A picnic to Nagala East

Finally, a trek came out of the planning stages of a Whatsapp group and manifested itself into reality!!  Raj and group had been planning this trek for quite a long while after the Nagala West trek.  I myself didn't know that I would be joining them until Friday night.  It was sheer luck that I was able to join them.  I had applied for a job and was told at home that I can only go if I get selected.  I checked my email a few hours prior to departure and found an email saying that I was selected.  This sent the adrenaline rushing to my head and the only thoughts were of me running on the boulders of the eastern stream of Nagala, getting to picnic pool as fast as possible.  I then packed my bag as quickly as possible, purchased a few eatables and then went straight to the pickup point at tin factory.

We reached Nagalapuram town quite early at around 5 AM.  We made good use of the extra time by checking into a lodge to freshen up, having breakfast and purchasing a couple of grocery items that we would need to cook food for the night.  It was 10.30 by the time we were at the starting point of the trek, the TP Kota dam.

At the T.P Kota dam

We then quickly distributed the common items and started for picnic pool at a steady pace.  The weather was actually good for the month of March and the sun wasn't burning our faces.  We reached the turning point for Magic pool within two hours, then decided to take a call on what route to take.  Everyone decided that we would go and camp at picnic pool itself as we had already arrived at magic pool and there would be nothing else to do for the rest of the day other than swimming and eating.

With that we set off at a hurried pace to the dead end pool so that we could start ferrying bags as and when people came.  As soon as we reached there, we inflated a tube, set a sleeping mat on top of it, and then started ferrying bags and helping non swimmers cross the pool and climb the rock face on the other side, which was actually tricky for the freshers.  There is hardly any space to keep one's foot on at this end and very few handholds to pull oneself up but once you do it a couple of times, it becomes a breeze.  After everyone had crossed and had repacked all their belongings and clothes, we had a quick lunch, and set off for the gorge crossing.

calm, serene and peaceful

By the time we crossed the gorge, it was already evening with only a few hours left for sundown.  I then told Raj that I would take the fast group and reach picnic pool as quickly as possible, so that we could get all the firewood and campsites ready before it turned dark, and that he could come with the slow folks at their own leisure.  He immediately agreed saying that it was a good idea, as it would motivate the slow group to increase their pace knowing that the rest of the gang has already reached the campsite.  It did work, as the whole group had successfully reached the pool just as it became dark.

We did swimming, cooking, photography, storytelling, and had more than enough time for chit chat before we could hit the sack.  It was an amazingly chill night with the campsite lit by billions of stars and a bright moon.

Picnic pool

On Sunday morning we again spent plenty of time frolicking in the water and taking tons of photos and videos.  A CTC (Chennai Trekking Club) group had reached campsite in the middle of the night and now, they too were busy in having fun in the water, experimenting with various angles for photos and videos.  We decided to leave the campsite at around 9 to target an exit time of around 6 PM.  This was easily achieved at a comfortable and easy pace. We then again reached the dead end pool, had our lunches after crossing it, and then set off for the beautiful Magic pool.

Magic pool

We had loads of fun at Magic pool for not less than 2 hours and it took a huge effort to leave it just as the sun was setting.  Due to our late start from Magic pool, we had to trek in the dark, and because of this we were able to exit the forest only by 8 PM.  As usual, it felt really hard to say goodbye to Nagala, her monkeys, and pedicure fish, but we only did it to look forward to the next trek.