Mountaineers Haven in Misamis Occidental

Lake Duminagat

Lake Duminagat is a crater lake located in Mt. Malindang Natural Park , which is one of the Protected Areas in the Philippines . Two communities are adjacent to it – Barangay LakeDuminagat, of which it is a part, and Barangay Gandawan, which are both included in the municipality of Don Victoriano , province of Misamis Occidental . The municipality of Don Victoriano is wholly circumscribed by the Park. The Park represents the flora and fauna of the Zamboanga biogeographic zone.

Lake Duminagat holds a central place in the spirit life of the Subanon people, who look on the lake as sacred and a source of healing water. The Subanon is an indigenous people group who had lived in parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula , starting from pre-Hispanic times, one group of which have lived in the Mt. Malindang area. Although the Subanons had their own traditional customs and practices, they had become enculturated by the influence of Visayan and western cultures, brought about by Visayan settlers/businessmen and mass media.

The residents considered the lake as the dwelling place of spirits and did not encourage fishing in the lake. It was not only the Subanons but outsiders who considered the lake as source of healing water and to have the capacity to wash away sins. The occurrence of many visitors to the lake, especially during the Holy Week, attested to that belief. It was not only for this purpose that people troop to the lake but for recreation.

Lake Duminagat was a small lake, with an area of 8.04 ha, maximum depth of 20.95 m, water volume of 933,000 cu m, mean depth of 11.6 m, shoreline length of 1,060 m, and shoreline development of 1.054. The lake supported a high diversity of indigenous shoreline fauna and flora.

Although the area had an attractive cool climate because of its high elevation (from 1240 to 1560 meters above sea level), it was beset by heavy rains, bad roads, leeches, lack of food, difficult livelihood, lack of electricity, and lack of the finer amenities of life. The major source of income of the community in the area was gardening, a livelihood that cannot sufficiently meet the people’s basic needs.

This is emailed to me by my fellow mountaineer and maybe also just forwarded to him. Anyway, thanks to pare Jeric for the email.

Other Elements to Consider in Pre-trip planning

* Weather
* Terrain
* Regulations/restrictions
* Private land boundaries
* Average hiking speed of group n anticipated food consumption (leftovers create waste which leaves a trace!)
* Group size (does it meet regulations, trip purpose and Leave No Trace criteria?)


Meal Planning

Meals are another element to trip planning that can have a profound effect on the impact a group has on a backcountry area.

Benefits of Good Meal Planning:

* Reduced trash.
* Reduced pack weight, resulting in faster hiking times and less fatigue.
* Reduced dependence upon campfires for cooking.

Leave no Trace Principle no. 1 & 2

Plan Ahead and Prepare

Adequate trip planning and preparation helps backcountry travelers accomplish trip goals safely and enjoyably, while simultaneously minimizing damage to the land.

* Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
* Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
* Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
* Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
* Repackage food to minimize waste.
* Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.


Pre-Trip Planning

Poor planning often results in miserable campers and damage to natural and cultural resources. Rangers often tell stories of campers they have encountered who, because of poor planning and unexpected conditions, degrade backcountry resources and put themselves at risk.

Why is Trip Planning Important?

You may want to create additional answers for this list:

* It helps ensure the safety of groups and individuals.
* It prepares you to Leave No Trace and minimizes resource damage.
* It contributes to accomplishing trip goals safely and enjoyably.
* It increases self-confidence and opportunities for learning more about nature.

Seven Elements to Consider When Planning a Trip

1. Identify and record the goals (expectations) of your trip.
2. Identify the skill and ability of trip participants.
3. Select destinations that match your goals, skills, and abilities.
4. Gain knowledge of the area you plan to visit from land managers, maps, and literature.
5. Choose equipment and clothing for comfort, safety, and Leave No Trace qualities.
6. Plan trip activities to match your goals, skills, and abilities.
7. Evaluate your trip upon return note changes you will make next time.

Source: www.lnt.org

Misamis Oriental Lasang Adventure Park

Hi fellow lovers of the outdoors. There's a new destination here in this part of the country. It is located around 40 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro City.

MISAMIS Oriental’s Lasang Treetops and Boardwalk eco-tourism project is set to be opened to the public after its soft-opening on August 12, 2009.

The provincial government-initiated project inside the 1,300.78-hectare Initao National Park shall be known simply as Lasang. It would be because travelers could easily remember the place, passing through the national highway in Initao and Libertad towns, since the area is thickly-forested. Lasang is the Cebuano term for forest.

Specifically, the 50.58-hectare Lasang project covers portions of Initao’s barangay Tubigan and Libertad’s barangay Gimanlayan, on the left side if one is headed to the west and opposite to the so-called Initao-Libertad Protected Landscape and Seascape on the right.

Lasang’s entrance is just beside the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Tourism consultant Dorothy Jean Pabayo, who heads the Lasang Task Force, said that the construction of the P3-million Lasang project of the provincial government of Misamis Oriental started last year, with the assistance of the DENR.

“Today, the zip-line is already in place. There are now five hanging bridges, aside from the 100-meter board and 80-foot spiral staircase,” said Pabayo.
She said the structures that have been constructed make it possible for visitors to explore and experience the “inner sanctum” of Lasang which is predominantly characterized by century-old and naturally-grown trees.

Wildlife enforcement officer Eddie Macasusi said that aside from the forests, there have been sightings of tarsiers since 1987 and there could be about 20 of them in the area. Tarsier is considered as the world’s smallest monkey. Ordinarily, one could not see tarsiers during the day since they are nocturnal.

“What we usually see are the long-tail macaque monkeys and there are hundreds of them here,” Macasusi said.

Aside from tarsiers and monkeys, Lasang has been the home of many endangered animals and these include monitor lizards (palao), seal-fin lizards (ibid), flying lemurs (kagwang), and chicken-like dark-brown fowls known as megapodes (kahael).

Right at the entrance of Lasang, playful Rosalinda (female monkey) could greet visitors with her friendly body languages.

Among the rare birds that thrive in Lasang include imperial pigeons (bawod), native doves (alimokon), emerald doves (manatad), and serpent eagles. There are three serpent eagles, all males, two of them were released in 2007 and another one last year.

“Certainly, the lush vegetation, the animals, birds and insects are attractions by themselves. But it takes more than that now since we have already put in place the structures and amenities for visitors in the area,” the province’s tourism guru stressed.

http://www.misamisoriental.ph/

The Leave no Trace Principles

The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Be Considerate of Others
3. Respect Farm Animals and Wildlife
4. Travel and Camp on Durable Ground
5. Leave What You Find
6. Dispose of Waste Properly
7. Minimise the Effects of Fire

Here in the Philippines, there is what we call Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) for those aspiring to be a responsible mountaineer or outdoor enthusiast.

P.S. The seven Principles of Leave no Trace will be explained in my next blogs - so keep coming.

What is "Leave no Trace" ?

Leave No Trace is promoting responsible use of our countryside. Others call it an Outdoor Ethics Programme designed to promote and inspire responsible outdoor recreation through education, research, and partnerships. An ethic can be defined as knowing what the right thing to do is, and doing it, even if there is no one about to see you do it. Leave No Trace depends more on attitude and awareness than on rules and regulations.

Why Leave No Trace?

As increasing numbers of people seek the beauty and exhilaration of outdoor recreation, our collective mark on the environment and its natural processes, increases. Litter, disturbance to vegetation, water pollution, wildlife, livestock and other people are all indicators of the need to develop a national ethic that protects both natural and cultural heritage. Techniques designed to minimize the social and environmental impacts to these areas are incorporated into the Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics Education Programme as seven principles.

The highest mountains on the seven continents

The mountaineers ultimate dream of course is to climb the local, if not the country's or the worlds highest peaks. Here's the trivia of the Seven Highest Mountains on the Seven continents.

1. Kilimanjaro (Africa) - 5895 m
2. Denali (North America) - 6194 m
3. Elbrus (Europe) - 5642 m
4. Aconcagua (South America) - 6962 m
5. Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania) - 4884 m
6. Vinson - (Antarctica) - 4897 m
7. Everest (Asia) - 8850 m

From here, you can see that the Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Mount Everest – also called Sagarmāthā, Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Zhumulangma Zhūmùlǎngmǎ – is the highest point on the Earth's crust, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit, 8,848 metres (29,029 ft).

The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.