The Second Kumaraparvatha Trek

Trek Name: Kumaraparvatha Trek
Peak: Kumaraparvatha (1709 MSL)
Dates: 09-Dec-2006, 10-Dec-2006
Participants: Chandan, Ranjith (Dada), Sudeep (Robo), Suresh (Warri), Sushen
Photos: Chandan's, Ranjith's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Nelamangala => Hassan => Sakleshpur => Bisle => Kukke Subrahmanya
Trek Route:
Kukke Subrahmanya => Bhattara Mane => Mandapa => Kumaraparvatha => Mandapa => Bhattara Mane => Kukke Subrahmanya
Trek Map:
Under Construction

Altitude Profile:
Bunch of Useless Facts:

Starting Time	:	09-Dec-2006 09:35:05 AM
Summitted at	:	10-Dec-2006 11:25:09 AM
Ending Time	:	10-Dec-2006 07:05:07 PM
Starting Altitude	:	133 MSL
Ending Altitude	:	133 MSL
Lowest Point	:	124 MSL
Highest Point	:	1709 MSL
Distance to Peak	:	10.5 km
Total Distance Trekked	:	21 km
Co-ordinates at Start	:	N 12° 39' 49.6'' E 75° 36' 50.6''
Co-ordinates at Summit	:	N 12° 39' 41.8'' E 75° 41' 11.3''

Report:
(To be completed)

The Thadiyandamol Trek

Trek Name: The Thadiyandamol Trek
Peak: Thadiyandamol (1746 MSL)
Dates: 20-Oct-2006, 21-Oct-2006
Participants: Rajesh (KP), Ranjith (Dada), Sanjeev(Khoj), Suresh (Warri), Sushen
Photos: Chandan's, Ranjith's, Sanjeev's
Route to Base:
Bangalore =>
Trek Route:
Palace Estate => Thadiyandamol => Palace Estate
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
(To be completed)

The Donigal - Yedakumeri Railway Track Trek

Trek Name: The Donigal - Yedakumeri Railway Track Trek
Destination: Yedakumeri Station
Dates: 22-Apr-2006, 23-Apr-2006
Participants: Avinash, Dhanya, Kishan, Sajeev, Smita, Sushen, Vivekanand
Photos: Dhanya's, Kishan's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Nelamangala => Hassan => Sakleshpur => Donigal
Trek Route:
Donigal => Yedakumeri
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
(To be completed)

The Brahmagiri Trek

Trek Name: The Brahmagiri Trek
Peak: Brahmagiri
Dates: 11-Mar-2006, 12-Mar-2006
Participants: Amal, Abhilash, Ranjith (Dada), Sanjeev (Khoj), Shaji, Shajoon, Sushen, Vivekanand
Photos: Amal's, Sanjeev's
Route to Base:
Bangalore =>
Trek Route:
Base => Irppu Falls =>
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
(To be completed)

The Kuari Pass - Rupkund Trek

Trek Name: The Kuari Pass - Rupkund Trek
Destination(s): Kuari Pass (3650 MSL), Rupkund (5030 MSL)
Dates: 19-Aug-2005 to 04-Sep-2005
Participants: Chandan, Kannan (Chetti), Ranjith (Dada), Sanjeev (Khoj), Sreepad (Pad), Sushen
Photos: Ranjith's, Sanjeev's, Sreepad's, Sushen's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Delhi => Haridwar => Joshimath => Auli
Trek Route:
Auli => Wan
Trek Map:
Under Construction
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
For a detailed report please check http://himalayanquest.blogspot.com

The Second Kodachadri Trek

Trek Name: The Second Kodachadri Trek
Peak: Kodachadri
Dates: 06-Aug-2005, 07-Aug-2005
Participants: Avinash, Deepak, Manoj (Manjo), Ranjith (Dada), Sreepad (Pad), Suresh (Warri), Sushen, Yuvraj (Yuvi)
Photos: Avinash's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Karakkatte Gate
Trek Route:
Karakkatte Gate => Santhosh Hotel => Bhattara Mane => Sarvagna Peetha => Bhattara Mane => Santhosh Hotel => Karakkatte Gate
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
(To be completed)

The Mullayanagiri - Baba Budan Giri Trek

Trek Name: The Mullayanagiri Trek
Peak(s): Mullayanagiri, Baba Budan Giri
Dates: 25-Jan-2004, 26-Jan-2004
Participants : Anil Krishnan(Kanchan), Dinkar(Dinkan), Kannan(Chetti), Rajesh(KP), Renjith(Dada), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sreepad(Pad), Sushen
Photos: None
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Chikmagalur
Trek Route:
Sarpanadiri Gate => Mullayanagiri => Baba Budan Giri
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
We had to go somewhere. It was almost 4 months since Kudremukh. Our legs had started atrophying. We needed to think fast.

Warri ruled out his presence. He had to prepare for a quarter mile race in his newly ported RD350. Dinkan asked me if there was any trekking involved. Knowing that he would not budge an inch out of his lair if I said 'yes', I lied.

Aliyan had some work at the office on 24th Saturday. Hence we postponed the trip by one day. Monday the 26th, being the Republic Day, was a holiday for everybody.

We started on Saturday, in a Tempo Traveller from Prerana Tours and Travels. The first destination was Mulayanagiri, the tallest peak in Karnataka. In fact it is the highest in the region between the Vindhyas and the southern part of Western Ghats. At a height of 6250 feet, it was indeed going to be a climb. We took the Tumkur road and proceeded to Hassan via Nelamangala. From Hassan it was a direct road to Chikmagalur.

We reached Chikmagalur by 4:00 in the morning. We were too early. We had tea from a roadside stall in front of the main bus stand of Chikmagalur.

After asking for directions to Mulayanagiri, we proceeded. Soon we were climbing along a hilly road. At one point, we stopped to breathe in the mountain air. Chetti had built up a huge pressure by this time and had to go. Armed with a few tissues he stepped into the darkness.

We could see the lights of Chikmagalur town down below. Dawn was still an hour away. After Chetti came back we proceeded towards Mulayanagiri. We reached a fork in the road. The sign board was unreadable. We took a left as that seemed to be going towards the peak (or so it seemed in the dark). The road suddenly became very narrow. Thanks to some skillful driving we reached a level spot. There was a temple here. Everyone except Chetti was elated. This seemed like the temple on top of Mulayanagiri. We had accomplished the tallest peak in Karnataka albeit without any trekking.

We checked out with the temple priest. He told us that this was not Mulayanagiri. Seems we shouldn't have taken the left at the fork.

We traced our way back to the fork in the road and continued ahead. Soon we came to a metal gate with a few steps cut in the rock. Chetti realized that he had seen a photograph of this and it was precisely the place where trekkers usually start.

Asking the driver to come back in the evening to the same spot and wait for us, we took our first step. Time was 6:00 in the morning. It was no longer dark. The first rays of the morning sun had started coming in. The rock-cut steps soon disappeared and the real climb started. The path was very steep and narrow. Dinkan, who was not used to the idea of roughing it out, soon fell behind. Very often we had to stop to let him catch up with us.

As we neared the top we could see the ouline of the temple which was situated on the very top of the peak. Just before the temple walls we saw a cave. We clambered over rocks, reached the cave and took a few of snaps.

Soon we reached the top of Mulayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka State. In fact the highest between the Vindhyas and the southern section of Western Ghats. It was no small achievement. We had completed the trek in just over an hour.

We sat in the steps of the temple, partly due to exhaustion and partly to savour the fresh mountain breeze, served with a generous mix of morning mist. It was indeed lovely. To top it all we had completed our two day trek in one hour. The time had come to enjoy the spoils of our labour.

We met another group who had stayed overnight on top of the temple. They had stayed inside the temple. Soon they started their trek back.

We asked the priest if any breakfast was available. He said yes and went on to tell his wife to make some.

(To be completed)

The Kudremukh Trek

Trek Name: The Kudremukh Trek
Peak: Kudremukh
Dates: 28-Sep-2003, 29-Sep-2003
Participants: Aneesh(Pringani), Anil Krishnan(Kanchan), Deepak, Jomy(Pattalam), Kannan(Chetti), Sandeep(Sangeeth's Brother), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sanjeev(Khoj), Sreepad(Pad), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Jomy's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Beltangadi => Navoor
Trek Route:
Navoor => Tolali => Kudremukh => Tolali => Navoor
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
After the hugely successful Kodachadri Trek we were dying to go for another trek, before the rainy season got over. The place was already in our minds. After the disappointment of the Kudremukh leg of our Kemmannagundi Trip in late 2000, we were determined to conquer the actual Kudremukh.

Chetti found a page "Trekking Kudremukh" by Manoj Kummini. Though he was from my hometown of Shoranur in Kerala, India, I did not know him. Anyway, Chetti contacted him through mail and he gave us appropriate directions. Chetti went and bought the required maps from Survey of India office at Koramangala, Bangalore.

We were all set with snuff powder (as a defense against leeches), maps, cameras, trekking shoes etc. We decided against carrying tents as it would hamper our trek, and also because there was a place caled Lobomane in Tolali where we could stay. Lobomane or "Lobo's house" was a house made by Simon Lobo, a priest who made the Kudremukh ranges his home. He was described as an 96 year old man in a report by D. Nagesh Kumar, then of IISc, Bangalore, in November, 1988. By the time Manoj Kummini did the trek in late 2002, Simon Lobo had passed away. Lobomane was under a caretaker called Shankar then.

We expected to see Shankar in Tolali, who would then arrange our accomodation. The plan was perfect.

We started on a Friday night as usual. The Tempo Traveller was arranged from Prerana Tours and Travels. Deepak had to be in office till 12:00 in the night. So we decided to have our supper at Hotel Empire in Shivajinagar, Bangalore. Kanchan was also having night duty in office. He joined us at the Hotel. After supper we collected Deepak from his residence at Infantry Road and were on our way.

There was a slight difference of opinion on the route to be taken for the trek. Most of the people were in favour of taking the Samse-Tolali-Kudremukh route which was shorter. But Chetti managed to persuade everybody to take the Navoor-Tolali-Kudremukh route. We reached Beltangadi, by Saturday morning. After breakfast, the driver took us to Navoor where we planned to hit the trail. As soon as we got down, we met a forest guard who asked us to get tickets from the Forest Office at Beltangadi. Without tickets nobody was allowed inside the forest. Khoj, Warri and me went back in the van to get the tickets.

When we reached back, we saw a jeep with the forest officer and some guards talking to the others we had left behind. The officer asked us to get some food if we planned to stay the night and warned us that Shankar is no more there at Lobomane. Even though we said that we have carried some, he forced us to go and get more food. I think he was a little suspicious of our intents. Anyway after what seemed like an eternity, we were able to start our trek.

Initially, Khoj, Jomy, Deepak and I were lagging behind. Soon others were out of sight. We saw a shortcut to bypass the winding road and we took it. Though the climb was laborious, we made it to the road again. We then realized that there was nobody ahead of us and that the others were actually behind us. They finally caught us up. But poor guys, they thought that we had found the trek too strenuous and had gone back. They waited while Warri and Pringani ran down almost half a kilometre to see if we were alright. Not finding us, they had started again.

Kanchan was at the end of his strength when we finally met. When the others started, Khoj, Deepak, Jomy and me, set about reviving and remotivating Kanchan. We fed him almost half a packet of glucose. We soon started again and soon Kanchan and Jomy were out of sight ahead of us.

We again met the others when they were waiting for us at a clearing. Though the initial part of the trek was leech free, now they were everywhere. We set about cleaning our feet and started again after some time.

By this time the mobiles also started getting signal. That was surprising. Airtel mobiles were all working. Thus, though we were lagging behind, we were able to maintain contact.

We had climbed almost 13 kilometres with no sign of Tolali. Everybody were at the end of their strengths and nerves. Chetti was getting all the blame. Soon the rear gang of Khoj, Deepak and I got a message saying that Tolali was in sight and was only 1 km away.

We soon reached the spot, the night was almost upon us. All we had to brave the night were some plain balnkets. No tents, no Shankar. Since it was impossible to find our way back, we decided to stay atop the small hill nearby. We could see Lobomane and Simon Lobo's grave nearby.

We collected some firewood and with great effort lit up a fire. The limited food availble was rationed out between the 11 of us by Warri. With the fire going, we all laid down and snuggled close for warmth. Sleep came soon.

Almost all of us were woken up by about 1:30 in the morning. A real icy wind must have done it. We were shivering all over. I could hear Aliyan's teeth chattering. The chattering, once started, took almost a minute to die down. The blankets covering us were wet from the dew. We were seriously in mortal danger here.

When the first rays of Sun started appearing in the horizon at about 5:45 in the morning, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. We had successfully done it. Not the peak, but a night in Tolali, out in the open, in the rainy season.

Chetti suggested attempting the peak. None of us except Kanchan were ready. Finally, two of them started towrds the peak, while the rest of us stayed behind to enjoy the day. Sounds familiar ? Check out the Kumaraparvata Trek.

We took a few photographs, visited Simon Lobo's grave etc. Some of us like Deepak, simply slept.

We had to start our descend soon. But Chetti and Kanchan was nowhere to be seen. Chetti hadn't taken his mobile too. We decided to start by 11:00 am. Keeping their bags in our camping spot, we set about collecting the wastes of our camp. It was not for nothing that we had learned "No trace camping" from "The Adventurers" in Honnemardu. (Read about it in our Honnemardu Trip).

Precisely at that time the forest guards appeared. They were sent by the forest officer we had met yesterday, to check on us. We showed them our entry passes, and told them that we are leaving now. We also asked them to keep an eye on the bags of Chetti and Kanchan. Of course we did not leave anything valuable inside that.

The way down was led by Khoj. He was literally unstoppable. Deepak and I fell behind as usual. Towards the end we found a stream, with a small waterfall. All of us took a leisurely bath and washed away the blood and leeches from our legs.

We found the van waiting for us at precisely the same spot we had left it yesterday. We decided to go to Beltangadi town and have some food.

After food, we came back to Navoor and waited for Chetti and Kanchan. By 4:00 pm they arrived. Seems, even they did not quite conquer Kudremukh. Kanchan was too exhausted to continue after an hour, so Chetti had gone alone and had reached within 200 metres of the summit. Well, with nobody to verify his claims, we had to accept it.

After Kanchan and Chetti had food in Beltangadi, we started our return journey.

The Kodachadri Trek

Trek Name: The Kodachadri Trek
Peak: Kodachadri
Dates: 12-Jul-2003, 13-Jul-2003
Participants : Kannan(Chetti), Sandeep(Sangeeth's Brother), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sanjeev(Khoj), Sreepad(Pad), Sudeep(Robo), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Sanjeev's
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Karakkatte Gate
Trek Route:
Karakkatte Gate => Santhosh Hotel => Bhattara Mane => Sarvagna Peetha => Bhattara Mane => Santhosh Hotel => Karakkatte Gate
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
The beauty of this place is past compare. Chetti was the first one to bring forth the idea of doing a trek in Kodachadri. The time was July. Perfect with rains and leeches and lush green forest. We decided to do it.

Chetti's friend Sandeep had given him directions as to how to reach the place etc. As usual we started on a Friday night in a Tempo Traveller from Prerana Tours and Travels. The driver was Mr. Nagaraj. The trip upto was uneventful. Our plan was to reach a place called Karakkatte Gate by 9:00 in the morning on Saturday. But due to the enoromous time wasted by visiting every eatery on the way (Thanks to hogs Chetti and Aliyan), we were late by almost 2 hours.

This time we were prepared for the leeches. The Kumaraparvatha Trek, though done two years ago, was still fresh in our minds. We made some saline solution and applied it all over our feet. This was supposed to protect us from leech bites. We soon found out otherwise.

The trek from Karakkatte Gate upto Santhosh Hotel was comparitively very easy. Though we took around 2 hours to complete, it was mainly because we had stopped very often to take in the breath-taking beauty of the forest. (Also to take in a few breaths). The breakfast of Puttu and Kadala of Santhosh Hotel is very famous. Since we were very late we could not enjoy it.

After a few minutes rest in santhosh Hotel, we decided to move on. The real trek started then. The path was narrow and the climb was steep. The propreiter of Santhosh Hotel had told us that it is only one hour to the top. But we took about 2.5 hours to reach the top.

There is a Bhattara Mane on top of Kodachadri also.

(To be completed)

The Honnemardu Trip

Trek Name: The Honnemardu Trip
Destination: Honnemardu
Dates: 08-Mar-2003, 09-Mar-2003
Participants: Chandan, John(Machan), Kannan(Chetti), Kuruvilla(Kuru), Manesh(Nair), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sonu, Sudeep(Robo), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Sushen's
Route to Base:
Bangalore =>
Trek Route:
NA
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
Most of the regular members of our usual trekking gang had gone onsite. Still we were able to muster up enough people to go for a trip to Honnemardu, a serene spot nestled in the catchment area of Linganamakki Dam across Sharavathi river. This is not exactly a trek, but can be counted as an experience in the wilderness.

The Adventurers is a non-profit organisation, involved in the conservation of Western Ghats and the ecologically fragile region of Honnemardu. Bookings have to be done in their Rajaji Nagar office at least two weeks prior to the planned visit. Normally, weekends are heavily booked.

Warri and I set out one day to book the date and also to pay the per head per day charge of Rs.500. After a long hunt for the house and lots of whinings from Warri (There was an India-Pakistan cricket match that day), we finally booked 08-Mar-2003 for 10 people.

We booked a Tempo Traveller from Prerana Tours and Travels, Jayanagar (Phone: 91-80-2664 2223) as usual. The driver was Mr. Umesh.

We started on a Friday night. The way to Honnemardu was beautiful. Shimoga district was lush green even in the summer season. By Saturday morning, when we woke up inside the van, we saw that the road was covered with dense fog. When it cleared, we could see the beautiful countryside.

On reaching Honnemardu, we were greeted by a volunteer of the Adventurers. He asked us to form a circle and briefed us on the etiquette and the activities. First we were asked to complete our morning ablutions and use the nature for our you know what.

The breakfast was served then. It consisted of a simple upma and chutney, but was very delicious. We were taken to the water after that. We donned our life jackets and plunged into the water. The sun was hot, but thankfully the water was still cold. We spent an hour swimming, playing frisbee in the water etc. Kuru and Warri were a little reluctant at first, but soon joined in the fun.

After some time, the volunteer came and asked us to lift and put two coracles in the water. The coracles were made of fibre. Being a round boat, it requires a lot of knack to steer it. We learned it the hard way. At first the boat kept going round and round. Kuru, Machan, Sonu, Robo, Aliyan and I got into one while Chetti, Chandan, Warri and Nair got into the other with the volunteer. Owing to a bad start and strong wind we were way behind and in a race to a nearby island we finished a whole five minutes late. The island was bare and it was difficult to stand in the soil, thanks to the over energetic sun. Moreover none of were wearing any footwear.

We soon went back to the mainland. After lunch, we were told to rest for some time in a small house atop a hillock.

In the evening we again donned our life jackets and went to get the coracles. We went to the main island to pitch camp. The first job was to collect some firewood, while it was still light enough to see. Afterwards, we went to the waterfront in the opposite side of the island for more watergames. The Linganamakki dam was very much visible from this side. We watched the sunset sitting atop a rock enjoying the cool breeze.

When the night fell, we went back to the camp. The tent was already pitched by the volunteers. It was a sort of permanent tent with thick poles and stuff. I think it is not dismantled very often.

The volunteer taught us how to make a decent fire in criss-cross fashion. The bigger logs are kept at the bottom and the smaller ones on top. The whole contraption caught fire very easily. It reminded us of the numerous times we had wasted kilos of paper and litres of petrol trying to light a simple roadside fire.

We sat around the fire and sang some songs. By this time food arrived and was served. We had our fill and lay down to sleep. Though the tent was available, all of us lied down in the open. It was one of those rare occasions when you feel euphoric. Lying down staring at the stars in the sky, with a cool wind for company.

The next day morning we rode our coracles back to the mainland. Inspite of our very valiant efforts (like getting a headstart of about 5 minutes), the other coracle soon overtook us. We were debriefed in the mainland. Umesh was waiting for us with the van.

We went straight to Jog Falls. It was a big disappointment. India's tallest waterfall was all but dried up. There was a trickle of water falling down from one of the four main waterfalls Raja, Rani, Rocket and Roarer. But apart from that nothing.

There was a flight of steps leading to the base of the falls. Chetti wanted to go down have a bath in whatever water was available at the bottom and come up. The committee immediately conevened a meeting and vetoed the idea. (The Committee consists of all practically minded members, which automatically excludes Chetti).

It was at this precise time that a guide approached us and offered his services. He said he will show us 4 points which included a place to take bath. We jumped at the idea.

He first took us to the opposite side of the falls, to an old and abandoned bungalow of the British era. There was a good view of the river from this side. He went on talking endlessly about how big the waterfall is and that it is the tallest waterfall in the world. Seems Niagara Falls comes only second to this. We wanted to point out that Jog Falls with a height of 253 metres is anyway not in contention for the top spot and that Niagara Falls with a height of just 51 metres doesn't come anywhere in the picture. The tallest one, Angel Falls being a whole 979 metres high. But we kept quiet.

Then he took us to a small hanging bridge and told us that this was the second point. There was nothing to see in it. Well, a hanging bridge is a hanging bridge. We got fed up and asked him to take us to the place where he said we can take bath.

This was an ok place. It was more like a canal cut for irrigation. But it had ample water to accomodate all of us. We frolicked for some time and decided to go back.

On the way back, Umesh told us that there was a wild life sanctuary at Tavakkare, which was on the way. We decided to see some tigers for a change.

We took the necessary tickets and boarded a dilapidated tour bus. Once inside the enclosure we saw that the whole thing was not much bigger than a zoo. The name "wild life sanctuary" was a misnomer for this. Only thing was that the cages are big, and with the bus you are actually entering the cage.

There were quite a few tigers and a few lions inside. Of course, they were separately housed. Further, there were a few herbivores too in another enclosure.

After half an hour of "wild-life safari" we got down and boarded our van again for the return journey to Bangalore.

The Kumaraparvatha Trek

Trek Name: Kumaraparvatha Trek
Peak: Kumaraparvatha (1709 MSL)
Dates: 30-Jun-2001, 01-Jul-2001
Participants: Chandan, Kannan(Chetti), Manesh, Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sanjeev(Khoj), Shibili(Shibs), Sreepad(Pad), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Analog days. Nothing digital. Will scan and post some. Watch this space.
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Nelamangala => Hassan => Sakleshpur => Bisle => Kukke Subrahmanya
Trek Route:
Kukke Subrahmanya => Bhattara Mane => Mandapa => Kumaraparvatha => Mandapa => Bhattara Mane => Kukke Subrahmanya
Trek Map:
Not Available. Non-GPS days.
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
This happened in June 2001. This was our first true trek. We started from Bangalore at around 8 o' clock on a Friday evening in a Tempo Traveller from Prerana Tours and Travels (Phone: 91-80-2664 2223).

Ramesh, our driver was an excellent guy. He drives fast but without taking unnecessary risks. This was our second trip with him.

We stopped at a road-side dhaba, for dinner, and then got back into the van and promptly dozed off. By the time we woke up at 6 in the morning, we were in front of Subrahmanya temple.

Probably, our driver had thought that we were on a pilgrimage to the Subrahmanya Temple. He looked surprised when he saw us donning our trekking gear and heading for the nearest trekking trail.

We had two beach tents with us, which we had hired from Woody Adventures (Phone: 91-80-2225 9159). One was squeezed into my backpack and the the other into Chetti's. Though these were light weight tents, it certainly added weight to our already full backpacks. No wonder, Chetti and I were lagging far behind during most of the climb.

We had read some article written by guys who had done this trek earlier. We were to aim for a place called 'Bhattara Mane' (Bhat's House) first, spend the night there, and push for the summit the next day. Since we all had become 'soft' by easy city life, the climb was really hard. Also, this was reputedly the toughest trek in Karnataka.

It was rainy season and the forest was wet, which meant we had to fight the leeches too. This was our second brush with the blood thirsty worm. (Previous one was at Thusharagiri in Kozhikode, Kerala during a trek in our college days). Shibili was frantically jumping and running in front of me to escape them. We could not even stop for a few minutes to catch our breath, because the leeches would be all over us by then. After some time we realized that the best way was to ignore them. Ignore the squishy feeling inside your shoes. Ignore the blood running down your calves. Move on.

The dense forest around us started thinning down after some time. We reached some sort of an open space. Khoj and I were bringing up the rear for most of the trek. We saw the others waiting for us in a clearing. We were slightly piqued at them for not having stopped earlier. It seems Nair heard, what he 'interpreted' to be, an elephant's call for its mate.

Nair and Warri set of again ahead of us. Kannan and Chandan also resumed climbing. Pad, Shibili and Aliyan started as the third group. Khoj and I waited for some more time to nurse our leech related injuries, before joining them.

Nair was literally running ahead of us. Being thin and wiry, he had lot of stamina. Warri was also not far behind.

After what seemed like an eternity, we saw Kannan on top of a rim. He shouted saying he had found Bhat's Place. We went straight to Bhat's place, removed the shoes to let out the remaining leeches, downloaded in the nearby forest and had a bath in the ice cold water of a nearby pond. By the time we came back, food was ready. Never before had we realized that simple rice and sambar could taste so heavenly.

All of us swore that we will not climb the rest of the way. We had had enough for a trip. It had taken us more than 5 hours of back breaking climb to reach Bhat's place. Interestingly Chetti too swore the same.

With instructions from Mr. Bhat, we pitched our tents in a leech free area. Chetti, Chandan, Nair and Shibili entered the first tent (the family tent) and Warri, Aliyan, Khoj and I entered the second tent (the bachelors tent). Pad was left stranded in the middle. He tried clmbing into ours but we pushed him back and finally he had to take refuge in the family tent.

Supper was also arranged by Mr. Bhat. The menu remained the same but the taste was even better.

It rained heavily in the night, but we were safe inside our tents and sleeping bags. The family tent was a little cramped. Of course, it was meant for 3 people.

The next day, Chetti, Chandan and Nair woke up early to climb the rest of the way. Chetti came and called us. He heard 6 sleepy but determined 'NO's from 6 sleeping bags. Chetti went back dejected but nevertheless started climbing with Chandan and Nair.

The moment Chetti was out of sight the 6 of us jumped up and set about enjoying the day. We had very cleverly managed to save most of the food materials from being eaten by Chetti. After the morning's shitting, (Unfortunately Pad and Khoj had their shitting act captured in film), we started eating the bread and jam and mangoes and oranges that we had painfully toted up.

We climbed some small peaks around and took photographs. Mostly with jam-smeared faces.

By noon, Chetti, Chandan and Nair came back and we started our climb down Kumaraparvatha. Shibili announced that he will never leave "civilization" for another trek like this. But there never was a trek till this, that we enjoyed so much.

The B R Hills Trek

Trek Name: The B R Hills Trek
Peak: M M Hills, B R Hills
Dates: Some time in Mar-2001
Participants: Daiju(Koilu), Dennis(Deeku), Dinkar(Dinkan), Kannan(Chetti), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sanjeev(Khoj), Sreepad(Pad), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Analog Days. Nothing Digital. Will scan and upload some. Watch this space.
Route to Base:
Bangalore => B R Hills
Trek Route:
Road => Forest => Forest => Forest => Some Peak
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
This happened sometime in March 2001. Nobody remembers the exact date. Who would, when the trip itself was planned on a Friday night at 11:00 pm.

It happened like this. After the Kemmannagundi Trip, we had not gone anywhere for a long time. On a particularly hot Friday night, Khoj and I decided to call the other trekking enthusiasts and go for a small trek somewhere. Nobody had mobile phones back then. The only mode of communication was to go and meet the guy personally atop our trusty two-wheelers.

Thus Khoj and I started on my Hero Honda Splendour. We went straight to Aliyan's house in Murugeshpalya to muster up people. Aliyan, Warri, Chetti, Deeku etc. were engrossed in a movie. Our intent forgotten, we too started watching the movie.

Once the movie was over, I explained the reason for our sudden appearance etc. Chetti jumped at the idea. I suggested calling a van and leaving then and there. Chetti and Warri pushed off to Chetti's office to browse for a suitable place. We went back to our Koramangala house to get Pad.
After collecting Pad we went straight to Chetti's house. We were surprised to find, the normally lazy, Dinkan and Koilu there. By then Warri and Chetti had found a place (Shivanasamudra, M M Hills, B R Hills) and had telephoned a Tours and Travels company (which he found in the net) and had arranged for a Tempo Traveller. This was our first association with Prerana Tours and Travels, Jayanagar (Phone: 91-80-2664 2223).

Soon Aliyan and Deeku arrived and we started by 4:00 am Saturday morning. When we told the driver the destinations, he was reluctant to go to B R Hills, saying that the road was bad. He took us straight to Prerana Tours and Travels office. The proprietor, Mr. Sudhindra was all apologies and arranged another vehicle. The driver was Mr. Ramesh, a real nice and cooperative chap.

Thus finally we were on our way by 6:30 am on Saturday. We had lost some 9 hours as well as a lot of sleep.

The first stop was at Shivanasamudra. The Cauvery was at her best that day. At first, we went to the hydel power station located a few hundred feet below. Initially the people there were reluctant to let us in. But Ramesh, talked for us and we got into the lift to descend towards the power station.

We saw many Francis Turbines running with a huge roar. Well, it was almost like the way, our teacher Prof. Ramaraju had explained in his Hydraulic Machines class, way back in 1996.

After getting back to the van we went to see the twin waterfalls, Barachukki and Gaganachukki. The descend to the base of the waterfalls was quite tiresome. Chetti and Deeku managed to get close to the waterfalls and had a nice bath. We sat in a rock nearby and meditated in silence.

The climb back up, as expected was strenuous. Thankfully, there was tender coconut water (Ilaneer) available on top. We drank our fill.

The next stop was M M Hills or Male Mahadeswara Hills. The abode of the great God Siva. But except for the temple there wasn't anything to see there. We had tea in a tea-stall by the side and asked the shopkeeper for things to see around. He explained that it is better not to venture into the jungle as the dreaded sandalwood smuggler Veerappan was sighted in these jungles a few days ago.

We did not need any more persuasion. We started straight-away for B R Hills. It was already dark and a few kilometres later we stopped near a stream to have a camp fire. The season being dry, without much effort we were able to get a fire going. In the mean-time many of us went into the bushes and unloaded. We washed ourselves and set about enjoying the fire.

We took rooms in a hotel in Chamarajanagar. Being the district headquarters, Chamarajanagar was a decent town. Ramesh was our translator everywhere. Also he insisted that he be allowed to sleep in the van. We agreed.

The next day morning we set out for B R Hills (Biligiri Rangana Betta or Biligiri Rangana Hills). Here too there was a temple right at the top of the hill. Ramesh took us directly to the temple. We wandered around the temple for some time. There was a sheer drop at one side of the temple compound. From there Chetti sighted another hill which was almost as high as the one on which we were standing. Reluctantly we agreed to go down to the base of that hill and trek.

Ramesh must have been bewildered to see us getting off on the roadside and amble off into the jungle. He promised to meet us at the same spot a few hours later.

We crossed a small farmhouse and entered thick jungle. The going was really difficult. At times we had to stoop and walk for almost 100 metres. Well, all this trouble came to a naught as we promptly entered a well-tarred road. We could as well have asked Ramesh to drop us here.

Exhausted, we decided to eat the bread and jam we had brought with us. Thus rejuvenated, we crossed the road and started climbing again.

After many sightings of tiger turd (Aliyan, the walking encyclopaedia, told us so. God knows how he figured that out) and enlightened quotes from Deeku (like "This whole forest seems to be an area" ) and continuous whinings from Dinkan and Koilu, we finally reached the summit. Exhausted most of us fell asleep.

By 5:00 in the evening we started our trek back down. Lazy Dinkan did not want to move. It was after much persuasion that he got up and got going.

We lost our way somewhere in the middle and ended up a few kilometres away from our starting place. Seeing a tea shop, we decided to have tea before walking down to the van. Thankfully, not seeing us at the starting spot, Ramesh came further down the road and met us at the tea shop. After many stops at different roadside dhabas we finally reached Bangalore, early Monday morning.

The Kemmannagundi - Agumbe Trek (Or So We Thought)

Trek Name: The Kemmannagundi - Agumbe Trek
Peak: Kemmannagundi
Dates: 23-Dec-2000, 24-Dec-2000, 25-Dec-2000
Participants: Kannan(Chetti), Manesh(Nair), Sangeeth(Aliyan), Sanjeev(Khoj), Sreepad(Pad), Sujith(Mootta), Suraj(Susu), Suresh(Warri), Sushen
Photos: Analog days. Nothing digital. Will scan and post some. Watch this space.
Route to Base:
Bangalore => Kemmannagundi
Trek Route:
NA. (Read on. You will understand)
Trek Map:
NA
Altitude Profile:
NA
Bunch of Useless Facts:
NA

Report:
This was my first trip with my old batchmates of REC Calicut (Now NIT Calicut). I had come down to Bangalore from Bombay after a job change. Chetti suggested going to some place during the long Christmas weekend. Mootta as usual was enthusiastic and arranged the whole trip.

The main place suggested was Kemmannagundi and Kudremukh. The former for a visit and the latter for a trek. Mootta suggested that we visit Shringeri Mutt also which was on the way. We booked a Tempo Traveller from Jet Tours and Travels, Koramangala and were on our way by 8:00 pm on Friday, 22nd December.

We took the Tumkur road upto Nelamangala and turned left for Hassan. By 10:00 pm, we stopped at a roadside dhaba to have food. Most of the time self-styled cinematographer Warri, was handling Mootta's camcorder. Seemingly, most of the time was spent on learning how to operate the thing-a-mi-jig.

Almost 45 minutes after we left the dhaba, Mootta realized that his camcorder is missing. He had left it at the dhaba. We took and U-turn and raced back. Fortunately, the watchman there had noticed the camcorder and had kept it safely. Overjoyed, Mootta gave him 100 rupees as a present.

We reached Kemmannagundi, by 9:00 am on Saturday. The place was not as we expected. It was commercialized, and we saw a lot of tourist buses, with scores of people. Disappointed, we decided to get away from the civilization by climbing a nearby hill. After a few step Warri started having dizzy spells. A few more steps later he started vomiting. There was a big tree on the way up. Chetti and Aliyan took Warri to the shade and left him to sleep.

We continued our way up and reached the top. The view was breathtaking. We decided to stay there for some time. Some of us even slept for a while. It is not everyday that we get such fresh air to breath.

On the way down we took a slightly different route. We were soon surrounded by tall grass. We were walking in a line and I had Mootta in front of me some 15 metres ahead. Mootta had a straw hat on and that was the only part of him that was visible among the tall grass. Suddenly the straw hat disappeared. Khoj, Pad and I ran towards the spot where we last saw the hat. Not surprisingly Mootta had fallen into a ditch and was trying to climb up. Owing to his height which is all of 5 feet, he was finding it difficult to climb up. Pad and I lent a hand and got him out of his predicament.

Warri was awake and ok by the time we reached the place where we had left him. We had found a small stream on our way up. Though we did not have soap or towel, we decided on taking bath there. The small waterfall served as a lovely shower.

Our next destination was Shringeri. Enroute we stopped by the roadside collected a few twigs and made a campfire. Susu, Warri, Mootta, Aliyan, Khoj and me slept in the open, while others slept inside the van. By early morning, when I woke up, I could find only Warri sleeping next to me. All others had taken refuge in the warmth of the van.

We soon reached Shringeri and took a couple of rooms in a hotel to freshen up. Wonder of wonders - Warri, who generally hates water was the first one to take bath. After the bath we proceeded to have a darshan in the temple. We took a few photographs too.

Since the visit to Shringeri got over very fast, we had time to kill. We decided to go to Agumbe which was supposedly nearby. Again, supposedly it offered a lot of trekking oppurtunities.

We reached the place by middday. The route to the view point was unsurfaced. The driver refused to take the van through the kutcha road, saying that the tyres might get punctured. We decided to walk. When we asked a villager about the approximate distance, he said it would be about 3 km. After 3 km we met another chap who again gave the same answer to our question. Perplexed, we walked on. After walking for about 7-8 km through thick jungle, we reached the view point. We could see a couple of waterfalls in a distant mountain. Chetti argued that it was actually nearb and wanted to trek upto it. Even though there was no path, Chetti, Nair and Mootta decided to descend the hillock we were in, cross the jungle and go to the waterfall. The rest of us blankly refused.

For some time we could hear Mootta and Nair, shouting. Phrases like "Step on that boulder", "Catch that creeper", "Swing like Tarzan" etc. wafted through the air. There was no sound from Chetti. A few minutes later, Mootta and Nair came back up announced, "We tried our level best, there is no way we can reach the waterfalls through such dense jungle". We were surprised to see these dare-devils fresh and without a mark on their clothes. A few minutes later an exhausted Chetti came back up, full of bruises and muddy clothes. It was then we realized that Mootta and Nair were merely directing Chetti, by sitting comfortably on a piece of rock.

We had supper from a nearby Muslim home. They had prepared tasty fish curry and rice for us. The charge was very nominal. The lady of the house explained to us in broken Malayalam that she was from Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala.

After supper, we proceeded to Kudremukh. We soon fell asleep inside the van. When I woke up at 5:30 in the morning we were standing still. I saw the driver sleeping bent over the steering with his head on his hands. Everybody woke up one by one and asked the driver, what the problem was. He explained that the van had broken down. We were only a few miles away from Kudremukh. But the van had to be repaired first.

As soon as it was light enough to see, the driver started towards Mangalore (which was nearby) to get a mechanic. Susu accompanied him, since he knew his way around Mangalore.

Khoj and I soon started having the call of the nature. We went to a nearby secluded area and got it done behind some shrubs. We cleaned up with some leaves, and were soon as good as new. We looked around and saw that the van was actually parked in a very beautiful area. It was the beginning of a ghat section on the road towards Kudremukh. Mootta was still sleeping inside the van, when we decided to hunt for a tea shop. When we came back after the tea, Mootta was nowhere to be found. Soon enough we could see him running down a nearby hillock, with his camcorder. Seems, he had woken up to see the van stopped by the roadside and nobody to be seen around. He had climbed the hillock to see if he can spot us anywhere, through his camcorder's zoom lens !!!

We started playing cards on the road. The passing motorists were all staring at us. We had played for almost two hours by the time Susu and the driver came back with the mechanic. After some pushing and starting we were on our way again.

We soon reached Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL). We saw a huge dam constructed to contain the affluents from the factory. Even then we could see what this factory was doing to the fragile ecology of the area. We were not allowed to take photographs. But we did sneak in a few.

We took bath in a stream nearby. We didn't stay long in the water because we soon realized that it was polluted.

The only disappointment was that there was no proper trekking to be done. The actual Kudremukh was around 100 km further. We decided to call it a day, and returned back to Bangalore.

Intro

There are a lot of places in India, that remains unexplored and untouched by the so-called civilization. If you are an ardent trekker you will agree. Such pristine beauty as we find in the peaks of Kumaraparvatha, Kudremukh or Kodachadri is to be experienced at least once in a life time. Here I will detail about a few experiences I have had in the past few years on the mountains and forests of India.

The first trek I ever had was sometime in 1993. I dont remember the exact dates. Along with fellow-members of the Interact Club (student wing of Rotary Club), I went for a trek in Thusharagiri, near Kozhikode, Kerala. The season being rainy, the scenery was breath-taking. The second trek was also to Thusharagiri, this time during an NSS camp organized during college days in 1996. We had a guide then, who took us to the falls above the first one. (Thusharagiri is a series of waterfalls. To reach the first one, the bottom-most, is very easy. The second and third are slightly tricky).

Again I had to wait a long time before my third trek. That was in 1999, when a few colleagues from COSL (Citicorp Overseas Software Ltd), Mumbai dragged me out for a trek to Bandardhara near Karjat. The memories of Thusharagiri came gushing out and I was hooked to trekking for good.

I will try to give details on how to get to the place etc. in the following trek reports. In May, 2006 I bought a GPS. So the reports for treks done after May, 2006 will have a small map attached to it to make things easier for wannabe trekkers.