A walk in the woods - Mudigere Forest trek

I had been for a trek to Ettina Buja in January this year. While returning I noticed many routes leading to the interior of the forest. It was too tempting to shrug off. I enquired our guide who was accompanying us about the possibilities of getting into the forest. He did give a positive response and started explaining about the route and other features of the area. When he said we could walk along the stream for quite a distance; that caught my ears. I made up my mind to trek this route in the summer.

For a summer trek, it would be taxing if we climb the hilltops! Reasons: 1. Due to the extensive heat 2. Unavailability of water 3. The sun’s uninterrupted beam of rays. This stretch in the forest would avoid or minimize the problems listed above. It was ideal for a summer trek. Karthick agreed to go for the trek. I was more than glad as I was eagerly looking out for doing the trek. I was a little skeptical about him if he would be fine with just the two of us. His positive response only increased my urge to go for this trek.

We reached Gopu Gokhale’s house in Shishila on Saturday morning. We were the first ones to make it that day. He told me that a couple of teams were coming to head off to Ettina Buja and Amedikallu. I was shocked! I was wondering how they would manage climbing in this heat. Nevertheless it’s their choice, if one has the will to do, he can do anything. Our guide Chennappa arrived and the exchange of greetings and introductions were completed. We headed to Holegundi in a rickshaw. Once we alighted we started off with our trek to Mudigere forest.

The thick canopy of the trees in the forest saved our skin from the sun’s wrath. Usage of caps or umbrellas to protect ourselves from the heat wasn’t required. I was more than happy seeing the shade everywhere. Chennappa took us along the stream for a while and then we switched over to the foot trail. Throughout the way, our walk was along the stream while we might have deviated a max of 100 meters and not beyond that. Few minutes of walk was enough for the bodies to warm up and sweating was instant and profuse. Though we were spared the rage of the sun, the humidity took a toll on our body.

An hour or so of walking in the forest, we heard some movement to our left. The noise was drawing closer as the tempo augmented rapidly. All the three of us froze! I was only hoping that it wouldn’t be a repeat of the Brahmagiri episode where we had to run away from a herd of elephants. The sound of the movement drew even closer as we could hear it barely a few feet away. I noticed a black animal run past us. It took a while to register that it was a Samber which was running. Behind it were three dogs chasing. That was the reason for hearing so much movement. They were probably trained hunting dogs. Their moves gave all the indications for us to believe so. It just happened in seconds. The noise died down completely and then the picture ended so we moved ahead.

It had rained almost every day from over a week just before we went there. When it rains in the Western Ghats only one thing can happen and that is a surge in the leach population. I was wearing leach gaiters, which I should say were really very helpful. Not one was able to bite me on my legs but three or four managed to climb all the way till my neck and bit me there. Every cleaning session I had pulled out at least a hundred leaches on each leg. The number was unusually enormous. Chennappa gave the oil [mixture of coconut oil n tobacco powder] used to get rid of leaches to Karthick to apply it on his legs which saved him from the leach bites to some extent.

Criss-crossing the river from one side to the other was done several times. The water flowing in the stream was crystal clear. The taste of it was very sweet which you wouldn’t find otherwise.

Whoever said that trees stand tall must have said after visiting a similar forest. The trees were gigantic in size which is found in rarity. I was quite amazed looking at these trees. At times I had to outstretch my neck way beyond the usual to look at the tip of the tree. I was overwhelmed to see that such trees still stood tall and haven’t faced an axe! God Forbid! I wish and hope that these outlive their living capacity as these are the actual assets of our land.

We had walked almost a distance of around 14 kms*. It was 1600 hrs and we decided to call it a day. Chennappa found a place similar to a cave. A huge boulder standing on other boulders below it gave the required shelter from sun and rain. The only contention was, it was right next to the stream which wasn’t advisable. I gave a thought to it and was in a dilemma whether to camp next to the stream or to camp on a flat ground elsewhere. The thought of the leaches made me go for the former and we decided to camp in the cave.

Thick dark clouds formation started in a few minutes of us settling down. The clouds bore a signature of a heavy rain. We thought pitching the tent would be a better idea as we were exposed on three sides from where we could possibly get wet. Under the boulder we pitched the tent quickly while chennappa went to collect firewood. Around 1800 hrs what started as a drizzle continued to be a heavy rain. We couldn’t hear anything but the sound of the raindrops hitting the water in the stream and the ground. A while later the stream started swelling gradually. I didn’t like the rate at which it was going. We were just 5 feet away from the stream and it had already risen a feet high from what it was earlier. There were no signs of the rain stopping or reducing and the stream only maintained the pace of swelling. We were in such a position that we couldn’t move out to another location while it was raining. I only hoped that the rain would subside in a few minutes. But then, hopes don’t work always, do they? We had dinner while it continued to rain. At around 2100 hrs the stream was barely two feet away from us. Had it rained some more, it would have reached our tent for sure. By God’s grace, the rain subsided and eventually it stopped and so the swelling of the stream curtailed. It was indeed a sigh of relief. The rest of the night went uneventful.

On Day 2 we started our walk to return to Shishila. Chennappa enquired if we wanted to take the same route as yesterday or a different route which is a little shorter than the one which we took the previous day. We opted for the shorter route not because it was shorter in distance but we would get an opportunity to visit another part of the forest. The previous day’s route was mostly on foot trails but the return route was nowhere in similarity. In most of the places we had to make our own routes. We had to walk on steep slippery ground. You miss a step and you could be swimming in the water down the stream without any effort of diving. Our pace reduced drastically as we were ensuring our feet had a good grip saving ourselves the avoidable fall. Better care in placing the foot firm would ensure a good walk. After struggling at places to sneak in between the creepers, trees, plants and bushes we managed to link up with the original route taken the previous day.

On the way we spotted a vine snake which was in the middle of the path. Chennappa tried to touch it with a stick so that it moves away. This reacted violently unlike the vine snake I had seen almost two years ago. I presumed they weren’t that violent but my presumption was proved wrong. Once it showed an aggressive action we backed out and let it pass on its own giving it all the time in the world. None were willing to take chances though it was tiny in size. As it moved away from our way we continued to pursue our path to return.

We had plenty of time, so we took more number of breaks than required and rested very frequently while returning. The number of leaches probably doubled overnight as I could see many more than I had witnessed the previous day. I was so fed up in removing them that I chose to ignore and carry on. The return was much faster as usual and we reached the end of the forest within a few hours. We took an hour or two lesser than the time taken the previous day.

The experience of walking in the forest was very exciting. My satisfaction was way higher than what I was expecting. This stretch would be perfect for a summer trek. I hope I would make it for the next summer too or will have to look out for similar stretches elsewhere.

More Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/sunilbabuvk/MudigereForestTrek#

Getting there: Take a bus heading to Dharmasthala from Bangalore. Inform the driver to drop you off at Kokkada (16kms before Dharmasthala). There are rickshaws & jeeps which will take you to Shishila which is 15kms away. Else a bus comes around 7AM to Kokkada.

Gopu Gokhale’s contact no: 08251- 269246

Season – Post winter & summer –Between January to May

Ettina Bhuja trek

After ages i was so determined to go for a trek and somehow Ettina Bhuja was lingering in my mind. I spoke to Gopu Gokhale and checked with him if it was a season good enough for the trek. He gave an answer which i was eagerly looking for. My face lit up with joy! Initially it was supposed to be a team of 8 or so, but then due to various situations and circumstances many dropped out but for three. We still decided to go ahead. We boarded a bus heading to Dharmasthala but got down 15 kms before at Kokkada. Hiring a rickshaw we reached Gokhale's house. Freshening up and post breakfast we got into a rickshaw to go to the last road head at Holegundi. I was very surprised looking at the freshly laid roads and couldn’t recognise much of the area though I had been here a year and half ago.

Autowallah showed us the way to approach a stream which we had to cross to get onto the trail. Our guide was supposed to meet us somewhere here. Another team who were behind us approached the stream which we had just crossed. Chandappa who was guiding them showed us the path to take. So, the three decided to go ahead. The canopy engulfed almost immediately. It was almost 9AM when we started from this point. Yup, I know, we were pretty late even though we had a time advantage. The path was parallel to a stream which extended to almost two kilometers where the first deviation comes which has to be taken to go to Ettina bhuja. A localite named Lingappa met us and gave us further directions. He asked us to take the deviation and head straight where we would be meeting our guide Chennappa who would be descending from the top. Since the direction was known now, we proceeded. A while later the path disappeared. Looking around we found two paths, one leading to the left and another which was heading almost in the direction we were going. The left path wasn’t a clear track, so we decided to take the well beaten path. We were still walking along the stream for some more time and then the background noise faded gradually. The path only widened the further up we went to the size of an elephant track. It was close to 12 noon. Our guide was nowhere to be seen. Some doubts cropped up in our minds which couldn’t be ignored. The path was leading up so we decided to climb up the hill and then locate ourselves. Ettina Bhuja was very unique and could be spotted from anywhere. Once we know, then we could proceed in that direction.

Resting for a while we picked up our bags and were about to start when we heard some call signs. We responded but then we didn’t get any response. We thought it must be the other group which was trailing us and then started to move. Then one guy came running to us and introduced that he was the guide whom we were supposed to go along with. He told us we were taking the wrong path and he ran around looking out for us. We coolly told him that shouldn’t have been a problem and none panicked. I could see a shocked expression in his face. We didn’t react probably the way he expected. I had made calculations even before he met us as I was carrying a GPS with 3 days battery backup. That gave me the confidence of returning back to the village incase if we lose our way. That would have made it a real adventure into the forest which we were denied unfortunately. Chennappa took charge from there and pulled us to the well taken path by taking a detour.

The other group was resting while we overtook them. It was lunch time and we decided to eat. Gokhale had packed rotis and curry for us. While we ate and rested, the other group overtook us. An hour later we resumed the hike. We could feel the climb only now as for all the while we almost walked in the valley. We still were very much in the valley but were gaining some height. We slowed down considerably cause Anirudh happened to get a headache which made it difficult for him to take even a step further. I literally pushed him and kept him going though I knew his problem. I wanted him to rest at one stretch once we reach the base camp rather than resting for a few minutes every now and then which would be of no help.

We emerged out of the valley into the grasslands which indicated that we were almost on top of a peak. To the left stood the Bhuja. The look was stunning. But the sun curtailed our excitement and reminded us to move ahead to look out for some shade. It was screeching hot. Bottles & bottles of water ran down our throats but it did little to reprieve us from the heat. Luckily there were patches of trees every now and then which gave us an opportunity to rest for a while. By the time we made it near the base camp it was close to 4PM. Way too long for a 9 km trek. But the deviation which we took meant an additional 3 kms of walk. That way I would say we weren’t that bad. Just as you come up near the base camp, there is a way in the valley which leads to the water point. We were blessed with the sweetness of the fresh water which also was cold. What a way to cool the heated bodies. We just went on gulping to hydrate ourselves. We prepared our base camp and relaxed for a while.

Around 6PM, we marched towards the Ettina Bhuja peak. The climb was damn easy given that we didn’t carry any load on our backs. The last leg was very steep and tricky to climb. We reached the top in a few mins. The sunset was to happen at 630PM which meant we had lot of time to gaze around. I enquired about the surrounding peaks, the way to approach them with Chennappa. I already was making plans for them. While the sun started setting, we geared up for capturing it. We were slightly disappointed cause of the presence of heavy mist which didn’t give us good shots. Nevertheless we were happy to see it setting. Descending to the base camp we slept for a while. None of us had proper dinner cause I too ended up getting a headache and wanted to crash the bed. Chennappa started the camp fire but we decided to sleep.

Next day morning, I was woken up by Anirudh. He was all joshed up unlike the previous day. The sun was coming up. Without second thoughts I got up, took the camera and headed upwards with Srivathsa. Wind was very heavy as expected. I wonder how the other group managed to camp here in an open area right on top of the ridge. The sun came up within minutes and then our photo shoot completed with it. Now was the time to pack up and start descending. We wanted to get down before noon. There were two options to get down. One being the same route as we came up from Shishila, the other to get down towards Byreshwara temple which takes just 30 mins. A bus links from here to Mudigere from where we could head to Bangalore. For obvious reasons we decided to take the longer route to Shishila.

We had plenty of time as we were in no hurry. That way we descended slowly looking around to capture some things in our camera. At a point we heard a wood pecker, spotting it was a real challenge. Anirudh went behind it and I followed. He was able to spot the bird and managed to take a pic as well. By the time I came, it changed its location. Obattu was our breakfast. Somehow we had lost our appetite, we barely could eat anything. I was constantly looking at the GPS to find out where exactly we had deviated. When we reached the place we realized that the path where we weren’t sure of was exactly the point which resulted in taking a huge detour. We were near the stream by 11AM. We spent an hour and then boarded a waiting rickshaw to head to Gokhale’s house.

Bathing was in a stream that flows behind his house. Water was chill here too but then all three managed to take a dip. Lunch was ready by then. We hogged the delicious food as our appetite was back with a bang. A bus leaves Shishila at 4PM to Dharmasthala which meant there were two more hours to spare. Anirudh & Srivathsa decided to take a nap; I was conversing with the Gokhale’s family. While we were about to leave, we went to the temple in Shishila, famous for its fishes. They are easily some 20 to 30 inches long and are in hundreds. A little rice when dropped, they go haywire, each trying to get the maximum.

This marked the end of our Ettina Bhuja trek. The second in Charmadi Ghats. I hope I could come back for the rest of the hills soon which are equally tempting.

More Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/sunilbabuvk/EttinaBhuja20100130#

Getting there: Take a bus heading to Dharmasthala from Bangalore. Inform the driver to drop you off at Kokkada (16kms before Dharmasthala). There are rickshaws & jeeps which will take you to Shishila which is 15kms away. Else a bus comes around 7AM to Kokkada.

Gopu Gokhale’s contact no: 08251- 269246

Season – Post monsoon – Between November and February.