AN ambitious expedition that aims to put the Philippines alongside countries which offer adventurous trails and traverses will kick off on Holy Thursday.
Called the Cordillera Great Traverse (CGT) Philippines, event founder lawyer Jonnifer Lacanlale said the event—which will cover six provinces—could be the longest trail expedition in the country extending more than 300 kilometers.
“This will be a historical event. We started in May 2014 with online inquiries from the running community and now we agreed to do this project to establish a scenic, longest and sustainable trail in the country,” Lacanlale said during the media launch of the event at the 100 Miles Café in Bonifacio Global City recently.
Lacanlale said a 30-man team was formed for the expedition which they expect to finish on April 15. The idea sprouted from the experiences of the some of the expedition members who were able to traverse famous trails in the world like the Appalachian Trail in the United States, the 250-km Great North Walk in Australia, the 220-km Drakensberg in South Africa and the 180-km Gran Recorrido in Corsica, Europe.
Thumbie Remigio, a member of the 30-man team who also heads the reconnaissance group, said 70 percent of the trail is already accessible to the public but the remaining 30 percent has yet to be discovered.
“Sobrang dami ng trails sa Cordillera. Walking has been the people’s way of moving around, and despite the presence of transportation, mas marami pa ring locals ang gustong maglakad and those trails are still existing,” Remigio said.
JP Alipio, a mountaineer, environmentalist and founder of the Cordillera Conservation and Trust Inc., said that an important component of the CGT expedition is to help protect the environment and, at the same time, provide opportunities for the locals. “We want this [expedition] to be environment-friendly and, at the same time, make it sustainable especially for the locals. And that is one of the drives of the CGT,” Alipio said.
Alipio added that countries with famous trails have produced a “trekking economy” where the locals benefited from this kind of exploration either acting as guides or porters for the tourists.