Dexter’s Blog My life, thoughts and experiences

Pursuit of Happiness

In my previous post I complained that I barely receive alerts these days and I guess Rediff server is now settling scores with me by sending them all in bulk.:) Anyways here I'm back with another post.

This time, for a change I'm scripting a trek experience for you all to read and I hope this post will help people willing to visit this place as we never had adequate information about this beautiful spot.

After over 2 months of research and planning, on 10^th Oct, 2 Ecologists and 2 Anti-Ecologists, i.e. Dhanush, Karthik and Avin, Brijesh decided go on a trek.

As per the plan we all went on shopping in the morning; All was fine until we were hunting for Sunscreen lotion.

After looking around for 15 minutes we decide to take the aid of sales lady. And on doing that, she placed a dozen of real expensive sunscreen lotions with different SPF values in front of us and that's when we all really felt the needof a girlfriend…

We chose the one with an eye-catching wrapper and she billed the sum smiling at our idiocy'

Once we were done with the shopping, we came home, packed our bags and left for the trek'

As decided we all met at the city Bus stop at 5:30 pm.

We wanted to have some adventure, so instead of taking a direct bus to Kollur, we decided to stretch the trek by splitting the route, so we mounted the bus to Kundapur.

We reached Kundapur at 9:30 pm and then boarded a bus to Byndoor which dropped us at Byndoor at around 10:30 Pm. By the time we reached there all the restaurants were closed and the only restaurant open had nothing else but Biryani in store. And who would say No to that!

Food was astonishingly cheap (Hope we did not devour Bow-Bow or Ka-Ka Biryani)

After dinner we had the brainwave of heading towards the seashore instead of an inn, we hired a Rickshaw to the seashore which was around 3 miles from the restaurant; we asked the Rickshaw driver if it would be possible for him to pick us up in the morning too. Without a second thought he nodded and handed over his cell number.

we were just about to mount the rickshaw when Avin suddenly developed the yearning to carry some Chilled Drinks to seashore and when we left to buy some , Dhanush who is remarkably good at speaking, silently managed to get the cell number of the next Rickshaw Driver as we always believe in having a plan B.

We came back with a huge bottle of Sprite and Coke each and then we continued our journey towards the sea, after about 15 minutes of travel we reached the seashore, Our driver left with a assurance to return at 6 am in the morning.

The seashore was pretty neat and we could see pitch-black cloudless sky with innumerable stars and the sound of the waves was very pleasant to the ears. We all went to snooze on the rocky shore after scheduling next day plans and calculation of expenses.

Next day we were woken up at 5 am by an eerie noise and it dint take me long to realize it was Danush's cell phone, thanks to the creepy ringtones we have these days..

We all woke up and enjoyed the view of the sea and rising sun while waiting for the Rickshaw.

Here is a view of the sea for you all to perceive -

It was almost 6:10 am and still no sign of the Rickshaw, that's when we called him on his cell and woke him off his sleep only to realize he rejected the call and switched off his cell.

Damn! 15 Minutes to the bus and there is no other way we can cover the distance, meantime Dhanush called up the other driver and he agreed to come to our rescue. And in the next 5 minutes we were loading our bags on to his Jet-engine-propelled Rickshaw which covered the 15 minutes route in 5 minutes and best of all overtook the bus and blocked its way for us.

He is always available at your service at Byndoor and you can take his aid by reaching him at the contact number in the end of the post

We thanked him for his rescue operation and boarded the bus (This route has 1 bus an hour).

After about an hour's journey we reached Kollur (This place is widely known for the famous Mookambika Temple).

From here were supposed to board a bus to Nittur which was at 8:30 am. We still had around 45 minutes in spare, so we decided to get fresh and finish our breakfast in the nearby canteen.

Before we could finish our breakfast in a proper form, our bus arrived and we had to run to the bus-stop with mouth-full of breakfast.

This bus took us to the entrance of the forest after 45 minutes drive through a tough curvy road and finally we were at the starting point of the trek.

Now before we could begin we had 3 tracks to choose from -

1.Jeep track '" Usually senior citizens go with this option '" 1.5 K per Jeep

Karakatte to Kodachadri '" Easy route hence chosen by 85% of the trekkers '" 10.5 Kilometers Trek

Nittur to Kodachadri '"Toughest route of the three where you'll get to enjoy the beauty of nature but it's a little dangerous and tricky route and is said to be a Naxal prone. - 15-20 Kilometers depending on the shortcuts

Since all of us were feeling very energetic and adventurous we decided to take the 3^rdroute

The next big challenge was 'How to use sunscreen lotion', again we all regretted for not asking our female friends before the trek.

Now Dhanush came up with a logic that sunscreen lotions are meant to create a thick screen to prevent sun's UV rays from damaging the skin.

The next thing I realized was all the 3 are smearing thick layer of SS lotion appearing
more-o-less like ghosts'

We began the trek at around 10 am and we were walking on the jeep track before we could enter the forest and that's when we found a villager there. We decided to take his guidance.

Hello Thatha, Can you help us with the direction to enter the forest?

He: Sure, just come along with me, my house is just on the way.

After another 20 minutes of walk in the silence of jungle

We: Thatha since when do you stay here?

We almost swooned listening to his answer when he said 'for about 300 years now'

After a gap he continued, we are here since 4 generations, we are farmers.

We: Thatha, do you always walk home with this heavy basket? Don't you have a
bicycle or something?

He replied by saying No I don't need it as my house is very close to the road…

We: Oh okay, and how close is that?

We went weak in the knee when he said 'Just 5 Kilometers!'

After some more walk he showed us a diversion which would take us to the forest and we thanked him and went our way. The forest did not seem as dense as expected but was tricky enough to give the wrong idea on the route.

After walking on the rocky route for about 2 hours we managed to reach a beautiful field which led us to the entrance of the forest.

The entrance of the forest was very captivating with a small stream which led us to a beautiful waterfall where we could see 20-25 angels oops' I mean girls photo-= shooting

Now all the 4 of us wanted to appear striking, Dhanush even managed to quickly slip into a black T-shirt.

We were now supposed to climb the waterfalls and move deep into forest and that's where the actual difficult trek would begin'

We waited for a few minutes for the girls to clear out of our way but that seemed to take longer than expected so we decided to make way and move ahead. The waterfall was very slippery but we managed to hold the branches and climb a little and that's when we realized that there were more girls on the top, blocking our path.

Since we were enjoying the scenic beauty anyway, we decided to wait there and click some photographs (Of waterfalls ofcourse )

Meantime all of us got some attention from those girls and the prettiest one of all who was in maroon top made some real good eye-contacts with me.

Just as we were making some more eye-contacts, every girl on the waterfall happened to scream and most of them even fell here and there and it seemed more like a Girl fall than a water fall and that's when a 10-12 feet long Bright Yellow snake came flowing with the water from the top and all my daring friends were nowhere in the scene. It was only me and Ms. Maroon left alone.

Suddenly we see a super man in white Baniyan, who comes from nowhere, holds the snake and throws it away into the forest and vanished into thin air'

Later we helped the ladies descend the waterfall with the help of some vines and resumed our journey.

The forest was dense and the uphill climb made it difficult for us to hold the cam, we had to baby-crawl to get the grip on the slippery rocks of the waterfall.

And after hiking 5 more such waterfalls, we could see a very gigantic waterfall which seemed to be a very difficult hike with huge stones and logs on the way

Once we were all beneath the waterfall we took a shower followed by a little food (No pictures this time, I don't want this blog to be held-up by the censor board )

After spending around half an hour we all decided to recommence our journey as we had to reach the summit before dusk.

Climbing the waterfall straight this time did not seem practical, so we decided to hike by the forest route and after trekking through the dense forest (you can see above) for about 45 minutes we could see a beautiful grassland.

The picturesque view was a treat to the eyes; after looking at the scenic beauty all of us had a sudden urge to photo-shoot

After Photo-shooting we sat for a while and extracted leeches from our shoes clothing and body.

For all those who do not know, what a leech looks like, here is a view'

More the blood it sucks the bigger it grows (Just like a balloon) and once it is done and cannot carry anymore blood, it falls off and that's when you see blood oozing from the bitten area (A leech bite is more o less painless until you extract it from your skin )

After sometime we again carry on with our journey on the grasslands'

And around 4:15 Pm we reach the Jeep Track and we continue walking towards the destination'.

At around 5:30 Pm we reached the top of the hill where the PWD guest house was located and as expected it was closed for renovation, but as usual we had plan B ready for execution.

We walked towards Bhattra-mane (Priest's house) where we were allotted a little room to spend the night.

We dropped our belongings in the room and raced towards the track on the right of the house to watch the sunset at the sunset point which was located 1.8 Km uphill.

Huffing and puffing we finally managed to reach the top and the view there was breath taking'

We were finally 4215 M above sea-level after the 8 hour long trek'

And finally we managed to capture the sunset'

After climbing all the way downhill we reached Bhattra-Mane and it was around 7:15 Pm.

By now all of us are walking around like robots due to the body ache and we decide to take a shower to calm the ache and that's when we realize that there is no hot water supply or electricity here.

With no other choice we all took 'Candle light bath' in 'Ice Cold water' while singing loudly'

After dinner we all decide to sleep and within half n hour I was woken up by loud snoring and news reading competition held between the three ( In their sleep), there were also some fight scenes included in between'

With no other choice I took out a piece of cotton from the first aid kit and blocked my ear to get some sleep'

Early next day we were woken up by some howling sounds again. Thanks to the weird ringtones Dhanush carries in his phone.

It was hardly 5 Am and we were supposed to ascend another mountain to view the sunrise, this time the one in the east for a change.

Cell phones do not have network access here, but cell phones are programmed to ring at the best wrong time possible, even if you are in the least accessible corner of the world at that point of time'

And my cell phone proved this theory right by ringing right when we were in the following situation and yes undoubtedly it was a WRONG NUMBER!

After hiking for about an hour we reached the summit and waited for the sun, and as anticipated, sun was very punctual'

After some photo-shoot we dismount and reach Bhattra-Mane for breakfast, after breakfast, Priest's mother told us the story of Goddess Mookambika and also showed us the shaft of the Trishool which is buried under the soil using which Goddess Mookambika destroyed Mookasura'

It is said that this shaft is one of the oldest iron ever discovered in India and till date scientists, are unable to detect the blend of ingredients of this iron shaft.

At around 10 am, we start our trek downhill, but this time through the other route (easy route used by the trekkers) which would lead us to Karakatte.

After trekking for about 5 Kilometers we reach a small shop which supplies curd/lemonade/cucumber slices to the trekkers.

After a break of about 20 minutes here, we resume our downhill trek and cover the distance of another 2 Kilometers before we reach the Jeep track.

There is a small hotel here by name 'Kaka's Hotel'. The trekkers who decide to take up the mounting trek by this route usually have their breakfast here.

Since it was around 1:00 pm we decide to empty our food supplies here and that's when Sanorita comes and introduced herself.

Since we had extra supplies, we invited Sanorita to have lunch with us and she gladly accepted the offer, wagging her tail.

After our lunch we decide to resume our journey as we still had 4 Kilometers to cover in another hour, but this time Sanorita decides to escort us all the way till the bus stop.

The next one hour was spent walking along the Jeep Track, grasping for lungful of air with our baggage as heavy as ourselves on the uneven road.

Sanorita was more than happy to see us grasping for breath while she'd swiftly cover a little distance and wait for us.

Just as we were about 1Km away from Bus Stop, it started drizzling and Sanorita bid farewell and dashed back towards her residence.

Leeches were active now, by the time we reached the stop, we were assaulted by at least a dozen big leeches and that's when we decided to trash the idea of blood donation for the next 3 months.

Just before we exited the forest we got to see a scorpion

After an hour of waiting, our bus finally arrived and on boarding the bus we felt as if we accomplished a huge mission in the forest.

The 30.5 Kilometers long trek and body ache due to it made us realize a fact that - Mard ko bhi Dard hota hai'

After 45 minutes of travel we reached Kollur and visited temple, obtained the blessings of Goddess Mookambika and boarded the Bus to Mangalore.

Here are some contact information for you to keep handy if you have plans to visit this place '"

Guide Vijay - +91 9449618964

Tent and camping arrangements -  Manjunath (Manjanna) - +91 9449100850 / (08185)-254613

Bhattra Mane -  Seetharam Jogi - +91 9480130939 / +91 9242485087 /+91 9242621925

Rickshaw Driver (Byndoor) - Rakesh - +91 9731434425

Please carry home your trash inpaper bags or use trash bins, do not dispose your  garbage in the forest and make it untidy'

Tip - Use Neem Oil, Salt or Lemon Juice, to prevent leech assault and make sure you learn how to use SS lotion.

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