Casaroro Roars!

CEBU, Philippines - Some would miss the old trail to Casaroro. It was more challenging, and reaching the Casaroro basin would earn for one the bragging rights. I remember a post from a friend in high school: “Nindot gyod to sa una, (you) hold on to vines and big tree roots. Then you slip a little, tumble a little, here and there. Unlike today…”

Yes, unlike today, Casaroro then was free of those concrete pathways and steel stairs and hanging bridge and the viewing deck that didn’t last that long. Unlike today, it was not accessible to everyone. It was more for the adventurer – not merely picnickers who leave behind trash and the impact of their noise to plants. Today, it carries a diminished level of difficulty and challenge.

But whether it’s already in its “concrete state” or still with a muddy path, it was not the big deal to me. I made a side trip to Casaroro two years ago because it was there, I believe, that my pack’s dreams to summit Mt. Talinis would take shape.

I was supposed to arrange for a Valentine Climb to Talinis for my group of six trekkers. Four middle-aged men I met in Dumaguete City advised me to come to Casaroro and look for veteran porters to Talinis – Junior and Daloydoy. The two were working on the view deck structure when I came. At lunchtime, I shared a meal with them – a mix of rice and corn grits and “inun-unang bulinaw” placed in shiny coconut shells.

“How much would it take to ferry my things to Talinis,” I inquired – the slosh of that frothy water from single-veiled Casaroro cascaded to score the conversation and with that gentle breeze easing a humid post-noon.

I heard P1,500. No, I was given the chance to haggle.

“Would you take P1,000? I’m no big earner. Just big spender,” I tried to be comic. “No” was the answer. “Rate is fair.”

In observing my own pace, the climb would take three to four days if good weather permits. For backtrack, such entails a steep trail if rain prevails. “Or we can make it to Lakes Yagumyum and Nailig and then back to Casaroro,” Junior proposed in the lilting, sing-song tone of a Sibulanon. “No, I want a glimpse of the summit,” I retorted with dogged determination.

“P1,500 then plus (Vino) Kulafu and cigarettes. Kapoy baya’ng Apolong Trail.”

I understand. Apolong Trail is of “medium difficulty.” But to the porter’s rate, my entrails protested. “No way, we’re not climbing to party or to pollute the air,” I said.

“Just for us to (be able to) relax. P1,500 for two people on alternate. Summit, then exit at Dauin (two towns away from Dumaguete).”

Agreed. I got bombarded with text messages afterwards. But after a few exchanges, I failed to return. I had a date with the stork. Furthermore, my pack has pursued the next best thing to mountaineering. One works in New Zealand, two in Canada. Still another is with the Balangay Expedition in a record attempt to trace the balanghai route in Southeast Asia with the Diwata ng Lahi team. And one tries to amass a fortune with his stint in the forwarding industry. After giving birth, and rearing my now two-year-old son, what am I supposed to do for the rest of my life? Just work and babysit?

Recently, I went back to Valencia in Negros Oriental and passed again at Casaroro. I still want Mt. Talinis, badly! The universe must have conspired this time because I discovered a different road. One that Romy Garduce took when he was with the UP Mountaineers in 1996.

The trail considers the degree of difficulty for plain “tourist trekkers” over enticing the more seasoned climbers. I must admit my spirit is still very much willing; however the birthing process has taken its toll on my body. I am never that strong again for a journey as such. I have sagged, bent, wrinkled and crinkled. I have blood pressure to manage, a diet to watch; I’m plump, overweight; and my lungs get busted easily by changes in the altimeter.

Here are the challenges posed: “In all trails, the area acclivity can reach up to 80 to 90 degrees. This makes it very difficult to climb the trails and very dangerous on the way down. People become prone to leg cramps and heat exhaustion. Area soils often become loose, crumbly, and rocky and very muddy when wet. The nature of the area’s soils makes the trails and pathways very slippery, offering little traction. Trekkers are required to be extremely careful when hiking alongside ravines/cliffs or descending.”

“Although one encounters dense forest cover along the major parts of the trails, some areas lack forest cover and are dominated mainly by cogon grass which increases the possibility of snakes in the area.”

“Also, thorny ferns and poison ivy grow abundant along the trails. Trekkers should be careful lest they become itchy and irritable during the rest of the climb. And warned against limatik or alimatok (leech) and other wildlife like wild cats (civet cats) and wild boars in the area.”

Nevertheless, I still have Bidyao Route – my last option to quench a lust for lakes Nailig and Yagumyom and of course, the zenith of Mt. Talinis. I must take it or forever wonder what’s the view from up there – 5,900 feet above sea level - where heaven is just an inch away. And worse, regret not seeing an impression of a lifetime that the peak could create on me.

“We can take Bidyao,” tourist guardian Jason Albert Señagan of the Negros Oriental Tourism Office advised. “You can come with my Czech friend and you be his guest,” he said.

Some would certainly miss the old trail to Casaroro, the same way I do. It was more challenging, and reaching the Casaroro basin would earn one the bragging rights of being a certified nature freak. There, the hiss of the 70-foot Casaroro drop continues to score the echo of Junior’s and Daloydoy’s voices: “P1,500. Take it or leave it.” ?