D-Day : 8:00 PM
Me and Manju met at the K.G bus stand and took the 8:30 bus ( Bangalore - Kundapur). It is highly recomended that you take this bus for the reason that most of the drivers and conductors are aware of the place where you want to start your trek( Karekatte) and they would stop there for you to alight Also this bus reaches the trek start point at about 7:45 am which is a very good time to start your trek
Drowsy eyes...a little weary..we stepped down the bus to a steady drizzle of the pre monsoon rains. Well..Instantly we knew what we had in store for the rest of the trek.. Rain.. Rain... Leaches ....Plenty of them and offcourse some crawly creatures which relish the monsoon
Our spirits were very high and the rain didnot deter it
On Our very first step on the wet land, we were greeted by a little leech which was trying to desperately latch on to my shoes( Thanks to Nike, their ACG shoes really can stand the harsh terrain and offcourse make it difficult for leaches to hang on to your shoes :)
The first few kms of your trek is on a well defined path. Usually this path is taken by Jeeps which ferry passengers to the top
The first phase of your trek is pretty much on level ground with very little gradient. During this path , there is a strong chance that you may see some local people on the route.We did happen to bump into some lovely kids who were walking to their school.It is really amazing that these kids are not bothered about the leeches around ( just like we are not bothered about the speeding motor bikes on the crowded city roads)and they are really lucky ones .. no school buses..no standing in long BTS queues
Due to the constant down pour there were some puddles of water and the reflection of the morning sun coupled with the mist blanket was truly a fantastic date with nature
we initially mistook it for a harmless green snake..but those kids who were around us and who know a little more about thier habitat informed us that it was very poisonous one..
Phew.. Lucky us.... didnt bother to disturb the sleeping beauty but treaded on..
At one point, Manju stopped and instantly pulled out his camera and asked me to look up, I didnt realise that I had a blood sucker on my throat..relishing its morning meal of fresh blood from my throat. After the photo - op managed to get it off my throat
Leeches attach to your skin and all you can feel is the small prick of a pin and they start drawing out blood from your body . The sad part is ... they also nullify the fibrinogen effect of clotting and you bleed for a long long time .
We reached the T-shop after an hour and half hours of trek and gobbled up hot Idli and Tea for breakfast. He charged us very nominally. This person has been living here for the last 30 years.. Surely a brave man...There is a Telephone connection here and you can make calls from this hotel. Time to talk to your loved ones before you get on to the serious part of the trek
16 June 10:00 am
We set out on the second phase of the trek..From here the Jeep track disappears and all your are left is very narrow path which leads you to the top... The climb get steeper and steeper as you move up...there are lot of misleading paths throughout the trek.. but thanks to the not-so-caring trekkers who have littered the forest with plastic... you can choose the path with this plastic and surely you will be on the right track offcourse remember your are heading up so take the path which leads up.
In some places both the paths converges above, so all I can say is just simple common sense should take you through
one word of caution : Donot attempt to do this during nights.. you may be in for a long night trek...
The initial part of the trek was slightly less tiring and with the constant downpour, we really didnt know how much we were sweating.. The tough part really was keeping out the leaches
There are multiple options to combat leaches...ranging from salt, tobacco, kerosene to weapons like knife and a stick..
I preferred the stick while Manju was brandishing a kitchen knife.. offcourse the other options wernt much use as they would get washed away in the rain
We used to stop every few minutes to take stock of the leaches and offcourse yank them out from the shoes and our body ...
Leaches thrive on wet patches and where there is lot of dead leaves and in our path this was in abundance...
At every stop we used to yank out close to 10 leaches from the shoes and offcourse some of them did manage to get on to our body
Well after all this said about leaches, there is also the better part of the trek during monsoon... You can see some spectacular view of the mountains covered with mist, passing clouds showering you with ice cold water.. the greenry all around.... the constant pattering of the rain.. and the erie jungle sound.. We relished every moment of it and filled our lungs with abundance of clean air..It surely is a premium in the city
After about an hour long sojourn we reached a plain land.. no more towering trees and algae around..but pristine plains where the winds and the rains where trying to over power each other
We could see beautiful mountain flowers blooming on the slopes and the uninterputed view of the mountains...We spent sometime just gazing around.. This terrain lasts for about half a km after which you are back into the thick woods...
This is when the strain actually catches on to you.. you are almost panting climbing and you are longing to see the temple which signals your end of phase two
16 June 12:45 PM
After about three hours of trek we could see the temple flag as we ascended up and right ahead of us covered by mist was the temple and the house of the priest. There is also an I.B on top
We were welcomed by the priest and after changing our clothes we were served hot coffee and Tea ( You dont need to carry food as it is available at Priest's place at a very nominal price)...
Tip : If you are trekking during monsoon make sure your bag is water proof 100% or your dry clothes are covered in a plastic bag ..the moisture will surely seep in if not.. and tht happened to us.
We had a good lunch rested for a while and set off for the last part of the trek.....
16 June 3:00 PM
The trek to the peak is about 3 kms but the terrain is pretty easy and most of the time you will be trekking on plain lands ..offcourse the leaches dont spare you here either..but the tough part is the slippery edges..donot attempt to climb to the edges as a fall from here.... you will be petrfied in the forests below without anyone to even take your bones home
16 June 4:00 PMWe reached the summit in just over an hour's time. Here there is a small shrine where once upon a time Guru Shankaracharya meditated. Also there is a Ganesha temple in a cave below
It is here where you feel that you can touch the skies.. You feel so close to nature. And when you stand on the peak and stretch your arms out you feel the whole world in your arms.. No words
can describe it , you have to experience it ...
After spending some time at the peak.. The downpour was too much now.. we headed back .. to the priests house satisified and a sense of accomplishement
"Kodachadri captured in the best of its arrogance"
The trek down to Priests' s house was about 35 minutes... Pretty easy downhill.. but watch out for those sharp drops' which are very taxing on the knee and the ankles..
We changed into some not-so-wet clothes and sat infront of the fireplace at the priests place sipping some hot coffee.
We were later in the evening joined by an adventurous gang of 5 who had dared to do the similar feat .. Fresh Graduates wanting to enjoy their last few days before heading on to take up thier first jobs
We talked a lot and then hot dinner was served at 9:00 PM. Before I realised I had dozed off listening to the constant pattering of the rains
17 June 2007 9:00 am
We started to trek down along with the gang of 5 ( our new found frds) very easy and simple guys..we instantly bonded with them
