Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Kudremukha Trek
Monday, May 3, 2010
A walk in the woods - Mudigere Forest trek
Monday, February 1, 2010
Ettina Bhuja trek
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Gokarna to Karki beach trek
Heading further south we climbed a small hillock to reach the Om beach which was at the other side. The top resembled more of meadows, with cattle grazing all over. Half way while descending the hill we happened to see the Om beach which was quiet outstanding. The natural formation of the Om shape was a rare sight to see. I had missed this beach the last time when I had trekked the other side of Gokarna cause of my leg injury. Crossing this beach took quite a while for us. At times we had to take off the shoes so that they don't get wet wherever small streams were flowing into the ocean. There was another Hillock at the end of this beach. The actual view of the Om was seen from here. Ascending slowly on a beaten path which is a common passage for the villagers, we happened to encounter cattle. This was at a place where the path was at the edge of the hill with a slope on one side which leads to the ocean. A small wrong move would just mean a dive into the ocean. Though a few of us were scared to take the step we managed to cross the hurdle.
Half moon beach was waiting for our arrival as we were the only souls on it. The roaring of the waves were only trying to match the speed of the wind. The weather was all cool and pleasant as the clouds refused to move away providing us a blanket of shelter throughout. The drizzle was an icing on the cake. It was just mild which still kept our clothes dry. Drona was very excited to get into the water but Srinivas used to pull him just at the right time. He kept him busy all day. Each of us were walking at our own pace, some looking at the sea, some fishing for some shells, some lost in talks and some totally lost in thoughts. Nevertheless none complained as none were in a hurry.Further up the coast line we made it to the next beach called as the Paradise beach. This was indeed a man's paradise. Just a perfect setting to have a small house on the beach side with a small private beach. You have the right company and your life is made. It was noon, so we decided to have lunch and then continue our march. We settled in a small coconut farm and started with our meals. The owner was delighted to host us and gave us tender coconuts which reenergized our otherwise tired bodies; of course at an exorbitant cost. Resting for a while we started moving out of the paradise to reach Belikan village. The rest of the journey was more or less the same with hillocks separating the beaches. The size of the beaches also varied from a few meters to a few kilometers. Kirubaile was a dead end for us. If we had to proceed further we had to hire a boat to cross Anganashini River. Looking out for a boat man in the village was tough.
Once they saw the urbanites, they quoted a very high price to take us to Barka beach. The actual journey on the boat was for 5 mins. But the preparation for it took more than an hour. We had to push the parked boat into the water which itself took quite a while. We too had to show our strength in pulling and pushing the boat along with the villagers. The boat man had agreed to drop us on an adjacent beach to Barka beach reasoning that it's dangerous to go there since the tides are high. We had to accept whatever offer he made and got into the boat finally. Once we were out in the sea we did realize that the boat man was right. The swaying of the boat testified the boatman's claim. Getting off the boat we bid adieu to the boatman and his associates. Our walk continued. This area has hardly seen the movement of people. I believe other than the trekkers, the localites hardly come here. The rocks and boulders on which we were to climb in order to move ahead were damp and slippery. Slow movements were made with care to avoid slipping. Another hillock stood in front of us. Finding a path took a while and once we did, we were glad to move. On top it was a beautiful meadow with lush green grass. It was too tempting to take a nap on the natural bed. Instead we settled to rest for a while. It wasn't surprising to see a Fort on top. Which king would afford to lose such a scenic beauty?
A while passed and it was time for us to reach Sangam beach. We had decided to camp here. To look out for an ideal place to camp took us a lot of time. We checked in a village if they would allow us to utilize the Government school premise to spend the night, but none gave us an optimistic response. A small discussion among the team gave a clear mandate that it's best to move out of the village and so we did walking further ahead. In one of the many coconut farms which run along the coast we decided to camp. There was a house adjacent to the farm. We sought there help for cooking and they offered us their kitchen itself which surprised us. A quick bath freshened us and then dinner was cooked. On the beach side, under the tall coconut trees amidst the darkness with dim light surrounding us, cool breeze along with the rattle of the waves, we had our dinner.
Day 2 started late as the breakfast took a while. The people at the house offered us breakfast. Hot idlis kept flowing into our plates as we hogged them. Unpitching the tents, we started our day 2 march around 8. The walk on the rest of the beach side gave the warm up required for ours legs to climb a small hillock. Once we descended we approached Magodu beach. This beach is ideal for a camp ground as there is a well and a stream. The beach did end again and as usual there was another hillock ahead of us. Most of these were slippery due to heavy moisture on its surface. Honnali village was the next landmark we crossed. It is located along a small beach side. Another hillock later we came across backwaters which again needed a boat to cross. But we decided to call in for our tempo traveler to transport us to the other side. We were dropped off on the other side and we continued our walk to Dhareshwar beach. This stretch is another long one; it took time for us to reach the huge hill on the other side.
En-route we found carcasses of many dolphins and the bones of a whale, the size of which we couldn't imagine. The kinds of bones which we saw were much taller than any of us! Dhareshwar hill was probably the highest in this stretch. It wasn't that difficult to climb it though. Descending was a little jittery cause of the slippery ground, the soil used to simply give away causing us to lose our step. Negotiating the descent, we dropped at Ramanagindi. Yet another hill was spotted a little ahead. By now our legs were all used to the multi terrain of sand, water, soil and hillocks. Getting this hillock was even more challenging as it was more slippery than the previous one. We could see Haldipura beach much before we got down. This too was almost the same size of Dhareshwar beach. It was a long walk of another 4 to 5 kms at the end of which was Karki village. Our transport was all ready and waiting for our arrival. We could see the vehicle at a distance and were about to reach when it started pouring. This time we weren't spared as we were all wet by the time we got into the vehicle. I was somewhat spared cause of my umbrella. This marked the completion of the beach trek.
Overall the pleasant weather made our trek very easy which otherwise would have been a tough terrain given the humidity with no shelter anywhere nearby.
More pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/sunilbabuvk/GokharnaHonnavarBeachTrek20090831#
Getting there: Buses head to Gokarna from Bangalore during nights. Its a one night journey.
Food will have to be carried along & carrying tents also would be a viable option
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sabarimalai
Getting there:
Nearest Airport – Kochi International Airport
Nearest railway station – Chenganur, from where plenty of buses take you to Pamba
2145 hrs – Kanyakumari Express departed from Bangalore city railway station on dot surprisingly at the scheduled time. A trust mainly set up by the Shopkeepers in the APMC Yard organizes a small pilgrimage to Sabarimalai every month where the temple of Lord Ayyappa is situated. My father and his friends had approached them if they could accommodate us in any month. They were more than eager and happily accepted our names. They charged us only for the transportation from BLR to Pamba and then back to BLR, most of it by train and the last leg by a bus. The food, accommodation was all a contribution from the donors. The train journey was to last for almost 17 hours as we had to get down in Kottayam where a bus would be awaiting for our arrival to take us to Pamba, the base of the Sabarimalai hill which is again 4 hours away by road. A long journey though but we had no reasons to complain. Thanks to the Trust who ensured that we were well taken care of.
The train had just left the station; we were being served with dinner which was relishing. A while later we all retired for the night only to be woken up in the morning by the locals who were bombarding our sleeper coaches though all our seats were reserved. They simply refused to listen and even the Travel Ticket Examiner(TTE) wasn't of much help. 4 or 5 of us were found sitting in the seats meant for 3. Sandwiches, tikki puris and others were served for breakfast which was partly filling. Surprisingly the pantry guys never came to sell any food throughout the journey.
The train reached Kottayam at 1200 hrs, which was late by 35 mins. though none of us complained. Immediately we were shifted to a bus which was waiting outside the station. The rest of the journey kicked off in no time. Almost 4 hours later we arrived at Pamba. The place gets its name from the river which flows across the small village. The Sabarimalai has no road access which is located on top of the hill. All pilgrims have to walk up a shabbily made path which leads you to the temple town. For the elderly and the people who cannot walk, a service called 'Dolly' is available. 4 men carry a person on a chair to the top and get them down as well for which they charge anywhere between Rs.1500/- to Rs.2000/-. I chose to walk bare foot which I felt was a grave mistake much later. Women aged between 10 to 50 aren't allowed in the temple.
The Pamba river needs to be crossed from where the path to Sabarimalai starts. Lord Ganesha's temple is located just at the start of the path where his blessings are sought by all the devotees. A few other temples of Goddess Parvathi, Lord Hanuman and others are all located next to each other. Once we were done with taking their blessings we kick started our walk up the hill. 7 of us, my father, his friends and I went along together. One of my uncle's chose to make use of the dolly. I was told that the path is very slushy and is slippery. Since I was walking barefoot I had to be extra careful from slipping. The information received was from the people who had walked this path several years ago. While we were walking we came across a few stairs in the beginning and then a patch of big pebbles which are arranged almost flat on the ground. A steep climb started from then on. The path was made out of concrete which had a rough surface with an intention that it doesn't slip while it rains as this place receives very heavy rainfall in a year.
Half way through we heard crackers being burst. I was wondering it could be used to chase the elephants away as this hill falls in the forest area. When I enquired, I was told that the devotees burst crackers and is part of a seva to the God. Each God and the place have their own tradition. Logically if seen, it is for the same reason as I mentioned before i.e., to chase the elephants away. The noise of these crackers is deafening and travels several miles due to the proximity of the forest area where the sound waves aren't obstructed. We came across the place where the crackers were being burst. From this place it's almost a normal walk almost the same distance which we climbed till now. The path almost flattens gradually. This patch gave me all the trouble as the slush which they were talking about was very much there. The work on concretizing the path was on the way which added to the misery of the devotees. As if that wasn't enough it started raining which only made things worse. Each step was carefully taken considering that I am not used to walking barefoot though I slipped many a times. In some time we were almost on top as we could see the temple town from the path. Once we reached there we quickly moved to the accommodation office to enquire about renting a room for a day which we were allotted. Since I am a frequenter to Tirumala, I expected the rooms to be on the same lines; which wasn't to our surprise. They were worse than godowns which resembled dark dungeons. The accommodation arranged by the organizers was chosen eventually which was much better.
The temple is open only for 5 days in a month other than the seasons during Mandal Pooja when its open for almost 40 days. Prior information about the temple being open would be useful if one decides to visit the place. Freshening up we decided to have a darshan of the God. As the June month is off-season, there was hardly any crowd. In less than 2 minutes we could have the Darshan of the Lord Ayyappa. It was my first visit and I was very much impressed looking at the beauty of the idol which has a gold covering. The temple which itself is very small has a gold plating through out including the roof which makes it look spectacular. There were many lamps which were placed one next to the other of various heights in an ascending order starting from the door till the idol of the God. Receiving his blessings we decided to go around the town which is relatively very small. In a few minutes we were done. 8 of us retired in a two bed room.
Early morning, before descending we went to the temple for darshan. The crowd was much bigger than what we witnessed the previous day. It almost took half an hour for us to have the first darshan. Once we were done with that we came around the Dwajastamb and had a second darshan. We did this several times as the Abhisheka of the Lord was happening with ghee(The idol is bathed with ghee every day during the Abhisheka). It was a sight to be watched which is difficult to witness otherwise. Once our souls were satisfied, we decided to descend. There are two paths which lead to the temple town from the half way through where they burst the crackers. We realized about it only when we finished the climb the day before as they merge at the entrance to the temple town. The path was completely concretized and had a roof. Hence we had decided to take this to descend. While we took this path which was much better than the slushy one through which we had climbed the day before, we realized that the concrete base was only for a few meters after which it was a usual foot trail walking on which was a terrible thing in barefoot. Cursing myself for having chosen this path I continued further until we reached the original path. I was much relieved once we were there as it was much easier to climb down.
The bus was waiting for our arrival. We started our return journey and reached Kottayam station where we waited for the train. It arrived on time at 1645 hrs which we boarded. We arrived in BLR the next day morning at 0700 hrs.
The overall journey was indeed very good. Thanks to the Trust who organized the pilgrimage to which we are indebted. It was the 213th pilgrimage for the Guruswamy who organizes every month. The experience itself does the talking.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tadiandamol trek
I logged into my orkut profile as usual, in the updates I happened to see some pictures with green pastures all around with mist engulfed. The curiosity made me get into Raghavendra's profile and check them. He had been to Tadiandamol a few days back. I was shocked and took some time to actually believe that these pictures were taken just days before. Its summer and seeing such green pastures is a rare sight. I immediately thought of making it to that place and gathered more info. I spoke to Vivek, Munielgappa sir and then to Raghavendra regarding the same. I checked with my usual trekking pals and some of whom who had shown interest in treks earlier. None of them could make it for various reasons. I am grateful to the gurukula team for coming along. Vivek was the only one who couldn't make it sadly.
The plan was to leave early morning by 0600 hrs but as always we got delayed for reasons best known to us and kicked off our journey an hour later in my truck. Mysore road was more than willing to welcome us with light traffic. Driving through the road was a pleasure indeed. The first pit stop was Maddur Coffee day as its my tradition to visit that place. Quick breakfast was had and then the journey was resumed. After Srirangapatna, there is a deviation which leads to Rangantittu bird sanctuary. This is a short route to Hunsur road which could be taken to avoid going all the way to Mysore and then deviating. 20 kms later we hit the 4 lane Hunsur road and a few minutes later we reached the town. A left turn after the bus stand leads to Irupu Falls and Nagarahole which we happened to take. This was a circuitous route to Gonikoppulu.
In Nagarahole range many deer were spotted on the roadside. Since it was noon time we couldn't see any other animal. The extra distance travelled was realized only when we reached Gonikoppulu. From there we headed to Virajpet and kakkabe. Nalaknad Palace is at the base of Tadiandamol peak. The peak is the highest at 1745 meters MSL. It was 1500 hrs and we kick started our trek from the palace itself. There is a tar road which leads upto Jungle Boot camp which is about 2 kms. We chose to walk that distance though the road was very steep. After the boot camp, a jeep track goes upwards for a distance of about 1.5kms up to the second stream. Mid-way we stopped to have lunch with the view of the never ending green hillocks. While we were about to resume our walk, I saw a black snake cross the jeep track. It was easily 6 to 7 feet long. When I described about it to my co-trekkers, they said it was a rat snake. An attempt to look for it turned futile as it got into the nearby bushes. Once the second stream was crossed, the track narrowed down to a foot trail which looked like a path taken very often. It was an easy walk to the open grasslands. A pointed hill stood ahead of us which we assumed to be the peak. Another group was camping at the base of that hill. Since it was pointed, we too chose to camp at the base. Sam and Shankar went up to have a look if there is a possibility to camp on top. Shoba too joined them. While they returned, they came along with some of the other trekkers who had camped nearby. Among them there was Uma Shankar, an avid trekker and a naturist who resides in Hebbal, BLR. A conversation with him was indeed interesting and educative.
It was cloudy and misty, so there could be a possibility of rain. 6 people in a 4 man tent was not a good idea. Thanks to Sam for getting it. Shankar, Sam and I decided to sleep out while Abhishek, Prarthana and Shoba were to sleep inside. It was cold though it was summer. All jackets were out. We hit the bed pretty early. Middle of the night I woke up cause it was very warm inside the sleeping bag. I just happened to touch the sleeping bag outside, it had dew deposited on it and was all wet but surprisingly it was warm inside.
Day 2 started a little late. By 8 we began to ascend. All bags were packed and the tent was removed by then. We had company that early in the morning. It's a frequented hill cause it can be climbed in a day. Prarthana hurt her knee unfortunately while climbing up. Some how she managed to come along with us. Every time I looked back while climbing my eyes were overwhelmed with joy looking at the remarkable hill ranges. The hillocks continued to fade till it reached the horizon. In an hour or so we were on top of the peak. Our hearts were exhilarated standing tall on the highest peak in the midst of the Coorg range. Having breakfast at this height was a nostalgic experience. It's a feel good factor when you know that you are on top of the highest peak (though only 1745 mtrs above MSL) in coorg. A good one hour was spent admiring the encompassing hill ranges. A trail of humans could be seen in the path which we took which extended as far as a kilometer. It wasn't a good sign and hence we began to descend.
Abhishek and Shankar literally were running down hill. Greeting other trekkers who were on their way up became a routine. All had one question to ask. "How long would it take to reach on top?". We did reply to them politely but then some faces were happy while the rest were somber hearing to the approximate time which they would require to reach on top. Where you find humans frequenting, there you would find their traces which is evident. How? Litter everywhere. Many plastic bottles, wrappers and covers were picked up. By 1200 hrs we were down at the palace.
The Nalaknad summer palace though small had its own beauty. The rooms were inter-linked like a maze, one after the other. The walls were all artistically painted with human figures, but sadly many of it was whitewashed. The roof was nothing less; it was decorated in length and breadth with beautiful carvings. A two storey palace had a Darbar in the second floor where the king used to have his meetings with the courtisans.
Time to leave. We headed straight to virajpet and then got into some other route to Mysore. We decided to turn back though we had covered close to 10 kms as the roads were very narrow. Gonikoppulu was the next stop where we had a relishing lunch. The return journey couldn't have been better if not for the rains which cooled down the weather completely and made it pleasant. Driving through heavy rain is something which I always crave for. Maddur Coffee day refreshed our tired souls as usual. Reaching BLR by night completed the weekend programme.
Getting there: Bangalore – Srirangapatna – Hunsur – Gonikoppulu – Virajpet – Kakkabe – Nalaknad Palace. Bus frequency from BLR to Virajpet is good enough, however from Virajpet to Nalaknad Palace the frequency is very low.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Night Navigation
Visiting Gurukula is a weekend routine for us since we were on training. Rock climbing, bouldering, navigation were some of the activities which we have been learning to improve our capabilities and techniques. It was just another week was my assumption and thought we would most probably be doing some climbing or bouldering. We were surprised when we were told by Munielgappa sir that we would be sent out for night navigation on that Saturday. A session explaining the ways to use the maps and the Silva compass was carried out by him in the evening. All of us did learn much of it and were about to put it to use very shortly. We had a quick dinner and were all eagerly waiting for the navigation.
We were split into two teams. Abhishek, Rupendra, Sam and Shoba were in one team; Pallavi, Prarthana, Shankar, Vivek and myself in another. "Target is a hill at 108 degrees 4 kms away from here" said Munielgappa sir. We noted as many landmarks he gave so that we didn't miss any. Shankar and I had missed our first night navigation almost 7 years ago; we didn't want to do the same again as well. Notes read: from Gurukula. 1. You will find a hill which has to be on the left side as we pass. 2. Cultivation fields. 3. Mud road. 4. Temple and a village which has to be on the right side. Elephant pit 5. Cross the ditch and get into the forest. Move along the valley of two hills. 6. Climb the hill in front of you. (From the elephant pit a distance of 2 kms need to be travelled). 7. Watch tower on the top of the hill is the target. If we fail to reach before the deadline of 0000 hrs a search light signal would be given at 0005 hrs and a second signal at 0030 hrs so that we could move in that direction.
With so many landmarks, we were under the impression that it would be a cake walk. We started our navigation with Vivek leading our team. The start time was 2030 hrs. We had to reach the target before 0000 hrs. The total distance to be covered was 4 kms. We thought we would be able to cover it in a very short time. Exiting the Gurukula campus we could see the hill right in front of us with the moon light. Our first landmark we crossed as said, keeping the hill to our left. The usage of torches was bare minimum because the moon light was bright enough. The second team was spotted just behind us after which we never met them again nor could we see their torch lights anywhere.
We came across lots of fields, crossing them was easy as there were no crops grown. At times we had to hop, but then most of it was a normal walk amidst the rubbles. A mud road was spotted next, the 3rd landmark. We continued to proceed in the same direction of 108 degrees. A good pace was maintained as the team moved swiftly without any issues. A little confusion emerged here as we saw a fencing of a farm. Crossing it was slightly challenging, so we decided to go around. A while later we could spot street lights on our right, the village which we were supposed to keep on our right. The temple also fell to our sight as we moved. We rested for a few minutes and hydrated ourselves. Just after the road we found the elephant pit and then on the Bannerugatta forest range began.
We stepped in one after the other and followed each other like ants at close proximity. Navigating across huge trees which themselves acted like natural fence around the forest was exciting. Two hills stood on either side of us which formed a silhouette in the darkness caused by the moon light. A deep valley in between the hills gave us an impression that it would be an avoidable challenge of maneuvering in the thorny bushes as this area is known for the same. A look around the place revealed a rocky surface on the hill right of us. Consensus was achieved to traverse along this rocky patch and get back to the end of the valley once we cross the hill. Heading further we walked along the side of the ridge on the rock which looked like a miniature of the monolith in Savanadurga. Once we were at the corner we were unable to locate the target hill anywhere nearby. A quick discussion was commenced and possible options were considered. Since we were to cover 2 kms in the jungle we decided to continue further ahead as we had just walked 500 mtrs. Tall trees stood as though they were staring at the intruders of their territory. We silently went past them to come across a mud road. Our minds were puzzled as our sir never referred to any road in the jungle. Discussions were happening as we walked in our direction. A range of hillocks were found right in front of us, which were faintly visible at a far off distance. Convincing ourselves that we hadn't covered enough distance and the hillocks visible in front could be our target we continued ahead.
Bending, crawling, duck walks and alike were the ways we had to adopt to move in the thick shrubs. The paths made by the wild boars and other animals were the ones which we had to use to move. None of us were spared the wrath of the thorny bushes though we had dressed adequately. It was quiet tough for us to save our faces from them as well. Torches were used extensively to find possible routes. Fire was spotted on one side of the hill which we assumed was our target. Forest fires had been very common this season so there was no reason for us to backtrack and hence moved forward. It was almost 2330 hrs by the time we reached the base of the hill and were wondering why we weren't able to spot the other team anywhere. Climbing up the hill we reached a rocky patch en-route. Our bodies were given some rest here for a while and then we decided to wait there for the search light signal which would be given by 0005 hrs. Even after 0010 hrs, no where could a search light be seen. Climbing up the hill was the only option to figure out if that was the target hill. In less than 10mins we were on top and to our surprise we found a watch tower. We were glad that we made it but then none were around! Sir had told us that he and Momili ma'am would be on top waiting for us!
Our minds contemplated in deciding if this was the target hill or if we had missed it. However we thought to rest till 1330 hrs and then head back to Gurukula. Carrying mobile phones was strictly prohibited so we were virtually cut off from the Gurukula, so the only way to find out if we were on target or not was to return and find out. In the meantime while we were resting we heard strange noises all around. A kind of a trumpeting noise was heard at frequent intervals which we believed to be of an elephant's and thought it could be taking a bath by splashing water from its trunk (it was learnt later that the noise was from lose metal sheets on top of the watch towers which were swaying because of heavy winds). It was time to leave. Returning in the same path as we came was not possible cause we ourselves didn't remember much of it though we had a vague idea as to which direction we were heading.
Maneuvering across the shrubs was an uphill task which was inevitable and unavoidable. Finally we were out of these shrubs and approached the open land. A mud road was visible meters away. All of us decided to take the mud road assuming that it would take us out of the jungle; it was our exhausted selves which were making the decisions instead. Blame it on the thorny bushes which we had to cross twice. As we walked we were able to recall the places which we crossed while going upwards. Almost a kilometer of walk later we saw the road passing adjacent to a hill. I told my team we should climb up and check if this could possibly be the target hill. Almost on top but it was flat and wide. I insisted on checking out for the tower but then the tired souls were reluctant and I too gave up. Back to the road and walk and walk was the only thing we did. A road barricade was seen which was unmanned crossing which we were out of the forest area. The road was no good. The gravel on the road was hurting our heels big time cause of the continuous walk. Suddenly we happened to see Gurukula's jeep. We all jumped with excitement. We could still see the hill which we had half climbed but decided to continue to Gurukula. Walking down the road we crossed many villages and finally came near the temple which we had crossed in the beginning. From this location we took the same route as we had taken to come here and then finally reached Gurukula at 0430 hrs. First thing we did was to make a call to them saying that we are back. Then we realized that we had overshot the target. After an hour they arrived too.
Post breakfast we had a de-briefing session in which we explained the route which we took to reach the wrong hill. Sir could make out how we had missed and where we had been and told us that we had overshot by 2 kms cause we didn't get into the valley in between the hills. Shankar and I looked at each other with dismay and each of us questioning the same thing "why did our night navigation go so bad?" The other team had reached the target well before time.
We have taken it as a challenge to make our next navigation a success, even if we have to continue till day break to reach the target.