili, both of Danao City, at 09:50.
• Arrive at a crossroad of one going to Santican and another for Pili at 10:00. Choose the one going to Pili instead. Pace: Slow to moderate. Weather: Sunny and warm.
• Stop at 11:45 for noon break at the village of Pili. Boiled water for coffee and seaweed soup.
• Resume hike at 13:00 and retrace route back to the trailhead going to Mount Mago. Pace: Slow. Weather: Sunny and warm.
• Arrive at the concrete marker of Mt. Mago at 15:00 and stop to rest and rehydrate.
• Resume walk at 15:10 for the village of Bangkito, Tuburan. Pace: Moderate to fast. Weather: Sunny and warm.
• Arrive at the village center of Bangkito at 16:30. Make courtesy call to village officials and ask permission to spend night at their multi-purpose building.
• Dinner at 19:10. Food were rice, seaweed soup and grilled mixture of sliced chorizo Bilbao, potatoes, carrots, vegetable pears and onions. Weather: Cool. Taps at 20:30.
• ESTIMATED KILOMETERS WALKED: 13.00

DAY 2 – January 30, 2016

• Wake-up at 06:00. Coffee then breakfast. Food are rice and mung bean soup. Breakfast at 07:00.
• Start of second day hike. Leave Bangkito at 08:45 for the market of Taguini. Pace: Slow. Weather: Sunny and warm.
• Stop by community of Anahawan at 10:00 to rest and rehydrate.
• Resume hike at 10:15. Pace: Slow. Weather: Sunny and very warm.
• Cross boundary into the village of Caurasan. Arrive at the community of Taguini at 11:50 to rest and rehydrate. Stop for noon break at the market square.
• Resume hike at 13:00 for the village of Caurasan. Pace: Slow to moderate. Weather: Sunny and very warm.
• Arrive at the village of Caurasan at 14:10 and do a courtesy call to a village official.
• Leave Caurasan for Carmen at 14:30 by motorcycles.
• Arrive Carmen at 15:15.
• Leave Carmen for Cebu City at 15:45 by public utility jitney.
• Arrive Cebu City at 16:30.
• ESTIMATED KILOMETERS WALKED: 4.52
• TOTAL KILOMETERS WALKED: 17.52

The Team officially have logged 17.52 kilometers of walking from Point A to Point B, basing upon the auto computation of Wikiloc, a web-based application which can either be manipulated by uploading GPS waypoints or by manual tracing of the route by a mouse but, I believed, we had logged more than that. We have, for a few times, been forced to backtrack when we believed that we were going the wrong way. We have scaled Mount Mago and unintentionally strayed into Bangkito, Tuburan on the first day and reached Caurasan on the second.

We each carried an average of 14+ kilos although we are observing light backpacking. Food and our sleeping equipment had used up much of our cargo space. The places where we pass by are still abundant of water but, despite that, there is a need to carry at least two liters of water. Along the route are many clear mountain streams which the locals still use for domestic purposes. Even if we were hampered by difficult terrain, we were able to shave off a day from its original three days.

We carried our knives openly as against the common notion that most outdoors club do on their members not to carry one. I have a custom-made AJF Gahum heavy-duty knife hanging by my side while Jonathan carried a smaller Seseblade Nessmuk knife. Aside from that, I have also the William Rodgers bushcraft knife, a Buck Classic 112 folder and a Victorinox SAK Trailmaster with me inside my bag. These may be extra weight but these are very essential. I also carried my fire kit, my survival kit and a Cignus V85 VHF radio.

On the other hand, folks see our presence on all of the places we passed as very unusual. They have not encountered or have seen hikers, outdoorsmen and urbanites with backpacks before and they viewed us with constant suspicion until you break the ice by giving them a genuine smile and a greeting. Ultimately a conversation begins, explaining your purpose, and would make them see a bit but they cannot comprehend of why we walk when riding motorcycles are more convenient.

The completion of Segment IV is but one step closer to my objective. The next routes would be very hard as the other already-finished segments nor would it ensure favorable conditions. Definitely, the next segments will not be a walk in the park and would demand more navigation savvy from the Exploration Team, which that responsibility rests squarely on me, as had been tested by this Segment IV-B. The CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT from hereon goes on a high swing of difficulty but the Team accepts that challenge by adapting to what it demands.

I have learned so much from the different segment hikes with different teams. This present Team is so flexible and very much prepared for the physical challenges at hand that it had given me great assurance that we can deliver the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT true to its schedule. Me and my Team had explored, walked and achieved 62.5 percent of the Project or a total of 229.41 kilometers and I am quite elated about this. The next 37.5 percent would be very demanding also but I and the rest of the Team are undaunted.

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