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.
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
