NAPO TO BABAG TALES XXV: Freewalking Alone

I STARED AT THE far expanse of the metropolis and all its neighboring islands as I stood on the ridge of the Babag Mountain Range. It's just another regular Sunday for me hiking alone on the trails. It is September 6, 2009 and this is my twenty-fifth session here. Oh, I just arrived yesterday from Iloilo, crossing two bodies of water – the Guimaras and Tañon straits – and a whole day of travelling by bus over the great Panay plateau, the Negros central highlands and the Naga-Uling Road.

I should have rested this day but I have not. I have begun to develop a craving for Mt. Babag and I would miss her trails even for just one weekend. My self-imposed commitment to attain stamina have not wavered one bit. The trails in Sapangdaku and Kalunasan and, to a greater extent, the so-called Freedom Trail from Tisa over Toong and Baksan, is a perfect avenue for that.

And you may wonder why all my mountaineering-related activities are confined within the Babag Mountain Range? FYI, Guadalupe, from where I start my walk, is only two jitney rides away from home at Php6.50 a ride and that translate to only twenty-six pesos back and forth. Yes, a mere Php26.00 for the price of exercising your hobby to the max. Just a set of loose change in your pocket that you are ready to happily part with. A great bargain!

I am not a creature of comfort though and walking on the same trail doesn't matter to me either as long as it is realistic and attainable for my small budget alloted for leisure and exercise. I do not yearn anymore a once-a-month activity in faraway exotic places that doesn't sit well in my running a household in these difficult times. What I do need is a very good alternative that is conveniently located where I could repeat the process over and over and over...

Anyway, the weather is perfect for today. I did start at eight and found myself a small eatery in between Guadalupe and Napo and the lady cook there sold her food and rice at a much much cheaper price than what I paid for in the eateries of Guadalupe. I ate with gusto at the well-cooked meal and, after paying, I continued on my journey to Napo. Really, it is a cloudy morning and the breeze breathed in my face and hair. It is so refreshing even as I sweat.

I am alone today. I set my normal pace and, here I am, running in short bursts up a trail once my trail boots kissed the dirt trails. I am not here for a leisure walk but on a year-long intense training. I ran downhill when I could and shaved a little time. Long lines of “small people¹” crossed the trails and I carefully placed my steps not to disturb them. I carried a training load of about ten kilos and forbid myself a drink save at the spring, at Manwel Roble's place and on Babag Ridge during my lunch.

The best time to drink would be at Manwel's place. Not water in my bottle but water from young coconuts. Manwel's father prepared four opened coconuts and I helped myself with three. Afterwards, five hikers arrived and I shared the last of the coconut to them. Then we parted ways at 10:30 AM. They took the Babag East Ridge Pass while I went to the very steep Ernie's Trail.

Ernie's Trail is thick with vegetation today and it had not been used since June 21, 2009 - the day when I last passed by there. Otherwise, the trail is in good condition and I sweat hard trying to climb on all fours or keeping myself on balance with the heavy load on my back. The cool breeze soothed my body well and my hawk feathers on my head danced. The bamboo groves creaked and swayed as its leaves exulted at the rubbing they got from the wind

I arrived at Babag Ridge at 11:15 AM, just five meters behind the five hikers who went on an easier route. We took lunch together on a small store offering a good view of Metro Cebu. After the meal, I stood and looked at Metro Cebu at a high vantage. Then I took a rest and slept for thirty minutes and then went on my way back to Napo via Kahugan Trail.

It would have been a perfect day for me except along the trail where a hillside have been cleared of madre de cacao trees that have have grown thick. Tree limbs were cut into pieces ready to become another batch of commercial charcoal. I couldn't understand why low-level village authorities like barangay captains remained blind to these activities. I couldn't even understand the Environment and Natural Resources department so inutile in enforcing national laws. I left dismayed and nurtured a growing contempt for these lazy bureaucrats.

Again, as I have done months before, I ran in Kahugan. I put to good use my anger here. Kahugan is devoid of people after noontime. The trail is wide and winding along the river on a rolling terrain that is perfect for a good downhill run. I let gravity dictate my pace and my quick reflexes evaded obstacles and tight bends and I sweat so hard even as my hawk feathers trailed after me. My backpack moved from side to side but I tightened the locks placing the weight closer to my body. I moved in long strides until I reached the river.

I panted but I felt good and I took a deserving drink from a spring and then went on my way for Napo. I relaxed my pace knowing I burned a lot of calories walking and climbing the whole morning and running for a full 3-4 minutes in the afternoon gulping clean air and enjoying the sights. You couldn't experience these kind running inside an oval track or sweating on a treadmill machine inside of a sweat gym. My track and gym is the outdoors and it is FREE!

I reached Napo at two then I took a relaxing walk down the road for Guadalupe. The sun still refused to show his face and the wind have been following me ever since morning. It took me just less than thirty minutes to reach Guadalupe and that surprised me even as I was just on a “slow” walk. Hiking and climbing on a very cool Sunday and delivering a plastic bag full of bread to a poor family is an exceptional combination that is both good for your body and your spirit. I just did.

Happy FREEWALKING Day...

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1Black ants.

NAPO TO BABAG TALES XXI: The Trailhawk

MOUNT BABAG IS ALWAYS there and I have no excuses why I shouldn't go there. It's only 752 meters above sea level and eleven kilometers away from downtown Cebu City if you draw a straight line. It's just a pygmy if you consider it against other Philippine mountains and a molehill if you have Mount Everest in mind. Nevertheless, it is MY mountain and you would find me and others tackling her trails there every weekend.

I am of the opinion that there is no mountain, even though how high, that cannot be overcome as long as you have the heart and the commitment to propel yourself up there. It is of my opinion also, that you cannot be an instant climber without having to go the rigors of basic hard training in a gradual phase and the discipline to withstand the monotony of the same trail. Be that and you will not be injured.

I am of the opinion too that Mount Babag has all the elements and challenges that you may need when you are on another mountain trail. You will find pure mountain trails here on its rolling terrain. Some of it are steep and slippery, some are too narrow and deceptive. There are rocky terrain, loamy soil, talus and scree slopes plus pocket forests of endemic and second-growth trees and ancient mangoes. Yes, lots and lots of mangoes. You may walk or carry yourself here on all fours or run.

By the way, Mt. Babag has a perfect downhill trail for running in Kahugan and it is for that reason where, on May 24, 2009, I decided to take a solo hike up in Babag upon knowing that Boy Toledo and Ernie Salomon are in the south in Osmeña Peak. It will save me the trouble of watching over them. I will run in Kahugan today without them. Oh, freedom...and silence! They're hard to come by these days.

After attending a Holy Mass at the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu, I immediately went outside to buy fifty pesos worth of bread for Manwel Roble and his family. I bought also another set of bread for a street urchin sleeping on a wooden bench. My heart always bleed to see children who have less in life. I am a different kind of outdoorsman, mind you. I will give even sacrificing my shoe-string budget to accommodate charity.

From an eatery I bought a meal for lunch and packed this inside my plastic containers. My backpack is heavy. I carried an 11-mm thick 17-meter long dynamic rope inside the bag as my training load. At 7:30 AM I left Guadalupe for Napo and arrived there at 8:10 AM and five minutes later I was off crossing the Sapangdaku River. I arrived at another river crossing at nine and filled my water bottle from a nearby spring.

Refreshed, I continued on my way passing by an upland community and arrived at Manwel's house at ten. Delivering my present of bread to Manwel I rested for a while and savored the cool breeze and the view overlooking Metro Cebu. Later, four guys arrived and rested at the bamboo benches and I held conversation with them. They brought chocolates and some snacks for Manwel and his brood.

Instantly, they recognized me through my blog and were familiar with my advocacy. They have become regulars on these trails and have availed of Manwel's guiding services. I'm glad that my blog post about Manwel have rubbed off on other people. We capped our pleasant meeting with fresh young coconuts that Manwel and his mother have gathered. Ohhh, I've never tasted such coconut water in its most perfect state until now. They were so so so sweet! Wow!

At eleven, I bade them farewell and proceeded on my own to Babag by way of Ernie's Trail. The vegetation have become so thick it covered much of the trail. Without a trained eye you would find yourself losing your way. I have no trouble following the trail as I am very familiar with it; but what I'm worried of is that there might be some reptile curling along the trail beneath those vegetations, especially a Philippine cobra, which is very common in this area, that you might accidentally step upon.

Conserving my strength with just an easy pace, I tackled Ernie's Trail step by step, rock upon rock, stepping over dead branches and slippery boulders. During the most steep and slippery stretches I tried and practiced my old unorthodox foot placements which I have perfected on so on many different occasions in the early '90s with which technique have lain idle for so many years, particularly during my “warrior pilgrimage” years, that is from 1997 to 2005. With aching knees, I am still agile to do those old stuffs.

I arrived at the ridge at 12:15 noon and proceeded to pass by the highest shoulder of Mt. Babag that is not fenced and walked a couple of a hundred meters down a dirt road to a store overlooking the city and took my lunch there. After a while, the four guys whom I just left moments ago, came together with Manwel. They hired Manwel to guide them on another route – the Babag East Ridge Pass. They took time with me and ate their packed lunch at the store.

Over music of a local FM station, my digestive system began its work as I took a short nap. At exactly 1:00 PM, I bade them farewell again. I backtracked and went down for Napo via the Kahugan Trail with Manwel while they went the other way going the easy Babag Ridge Road towards Garahe in Upper Busay.

I began to walk and trot, hurrying down until I crossed a river. From the river I snaked myself amongst jackfruit, breadfruit and star apple trees that abound on this stretch of the trail and climbed a short uphill route traversing a ridge passing by the junction of the Babag East Ridge Pass where Manwel bade goodbye to me. Then I came upon a pocket forest of madre de cacao trees and there among its trail is a very deceptive route wherein loose talus rocks abound. I slowed down my pace when I heard the unmistakable melody of the black shama, locally known as siloy. Perched on a tendril of a thick bamboo thicket nearby another upland community is a juvenile siloy singing its song.

From there, I pushed on passing a trio of tamarind trees that marked the end of this difficult route. I reached the community chapel at 1:45 PM and, here, the trails of Kahugan widened; just wide enough for a solitary traveller running loose on the trail at break-neck freewheeling speed! As I took a little rest, I readied my camera and switched it to video mode, intending to record myself trail running and then have this moving image uploaded in my personal blog at Blogger and at the community website in Multiply.

It took me just three to four minutes to reach the next river crossing where a drinkable spring is located. After resting for a full two minutes I proceeded for Napo following the trail above the meandering Sapangdaku River. This time, I took an easy pace, intending to take time and savor the view the route afforded. I met many locals passing the other way and exchanged nods and greetings with them, at the same time, practicing trail courtesy.

I arrived at Napo at 2:45 PM and took just a very short rest before I proceeded for Guadalupe. The asphalt and concrete road at three in the afternoon were stifling hot and, at that angle of the sun, the shades from trees where not yet wide enough to cover the whole width of the street. Inconvenienced by that, I opted to compensate by protecting my feet and stepped only on soil, weeds and stones, usually found beside the street curbs. The temperatures here were ten degrees cooler than that on the pavement itself.

I walked on, never minding the heat and the numb on my left shoulder. My water is about gone but I never swallowed a drop. I am on training today; at least, my feet are alright. Finally, at 3:30 PM, I reached Guadalupe and took a rest at the parish grounds when Boy T called me on my phone just in time. I was awfully tired and, here he is, with his vehicle to ride on and a promise to douse my extreme thirst with ice-cold liquid, uh, like beer...and a lot of tales to talk about. Ernie joined company and made it sure that there will be many “tales to talk about”.

I have concluded yet another perfect Sunday in the mountain trails of Napo to Mt. Babag while Boy T and Ernie did also with their trip in southern Cebu. Yes, there were no stupid rules here and there and that made climbing mountains simple again.

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NAPO TO BABAG TALES XIII: Trail Running in Kahugan

IT HAD BEEN RAINING FOR three days and three nights and on the fourth day, today, February 15, 2009, which is a Sunday, left-over gray clouds from last night's were still on the horizon in the half-light of 5:00 AM as I waited for Boy Toledo near my home in M.J. Cuenco, Cebu City. Boy T's KIA Pride arrived minutes later and I hopped inside. Our destination - Guadalupe.

Again, as was last week, we heard a Holy Mass at the parish of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu at six. After an hour, we went to our usual meeting place at the back of the church to eat breakfast and to buy pork meat, seaweeds (guso), spices and other ingredients intending to prepare and cook all these for our lunch scheduled in Manwel Roble's place.

Aside those, I carried three kilos of rice in my day pack and added a kilo of uncooked sea shells and fifty-peso worth of bread making my pack bulky and heavy. Early morning fog were already enveloping the hills around Guadalupe but we were ready for any barrage of rain this day. In short, our training will proceed come rain or shine!

We waited an hour for Ernie Salomon and Sam Lim and of others but all failed to come so we started our warm-up walk, just the two of us, from Guadalupe to Napo at exactly eight. The air was cool and the sun finally showed up pushing away a rapidly disintegrating raincloud by its heat. Vapor and mist rose among the surrounding landscape creating a shield to protect our crown and shoulders from the rays of the sun.

We understood why the others did not make it today. Cebu was lashed by a typhoon for three straight days and they might have anticipated the storm would overstay its course. The city streets were flooded and the temperature dropped last night but Boy T and me were more resolute: we intend to use the weather disturbance and do our training at a higher level.

We expect slippery trails this day which we did by the time we crossed the first river crossing and took on the Napo Main Trail. We took it easy and met many local people getting snagged by the muddy terrain. We reached the second river crossing and stopped to rest while I filled my water bottle from a nearby spring. Overhead, I saw two tots peering over a window from afar and I signaled them to come down and get the pack of crackers I placed on a big boulder.

We left the place and we started ascending the Busan Trail and from a distance I saw a little girl retrieve her prize on top of the boulder and she smiled and waved a hand as soon as she saw me smiling and waving down at her. Reaching Sitio Busan I unloaded the rest of my crackers to the children and they were all smiles as they shared and munched their presents. Oh, I loved moments like these and that made me come back over and over again here.

Under a heavy load yet possessed now with a light heart, I run uphill in short bursts. I gasped for oxygen as I rested and waited for Boy T to come nearer and run again, then rest, then wait, and so on until we reached Manwel's place at 10:30 AM. Then we began to work our packs and unload our cargoes.

Boy T started working on the pork meat, the seaweeds, the spices and all in between with Manwel and his uncle as his assistants while I gave away the presents of bread to Manwel's siblings and the uncooked sea shells for their dinner. I also unpacked and brought out the rice I carried to be cooked in the earthen hearth of their humble abode.

As early as 11:20 AM, Boy T was to able finish the job of cooking all the pork in adobo fashion and his seaweeds were prepared steamed and washed in vinegar with thinly-sliced iba giving accent to the dish. It was superbly done! I didn't know that Boy T is such a good cook and he was in control of the area around the cooking fire despite a handicap.

Disregarding spoon, fork and cutting knife, we all ate with great relish the prepared lunch with our bare hands dabbing the adobo on the mixture of well-seasoned vinegar and seaweed juice. The rice, steaming hot, were cooked in a perfect state such as only wood fuel could carve. We all took turns reaching and filling our plates around the dining table where the meal were spread before us.

Afterwards, young coconut water flowed freely, courtesy of Manwel's father, and we washed away our food inside our tummies with the refreshing liquid. We scraped the soft white meat from the fruit and munched its sweet essence to our delight. We then took a nap on the long bamboo benches and rested for a full hour.

At exactly one in the afternoon, we bade goodbye to Manwel and his family and started for the ascent by way of Ernie's Trail, a hard and direct route to Mount Babag, whose 752 meter peak hosted an assortment of imposing steel towers of commercial telecommunication stations. We found the trail unexpectedly perfect and with just a few slippery spots. It was now thickly grown with vegetation underfoot due to the constant rains.

Somewhere along the steep trail I saw a yagumyum shrub common in the slopes of Cuernos de Negros growing here, of whose leaves we used to remove grease from plates and pans, and an edible land snail, locally known as karakol, traveling along an ancient mango branch. Amid a cacophony of bird sounds, I saw a brahminy kite hovering in the distance in its spiral flight.

After 45 minutes of huffing and puffing, we reached Mt. Babag and we walked another 300 meters on a dirt road and we rested at our favorite store overlooking the city. We each downed a bottle of San Miguel Beer Grande before turning back to Mt. Babag to start our descent for Napo at 3:30 PM on another route – the Kahugan Trail.

The last time we passed by here was on December 14, 2008 and the trail was still in good condition and excellent to travel. Half-running and half-braking, Boy T and I made a good pace and crossed the uppermost part of the Guadalupe-Sapangdaku River.

From there we followed the snaking trail among groves of caimito, jackfruit and breadfruit trees and climbed a short stretch of uphill slope that traverse a ridge before going down again to a forest of madre de cacao trees, then amongst an upland community. This stretch is partly scree slope and is slippery with or without a rain. A trio of tamarind trees marked the end of this stretch or the beginning whichever you may start at.

Pushing on we reached the community chapel at fifteen past three and took a quick rest there where the wide trails of Kahugan start after here, rolling and hilly, and a perfect area for trail running. I tried the trail and I coasted along in break-neck speed followed by Boy T. I slowed down along curvy and bending points, on difficult terrain or among grounds with protruding roots and loose debris. Rivulets of sweat flood down on my shirt from this exertion making it a mass of brine-soaked fabric. Likewise, Boy T.

It was an amazing 40 minutes of downhill travel to Napo from Babag Ridge which we could have taken two hours, at the most, by just walking but we could still slice down time travel if we could spend some more weeks here. We reached Guadalupe at 5:10 PM and Boy T made sure I make it home early he offered to be my chauffeur. We have concluded again another perfect day!

Happy free-walking day, my friends...

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