This is a report of one of my hikes on Corregidor.
HIKE TO SEARCHLIGHT POINT
22 January 2005
It
was a refreshing walk from the Row House to the road to Battery Wheeler. With
my slow walk it took 40 minutes and I arrived at the path junction that leads
to the C1 Tunnel from the Battery Wheeler road.
On the way
up there at the SW corner of the open field of the Middleside ("Herring
Field") I found what could be the best preserved defense position of
riflemen. It still had intact rail ties laying across on top and the rusted
rims of vertical placed cans (about a foot in diameter) were sticking out of
the grounds on either end of the small position. It was located only about 10
feet ocean side of the road.
On the
slightly down tending path (it was a road once) to the C1 Tunnel one passes a
concrete wall at right at the beginning and a little further to the left is a
5ft by 5ft by 3ft high structure out of bricks (open on top) . This path is
frequently used and vegetation is not a problem. 5 minutes long, perhaps, is
the path.
At the end
of the path one slides down about 10 feet to the left and one is in front of
the C1 Tunnel entrance. 2 car size tires are laying just below the entrance
and signify that one is at the right place.
This
was also the starting point of the hike down to the bottom of Crockett Ravine
and to the beach.
Way back, I
used to hike in long military pants - and even bloused them over my military
boots, thinking about snakes. Also I'm thinking the NPA might not appreciate
too much military attire. As you know, I have been hiking constantly in NPA
country the last 10 years.
But I gave the
long pants up, I sweat too much and the pants get soaked and add to the
weight. Snakes usually take off before one gets near them, anyhow. This time I
saw only one near the Officer's Club.
Speaking of
sweating, when we went to the 1918 large shelter in the James Ravine just the
other day, and we had to squeeze thru a small opening I came out looking like
a pig because of my thru and thru wet sweated T-shirt. On the other hand Mr.
Romulo, the No 1 guy of CFI, was so clean ready to go to church; he hadn't
sweated a drop.
It is
steep going down Crockett Ravine but not dangerous steep, one zig zags at
times either for better footing, or to go around under brush or to aim for a
tree to hang on or for balance.
When one
starts going down there is immediately a ravine to the left that runs straight
down and is too slick to travel down in. It runs down perpendicular to the
main Crockett Ravine which basically runs on a east-west axis. If one drifts
to far to the right -south- one will get to the cliff. So these two landmarks
guide one down. One comes across what may have been roads but are now useless
because they just disappear because of landslides or super heavy vegetation.
When I
approached the bottom of the Crockett Ravine there seemed to be a wall of
underbrush, thin bamboo, vines, reeds etc. I was afraid not able to get thru.
But mercifully there was a path thru it; I'll call it the "Beaver Path". It
seemed to be cut by intruders and it was so low one had to crawl. It had 2
bends and was about 60 feet long.
When I
came down into the ravine, I couldn't believe it, but I hit the main culvert
of the South Shore road. It is a box-culvert (maybe 15 ft long) and it is
dislodged, it may have traveled downstream about 15 to 20 feet. I looked up
left and right to see anything that may have been a road and it all was to
much vegetation to penetrate.
Travel
downstream of the ravine was not difficult, I slipped a few times, got my
boots slightly wet and muddy. I came across two other concrete items and than
-hallelujah- the beach was reached.
Then off
to Searchlight Point, it's nothing but rocks all along the beach, there are
places one could move up the South-shore road, but that will be for an other
time.
About 200
yards from Searchlight Point there were two pieces of angled concrete, perhaps
from a concrete trench above. This was approximately where the other
searchlight position was, as per 1936 map, and about 100 feet east of Battery
Cushing.
About 50%
of the supporting ground under one of the Battery Cushing positions is gone
and it seems to be hanging unsupported and will come crashing down one of
these years. (If history is destroyed and no-one is there, does it make a
noise?)
At the
Searchlight Point, at the SW corner is a deep, waste deep break and I decide
not to get wet. Originally I had planed to go to Battery Monja. Now I know
that can be done and I will do it one of these times. From my last visit I
know one can walk around No-Name-Point without much trouble.
The South
Shore road on the east side can be reached several different ways at this
point but the easiest, closest and shortest way to get to the cut (saddle) was
near the point.
On top of
the cut it is mostly very heavy cogon grass and I proceeded first to the South
Shore Road. Where it crosses the point off to the east it is intact (don't
know for how long) and I didn't go that way. To the west it is buried due to a
landslide from above, I traveled only about 80 feet and into a banana tree
patch.
Then I
struggled back to the point, all the way, and found the air shaft of the
searchlight shelter. Soon after I found a way to the searchlight position and
found the shelter pretty much still intact. The first layer of rebar is
stripped completely, but the drainage system is still intact.
Just
remembered, right at the very end point is a narrow ravine all the way down,
and it may have another deep water break at the bottom, it may be even deeper
than the earlier one I'd seen. But that shall not stop me to get to Monja the
hard way.
The climb
down and back and on to Geary Point was uneventful.
It was a
little more difficult to get up on Geary Point, but not much.
About 100
feet this side or west of Geary Pt., just above the high water mark, was what
perhaps had been a concrete trench position. It is now destroyed and half of
it lays on the rocks and is mostly buried.
Geary has
an identical searchlight shelter, also it is at the very tip of the point.
From the top, one can clearly see the concrete trench position facing mainly
west, but I think it could cover both sides. The 1936 map shows another
trench position further to the tip and further down and facing east but I
didn't see it or looked for it.
Fishermen
were on the beach and it crossed my mind to ask them to take me back by boat.
But then I thought, "What kind of 'trooper is that?" The actual climb back up
with a lot of breaks for water and air took an hour. I even filled my bottles
with the running water from the ravine just in case should I run out. I carry
iodine tablets for that purpose.
Yup, of
course, then I marched back down to the Row House with a great feeling of
satisfaction.
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