Monday 22 February 2016

Nagala trail run trek - The trail run that never happened

You must be wondering, "trail run trek?, now what's that supposed to be ?".  Well, due to certain reasons like time constraints, late start, sleep deprivation, or just whatever it was, what was intended to be a trail run, became a trek. It is unplanned events like these that actually made most of my treks in the past interesting. It was also because of this, that we had plenty of time to dive and swim in the amazing pools of Nagala.

The original plan for the trek was this: Mark out a 20 km trail on the GPS, do a recce of the trail on Saturday with trekking bags, reach the campsite by dusk, leave the trekking bags there with one of us guarding them, and then run the same loop on Sunday with trail running bags.

There were five of us, and Kashyap volunteered to guard the trekking bags while we ran the loop on Sunday.  Our planned campsite was Magic pool and it was one that was well thought out. I have to give it to Karthik for his navigation and trail marking skills. For one, magic pool was ridiculously close to the dam (the place where we enter/exit the forest). Secondly, it made a good campsite with an ample amount of open space (with faint mobile signals as well), and thirdly, if the volunteer got bored, he/she could easily spend plenty of time diving, swimming, or lazily enjoying a fish pedicure while taking in the sights.

on the slide


We started for Tirupati by the 12 am Airavat from Bangalore, reached Nagalapuram bus stand at around 7 after changing buses at Tirupati, had breakfast, and then waited a while for Saumia who was to join us from Chennai. After she arrived and was done with breakfast, we took an auto rickshaw to the starting point of our trek, the T.P Kota dam.  On the way, we picked up our packed lunches from Subbarao's house. His wife makes and packs food for trekkers on almost every weekend and this has been the tradition for some years now.



We got off to late start as it was 8 by the time we reached the dam and we could commence trekking only by 8.30. I was excited at the prospect of having to trek with just four more people after trekking with 39 others on the same trail (partly) two weeks ago. Imagine the noise and commotion that could be made by a tribe of 40 humans! Phew!! The plan for the day was to reach Picnic pool, have lunch and then commence for Magic pool, which would be our campsite for the night.  We reached Picnic pool at exactly noon, had fun diving and swimming for a while, and then quickly finished lunch.

Picnic pool
 After that, we took a side stream which was to the top left of the picnic pool and kept following it for some distance. After a point, it got dry and the size of the boulders started increasing. Climbing these huge boulders upstream at a fast pace is a joy that can't be described perfectly. It was exhilarating, thrilling and gave us a trekkers high. It was an endorphin release festival. Nothing, and I mean not even a marathon, has given me a high as much as running on the boulders of Nagala. However, we had to get off the dry stream as we realized that we were running short of time and had to bush whack our way to the ridge on our right. This was time consuming.


It was 4.30 by the time we were out of the bushes and had found a trail.  Kashyap and Prateek were totally worn out by this time and were desperate to settle down at a campsite.  With only 2 hours left for sundown and our pace being slower that what it previously was, Karthik decided to camp at another campsite that was not very far from the Magic pool.  We reached this campsite just as the light was fading and stared collecting firewood to make soup and Maggi. There was a water point just two minutes from the campsite. It was a full moon night and there was enough light to get around the campsite without a torch. Other than a few galloping sounds that could be heard very close by at around 3am, everything else went fine and we woke up to a magical Sunday morning with dew fall and bird song all around us.




It was 8 am and we had still not started our trek for the day. We had intended to start at least by 6.  We quickly finished breakfast, checked the GPS for the right trail, and were on our way in no time. After crossing two ridges and a dry stream, we finally arrived at magic pool. Karthik and Kashyap had picked up a couple of gooseberries en route and we were now munching on them. As always,  the monkeys on the adjacent hill made sure that their presence was felt and that we were intruding on their home ground.  Their alarm calls reverberated all across the adjacent hill and valley.

Kashyap and I were an elated lot as we decided to go to sliding pool first and then hit magic pool.  We had the time of our lives at sliding pool, diving, sliding, going on underwater exploration, taking videos and photos.  We were enjoying ourselves so much here, that we almost forgot to save some energy for magic pool. As a result of this, we were all worn out after reaching magic pool and so didn't spend much time there.  However, on one of our mini underwater exploratory missions, I found a pair of Nabaji goggles at the shallow end of the pool.

There is always something waiting to be found at the bottom of the shallow end of magic pool. Towels, batteries, plastic, you name it. After our treasure hunt, I resolved to improve my diving and swimming skills so that we can go deeper and look for even more treasure in future.

Magic pool
It was 2.30 now and we decided to go to a waterfall just 5 minutes away to cook lunch and take a power nap.  We had decided not to trail run as we had found no suitable trail around us for a 10km run.  After lunch, Kashyap and I decided to nap at sliding pool rather than here as it was very stuffy and humid with mosquitoes all around.  We decided to leave at around 4.30 for Subbarao's house, where we were to have an early dinner.

We found ourselves gorging on the delicious fare served to us at Subbarao's place at 7.  After a day long trek, curry tastes ten times better than it usually is and we were in no mood to stop the chapatis from coming.  After this, we set off for the main road at a brisk pace as we had a 11pm bus to catch at Tirupati.

Walking from the dam to Subbarao's house, having food there, bidding my goodbye to the Chennai folks at the main road, waiting for a bus or auto at the T.P Kota bus stand, and waiting for the Bangalore bus at the AC waiting room at Tirupati are things that a Chennai trekker would never get to experience and I will cherish them forever.  I will sorely miss all these treasured moments once I move to Chennai and start a new trekking journey there.

Thursday 18 February 2016

Kumara Parvatha- tenth time lucky


Woohooo!! I was on top of the world. I finally completed Kumara Parvatha 10 times, with 9 times being in this year itself (2015). Tenth time lucky. Why lucky? Read on to find out. 

I was to do the trek alone as it was Friday and I had still not found anyone to accompany me on it.  However, I was not feeling all that down because I got word that my trekking friends DK and Raj were coming there with a group, but they would be starting from the Somwarpet side.  I was starting from Kukke side and was looking forward to meeting them on the peak.  The bus reached Subramanya town at around 6AM (now that Shiradi ghat road was back in business).  I went along my usual routine (yes routine, because I did KP almost every weekend, back to back for a month) of sleeping in the choultry for an hour, clicking pictures of the temple and Sesha Parvatha in the background, and having breakfast.  I started for the trail at around 8.30.





After reaching the grassland just below Bhat's house (bhatramane), I decided to rest for a while as this was to be my first KP trek where I decided to run the second half of the trail.  I had brought my trail running bag along with me.


I reached the forest APC (Anti-Poaching Camp) at around 10AM and since they(the forest officer and his assistants) were too bored of seeing me there week after week (:P), I decided to leave my trekking bag there and start for the peak immediately. 

This was one of my treks to KP where I saw absolutely no one else while on the way to the forest check post.  So, Jairaj, the forest officer told me to wait a while for someone to come along with whom I could go with.  As much as I wanted to start running all alone, I quietly acquiesced to this.  After waiting for 10 minutes, a guy called Anand came over and to my luck, he too had come alone, and so Jairaj asked us to go as a group.  Since I had plans of running the rest of the way, I was worried that this guy would slow me down and that I would not be able to run.  Talk about regular trekker problems!! The irony was that I was more worried about him slowing me down, than of me running all alone in the wild with no one for company.  I guess that's what coming here week after week does to you.  Your threat perception level goes for a toss!

I literally had to remind myself that all the threats were the same and will remain the same, no matter how many times I come here.  Another reason I wanted to get to the peak fast was because since DK's group was starting from Somwarpet, they had only 7 km's to cover and would be able to do it in half a day's time.  After a quick introduction and some small talk, we were on our way.  It turned out that he too was a pretty fast trekker.  At any point of time, I was only 2 or 3 minutes ahead of him. After chatting him up for some time I got to know that he too was a regular trekker and has been to way more peaks in the Western ghats than me.  From Sesha Parvatha onwards, we trekked together.  I told him that I was expecting some friends from the other side.  The cloud show was absolutely stunning and weather was just fantastic for a trek.  We reached the peak, had lunch and napped for more than an hour, but DK's group was still nowhere to be seen.  It was 2.30 now.





After waiting for another half hour, we decided to slowly trek back to the forest check post and then call it a day.  Many groups kept coming up or going down with us.  We even saw some groups who just came from Somwarpet.  We got down slowly and reached the forest check post exactly at dusk.  It was very noisy all around the APC as many groups camped here.  Bhattramane was already full with trekkers and over its capacity.  Both of us had dinner at the office and I slept in the veranda of the hut.  Anand wanted to sleep inside.  I relished each and every second of the cold wind and dew that fell through the night.



We woke up early next morning to a nice sunny day.  Since Anand was eager to start early and spend time admiring nature at Sesha Parvatha and Kumara parvatha, he left along with all the other groups at around 6AM.  I decided to sleep for 3 more hours knowing that I would reach the peak well in time to meet DK's group who would be descending at that time.  That this was going to be the best decision that I've ever taken in all my treks there, I would not know until I started trekking at 9 AM.

I started at my usual brisk pace since again, it was only the trail running bag that I carried and it was very light as compared to my trekking bag.  There was no one else around for quite some distance in front of, or behind me.  This was because I had started late.  I was only a few meters from the forest check post when, all of a sudden in my peripheral vision, I saw something the color of a rock move.  I looked up and stopped abruptly right in my tracks!!  It was a muscular Indian bison or Gaur.  1000 kilograms of pure muscle!!  I had spotted Malabar giant squirrels, pit vipers, and even a spectacled  Cobra on my other treks to KP, but never an animal as big as a Gaur.

Hello there!
                   
The Stare
He too had stopped right after seeing me there.  I started inching closer and closer, till I realized he was giving me 'the stare' and this meant that I was too close for comfort.  Now he was barely 15-20 meters from me.  I frantically searched for the camera in my bag, took it out and clicked some pics, all while admiring his muscles and sheer power.  I thanked all my stars that I carried my trail running bag and was wearing very minimal clothing.  The fact that the forest house was close by was also reassuring.  It was only later when I met Karthik (another one of my trekking friends) that he told me that all these things wouldn't even have mattered much since humans don't stand much of a chance of escaping from a charging Gaur, regardless of the terrain.

Bye bye...........!!
So, I bid my goodbye to the guy as he moved on to the other side of the Shola forest, and carried on with my trek which was to be all alone till Kallu mantap, the place which has a small stream and where most trekkers (and non-trekkers alike) take a break.  I caught Anand descending a few meters ahead of Kallu mantap and he told me that he'd seen my friends in the thick forest cover between KP and Sesha Parvatha.  We exchanged numbers, I bid him goodbye and then started running faster than before as I was excited to meet DK's group and hear their story.  I met them in the shola forest just as they were packing up to leave after having breakfast.

Boy, were they a sight for sore eyes!!  After trekking alone for one and a half days, it felt good to be in the company of friends.  Since they were going to be trekking slowly, I told them I would visit the peak and then join them later on.  I went to the peak, updated a few people on Whatsapp, and then rejoined the group just a few meters below Sesha Parvatha.

We chatted a lot, and I got to know that their tempo traveler had reached Somwarpet late the previous day and because of this, they could reach the peak only by evening.  They also described in detail how bone chilling cold it was on the peak the previous night and early today morning and how beautiful the cloud cover was in the morning.  We got back to the forest camp area, I picked up the rest of my stuff, and then went to Bhat's house for lunch, which was Sambar rice.  Not bad for a place where we were supposed to be carrying our own food in the first place.



After that sumptuous lunch, DK, Abhi, and I were in the mood to run down the last stretch (7km) of forest that would take us to the main road.  So with that, we left the main group, ran down till the stream, took a bath there, and then sprinted towards the main road.  I found it very difficult to keep up with DK and Abhi, as they had much more stamina than me and I was also carrying my heavy tarpaulin sheet.  I somehow kept up with them and then we all had tender coconut water at one of the houses in the village.  The group joined us after 30 minutes or so.  We then went to the temple area and had dinner at one of the overcrowded restaurants. I then had to take leave of them as they were leaving for Bangalore in their tempo and I had a KSRTC bus at 930. 

It was an amazing trek, and I would definitely be able to tell this trek apart from the other 9 times that I've come here, because that's how awesome it was.  Had I joined the group right at the beginning, the trek would not have been as exciting as it was.  The bison sighting, making new friends, the excitement of meeting friends at the peak, camping at the forest check post.  All these things added to the suspense and thrill of the trek, and that is why I cherished each and every moment of it.


 

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Charmadi ghat trek + drive on the ghat roads


This was my first trek to Charmadi ghat.  After-all, after doing Kumara Parvatha either solo or with friends all year round, I finally decided to explore other sections of the majestic Western Ghats.  However, this trip was a sudden plan and I never knew that I would be trekking here until Friday evening.  Here's how things turned out to be:

As usual, after returning from a trek on the previous weekend, my mind would start getting worked up the very next day or at least, by Wednesday, about the trek plan for next weekend.  Therefore, as usual, I had already made all calls to the regulars and posted in all the Whatsapp trekking and running groups asking if they would like to join me to Kumara Parvatha for a trek. Many of them either replied in the negative or didn't reply at all, while some said, they will let me know by Thursday or Friday.  As usual, I knew that it was my cue to go there alone (like I have done on at least 3-4 occasions owing to people dropping out at the last minute), and so, had made up my mind.  However, Shailesh from CTC messaged me on Whatsapp and we even exchanged a couple of calls regarding him wanting to go there and if I could go with him as it would be his first time.  I was a bit elated at the prospect of finally having someone to go with rather than alone.

That happiness was to be short lasted however, as he called me at the last minute, i e Friday morning, and told me that he wont be able to join due to some medical emergency.  I was a bit depressed and then continued to ask some friends on Whatsapp what their plans were for the Christmas weekend.  Now as my luck would have it, another plan shut right in place of the plan that was cancelled, like a misplaced piece of a jigsaw puzzle.  One of my Bangalore trekking friends, DK, had told me that there was already a group who would be leaving today for Charmadi Ghat and that I could join them if I wanted to.  After countless calls to the organizer and DK, and battling Bangalore's notorious Friday traffic jams, DK and I finally found ourselves in a tempo traveler with the group at around 11 PM.


We reached the town early morning, caught some sleep in the temple choultry, and, were finally up and on our way after finishing breakfast near a temple.  Unfortunately we got to know that we would not be climbing "the" Charmadi Ghat trail and we would be trekking another trail because our guide was nowhere to be found at the last minute.  We were forced to trek on this well trodden path with multiple trails all over the place with one even going till the peak.


It even had a house in between with some fruit plantations and a small stream where we filled up our water bottles.  In spite of all this, the freshers were an elated lot as even these things were new and virgin to them, after living in cities all their lives. They were really happy to be seeing village huts in the middle of nowhere, a beautiful stream with crystal clear water, surrounded by Pineapple and Orange plantations.  They started climbing trees, shaking the fruits down, and what not!


By this time it was noon, and after regrouping, we had lunch and took a nap under a shady spot.  We finally reached our destination which, according to our organizer, was a huge rock with a cave.  Surprisingly, just after we finished lunch and started for big rock, one of our team members decided to go all solo and reach the peak on the hill to our right.  Repeated calls to make him rejoin the group fell on deaf ears, and he continued in that direction while we continued to big rock which was on our left.  It was only after we reached big rock and rested for a long time, that we got to know that he got stranded somewhere just below the peak without any food or water and was requesting the organizer to go fetch him from there.  Luckily, nothing untoward happened and he joined us at big rock, after which we started our descent for the main road.  Our guide giving us the slip in the morning, this guy running away all on his own, the mishaps just kept coming, and the biggest one was going to happen just after we reached the main road.

Hiking towards the big rock
Scintillating views of the valley from Big Rock
Views of the descent
Back to the ghat road
The descend from the cave to the main road was very easy except for the last section, where one would have to literally jump onto the road.  Luckily, two of our group members were already ready and waiting there so that they could prevent any untoward incidents from happening.  By the time the last trekker reached the main road, it was already around 5PM, and we had already sent two of our mates to go and get the tempo travelers as we could not call up the drivers due to weak mobile signals in the area.  It would not to be 9PM before we could finally get out of here.  What happened in between was nothing short of a scene straight out of a wrong turn movie ;) .

After waiting for more than an hour and with no sign of either our guys coming back or the tempo travelers we sent another one to go and fetch them. Hours passed by (playing with monkeys, taking photographs) and so did countless vehicles. Buses, cars, private cabs, trucks, bikes, everything.  In the beginning we were just looking at them and they were looking at us but now we were literally trying to flag down any vehicle that passed to ask them if they could give a few of us a lift to the temple, from where we could phone up the tempo drivers and ask them to pick up the rest.  By this time, it was getting dangerous to stand on the ghat road as it was completely dark and so one of the co-organizers asked us to come into a curve so that we would be visible to other vehicles from a distance.  We did get reassuring words from passing vehicles that they had seen two tempo travelers a couple of kilometres away but they were not moving.

Finally, they came at around 9PM and we were off on our way to the temple choultry for a good nights rest.  We wouldn't need it much though, as day 2 was more of a trip rather than a trek.


The plan for Day 2 was to visit Anadka falls and Dhamasthala temple and like the title says, it was 80% drive and 20% trek and enjoyment.  To go to Anadka falls, we had to get into KNP limits.  The views all around us were simply breathtaking and we could see a section of the forest that one would usually see if they did the Kudremukh trek.  We bought tickets at the entry to the waterfalls and started the mini hike to it.

On the way to Anadka falls
On reaching Anadka falls, we played around in the water a bit, clicked countless photographs, did a mini cleanup of the place which was strewn with broken beer bottles near the stream, and then bid goodbye to the place.

Anadka falls


The stream bed which we cleaned up


After getting back into the vehicles, we headed to the main road where we had sumptuous lunch of boiled rice, sambar, and vegetables which was really nutritious.  After that, we went to Dharmasthala temple.  We couldn't get inside as there was too much crowd, so we just looked at it from outside and left for home.  After that, it was no more chitchat in the tempo as everyone was sleepy and eager to get home and have a good nights rest. So we didn't talk till it was time to part at Yeshwantpur.  I had to get down there as I had to go towards Hebbal and the cab was going in another direction.  I reached home safe and sound at around 2 am.

All mishaps factored in, it was a fun trip and memorable one too.  I am looking forward to exploring more and more of the virgin forests of the Western ghats as the years go by.  It is the journey that is the destination.