15.7.07

Kodachadri - A Monsoon trek

7.7.07




The Journey begins...


It all started three weeks prior. Mails ran across to and fro; countless chat sessions and innumerable calls. All of these confirmed just one thing; that the group was ready for yet another adventurous trek. After thoughtful discussions we decided upon Kodachadri. Freddy was the one to suggest Kodachadri. With the arrival of yeshwant from Delhi, the group wanted to do something exciting. We decided to start from Bangalore on the 6th of July and spend that weekend over the mountain. Yeshwant, along with freeda, Kannan and Rajesh Mukkat came to Bangalore on Friday while Dinesh (who was actually not going to make it for the trek, surprised us all by starting little late), Savitha, Rabbs, Inigo and myself geared towards getting things done for the trek.



The group took a night bus to Shimoga from the KSRTC bus stand. The ticket was nominal and the journey lasted about seven to eight hours. At early morning we reached the Shimoga district. Dinesh joined us in Shimoga later in the morning.

8.7.07

Nithur ferry ride...



From Shimoga we took a local bus to Nithur. The journey to Nithur was very exciting because at some point the bus had to cross through a river in a small ferry. The bus carefully gets onto the ferry and takes a 20 minutes journey crossing the river banks of Cauvery. At Nithur we had the jeeps of the PWD guest house waiting for us. The jeep went further a distance of 20 Kms and dropped us near a muddy detour. After getting primary route instructions and changing to a more trekkable costume we started our journey up the mountain.



Climbing KodaChadri...



Kodachadri is the highest peak in Shimoga district; and probably one of the most challenging destinations for avid trekkers. People who have scaled this mountain especially during peak rainy season will relate to exactly what I am saying. At 1343 meters above sea level, KC is the most serene mountains of the Western Ghats.



It started to rain the moment we started our trek. First it was mild and then it became a constant shower. The further we gained altitude the more it got cold. The path wasn’t all that steep but rain made it difficult to ascend. Within minutes we were totally drenched and our back packs got heavier. We took short breaks wherever we could find shades and kept on moving. The Lush green and the scenic beauty made our hiking worthwhile.



On our way and approximately an hour into our trekking we came across a small tea shop, owned by (who else!) a mallu! But the shop was closed and we couldn’t get much help with the directions. People who trek KC usually pass through this shop where one can get medicines for leech bite and a good cup of tea, puttu and chukka.



We reached our second base after a while which happened to be a small school. The school was closed (lucky school kids!) because of the heavy rain. During our concourse we had a tough time tracking our path because due to rain the trek tracks got erased and we weren’t sure if we were on the right direction. To keep things simple we followed a jeep trail that seems to be going directly up the mountain through a forest area.



At different point of time we halted and took rest, but mostly we were on our foot fearing leeches. Freeda (our team medic!) was at our mercy applying turmeric and salt based compounds on our leech bites. The Trek tracks got slippery and mercilessly challenging since water from the constant rain gathered momentum and started streaming down our routes. Savitha by now started developing breathing problems due to over exertion and lack of oxygen. She somehow managed to continue with taking frequent breaks.



After long hours of trek we came across an open area where cattle were grazing. Information we extracted from one of the blogs revealed that we were on the right track. We followed the track and came across a small rivulet. It was so tempting that Freeda and I decided to take a dip till the rest of the people caught up with us. The water was fresh and it was chill. It was so refreshing. While Inigo, Kannan, Yeshwant and Rajesh Mukkath marching way ahead of Freeda and me, we were still waiting for Dinesh, Savitha and Rabbani to catch up with us. After we met up with them, we climbed further up and reached the Meenakshi amman temple (sarvajna peetha) and further up we reached the PWD guesthouse and were welcomed by Inigo and lot with a hot cup of tea and fresh dry towels!!.








9.7.07

The day after...



After spending the night in the PWD guesthouse we started the next day late afternoon amidst a heavy rain. The PWD guest house owner offered to drop us down to a nearest village at an expense of 150 Rs per head. We were shocked at first, but later realized that the driver had actually done us a favor by dropping us.



On our way down we witnessed that the road wad badly damaged, with uprooted trees and fresh landslides. The landslides were as deep and streams of water flew down the road making it completely impossible for us to descend down without proper guidance. It took us two hours to reach down, although it felt like eternity! The Driver did his best maneuvering the jeep on that road ensuring our safety at all times and at the same time dodging the land slides and tree trunks.

Finally we reached down, and got dropped near Nithur bus stand from where we took a bus back to Shimoga. Shimoga is a beautiful town with beautiful and warm hearted population. We rented a room in a hotel and changed our dresses and had a lavish dinner before we took our bus back to Bangalore.