First Lagataw Canyoning Invitational

It begins!

And we made it!

This time, I brought along two trail runner friends (Angelo and Drahcir) and one non-outdoors guy (Yoshi) with me. Angelo doesn't know how to swim. And Yoshi lacked the dexterity and stamina for the outdoors. He even freaked out when some burs stuck onto his shirt. But I brought them along anyway. This is normally frowned upon by purists of responsible adventurism.

For me, one important attribute of a leader is your ability to instill trust among your team members. All I need from a team member is for him to trust me. When Angelo volunteered to join in spite of the knowledge that the journey would involve swimming and jumping off a waterfall, and the warning that a skilled canyoneering guide in Cebu lost his life last year with a life jacket on, I was confident that he trusted that I wouldn't let any harm happen to him.

Give me your trust and let me deal with the obstacles. I'm a very superstitious guy. I believe that a journey is likely not to be completed when there is doubt and other negative energies in the team. That's why I often travel alone.

I don't religiously observe safety standards. I push my limits. But I do know how to limit my push! I back off when the outdoors says so. In fact, I was very close to calling off the expedition because it rained all night the day before the trip. I never promise a destination or a goal to be achieved. But I always promise my team an opportunity to put in the best of ourselves. I tell them not to look for beauty. I let them see the beauty in everything that presents itself along the way. That way, no expedition becomes a failure!

I have to agree to what Yuji Hirayama said in his TEDx speech in 2009. It is good to rely on your physical attributes and capabilities rather than on good gear! And it is even better when you have a good partner. This, for me, is the essence of minimalism.

So, following the same principle, I didn't force myself to buy a new rope and a life jacket. I just made do with what the team already had. We IMPROVISED and we optimized our skills. And I got myself a team fit for the journey.

Before I let anyone jump off the waterfall, I had to 'rappel' down a slackline with an improvised life jacket to check the waterfall basin for undercurrent, rocks and safe depth

My Tingguian Tribe hammock strap was long enough to be looped into an improvised harness

My Tingguian Tribe hammock sack and my hydration pack make good buoys with the help of some inflated plastic bags

Drahcir unrigging the anchored slackline and Angelo preparing for his first waterfall jump

Last week my quest for the origin of the river was cut short by the impassable waterfall. This time, I reversed the journey travelling downstream from the spring where the river begins and we jumped off the previously impassable waterfall. We used the same exit that I used before and we ran uphill. After about 7 hours we were back where Drahcir and Angelo left their bicycles.

saying goodbye to the waterfall that cut my upstream jjourney last weekend

Drahcir and Angelo mesmerized by the spring waterfall where our downstream journey began

Angelo, whose battle cry after his first waterfall jump  was 'I love water!', now prefers the cascades to the trail

Next time, we're doing a full course canyoning expedition exiting at a waterfall resort about 10km downstream.

Exploring Canyons and Chasing Waterfalls

This could be my first canyoneering expedtition

Last Sunday, I saw where a river is born. That gave me the idea to follow where it leads. But the thing with travelling downstream is that it is not safe to jump off a waterfall along the way without knowing what's down there. So yesterday, I decided to travel upstream and set the birthplace as my destination.

The canyon

Taking only my hydration pack and a plastic bag to secure my stuff, I headed for the river. I ran downhill (on a dirt road) and after about 12 km, I went down a trail that leads to the river. The river is not rocky and turbulent so this first canyoneering expedition of mine was less dangerous for a solo traveler.  I was just disturbed by the silt and sand that would go into my shoes.

I had to constantly rid my shoes of silt and sand

I would normally feel scared because that was my first time to do such an activity but I was too busy enjoying the view and the too excited to do another kind of exploration. The only thing that would intermittently make me lose focus was the frequent appearance of the blue birds with red beaks...and once, a snake on the trail while I bypassed the first cascade. 

The first pool...slit a trail on the right side and encountered a snake

The views were great. Some parts reminded me of 127 Hours. And the river is not cluttered with packs of snacks and other debris.

The second pool. Rock scrambling on the left

The third pool that i could no longer bypass. I had to do some swimming

I had to bypass the deep pools a along the way I was avoiding swimming and risking getting my stuff  wet. But I could no longer find a way around the third pool so I had to swim. With a little rock scrambling I managed to get myself up the small waterfall. To my surprise, my hydration pack is actually waterproof! The plastic bag where I secured my stuff didn't even get wet. When I emerged, I saw the most majestic rock sculptures I have ever seen.

If you Photoshop the sight in your head, you'll see Ralston

Shortly after the third pool, I came across a taller waterfall which I could no longer bypass. I felt frustrated that I couldn't reach the birthplace. But the sight of the waterfall was more than enough consolation. That was the end of my journey for me. So after about two hours on the river, I had to call it a Sunday! Next time, I'm travelling downstream! I need one buddy who can swim and a rope! 

My journey ends at this fourth pool

Next time, we start at the birthplace!

Lagataw's Not Dead

Ten years of climbing doesn't mean there's no room for discovering new trails

When I climbed Mt Batulao last weekend, I had already come to terms with the reality that mountain climbing in the Philippines has become as clicheic as going to the beach.

But what happened today proved that the outdoors has not become fully saturated with weekend warriors altogether. Ten years of climbing doesn't mean I can no longer find a destination near Manila that is not crowded. I just had to activate that heart of a lagataw, who will just look at a faraway vista or a hill or a gorge and believe that I will find something that can make me stop running to relish the view. That's all a lagataw needs to take the first step in a journey to discovery.

This may not be as vast as Asik Asik Falls but equally charming nonetheless

Today, I found a trail that could give me at least 15 km of hill training. As an added bonus, I found the birthplace of a river. It may not be as grand as the Asik-Asik Falls but the fact that I could have the place all to myself for as long as I wanted makes the destination equally enchanting and much more worth visiting.

And a river is born!

LAGATAW'S Shoestring Travel Essentials

When traveling in the Philippines, you won’t have to ask questions if you do a RESEARCH of the destination before travelling. But if you are like me who randomly hops on a bus and gets off at some anonymous place, you may want to consider the following.

1. KNOW WHO TO ASK
A stranger is most often recognized by touts.  A SMART TRAVELER SHOULD ALSO KNOW HOW TO IDENTIFY A TOUT. A tout often throws in the first question. The tout will pace with you. Politely give him the cold shoulder by walking in a way that tells him either that somebody’s gonna pick you up or that you've been to the place ten times. Tinkering with your phone usually does the trick. But if you fear that your phone might be snatched, a smile will do.

Golden Rule when travelling to a charted destination: They don’t ask you QUESTIONS. You do. And you should know who to ask. Ask those who are busy doing what they do on their ordinary day. An old woman is usually my first pick for a source of information. In case no meek-looking person is available, don’t accept answers such as ‘Tara, sakay ka lang sa motor ko’ or ‘Sunod ka lang sa akin!’

When they ask you too many ‘Where are you going?’ and ‘What are you doing here?’ questions, your answer shouldn't be a derivative of ‘I am a splurging tourist’ or “I am a commie doing some covert operation”.

2. TRAVEL ON A FINE DAY

3. Bring a HAMMOCK or a SLEEPING BAG and a TARP. 

In case your unplanned destination doesn’t have available accommodation and either you are too shy to ask for one or the locals are not very welcoming, you can still have a good night’s sleep.

4. Put on some MUSIC and/or bring a BOOK. 
Most often they make better companions than your friends.

5. DON’T STARVE YOURSELF. 
Pineapple tidbits in an easy open can or in a foil pack is a convenient emergency food. It could be a snack or a meal complete with sugar and fluid.

6. Whatever happens, WATER MEANS LIFE!

7. DROPPING NAMES often helps.
You may get these names from the locals themselves. 

During my first visit in Mt Lanaya, the locals, who never saw strangers in their little sitio, kept asking me about the purpose of my visit.

(This conversation has been translated from Cebuano to Filipino)
‘Ano sadya mo dito?’

‘Check ko lang yung pinaaalagaang baka ng tita ko.’

‘Kanino pinaalagaan?’

‘Nakalimutan ko yung name e…pero siya yung may ari nung huling bahay bago umahon sa burol.’

‘A si Manong Danny’

‘Yownh! Kay Manong Danny!’

And that’s how my fictitious aunt story got the locals to ask me questions which they never expected would give me the essential information about their place. Yes, not only answers give information. When the next household asked me the same question, I only had to drop the name Manong Danny and I was allowed a peaceful passage. Oh, by the way, don’t be so naïve as to think Manong Danny is his real name. I don’t disclose that kind of information.


8. EVERY PLACE IS JUST AS GOOD AS YOUR TARGET DESTINATION. 

Never ‘overglorify’ your target destination. So never worry if you fail to get to your destination. Just appreciate the place where you got stranded. Very often, you fail to see the unique beauty of a particular place because you’re too busy expecting a picture of a specific destination.


9. NEVER GIVE A TIP! 

Don’t pay more than the standard price even if your reason is to return a stranger’s kindness. KINDNESS should be returned not in monetary form or gift. This will just start a culture of extortion among the locals. And take it from a Philosophy freak like me, GIVING is not really selfless. GIVING is one of the most selfish acts available to the vainest person.

10. Finally, DON'T ASK; DON'T TELL.

If you see a photo of a good place, don’t ask where it is. Just find another one. And if you find an undiscovered little paradise, post pictures but don’t tell people how to get there. Otherwise, it will cease to be a paradise in no time.

Jesus Was Born a Camper

Just like the manger where Jesus was born, a tent symbolizes humility and survival. It is a testimony that wherever we may be and however hard a condition we are subjected to, a true green camper will get by.

Camping is having fun outdoors. But we must not forget that camping also means surviving without a home and a toilet over a night or three.

Camping could mean a chance to go wild and dirty on a four-by-four. But very often, camping involves trekking that could require twenty-four hours and twenty-four hundred meters above sea level.

Camping could mean a chance to flirt with someone in a group of two hundred. But sometimes it could mean finding someone you could trust your life with because you are going into the wild with just two individuals or at times, just yourself.

Camping could mean your personal exhibit showcasing the top-of-the-line shoes from The North Face and the most expensive tent from Eureka. But camping could sometimes be as primeval as making fire out of twigs and cooking rice in a bamboo shaft.

So you can go ahead and tag your wicked boss in a photo shouting you survived Mt Halcon or you could put your survival skills to the test by actually quitting that job you have regularly bitched about on your wall.

It’s really totally up to you. You could think of camping as picking the best view for a selfie and the vainest of lines to caption it. Or you could consider it an opportunity to picture your real self. It is a chance to find out whether you may survive even if another Yolanda levels your house to rubbles.  It is a chance to experience letting go and having the least and a chance to find happiness in the midst of destitution. After all, life is all about definitions.

Camping is Living!

So, Merry Camping and a Happy Living!