Kim's Quest #21: Overnight Camping at Grassland, Pamutan, Cebu City

I'm back! 😂 After almost a week of absence, I don't know how to do this anymore. In my last life update, I said that I will probably be out for a week due to my grandmother's death and also due to my first major climb. I gave a sort of preview for my next post and this is the post that I was talking about.

Welcome to the 21st edition of Kim's Quest! This post is about our overnight camping at Pamutan, Cebu City. This is actually the first part where I will talk about the afternoon ~ early night trek until the campsite. The second part will be about watching the sunrise the next day.

We were actually preparing for a major climb, so we had to do a practice climb in full pack. It will be my first major climb and I would say that having a 10~15 kg of load on your back while scaling a continuous assault would be very difficult especially for first timers. In Cebu, the usual place to do practice climbs is Spartan Trail. You can actually read my experience in my previous blog.

The place looks familiar, right? That's because that's in Good Shepherd, Banawa - the usual starting point of Spartan Trail. The differences between this post and the previous one are: (1) we didn't follow the same route as in Monterrazas de Cebu, (2) it was my first time to do full pack trek, (3) it was also my first time to trek at night, and (4) I haven't been to Grassland.

I mentioned in my previous post about Spartan Trail that the first part of the trail may be closed soon as it passes by a high end subdivision. Sometimes the guards wouldn't let the hikers pass the area, so we didn't gamble and decided to take another route. Instead of passing by the ridge, we take the trail at the gorge below. The route still passes through the mango tree which is the mark that it will be downhill from there going to the river.

What I like in the new route is the city view. While the view from the original route is panoramic, the view from the pass is specific to one part of the city only. The two opposing ridges serve as a gateway towards the city.

The new route also provides a new kind of challenge. Because of the new developments in Monterrazas de Cebu, rocks and soil are being displaced. This became a steep part that should be conquered before reaching the mango tree.

From the mango tree, the same route is to be followed until Bagsakan in Barangay Pamutan. It was already dark when we reached the river so I didn't take any photos.

Upon reaching Bagsakan, the store was already closed. We decided to prepare our dinner there because we knew that it would be difficult to cook in the grassland due to the strong wind. After dinner, we immediately continued with the trek to the campsite.

It took about 25 to 30 minutes rolling trek before reaching the campsite. They call it "The Grassland" and everyone can see why. Upon reaching the campsite, we immediately piteched our tent since the wind is relentless and it became so chilly.

When everything's settled, my friends decided to have socials night while I set up my tripod for some night photography. Here are some of the photos I took:

What I loved about the campsite is that it offers a panoramic view of the city. Opposite to the city is mountain range in Bonbon and other mountain barangays of Cebu City and Talisay City.

I guess that's all for this post. Stay tuned for the second part. It will be about the view from the campsite as the sun rises.

Kim Ybañez

_{Welcome to Kim's small corner in the Steem blockchain. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines) and the rest of the world (it will just follow since he's still a poor, corporate slave with tons of bills to pay and two siblings to support in college).}