After the failed attempt at scaling the formidable
Kumaraparvata a couple of years ago, I had vowed to try again. A rough plan had taken shape over time. With a long weekend coming up and with an unexpected depression over the area in focus, everything depended on the weather.
With stay and food arrangements done, it was a game of wait and watch. It had rained cats and dogs in Mysuru and Kodagu. Me and Jing had also spoken about a plan B(plan A is to make plan B). Fortunately, Friday was sunny and we decided to carry on with it. With a client visit on the same day and the last bus to
Somawarapet at 19:00 Hrs, the odds were stacked against us. Miraculously, everyone except Rangi, Param and Raga reached the bus stand on time. These three would have to take the last bus at midnight. They would reach only by 3 A.M!
We reached Somawarapet by 23:00 Hrs. A gentleman who saw us with all the tents and sleeping bags wished us luck for the trek. We would need all the luck there was. We checked into two big rooms in town. One of those rooms had insects of all kinds imaginable. The insects were attracted by a bright light outside the room. The room was a biologist's delight and a bleary eyed trekkers nightmare. We ordered dinner and charted tomorrow's course of action. Our three musketeers mysteriously to take a bus to Kushalanagar insead and ended up coming to Somawarapete by auto!!! To this day, they maintain that the auto ride was one of the best in life, with the auto driver narrating to them tales of apparitions the whole way! I remember not sleeping even for a second that night. It was a deja vu. The build up was frighteningly similar to our previous failed attempt.
The next morning we woke up early, got ready on time and divided the luggage. There was a lot of luggage to be carried!! We gobbled up some idlis, packed lunch and set out. Early morning, the town had a lot of trekkers. The bus to 'Hegde Mane' , start point of the trek arrived. As these are remote places, there are vey few buses in and around the start point. We learnt that the next bus to Hegde mane would arrive only at noon!! Our bus consisted almost entirely of groups like ours, and it was filled beyond capacity. Trekkers, luggage, vegetables, hens, you name it. We had to adopt improvised sitting/ standing postures to fill in the available gaps :)
We reached the start point at 09:00 Hrs, stretched around a bit and began our trek.
 |
| Start point for the trek |
Enthusiasm and energy levels were high even as a veteran trekker pointed out that we should speak and laugh less. Me and Jing, failed crusaders from the last foray, acknowledged the wisdom in those words.
 |
Jing, Raga, Hillboy, Tabby, Shubam, Param
Picture perfect paddy fields and a gushing waterfall marked the beginning part of the trek, gradually morphing into dense forests with trees bearing their botanical names.
|
 |
Lush
The sun was out, in continuation of yesterdays good weather, but the thick vegetation meant that very little sunlight reached the ground. We observed huge mushrooms and I felt that the forest bore an eerie resemblance to the one in 'Avatar'.
 |
| Jing and me observe mushrooms. Raga, Hillboy and Tabby pose. |
I tried to lose track of reality and to look for Na'vi's. Losing track was easy in the utterly beautiful greenery. The drudgery of carrying heavy backpacks and luggage was showing up. (each person,on average carried 9 Kg's of weight)
 |
| Splitting the load of the tents |
At our first pit stop, we acknowledged that getting apples and oranges along was a good move, as they gave us instant and clean energy.
|
By now, the group had split into two, with the veterans making a dash to the top to secure a good camping spot for the night. The terrain was uniformly steep, with a copious quantity of leeches. You have to be on the guard always, because, when you stop to catch your breath, the slimy fellows would latch onto you in no time, and in feather touch!
On the net, I had read about a 45 Deg slab of rock, which had to be crossed to proceed. We came across it. "Keep left" was the advice from the group which had gone ahead. The rains had rendered the rock like a mirror, wet and glistening in the noon sun. It was really slippery.
 |
| 'The' rock |
We positioned ourselves at different points along the rock
and passed the tents and the rucksacks from hand to hand, with the persons at
the top placing thee stuff in a safe spot. We followed this till everyone and
everything were on the other side. This was when everyone was blown away.
The other side
The
view from this point was breathtaking! It was totally worth everything it took
to reach till here. My heart leapt in joy. Was this not why we trek, why we
undergo such hardships, only to witness such pristine beauty? We spent a few
silent moments in awe, perched on whatever we could find, and took in the view.
 |
| A very satisfying view |
We came across a waterfall, not far from this point. It was
around 14:00 Hrs, and it was already getting overcast. We had to reach the top before
the rains would play spoilsport. We
gobbled lunch and moved on. The path led us to another rocky barrier, steeper
than the previous one, but thankfully the rock was dry. Scaling our way up this
slab of rock, we spotted some dark clouds meandering towards us. The weather changed in seconds, and it was a
full fledged downpour in no time! To add to things, this place was a major
leech territory. We decided to tackle the rains first. Fortunately for us, the
downpour lasted for just around 20 minutes, but enough to get everyone and
everything drenched. The signboard said 1.75 Km to the peak. Along with the
rains, clouds had laid siege to the peak and it felt surreal to walk through
this magic place. After a while we reached the top.
The top
A
strong wind blew across, unhindered by any obstacle. As we were drenched to the
bone, it was biting cold!! Our pioneers had set up two tents.
 |
| The tents are up! |
We set down our
luggage and began to check for leaches, and ended up finding a lot of them!!
After getting rid of the leeches, we helped set up the remaining tents. It was
getting dark and we were utterly exhausted, so we decided to
catch some sleep and regroup for dinner. The rains had rendered our tents,
sleeping bags and everything else remaining, wet! Outside the wind blew like a
gale, testing the limits of our tents. Somehow, I managed to get some sleep,
teeth chattering in the cold. In Jing’s words, it was like sleeping
underwater!! Me, Rangi and Jing got up after a while, to get some dinner. We
moved into Hillboy’s tent, thoroughly checking if we brought any leeches inside
with us. Dinner was chapathi and chutney powder, washed down with the elixir
that brandy is. We had smuggled little brandy bottles in, through the
checkpost. Alcohol is not permitted beyond the checkpoint, but everyone blessed
the moment when we decided to bring brandy in, as it gave us the much needed
warmth in the bristling cold!
A star is born
The
next morning, I woke up to shouts of ‘sunrise’. The sun rise was the sun
struggling through a narrow sliver of sky hazy with clouds. Better than no sun
to warm us! The view around was spellbinding, when the fog permitted a clear
view. On one side there were clouds covering everything on the ground below in
the plains.
 |
| The clouds cover everything |
On the other side,
nature had gifted us with a mind bending paradox. Out in the horizon, the hills
and the merged, and I could not tell when one began and the other ended.
 |
| Hill?Cloud?Horizon? |
Breakfast was cold bread and jam. After clicking a few
pictures, we packed the tents and sleeping bags. A few of us began the descent
earlier than the others, pointing out that in any case, the pioneers would get
past us later on the way. It was nice and foggy. After about half an hour of
descent, we came across what would be the most dangerous part of the trek. A
huge sloping rock, with water flowing over it continuously.
 |
| Tread carefully |
The only way past was by holding onto plants and praying to the
almighty that we would not slip and fall!! Thankfully, everyone made it through
in one piece. From this point we could see the mighty kumaraparvata. We treaded
carefully, as the terrain was slippery. At this point, me, Tabby, Raga, Jing
and Hillboy split from the group and went ahead. It got nice and sunny as we
went down, but never hot, owing to the thick vegetation. Moving on, the path
sloped up. Kumaraparvata was close!
Out of the thick forest, we came across a clearing with a
most beautiful vantage point of the mountains A 180° view of what was to our
left, and how high we were!! The sun duelled for supremacy against the ever
changing clouds, giving us an intoxicating interplay of light and shadow across
the verdant vista.
 |
| Out here in the perimeter, there is no stars. Out here, we is stoned immaculate |
 |
| Over the hills and far away |
 |
| A beautiful and impossible scene, conjured by the almighty for our pleasure |
After clicking a few pictures and eating a few apples, we
headed on our way. The undergrowth cleared, we reached the peak and we could
spot Bhatra mane in the distance.
Even farther away was the temple town Subramanya. We made a
quick assessment, and estimated that we would be at bhattra mane just past
noon.
 |
| Heading down the wonderful trail |
 |
| Perspective. An eagles eye view of the plains |
 |
| Awesome to observe the patterns that clouds make, on the ground :) |
Going down, the path had a big slope. I shuddered at the thought
of climbing this path, with all that luggage. With our backpacks getting
lighter because of the depleting food and water, we made some good progress. By
11:30 we reached the tank near the temple, where the cold water did wonders to
our bruised and battered bodies.
 |
| Flat by the tank :) |
 |
| Raga becomes horizontal :) |
 |
| A good place to lounge, ponder and soak in the beauty :) |
The other group was
nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to get caught in another downpour in the
evening we moved on. Just before bhatra mane, we came across a platform with
benches. A beautiful place to lounge,ponder and soak in the beauty.
Oasis
Girigadde Bhat is a simple man, but he is literally like a
God to us trekkers. He lives in the middle of nowhere, on the hills above
Subramanya town. He has a simple home, and cultivates essential vegetables
around his house. He assumes cult status among the trekking community, as he
provides piping hot food to troubled souls like us, for a nominal rate. A stop
at Bhatra mane is a mandatory point in the Kumaraparvata trek agenda. Here you
can eat to your hearts content. The food is simple. Rice, sambar, and
buttermilk. I can guarantee that this will be one of the best meals in your
lives! We ate and threw ourselves on the tarpaulin sheets at his place.
The other group arrived almost an hour late. Shubams stomach
was screwed, and Param had a knee injury, which slowed their progress. With
dusk approaching, we moved on, with 5 Km remaining to reach Subramanya town. We
covered more than a Km non stop, all charged from the awesome meal after two
days! We were swift with calculated breaks, keeping the deadline as 18:00 Hrs.
My ration of dry grapes and electrol spurred us down the forest. It would
surely rain, and with darkness approaching fat, we knew that the other group
would be in trouble.
We made it to town just in time,and it began to drizzle.
Getting a place to stay for the night would be a challenge, today being a
holiday on account of Rajyotsava. It was like mission impossible, wandering
aimlessly through town, on very less energy levels. Thankfully, we bumped into
a chap who would arrange a room for us. The best part was that the room was
contiguous with a roadside hotel, with access to piping hot pakodas right
outside our door! A refreshing bath later, we gorged on piping hot pakodas and
syrupy, hot tea. God combination during a downpour. With all cellphone networks
down, we had no means of knowing where the other group was. Once the rains
subsided, me and Raga made a noble foray
to find out where the other group was. Venturing into town barefoot, with no
luck, we decided to go to the temple and thank the lord for getting us to
civilisation ,safe. The next challenge was to stand in a long queue for dinner,
within the temple. This took a lot of determination and caused a lot of pain.
Standing in a queue after trekking for 20 Km was not exactly comforting, but
this would only be a shadow of what we would put ourselves through, tomorrow.
Of mysterious powers
The next morning, Hillboy and Tabby decided to run away to
Mysore, while me, Jing and Raga decided to stick to the original plan of going
to
Dharmastala. Pulled by a mysterious power, we boarded the bus. During the
journey to Dharmastala,I realised that my legs had become stubborn, whould not
bend, and would cause unbearable pain when they did. Once in Dharmastala, we
ended up walking like penguins, grimacing in strange contortions with each
step. The locals might have taken us for lost fools, complete with tent and
sleeping bags.
Pain, will power,
pain
We dumped our luggage and set out to seek the lords
blessings. Monday is an auspicious day, and it being a holiday, people had
descended into town in hoardes. We knew we were in trouble, after seeing the
serpentine queue for Darshana. The queue went on for a Kilometre easily, and I
was dizzy, subjecting myself to this extreme test of faith! Devotion, will
power, or sheer madness, call it what you may, but we finally managed to seek
the lords blessings that day in Dharmastala.
And so concluded our epic venture
into the wild, culminating here. All in all, it was a wonderful experience,
and I was enriched by natures beauty, ferocity and by knowing the human bodies
capabilities to withstand the extremes of weariness J
