Kuduremukh - 3rd time

Yes, for the third time I climbed the Kuduremukh peek on 20th Dec 2019 with a whole new gang. Umesh, Indiresh, Swamy & I drove from Bangalore to Balegal. The original plan was to reach Hornadu by night, stay in the temple lodge and next day morning drive to Balegal. But Rajappa, who is our contact in the Mullodi village (basecamp) suggested coming directly there. There is a limit of 50 members per day allowed to trek so he suggested he can arrange for permits the previous night itself. We started from Bangalore by 3:30pm on 19th Dec and reached Balegal by 10:30pm. The drive was good except at few places after Kottigehara where the road repair was in progress. Mr. Jinendra from Balegal owns several jeeps and runs between Mullodi (basecamp) & Balegal (base town). We took a drop to Rajappa's house and checked-in to our rooms. 

     It was very dark & chilling when we woke up at 5am in the morning. As usual, after multiple snoozes finally woke up at 6am and got refreshed. Idli, Sambar & Coconut chutney was served at 7:30am for breakfast. After filling our bellies with hot idlis & a cup of tea, we took the packed Puliyogare rice for lunch and started our trek around 8am. There is a new forest check-post built after a short climb-up from Rajappa's house. They check if you are carrying a plastic bag, alcohol and other non-degradable materials. You are not allowed to carry small chocolates wrapped in plastic. You have to remove everything and put it in one big plastic box. This will ensure that people don't throw that little plastic wrap after eating chocolate. After clearing the security check, we started walking up towards the peak. The initial part of the trek was good as you have to walk on a plain road. Trek gets ugly once you cross Lobo's house, and you have to climb up. I have been out of touch for few months now and was having difficulty to climb the final stretch. Umesh & Indiresh looked very fit and the claimed the peak first. Swamy joined as the third person, and I was the last person to reach the peak at 11:45am.

We spent an hour up there on the peak and finished our packed lunch at the stream just below the peak. We started descending around 1:30pm and reached Rajappa's house around 4:00pm.

After changing clothes, I & Swamy went to take bath in the Mullodi falls. It was chilling water but gave a very refreshing bath. We came back to Rajappa's house and started chit-chat with his kids. Suman & Seema were very friendly, and without any hesitation, they opened up for discussion with strangers. Seems in fact, started asking stories from Ramayan & Mahabharath and I & Indiresh shared whatever that we have learned. Rajappa served us the onion pakoras and we finished that in no time. After dinner, we came back to the room and settled for the night. 

     The next day, we woke up at 6am, and after taking bath we left Rajappa's house. We went to Horanadu temple, but due to the Sabarimala season, it was heavily crowded. We offered prayers from the outside and started our journey back to Bangalore. While having breakfast at Kalasa, we met one of the very good lyricists of the Kannada film industry, Mr. Jayant Kaykini. He was there for the Galipata-2 film shooting, and he obliged to take photographs with him. On the way back, we visited Indiresh's home at Hasan and had a glass of tasty buttermilk. Next, we stopped for lunch at Swathi Delicacy and reached Bangalore by 6pm. It was a nice drive and trek to Kuduremukh. There are a lot of treks in mind, but don't know how many can be attempted. 

     Keep traveling & keep blogging :-). Good night.

Mullayyanagiri to Kemmannugundi & Hebbe Falls

Background     

Road to Mullayyana giri

      Ravi initiated a trek from Mullayyana giri to Kemmannugundi via Baba Budan giri. There are number of trip reports on this trek and all of them indicated a total of 35+ kms for the entire trek. The interesting part of the trek was the ridge walk from Kavikalgandi to Manikyadhara (BSNL tower) for which Ravi initiated this trek. We discussed to go in small group as we can move faster. As somebody said "A team can be as fast as its slowest member", we didn't want to include anyone dragging. Myself, Ravi, Roopa, Laxmi & Prabin decided to do the trek. 7 more people from Laxmi's team showed interest in the trek, but said they will return from Baba budan giri on day 2. After all these discussions we started booking tickets for 12 people.

Planning (Chaotic !!)

     I booked 12 tickets in Airavatha Club class to Chickmagalur via KSRTC Website. Ravi booked return train tickets from Birur in Jodhpur express (at 21:30). After all the bookings are made, the cancellation requests started coming in as expected. Two people had some emergency, so had to cancel their tickets. There was some confusion in the discussion that we had, and Laxmi booked return tickets for the evening train for all on day 2. So, we had tickets for both evening train (Janshatabdi 2S), and night train (Jodhpur express 3AC). Something went wrong in the planning. Few were determined come back by evening train, so they got their tickets cancelled for night train. We were not sure whether we get permission to trek from Baba budan giri to Kemmannugundi, so we kept both the reservations open. 

     For any trek in the forest, it is a must to take forest permission. I called up Chickmagalur forest office for the information and permission, but the lady on the phone bluntly said, that we have to visit the forest office in person to pay the fee and take permission. There were lot of uncertainties -

• trek permission will be given or not
• Camping at Galikere is allowed or not if we take our tents
• Someone told there is a IB or community hall in BB Giri. So whether to take tents or just go with sleeping bag & mat ?
• trekking from BB Giri to Kemmannugundi is doable or not as some blog suggested that trail isn't very clear.

     Despite all this, we decided to go without tents and take permission at Chickmagalur.

Day 1 - 9th Jan 2016 (Saturday)

     We reached Chickmagalur by 04:00am. I had booked tickets in multi-axle club class, bus but what we actually came in was a regular Benz bus. After complaining with the conductor, he refunded 50 rupees per head. We had to spend time till 10:00am when the forest office opens, so we checked into lodge Lavasa, next to the bus stand and slept for 2 hours. It is the same hotel we stayed 3-4 years back while returning from Ombattu gudda trek. I still remember the fight Kirthibushan had with the hotel manager over a signature issue. 

     I had spent 4 years in this beautiful city when doing my engineering during 1995-99. Then, I used to visit a Ganesh temple in MG Road. After taking bath, I visited the temple again after 16 years and to my surprise, found the same priest performing pooja. 

     We had heavy breakfast at hotel Soundarya (just opposite Bus stand), and got Pulav packed for lunch. I arranged a Jeep to drop us to the Mullayyana giri (for 1300.00 Rs), before which we visited the forest office. It was second Saturday of the month, and holiday for the forest office. When I enquired the lady over phone, she didn't say that it is a holiday and I was shocked ! I thought of meeting the officer Mr. Manikam, but the Jeep driver told, we can take permission from the check post at Mullayyana giri. The driver then dropped us at Seethalayyana giri, which is some 4 kms before Mullayyana giri. 

View of Chickmagalur

We started trekking from there towards Mullayyan giri and reached the peak by 11:15am. After a brief photo shoot, I enquired the priest there about to trekking trail towards BB giri. He got angry & started shouting at me to return the same way I had come. Apparently few days back, two trekkers from Hyderabad went missing in the forest, and the department people had to struggle for a week finding them. So, the DFO passed an order not to allow anyone without permission. Since the grassland is completely dried, there are high chances of wildfire catching up during this season. So, from their point of view trekking is strictly barred during this time. We were very disappointed & I started pleading a forest official present there inside Mullayyan giri temple premise.

Nilesh with the backdrop of Mullayyana giri

He asked us to escape from the eyes of priest and trek. We quickly took a trail to the left of temple, and started walking towards BB giri without looking back. The trail was prominent, and our destination i.e, BSNL tower was in clear view. Except few forest patches, all other hills have turned yellow already. It is good to come here just after monsoon is over if you want to see them green. Just after 3 kilometers, we got view of main road & check post which we have to cross to access the ridge that goes towards Manikyadhara. 

View of BSNL tower & ridge

It was around 2'O clock and the forester Mr. Narayanappa stopped us from going ahead, and didn't listen to any of our pleading. He said, he can put a case against us for coming from Mullayyana giri. With no other option left, we started thinking what we can do next. All our effort in planning is useless. After finishing our packed pulav, we hired a Jeep to take us to "Buttermilk falls" also known as "Jhari falls" & "Dhabdabhe falls" and then to Kemmannugundi. We planned to do "Hebbe falls" trek next day which is at 8 kms from Raj bhavan.

     

Butter milk falls or Jhari falls or Dhabdabe falls

The "Buttermilk falls", is an amazing but lesser known falls. It is inside a 150 acre coffee plantation owned by ex transport minister Mr. Sagir Ahmad, I was told by the Jeep driver. During this season, the water will be less, and you can go till the base of the falls, and take bath. No private vehicles are allowed entry, but you can hire local Jeep services from the main road for a cost of 600.00 Rs. Price depends on your negotiating skills to travel just 3 kilometers on mud road. Even elderly people can visit the falls. We were hard pressed against time, so reluctantly left the falls and started "Jeep trek" towards Kemmannugundi. 

     All ten of us, with heavy backpacks packed in a single Mahindra Jeep ! There can be no better punishment for improper planning :(.  Kemmannugundi is around 22 Kms from here, where the initial 10 kilometers has good tar road we didn't feel the pain. The last 12 kilometers was a terrible ride !  Ah ! the vehicle was in such a pathetic condition, that the driver used separate diesel can placed below the front passenger seat serving as fuel tank. One of his friend also accompanied him. So we were total 12 people plus lot of luggage in one Jeep on a junk road !. God bless "Mahindra" :)

     We reached Kemmannugundi by 7:15pm, and we enquired for a space to sleep. All we needed was a flat area where we can comfortably sleep in our bags. But the manager at Horticulture office refused such space but offered a large suite at the cost of 4480.00 Rs. It was dark, and we were clueless of any other facilities there, we checked in to that large room. It was comfortable suite, with two big rooms inside, which can accommodate 5 people each, and a large veranda outside with dining table & sofa sets. We never wanted such luxuries, but had to accept since there is no other way.

     After finishing the chapathis, bread/jam etc that we had carried, me, Ravi & Nilesh went up to Raj bhavan to shoot star trials. It was a new moon day and a perfect time and place to shoot star trials. It was my first attempt at this, and I had not carried any tripod. Ravi however, mounted his 24-70mm lens on his 5dm3 on a stable Gitzo 6x CF tripod and started taking trial shots. I was mere spectator suggesting Ravi what best we can do. All the stars were quite high on the sky, and we couldn't include any earth element in the composition. Ravi tilted lens upwards to the sky and started automatic photo capturing for next 45 minutes. It was already 10:30 pm and due to cold breeze, I sensed headache, so I came back to room and slept. Ravi & Nilesh stayed there and don't know when they returned.

Day 2 - 10 Jan 2016 (Sunday)

   

Hebbe falls

 I woke up at 6:15 am, and Ravi was getting ready. As per our plan, we had to checkout the room, keep the luggage in reception and start trekking to Hebbe falls by 7'O clock. Prabin said he is not feeling well and he opted out of trekking. We finished breakfast with whatever we had brought from home, and after taking permission (200/- Rs per head) started the trek by 8:30 am. We had to come back max by 4:00 pm to catch our evening train from Birur. We had requested Prabin to follow up with Arun (person at Raj bhavan) for the Jeep drop. 

     Hebbe is one of the magnificent falls in Karnataka. Because of its location inside Wildlife sanctuary, and lack of tourists it retains its pristine glory. I could still trace few paper plates, cups and broken beer glasses. I don't know, when people learn to respect nature and behave properly. 

     As per our original plan, we were supposed to reach Hebbe by morning 10:30 am, and start back by 11:30 am. Because of our start delay, we reached there by 11:30 am. At any cost, we had to start back by 12:00 otherwise, we can't catch our train. The initial part of the trail goes through a forest patch, and then through a grass land with grass blades grown to the height of 6-7 feet, before opening up to the Jeep track. We walked another kilometer or so on the jeep track, and arrived at a view point. We could clearly see the hair-pin curves and if we had to continue on this track, we need to walk another 3+ kms. So, we decided to descend directly which is hardly half a kilometer. It was quite a fun to descend but I was worried about return path, when we had to climb up in the scorching sun. After getting down from the hill, it is another 3 kilometers walk through the coffee estate (on Jeep track) and we reached last home on that side. After taking a turn at the house, we had to descend a hill almost vertically. The inclination is almost 85 degree. There is a jeep track also, but that is a longer route.  We had to then cross a stream. I carefully stepped on stones and tried to jump the stream without getting wet. I escaped one stream, but there was another one to cross. We met another team of 15 people from Tata institute, Bangalore here. When I hit the second stream, I thought there is no point avoiding water, and walked straight with shoes on. The water worked as a lubricant to cool off my feat. After crossing the stream, we walked for another half a kilometer. Ravi exclaimed ! "Welcome to Hebbe". Aha !! I couldn't believe my own eyes. Its is spectacular and very very beautiful than I ever thought it would be. There are no words to describe nature's beauty. You only have to experience it. If you can walk, and love nature don't miss this spectacular, magnificent falls. I know, I'm not doing justice by using only these two words :). 

     I took, some shots of the falls without ND filter that I carried all the way. My ND filter is a cheap plastic and other than stopping the light, it doesn't do any good to me. I didn't carry either a tripod or ball head this time since that was not in our plan. Somehow, used a rock as the support and with little struggle took some slow shutter shots of the falls. By the time I did all this setup, all other people had come and there was a big gathering. I could not avoid any of them in my composition. Then someone reminded that we have to start back. So, quickly I changed my clothes, and took a cold-shower and 3 times dip in the chilling water. I felt to spend some more time in the water, but there was no time. By this time, Ravi also came and took a dip in water. It was already 10 minutes past 12'O clock, and we were 40 minutes late from the original plan.

     We started walking back keeping an eye on the watch. The uphill walk on the jeep track was little tiring, but boring. The first ascend through the forest took less time than anticipated. Laxmi & Ravi motivated Ritu not to loose courage, and she did climb the hill in just 20 minutes. It was then 1:10 pm and we had finished 1 of 2 biggest ascends. We resumed walking and then took another break at a water point near a house. Kamal & Senthil mixed orange flavored glucose to water, and we drank stomach full of water and preserved Oranges for future climb. After walking for another hour, we reached the base of second climb. It is the same point, where we descended directly to avoid long jeep track. It was around 2:15 pm, and I anticipated it would take another hour or so to climb. But we climbed it in 15 minutes ! After reaching the main road, we took a long break and finished off whatever we had brought to eat. We had to walk another 3-4 kilometers to reach our guest house. Prabin called right in time, and he offered help to load the jeep with all our backpacks (we had left our luggage behind at the horticulture office) and come to cross road.That would save us one kilometer of walking and 30 minutes. 

     We came to the cross road by 3:30 pm, but there was no sign of Prabin or the Jeep. To our bad luck, there was no signal also. We sat on the "Kemmannu" (red soil) road, waiting for Prabin. Even after 30 minutes of waiting, there is no sign of Jeep, and all of us were worried. A local biker dropped me at the check post which is some 500 mtrs from the guest house. A driver then asked, if Arun (a worker at the Horticulture office) has booked a jeep for us. Prabin was waiting at the guest house, and this driver was waiting near check post. I explained him our urgency, and took him to the guest house. It was a Mahindra Marshal vehicle, and 10 people sitting with luggage in it is next to impossible. So, we had to shift the luggage to a open jeep again and started our journey towards Birur. 

     We ran into one local problem here. One private bus leaves from Kemmannugundi daily at 4:00 pm, and they claim that they reach Birur by 5:40 pm. When the Bus is there, they don't allow Jeeps to operate, because it will be a business loss for them. The interest of the passenger is least bothered here. The Bus agent started a quarrel with our Jeep driver, and our helpless driver stopped the jeep, and asked us to go in that Bus. It was already 5:00 pm, and every minute is important to us. So to end this unavoidable conflict, we simply paid 300.00 Rs to the Bus agent to cover his losses and proceeded with the jeep. We were dropped at the railway station exactly 10 minutes before the arrival of Janshathabdi. We reached Majestic by 9:35 pm, and then dispersed. 

Important contacts to know

• Arun - 94815 83445 (worker at Horticulture office, Kemmannugundi)
• Yogesh - 94807 79193 (Jeep driver at Kemmannugundi)
• Harish - 94813 94189 (Jeep driver at Bababudan giri, Trek organizer)
• Chandru - 99801 34539 / 72045 55251 (Jeep driver at Chickmagalur)
• Lavasa regency - 87628 11527 / 08262 228877 (Hotel next to Chickmagalur bus stand)

 If you like reading the blog and enjoyed, please share your feelings with comments.

God bless all trekkers, Enjoy nature & keep it clean.

     

Shishila to Ombattu gudda

You must have read number of posts on Ombattu gudda (OG) trek from Gundya side, Shishila to Ettina Bhuja (EB) and then to OG but, you will not get a single post on web for a trek from Shishila to Ombattu gudda directly because I'm writing the first post here :). If it interests you read further else close this page.

As avid trekkers we always wanted to climb new peaks and last year while returning to Mudigere after completing OG (from Gundya side) trek (Aug 2012), we had seen the beautiful EB from Byrapura side. We had then decided that we will come back after few months to climb EB. Well, this was the preamble for this trek.

Planning

In Dec 2012, I sent an email seeking participation to EB & OG trek. Everyone was in holiday mood & no one responded. Again in Jan 2013, Laxmi re-initiated this trekking plan but the response was poor.We then decided to go with any number of participants and sent a final call to the group. Surprisingly, there were eight people who opted for the trek. I took charge of logistics this time & booked tickets from Bangalore to Dharmasthala (onward) & Chickmagalur to Bangalore (return). After reading few blogs on EB to OG trek from Shishila, we decided to do the same since going to EB from Byrapura will be less adventurous. In Feb, none of us expected rains in this part so we decided not to carry tents and go with minimum luggage. I had booked Non-AC Sleeper to Dharmasthala which leaves Bangalore at 9:30pm and reaches destination at 3:45am. Take a room there, get refreshed, have breakfast, take a drop to Shishila & start trek northwards to reach EB peak. Stay somewhere near the peak or Bhyraveshwara temple on Day 1, and start trek towards OG on Day 2. From OG, we know how to reach Hosakere & catch the last bus at 5:30pm to Mudigere. This was the plan but did we stick to it ? Read on,

Journey Start (15 Feb, Friday)

Everything was fine until the previous day, when Prabin asked me to cancel his tickets as he has got an emergency. Two of his friends followed him stating no reasons. We were only five now; Ravi, Roopa, Laxminarayan alias Laxmi, Shreyas & me. Shreyas was in dilemma initially but joined finally. I reached Majestic at around 9:15pm and could locate the Bus easily. I must appreciate KSRTC for sending me an SMS with Bus registration number, platform and the crew member's mobile number. I never expected it from a government service. Indeed, Technology has made an impact on our lives. Laxmi, Roopa & Shreyas were already there & Ravi joined in time. The bus started on time & I was all set to fade into sleep while others engaged in a chat. The journey was very good until Hasan or Sakaleshpur (my guess) and once we entered Shiradi ghat life was miserable. To add to my woes, there was a child in the back seat who was crying continuously & disturbed my sleep.  

Day One (16 Feb, Saturday)

We reached Dharmasthala by 3:45am and after enquiry got to know that rooms are available in "Saketh" complex which is two furlong down from the main temple. I was surprised to see huge accommodation complexes bigger than the main temple itself, all managed by the temple trust. They charge a nominal rent of Rs 100 but have maintained it very well. I now know the reason why Dr. Veerendra Heggade is very much appreciated. We got into room quickly and stretched our body on the floor trying to get some more sleep. At 6:00am, after bath we went to see "Lord Manjunatha" before the breakfast. I had been there long back and lot of things have changed now. Instead of entering from the main door, you now have to go through multiple rows separated by iron mesh something similar to Tirupathi. It was hard to guess the rush from outside but it is lot better than the Tirupathi crowd any day. We joined the queue and could see only 15 people in-front of me and thought that "darshan" would get over in less than 10 minutes. I saw a person selling morning news paper to the people in queue. Aha!, it is definitely going to take more than 4-5 hours if he is selling paper here and all our plan has to be reworked & I thought of retreating from there. But, the fear of sin I would commit by retreating from Lord's darshan forced me to stay in the queue. It took nearly an hour to pass through the queue and come out. A short drizzle indicated something big in the future though we ignored it. On the way back to "Saketh", we finished breakfast in a hotel which looked very modern from outside with name boards lit in pure white bulbs. It reminds me of the adage: "All that glittering is not gold". We had no option but to eat whatever that was available and after breakfast we vacated the room to start our mission. We hired a local Tata sumo for Rs 750 to drop us at Shishila (Car owner: Chandra, Phone#: +919448153017/8970554857) which is at around 32kms from Dharmasthala. On the way, I purchased a sickle at Kokkada for Rs 250 (a bit high price but I failed to bargain) which was of great help later. Finally, we ended up in Holegundi which is some 8kms away from Shishila and had to pay Rs 50 more to Chandra. 

Back in the room that day, we had looked at Forest survey map and had found that we need to go 10kms northeast to reach EB and then go 10kms southeast to OG and back some 13kms to reach Hosakere. In a hurry, I exclaimed why should we go that way, instead we can go OG first and then to EB and then exit at Byrapura. That would save us some kms. The idea was good but I had not thought of any trials or the distance from Holegundi to OG. Everyone agreed and Ravi was more happy to try something new :). There was a clear jeep track & foot trails marked on the map but none of us knew, how far that could be. We identified "Herike" as the last village enroute OG and "Nayi halla" a big stream flowing southwards to be exactly mid point between Shishila & OG. That's interesting! If we reach "Nayi halla" in 4 hours it would approximately take another 4-5 hours to reach OG. So by late evening we would hit the OG grass lands & we are safe. But before venturing into it we thought of asking locals about the route and if anyone have gone there recently. Shockingly, nobody knew about that route and those who were aware, knew little about it. One person told no such route exists, and another person told it takes about 3 days to go to OG. That was really discouraging but, Ravi factually believed that there is a jeep track to OG and we must take that route, Roopa had strong faith in Ravi, so she was  supporting Ravi's decision, both Laxmi & Shreyas nodded in support and reluctantly I bowed to the team's decision. I just wanted to reach EB peak & enjoy the evening there but it looked like luck something different in store for us.

From Holegundi, we walked back a kilometer and inquired about "Sathi kallu" with a local lady and she was very generous to show us the right direction from her backyard. We thanked her and crossed the Kapila river to move towards "Sathi kallu". We had one last beautiful sight of EB while crossing river. After walking 1-2 kms we reached a place called "Herike" and inquired about "Nayi halla" in a house. The oldest of the family told something about OG in Tulu and his son translated it in Kannada to say that OG is around 10kms from there and "Nayi halla" is around 6kms from his house. He then guided us through a narrow path towards "Nayi halla". It was around 11:00am and I was not confident that we will reach OG in day light. I suggested that we will go to "Nayi halla" and return from there but Ravi was not in a mood to listen and he said "Let's see". It was a proper trail till "Nayi halla" and we reached at around 2:00pm at a pretty good walking speed of 2km/Hr. We took a very short break for lunch, just 5 min to finish 2 chapathis. Laxmi had stomach upset due to fantastic breakfast in the morning and wanted 5min more rest badly. We quickly checked our co-ordinates with SatGuide GPS receiver and approximated spotted our position on the physical map. We had to follow the stream towards North a little, cross it and take a turn towards East where we will get another stream which we had to follow for 1-2kms and cross it to hit the Jeep track. But it wasn't that simple. From "Nayi halla" there was no prominent trail to North and in the best interest of time we had to take a quick decision. Anyway we had to cross the stream at some point and turn right, so we decided to cross the stream here itself and go North so that there is a chance of hitting the second stream very soon. We took best decision at that moment and as expected we hit the stream, but it looked like the same stream where we had lunch. There was a prominent trail on the other side of the stream here, but there was no route from the lunch place to this point. It was totally confusing. Again, we checked our co-ordinates & position on map, and decided to go East. Unfortunately, there was no trail and we had to make our own way through the forest and it was the toughest part so far. We saw a falls on the left hand side but to go to East, we had to head right. It was a steep ascent and any small mistake would be disastrous. Since I was leading in the front, I went ahead to check out if there is any trail available but that was a futile effort. It was 4:00pm by then and we had no glimpse of grass land. Ravi looked at the map and suggested that we cross the falls & climb on the other side, at least there are chances of hitting a Jeep track. We started to descend slowly, but we ran out of luck.A heavy downpour of rain worsened our problems. We had no choice but to continue in rain. We crossed the falls carefully and started climbing up again. It was also equally steep and any mistake would render us in the falls 15ft below. Heavy rain softened the soil and we could not get hold of small rocks. They come out if you hold them, and fall down if you step on them. Most of the tree branches are dried out and they break even before you hold them making it much more difficult. Only hope was the small plants and roots of big trees and finally we all managed to climb up in 1 hour. It was 5:30pm by then and we had no clue of grass land. Rain had stopped by then and we dragged ourselves in search of Jeep track. I could see light above a small hillock and assumed it to be opening to grass land. It was getting darker and we had to get out of the forest at any cost, but it looked bleaker. We did hit a Jeep track and I & Laxmi suggested that we camp there since the road was wide, but it looked like Ravi still had hope that we will hit grass lands soon. It was around 6:30pm and was pitch-dark inside the forest, and we continued on the Jeep track. Unfortunately, we missed the Jeep track and took a path which looked like a trail but it was actually a dried stream. Unable to continue further, or go back we were stranded inside the forest and halted there. To "rub salt into one's wounds",  it started raining and we had not carried tents except a 6x4' plastic sheet which Laxmi had brought. We quickly tied ropes to four corners of sheet and made a best possible shelter. None of us had thought we will end the day like this. All of us sat under that small plastic sheet praying Gods to stop the rain. It was only 7:00pm and we had to spend next 12 hours in the forest, in complete darkness & heavy rains. Luckily, there were no leeches around and that was a great relief, but the deadliest snakes of Western ghats: Pit vipers, Cobras & King kobras ? What if they come and bite us ? We neither know what is the antidote or have nor carry the person to nearby village. "Ignorance is a bliss", I stopped thinking about all that and tried to get some sleep. Rain has stopped & Ravi fell asleep fast and we started chatting on, What we could have done better, Why we took decision of coming this way & What should be our strategy next ? etc. Night was running very very slow and I used to ask time every one hour. We were complete wet and could not change dress. I was getting shiver from within the body which was lasting few seconds. We all were trying to get some sleep, but at 1:00am it started raining again & kept us awake. I started chanting all the stotras that I could remember, but rain didn't stop. There was another round of heavy downpour at 4:00am in the morning for almost 30 minutes. Never in my life I have stayed awake beyond 3:00am, and it was the first time. It was then 6:00am but Sun was in no mood to rise.

Day 2 (17 Feb, Sunday)

It dawned at around 6:45am and we could see around. It was critical that we take correct decision, either to go back or continue further. Going back was very difficult because of slippery but we are certain to reach civilization. We decided to explore that area for another two hours and if we don't get a proper trail we will retreat. We then split into two groups to explore. Laxmi & Shreyas went up to see if they can penetrate the jungle, I & Ravi came down to see if we can trace the Jeep track seen last night. Ravi did a good job in finding the track by penetrating through a thick bush and that made all the difference. We saw a grand Jeep track and followed it. After 1hr of walking, the track forked and we had to judge the right path. Ravi suggested to continue on the right track & I on the left track. Ravi went ahead on the right track to see if there is any trial & I went on the left track. A huge tree had fallen blocking the left road, so we continued on the right track but it was leading to forest again. Something is wrong! Let's go back and check the left road. If there is no other way, we decided to go back. Ravi did yet another good job. He climbed up a small hillock & voila!, he screamed & called us up. Yeah, we were right in the Laxmi estate and out of forest. We had done it within two hours and thats great! 

We were welcomed by the estate workers and we were familiar to them already. We did breakfast with whatever was left (Chapathi, pickels, fruits) and ate the Bananas offered by the workers. It was 10:00am and we resumed our trek towards Hosakere. We had to walk another 10kms to reach Hosakere, it was very cloudy day and that helped in a way. We reached Hosakere by 1:30pm, got the bus to Mudigere and then to Chickmagalur. Our return bus was at 11:50pm and we spent the rest of the time playing Uno.

All of us returned safely to Bangalore on Monday morning. While some went to office, some worked from home, and I took a day off. I've decided that I will complete blog this time, so writing this while scratching my legs :).

Ending note

• I thank the brave-hearts in our team, who accompanied the trek through a less trodden path. We have truly made a history breaking through a virgin path :).  
• I did not carry my camera this time so no photos from my side. Ravi was happily clicking with his new Canon 5d markIV and I was only a silent watcher.  
• Some of the useful contacts during this trek are,

1. Chandra (Tata sumo driver at Dharmasthala): +919448153017/8970554857
2. Madhava (Villager at Herike who guided us to Nayi halla): +919480038314
3. Chennappa gowda (Guide at Shishila): +919480239185
4. Gopu gokhale (Villager at Herike, also called as Bhattara mane): 08251269246