THE TRAILHAWK JOURNEYS: Sumilon Island Survival Training

MY COUNTRY, THE PHILIPPINES, is composed of many islands and it is in both the “ring of fire” and the “typhoon belt”. Our own eastern seaboard is facing the Pacific Ocean and is susceptible to rising sea water during climatic changes and during catastrophes, which could induce tidal waves and storm surges. The same with our western, southern and northern coastlines.

A strong earthquake from across the Pacific and from any direction would generate a tsunami, like in Southern Mindanao in 1977. A Category 5 cyclone, meanwhile, could overwhelm large coastal cities and communities typified by Typhoon Mike (Ruping) in 1990 and by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013. In fact, these same calamities have struck many years ago and memories of its magnitude cannot be appreciated anymore by this present generation.

Coastal and island communities found in between inland seas, bays and straits are also not safe anymore. Islands are now experiencing unprecedented great floods, frequent landslides and massive erosion which we could very well attribute to large-scale deforestation, unabated quarrying and strip mining. We also have a long history of man-made disasters, ship collisions and faulty maritime navigation and a world war which is still in our memories.

Let us talk about the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. Communities living along foreshore areas and to as far as 1,200 meters inland were swept away by gigantic storm surges with an untold destruction, the likes of which was never before seen nor felt in our lifetime.  Unbelief and shock were written on the faces of every survivor. For the first few days, there was no outside help nor contact. Communications and transportation infrastructures were severely damaged, further isolating surviving communities.

 

Food and water ran low after two days and survivors resort to pillaging stores and those they thought were stocking vital supplies to feed for their survival. Law and order broke down as the stench of the dead began to add to the desperate situation. Government control was totally absent and everyone, including the dead, were left to fend for themselves on the streets. Anarchy ruled as armed mobs appeared everywhere even infringing inside the sanctity of private homes.

It was a hopeless situation for all other survivors who lived in desperate moments day by day. Slowly, the national government with its limited resources brought stability to some of the affected areas. The situation became normal only after six months as international humanitarian organizations poured in billions of dollars worth of aid, food and housing to give solace and normalcy to the lives of the affected communities.

The post-typhoon mayhem on the eastern coasts of Leyte was unexpected. Filipinos are known for their tenacity and resiliency when it comes to coping with disasters and other life-threatening moments. In such situations, they would retrieve and utilize their primitive-living skills which they learned from the older generations. During those desperate moments, everyone acted like feral animals. Human decency and respect broke down.

People seemed to have lost their will to think and resorted on primeval instinct. This could have been avoided if they have listened to government exhortations to abandon their homes before the storm came. Casualties would have been mitigated or avoided. Productive skills like people relations, community mobilization and communal survival would have lurched positively from the aftermath of the deadliest storm of the century.

 

It is situations like these that spurred me to give up the privilege of owning a knowledge that had been bequeathed me by my first teacher – my grandfather – and share it to people, communities, organizations, government agencies and corporations. Even before these calamities came, I was already teaching people bushcraft and survival. I have taught just enough and then people realized that they have to go back to the basics.

This survival training is prepared and designed for use in a post-disaster scenario like storm surges and tsunamis, even consequences from a maritime accident. This course aims to develop the participants of the basics of survival in island and foreshore setting of sandy beaches, rocky shorelines, limited water resources and sparse vegetation, without disregarding the proper procedures that would ensure the chances of survival of an individual.

Preparation for any survival situation should be given premium by anybody, regardless if the individual is an experienced one or not. As much as we would like the serenity and aesthetic joy and the privacy of an island surrounded by an emerald sea, the fact is that islands present its own hazards coupled by unpredictable weather conditions which could spawn a calm sea into a roaring monster in just a few minutes.

I always emphasized that a person can be an island on his own contrary to the general idea. I would always encourage that every individual should be self-sufficient and could sustain his ability to survive alone when facing real survival situations. He should be able to fend for himself during the most trying times and, in the absence of equipment, compensate this with knowledge. Knowledge of survival skills enhances one’s standing in a group of survivors and, through his guidance, a community could arise from despair.

My training is designed for island visitors, backpackers, tourists, resort workers, residents and water sport enthusiasts and would complement experience, skill, safety and good common sense. Its main purpose is to educate and to give an idea about what to expect when faced with a situation of survival on an island and foreshore environment and, consequently, prepare a person for the worst conditions.

Bluewater Resorts, a Filipino company operating the world-renowned Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort in Lapulapu City, the Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort in Bohol and the Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort in Oslob, Cebu – all “green” resorts – took a good step forward by encouraging their resort officers and staff to actively participate in a three-day BASIC ISLAND SURVIVAL COURSE this writer had offered for May 23, 24 and 25, 2017 at Camp Bermejo of the Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort.

Camp Bermejo is named after Fr. Julian Bermejo, a Spanish priest who was the architect of the construction of a series of watchtowers in Southern Cebu that fended off Moro raids early in the 19th Century. One of these surviving towers is found on the eastern part of Sumilon Island. Its stone masonry withstood the test of time as well as a few hardwood buttresses. Gone is the wooden platform that would have supported the defenders and their instruments of warfare.

Beside the old Spanish structure is a round concrete tower that supported a navigation light. It is about 75 feet tall. It is not a lighthouse. Vegetation dominating the interior of the island is a forest of white leadtree (Local name: ipil-ipil), introduced many years ago as sanctuary for birds and to prevent erosion. Along the edges of the island are bare rocks and pocket forests of indigenous coastal hardwood varieties and mangroves.

A network of paths was established by Bluewater management to access the interior and Camp Bermejo and along the fringes to approach isolated beaches and hidden nooks. The campsite, the lecture area and the kitchen are located near the man-made structures of Camp Bermejo. Seven Bluewater staff attended this training, which is geared for traditional outdoor and casual setting.

Introduction to Survival was the first chapter of the first day, May 23, and it is where the survivor’s mindset were explained thoroughly, along with the hierarchy of needs and of survival nutrition. Next was Water Sanitation and Hydration which is very important since islands and foreshore areas always bore the brunt of abrupt changes of weather from uncomfortable warmth to lashing sea sprays and wind chills. These places rarely host natural springs and fresh water sources.

Knife Care and Safety came next after lunch and siesta; and the participants learned our country’s knife law, ethics, safety carry and use, sharpening and proper storage. Then they get to test their dexterity with a knife through the practical chapter of Survival Tool Making where they carved spoons and drinking jugs from bamboo. Lectures ended at dusk. Participants helped each other out to cook their dinner. The campfire became the social hub of the yarns and storytelling episode which ended at around nine.

Second day, May 24, was a test for the participants and also was the most exciting. They fasted that day. Their concentration were challenged by hunger, thirst, humidity, drowsiness, annoying insects and the warm sun. First part of the morning was the chapter on Notches. It was another practical session with a knife but aided this time by a batoning stick. Five different notches had to be carved from a stick with the last one needed to hold another object like a rock or metal.

After that, everybody relaxed to listen to the section on Foraging and Plant Identification. They were shown photos of harmful plants and samples of simple traps and snares. Then we proceed to Fire, Tinder and Campfire Safety. On this episode, the participants were taught how to identify and chose the best firewood and kindling, manufacture tinder and test their skills on the ferro rod and the flint and steel. Later, they witnessed how fire is made through the bow drill.

Last lecture for the day is Food Preservation and Cooking. Their appetite for food which were denied them became possible by cooking rice in improvised bamboo pots. When that done, they proceed with Nocturnal Hunting. They caught five big land crabs with bare hands and sticks. They now have food to pair with their rice. However, we decide to release the crabs and eat food provided by Bluewater Sumilon. They had proven their worth and the campfire was now more lively.

Third day, May 25, the participants packed their things and, once finished, they sat around and listened to the lecture on Customizing the 72-Hour Bag. Different kits and items are shown to them of what it looked like and how does one design it to the type of environment and activity one is engaged in. Then came Traditional Navigation. Floating on seas, constellations, the sun and moon matter very much. Last one for the day was Outdoors Common Sense. It talked about protection, safety, wildlife encounters and well-planned travels.

The day wrapped up with giveaways courtesy of Mr. Jose Neo of the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. A Seseblade Sinalung was raffled out and it went to a lucky Bluewater staff. This blogger is thankful for Mr. Erik Monsanto of Bluewater Resorts for making possible this training in a protected marine sanctuary of Sumilon. My thanks also goes out to Mr. Neo and Camp Red; and to my patrons whose names I carried and endorsed: Seseblades, Silangan Outdoor Equipment, KnifeMaker, Derek’s Classic Blade Exchange, Titay’s Liloan Rosquillos, Pacing’s House of Barbecue and Tingguian Tribe.

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NAPO TO BABAG TALES CXXIII: Bukal Outdoor Club Goes Survival

IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD INVESTMENT for an individual to sit, listen, watch and participate actively in outdoors training. Much more so if it is a survival class. That individual would know exactly what to do in an ugly situation. With people around him, his presence would be McGyver-like. Perhaps not. Unlike others who prioritized equipment and gear over training, knowledge does not get stolen nor get damaged. Its value does not depreciate because it is priceless. It becomes part of you.

A group investing in survival training is much better. Everybody knows what to do when SHTF comes. We know that no activity is perfect. No trip is seamless even if it is well planned. A number of trained people caught in dire straits would weather that out much better than on another group who have none or even with one. I would cast my fortunes on the former any time, any day and on any place. With a group, a member would complement another in clockwork precision.

MCAP and CLIMBER, legitimate outdoor organizations based in Luzon, had previously harnessed my know-how in preparing their members or participants in survival education. It improved the participants’ stock knowledge and raised their confidence and understanding a few notches higher. Same with PECOJON, an NGO composed of journalists I trained in bushcraft; emergency response units like the ones maintained by the Archdiocese of Capiz and the Municipality of Liloan, Cebu; and an Army reserve unit.

Here in Cebu, BUKAL OUTDOOR CLUB is the first outdoor recreations group to cross over that line which separates a club that values their members’ well-being and those that do so only during Christmas Day. It is a collective sacrifice. A group investment. But it shall reap dividends, not only for themselves, but also covers to those who are with them. They shall become more responsible campers, they would have more time to think and would appreciate better the dangers nature present.

BUKAL OUTDOOR CLUB have undergone my standard three-day Basic Wilderness Survival Course on the dates May 13, 14 and 15, 2017. I held it at Camp Xi, another mythical nook found within the foothills of the Babag Mountain Range, Cebu City. They brought their usual camping gear and were just by their normal selves. No fanfare like subjecting them to cosplay and act naked and unafraid. Nor did I let them crawl on dirt to eat raw bulbs dug from the earth.

The camp we used was the ones that I used for the Bushmasters’ Camp last April 28 and 29. The campsite is accessible but is not along a route frequently used by mainstream activities. A path less taken. The campsite is on a high ground, wide and grassy, below the tree line, near a small stream, a small waterfall, a small pond and a natural spring. It has bamboos and dry firewood. Perfect requirements of a bushcraft camp.

There were fourteen excited participants sitting before me on that first day (May 13). Joining me as my assistants are Dominic Sepe, Leomel Pino, Jonathaniel Apurado, Denzen Delima and Jenmar de Leon. They are all with the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild and have taken the Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp on different occasions between 2011 and 2017, except for Denzen who is a product of the Bonifacio Day Bushcraft Camp of 2015.

As usual, I always start the day on a light mood with my patented selfie with participants. In a few minutes, I got serious. Really serious. I explained the purpose of this basic seminar and how it will change their paradigms. It is meant to open the eyes of the participants on the real possibilities of these chain of events that would go beyond anybody’s control since the outdoors, the mountains, the weather and everything that is in nature, can never be controlled when things go wrong.

The first topic is about Introduction to Survival. During times of accidents and calamities, nobody has that ultimate answer when to survive such. A prepared mind would, at least, be blessed by chance. Surviving the initial impact is one half of it while ensuring your survival until help comes in is the other half of that. In between, the mind controls everything from the way you think and even to the release of adrenaline. Your brain is a supercomputer but, unfortunately, it could only process one thought at a time. 

When in a survival situation, your brain works double time and, in the process, use up huge amounts of body heat, water and oxygen and inadvertently release adrenaline for no apparent reason just like you would experience when getting lost or just plain hiking in darkness. It is best that you stop and sit still, relax and breathe deeply, then gather all your thoughts and rehydrate. You would need water and it is your first priority to keep your blood flowing so your brain would work properly.

In the Hierarchy of Needs and of Nutrition in a Survival Situation, water is tops on both. Why? Because we are in the tropics and the body is surrendering perspiration due to humidity and by your exertions. Along with that, goes our body heat also which you do not know. To sit still would minimize losing body fluids and keep it confined by setting up a shelter – if you still have one, or make one from scratch. This is the second need. The third would be food then warmth. Last is security which would complement well with all.

Our body has four hypothetical tanks that needs to be replenished during survival. First you have to rehydrate often so you could offset dehydration. Second is food that would give you nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins. Third is sugar converted by enzymes for your adrenaline rush. Fourth is fat, hardest to find in the tropics yet are wrapped as tissues in our body. Then you make sure your body is supplied with adequate oxygen. Keep those air passages free of obstacles. Then, by all means, you should practice personal hygiene during survival. It helps to have a healthy body and a healthy mind.

Topic for the next chapter is about Water Sanitation and Hydration. The first chapter had mentioned the importance of water during survival. Water could be sourced from natural springs, water seeps, man-made water holes, flowing streams, the atmosphere and from plants. It could be sanitized through boiling, by chemicals, exposure to heat, through filtration and by desalination. It is wise to cache water in your survival camp or just travel early and take advantage of shady places and breeze if you happen to have less.

The last topic for the day is Knife Care and Safety. I would like to change the perception about the knife and it is important that people relearn why our ancestors invented it, generally, to aid them in their daily activities and made their living better. The knife is a tool and should not be used to what it was not designed for like digging latrine holes and as pry bars. It is a vital piece of equipment that should be properly handled and cared for because it is your link to your surviving. In all the training I conducted, knife etiquette is learned first before people touch a knife.

Besides my rules, there is a knife law that forbids the display, even of concealed carrying, in public places unless you are in a lawful activity, which camping and hiking are. A knife should be in a sturdy sheath when travelling - for safety - and should be unsheathed when at home to keep it from rust. There are many kinds of knives and it is important that people know the parts, blade shapes, grind styles and the tang designs because, from those qualities, you would know how to achieve maximum work. People must also learn how to field sharpen a knife.

The participants troop to their shelters at 17:00 to proceed with their food preparations and to answer the call of nature. The campsite is located on a wide meadow and shielded by mango trees. Above us is the ridge and the trail. Over on the other side is the latrine facing another valley. Walking uphill a trail would lead you to a small stream where there is a natural spring. Most of the people visit this other side while I spent my free time, splitting firewood for tonight’s campfire. After dinner, everyone sit around the fire and the Campfire Yarns and Storytelling proceed as planned until 24:00.

The second day (May 14), the participants eat a full breakfast. After this they fast and are obligated to use all their attention and concentration listening and understanding the lectures. Denying them a meal for the rest of the day would, at least, make them feel of what is it like to be in a survival situation outdoors. They would feel the pangs of hunger but they could rehydrate as they wished. Humidity, drowsiness and crawling insects would torment them as they use all their power to remain alert.

First lecture is Customizing the Survival Kit. It is better that your survival kit should be made from scratch than bought commercially because a survival kit’s size and its components depends upon the type of the activity you are in to and the kind of environment you are going on to. Your personal touch on certain items are very important to you should it be needed. Redundancy is its best attribute especially fire-making tools, lighting gadgets, water-purification methods and cutting tools.

The components are the medical kit, the replenishment pouch, the repair kit and a back-up knife. It could all be integrated in one container or it could be separated from one another in their own containers. As much as possible, avoid clutter. In a survival situation, you could misp second lace things. Make it waterproofed, dust-proofed, insect-proofed and keep it away from direct heat.

Next is Cold Weather Survival. Since the outdoors is about mountains and high elevations, exposure to the elements are expected. There are five physical mechanisms that steal away body heat and there are ways to keep us constantly warm. Then comes Survival Tool Making and, after the lecture, they can use their knives. Tool making is essential in survival or even when not in that situation like a missing utensil or tent peg.

I showed them the most basic of tools like the digging stick, cordage from bamboo skin and coconut midribs, traps and snares from bamboo, and the batoning stick, which they would need when cutting up bamboos for their cooking pots and for their spoons and drinking jugs. I assign 4-5 participants each to three groups for this knife-dexterity exercise for better supervision.                                     

                      

This activity would run through the early afternoon, crossing over a one-hour siesta break, where another topic, Traditional Navigation, begins. This technique was perfected by our ancestors and uses the natural terrain, shadows and the sky fixtures for travel; avoiding obstacles and highly-exposed areas that cause possible hypothermia; and knowing signs on trails made by animals and by humans. This chapter also talks about how to effectively use visual and audio signals.

Last for the day is Foraging and Plant Identification. During survival, you would need to gather food and non-food items. Food could be meat and proteins which would only be sourced from animals and insects. Catching animals would be very tricky and you would have to make use of traps and snares. Food can also be sourced from edible plants. It is fundamental that you know these because it is everywhere. It is also important that you know the harmful ones. Showed them photos of stingy, thorny and poisonous plants.

The participants, exhausted by hunger and by the long and warm day, are released from sitting for long hours and proceed to the business of cooking rice in the improvised bamboo pots they made during the tool making session which employ the Trailhawk System of cooking. Their dinner would materialize after the fruits of their Nocturnal Hunting which would be done on the small stream I mentioned ago.

All the participants and camp staff, including me, use this moment to tidy up at the small stream where there is a small waterfall and a pond upstream after two days without bath. They were able to forage fresh-water crabs and a few tree snails and it becomes their dinner. They also cook food from their supply and add it to the late feast. The campfire becomes alive again and another session of Campfire Yarns and Storytelling which goes past midnight.

The last day (May 15) start early. The discussion also start ahead of time and it is about Firecraft. This is the most expected part. You cannot make a fire if one or all elements are not present, namely: fuel, heat and air. Lately, they added a fourth element – chemical reaction. Fire-making is 80% common sense, 10% skill and 10% perspiration. We are talking about the friction methods. Your fire, done with any method, can start if you can acquire and identify the right tinder, if you are in a dry place, and if you have the patience.

Aside from friction, there is the conventional or modern method which are matchsticks, lighters, ferro rods and the flint and steel. Then there is solar magnification which can be done with any magnifying lens, reading glasses, water and even ice. Then you have pressurized air, exemplified by the fire piston. I proceed in demonstrating the flint and steel, which I paired with charclothe, and the ferro rod, which the participants tried and successfully produced ember and flame. 

I showed them how to make charclothe and how to make a tinder bundle, popularly known as the “bird’s nest”. Then I demoed how the bow drill method is made and spun.  Unfortunately, I could only make thick smoke as sawdust embers refused to light up my tinder. I let others try the bowdrill. I showed them another friction method using bamboos.  Just like my bowdrill, only burnt smoke emitted. The humid conditions might have something to do with that. Staff and participants tried their hands on these primitive gadgets but all to no avail but they now gained an idea how it is made and worked.

The last discussion topic is Outdoors Common Sense.  This is the latest topic that I added and it is but excerpts from my yet unpublished book, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT. It covers trail ethics, travel and campsite, using the time-tested principles of Blend, Adapt and Improvise. It also talks about wildlife and farm animal encounters and how to react in such situations. That sums up this three-day outdoors course which I first introduced in Luzon last 2013 and is now one of the cornerstones of my training programs.

Giving of certificates follow and the imparting of giveaway items courtesy of Seseblades and Jhurds Neo of Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild. Brunch gets served at 10:00 and after breaking up of shelters, it is time to leave the campsite. We will take another route, crossing Sarapia Creek and following a less-trodden trail to Mapawon Peak and Katugasan Peak and going down to a road where a signboard says we are now in Kalunasan. A wait of an hour for motorcycles brought us all to Guadalupe.

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PINOYAPACHE MEETS THE GREATEST PINOY MOUNTAINEER

REGIE PABLO JOINED ME today, March 18, 2017, inside a Toyota Corolla driven by Jay Z Jorge. We would all be going to Antipolo City. The Climbers League for Ideal Mountaineering and Balanced Environmental Responsiveness, or simply known as CLIMBER, will be opening the 18th Batch of their Basic Mountaineering Course in Basekamp, a private camping facility.

I stayed the whole day yesterday in the residence of Jay Z in Navotas City and I am fully rested after a week of travel, work and outdoors recreation. A wholesome dinner at Pacing’s House of Barbecue settled my equilibrium to near normal levels. My participation in the CLIMBER BMC would just be in a cameo role of bed spacer and freeloader. Jay Z must have erred in inviting me.

Sitting all to himself at the back is Regie, the renowned Filipino mountaineer and Mt. Everest summitter. It is indeed an honor to meet and share a ride with him inside the Toyota. This unassuming man made possible the Philippine dream of putting the first Filipino on Everest, with which honor belonged to Leo Oracion, who planted the national colors at 8848 meters in May 2006. It could have been him, though.

 

Unknown to many, he was the wellspring of that idea when he made known his intention of climbing Everest in 2001, after acquiring the funds, the equipment and the sponsors through his own industry and connections to sustain his expedition. He was set to claiming that honor when he was talked and prevailed upon by the local mountaineering community to involve the whole nation. So it became known as the Philippine Everest Expedition Team.

On that year in 2006, the country achieved an unprecedented feat by placing two team members on top of the peak. He did not get that chance. He sacrificed everything for that moment but his never came. Worse, he was sent packing days before caused by internal politics of the expedition team. He nursed bitterness for relinquishing his opportunity in 2001 but he will prove one day that he can climb without a team with useless people and their personal motives.

His day came on May 16, 2007. He did the impossible. He climbed Qomulongma all by himself, by his own wits and, in the process, losing the endmost joint of a thumb to frostbite. But he survived the greatest ascent of his life and lived to tell his solo adventure. Quite a feat for someone who defied age and his critics. It was the greatest insult he could flaunt in their faces! I loved individuals who thrived in obscurity. Regie is a certified Badass!

 

I remembered featuring Regie Pablo and his Everest climb in my Multiply account back in 2007. I know only that his expedition was done on his own power, bequeathing his corporate job for that one chance which elicit my appreciation. I know now that he took the longer route, after a brush of betrayal and rejection. His ascent has more substance, more drama and more sacrifice than any other Filipino before him and he deserves that honor, in bold letters, as the Greatest Filipino Mountaineer.

We arrive at Basekamp and some of the CLIMBER training staff are already there. The participants are excited to be in a seminar that would educate them into responsible individuals. They would learn a lot, considering that CLIMBER is an advocate of excellent outdoors education anchored on the seven principles of the Leave No Trace. In fact, CLIMBER is one of only a very few local partners of LNT Center of Outdoor Education.

Jay Z introduced me to the participants as an “inspirational” speaker. I was caught unprepared for I was informed at the last minute. Maintaining my composure, I tried to be esteemed as possible infront of them. I appealed to the participants to be discerning and objective of joining in mass climbs and cheap bandwagon tours which tend to drain them physically and emotionally instead of gaining good impressions and memorable experiences.

However, DIY trips and organized tours by more responsible tour agencies are much better and yields you higher sense of adventures and better memories, provided you follow protocol, which you can only learn in seminars like the BMC. As my parting message, it would be nice to the environment and to the indigenous communities to keep these unvisited places all to yourselves and it would be better, as well, not to share it in social media sites.

 

Regie would talk about Introduction to High Altitude Mountaineering during the first part of the BMC. For that matter, he brought a big bag containing the learning aids vital to imparting his lecture to the participants. Real mountaineering starts at 4000 meters because air begins to thin and low temperatures starts to be a hindrance. These two, together with ice, avalanche and crevasse, would make progress painful and dangerous.

Altitude sickness, frostbite, exposure, pulmonary and cranial edema are the main illnesses that slows down expeditions and, almost always, it claim lives. Another difficulty in higher altitudes is the difficulty of doing body functions deemed normal at sea level like breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping, defecating and urinating. Because of that, the sport of mountaineering needs special clothing, safety equipment and high-end gear and a very complicated acclimatization process.

The bag is a treasure trove of items that have seen better days when Regie brought it in many of his mountaineering expeditions in New Zealand, China, Argentina, Kyrgyzstan, Alaska, India and Nepal, but his crowning glory in Mt. Everest made these items more valuable than ever. Each has its own story to unravel and are now collectible items. These items are a decade old now and still served its purpose as valuable aids in BMC education.

I was amazed at the number of tools and thought processes to accomplish an expedition in arctic and thin-air conditions. In cold weather, deprived of oxygene, your blood circulation becomes sluggish affecting your thoughts. Simple body movement takes an eternity to accomplish. It takes years of experience to get used to these harsh conditions and an equally harsh environment. It takes also a deep pocket to make a summit timed on the most favorable time of the year.

 

It is cheap if you were born and have lived there all your life like the Sherpas but astronomically expensive when you are organizing an independent expedition on your own. Lately, commercial adventure tour agencies organize climbs in the Himalayas region and the price has diminished so much by leaps and bounds and, because of that, summitting Everest or any of the fourteen 8000-meter peaks are now possible for everyone.

The Philippine Everest Expedition Team took this very economical course and their contracted tour agency took care of everything from climb permits, lodging houses, additional equipment, oxygen, food, transportation, yaks and a small army of Sherpas to pave the way for them. It would have been much cheaper still if they start from the Buddhist Kingdom of Free Tibet but it is much safe in Nepal with all these professionals.

Regie successfully climbed Mt. Everest after cultivating friendships and connections with Nepalese tour operators and guides. He is a likeable fellow, humble and simple, but he has drive which could move mountains like his plans in 2001 where a number of people woke up from their stupors and inspired a nation. Denied his chance in 2006, which was originally his expedition, he came back and proved his detractors wrong. He won the last battle after a painful retreat.

His name in Philippine mountaineering history is already ensured and his way was the stuff of legends. Regie is an asset to any organization which could positively harness his intellect, skills, experiences and insights and CLIMBER is just fortunate to have worked together with him in educating people. CLIMBER guarantees the education of BMC participants only from the people who are the best in their fields, which followed thereafter.

 

The afternoon of the first day is dedicated to Land Navigation which is handled by Ronald Fabon and, after dinner, Basic Life Support by Christopher Jazmin. During the breaks, I set up my Silangan 2nd-Gen Hammock and an Apexus sheet at the back of the lecture hall and chased short naps. While witnessing the BMC, I get to meet again Ven Ap of Ven Going Places’ Stories Blog who had featured me many times and who have helped me with sponsorship for my Thruhike last January.

The next day, March 19, is a whole morning of Ropesmanship and Knot Tying by Marc Gana. The afternoon is dedicated for Wilderness First Aid by Chad Angelo Torres and Leave No Trace Principles by LNT Master Educator Erick Suliguin. After dinner, guest resource speaker Jeremiah Dayto talked about Prepping. Jay Z capped the final day with Introduction to Wilderness Survival and Khai Fredeluces explaining the appearance and contents of a survival kit.

It was another worthwhile weekend that I spent, this time, with my friends in CLIMBER. Some of these guys have even sat in my different bushcraft and survival classes like Jay Z (PIBC 2012, BWSC 2013), Marc (MCAPBC 2012), Jeremiah (PIBC 2016), Chad (BWSC 2016), Khai (BWSC 2016) and CLIMBER top honcho Bong Magana (MCAPBC 2012). These guys know what they are doing and, as I have mentioned earlier, they are the best in their fields.

Notable mentioning is Erick, a product of CLIMBER’s earliest BMC batch, who went on to pursue advanced learning in LNT at its US headquarters and came back to inject CLIMBER into a very credible outdoors learning institution. From him, I now own a Condor Bushlore, a Browning folding knife and a NOLS patch. It was a very fruitful weekend and my overall 14-day in visit in Luzon, which brought me to Baguio and Zambales, culminated in meeting Regie Pablo, a Filipino mountaineer nonpareil.

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MAN-SIZED HIKE XXIV: Lake Lanao to Bulalaqui Point

IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE CALLED a man-sized hike for it is just a little over seven kilometers in length. The route could not even cross municipal boundaries and is only confined in the Municipality of Daanbantayan. It starts from Lake Lanao going to Maya and up to Cebu’s northernmost tip, Bulalaqui Point. A mere dayhike. This is the same route that was denied me and my Exploration Team last August 20, 2016 during the Segment VII Exploration Hike.

Today – November 3, 2016 – I aim to finish the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT. I am alone. I hope I will not be denied again. I timed this hike when everyone comes back home to Metro Cebu after spending All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day in municipal cemeteries and where I have all the bus to myself. Well, not quite, but I do have an almost empty bus to ride in and it feels better when you have rows of empty seats and silence for company.

It had rained in Cebu City for days, including the whole night, and the forecast for today is not that encouraging. It was raining when the bus left the Cebu North Bus Terminal and it was still raining when the bus stopped at Carmen. As we went far north, the rain seemed to slow down and gone completely in Medellin. The skies are dark gray and quite grave for comfort. I just hope it stays that way for the rest of the day!

I arrive at the bus terminal of Daanbantayan and proceed immediately to the police station to make a courtesy call. Everyone knew me from last time and that is an advantage. But I did make a letter to their superior, the Provincial Police Director, days before so I would not be inconvenienced today. The local police are very accommodating and seemed to know that I am coming. Very good.

From the town, I hired a motorcycle and the driver whisked me to Lanao, the village named after their Lake Lanao, a lake that most people outside Daanbantayan never knew existed. I have known it when I saw an old map and found a hole in northern Cebu. But you will be disappointed. It is better that people not know this existed for you will find no lake. It had been converted into a big rice paddy.

I arrive at Lanao and made a courtesy call to their village head. There was no atmosphere of fear and anxiety when I arrived unlike the first time. The old lady was apologetic about my past troubles. They were just instructed by the mayor to be on the lookout of strangers and suspicious persons. Yup, we fit the description right and we have the name of the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL PROJECT on our jersey uniforms announcing our suspicious presence.

Anyway, after scribbling my name and purpose in their visitor’s log, I went on my way. I followed a dirt road. I see part of the lake on my left and low hills on my right. If I were to choose where I would want to walk, I would opt for the hills. It just happens that I am a stranger here and so I confine my activity on the road for the safety of residents. My presence still invite suspicions even if I have properly checked in with the authorities.

After an hour, I took my chance on a trail when I find that the dirt road starts to be paved in concrete. The brief respite led me to the national highway. I am now in the village of Tapilon and, sooner, I would be in Maya. This road would lead to the Port of Maya, the gateway to Malapascua Island. On my left are small roads. I am curious of where it led to and I have locals who were just as happy to help me.

I found a backroad that led to a nice beach which might be a good place to celebrate after a hikethru. I marked it as Sandoval Beach because a local says so. I still need to walk more so I would know more of the places that I am ignorant of. An arrow on a road sign says Malapascua. I got perplexed. I do not know that there is another wharf. I followed the arrow so I could satisfy my curiosity. It was not difficult to find and I am at a dock under construction.

Looming beside it is a part of the cliff leading to Bulalaqui Point! Questions begot me answers and I am now following a trail which led to a small community of Damba and the same trail veered left to higher ground. A local herder guided me to the flat ridge and showed me the way to Cebu’s northernmost tip. My adrenaline rose at the prospect of finally ending a quest that have had its first steps taken more than five years ago from Lutopan, Toledo City.

The trail led to more higher ground and I stopped at a high location to propagate a VHF signal to a repeater found 136 kilometers away on the Babag Mountain Range of Cebu City. As I opened the Yaesu FT270R portable radio, the frequency was instantly besieged by worthless radio traffic that I have had no time to send an important milestone that would have benefited Ham Radio Cebu and any emergency responder for that matter.

Disappointed, I proceed to Bulalaqui Point. Ahead is a thick forest of pygmy trees and bush. There are trails going left and right but, right now, I just want to be at the tip of Cebu. The tip would be marked by a slice of rock that had fell on the sea eons ago which you could see if you happen to be on a boat bound for or coming from Manila. I followed a very scant trail under a low canopy of foliage.

Then I heard a loud explosion! Showers of water can be heard afterward indicating that the explosives were placed on the sea. Dynamite fishing! I peeked carefully among the foliage and saw a small boat with four people on it. I do not want to be discovered and I do not want also to slip off the cliff. Then another explosion and water spraying back to the sea. Then voices of people as a small boat engine comes alive.

The illegal activity is irrelevant to my activity today. I do not want to derail the CEBU HIGHLANDS TRAIL because I am too nosy. It is not my problem. Let the authorities solve it themselves. Just below me is the rock itself. I am now on Cebu’s “finisterre” or “fin de tierra” or the end of land. I am at Bulalaqui Point! I unfurled the tarpaulin banner and tied it to branches. I would begin a simple celebration to mark a capping off ceremony.

I retrieved my Swiss Army emergency stove from my Lifeguard USA rucksack and begun the process of making a small fire in it with broken-off twigs and crushed dry leaves. I will boil water in a cup and stir instant coffee. When coffee’s ready, I eat a simple meal of two pieces red pie. This is my breakfast and lunch and coffee is great during a windy day with overcast skies.

I took the pebble that I collected at Liloan Point, Santander last August 23, 2016, already labeled and dated, and sealed inside a small plastic and placed it in between a small tree that has two trunks. It shall stay there temporarily until a permanent holder can be acquired housing soon handcarried souvenirs from Cebu’s southern end. As they say, it is a happy ending. Not really. It is just the start of a new trend of adventure tourism. The explosions are an added bonus celebrating the culmination of a pilgrimage.

Now I ask you: Would you consider this as a man-sized hike?

Document done in LibreOffice 5.2 Writer