Ombattu Gudda/6 - Nov 14-15, 2009

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SUMMARY

When: Starting on Nov 13 (Friday) 10 pm, Return by Nov 16 (Monday) early morning.
Where: Kabbinhole Reserve Forest, Karnataka.
Terrain: Boulders and rocks, dense forest, crossing streams.
Difficulty: Difficult.
Distance: 35 km trek.


So it was happening finally - A year after it came to my knowledge that there existed the mysterious jungles of Ombattu Gudda, A year since I’ve been yearning to climb the peaks of Ombattu Gudda - It was happening finally today on Nov 14th 2009. This time I ganged up with the Chennai Trekking Club aka CTC in short.

Alright, before starting I would like to clear some things first.

Firstly, if you are looking at this post for information on the trail to OG, I am sorry I would be of no use.

Secondly, DO NOT ENTER OG WITHOUT A GPS OR A MAP! The place is like the land of the lost. Inevitably you'd end up getting lost and this is not a place you'd like to be stranded.

Thirdly, negotiating and navigating through these jungles can be overwhelming. It helps to have an experienced trekker in the group.

Now let’s get down to the trek. After a quick meet up with the trekkers from Chennai and Bangalore, we took the overnight bus to Gundiya. At 7.30 AM Saturday morning, we found ourselves waiting on the roads after Gundiya Check post stuffing our bags with cream buns and fruits and whole lot of other rations. Nobody seemed to care about freshening up. After all we were headed to the wild. Having thoroughly explored the jungles of Eastern Ghats previously, for most of the CTCians, this would be their first tryst with the leeches of Western Ghats. Snuff powder mixed with oil was given to everyone before embarking upon the epic journey. Well yeah! Snuff (tobacco) powder or salt or volini (or any pain relief spray) or turmeric too for that matter works well against leeches. Ravi and Claudy were also armed with GPS gadgets and some maps for our aid. And we were ready for GO!

The initial part of the trail passes through the village to your right. Well frankly I didn’t know where we were headed – to OG or simply to get lost and come back. Either way worked fine by me. The trail keeps you company for the initial 4 to 5 hours and we were following a trail now. At 9.30 AM we reached our first big stream. You must’ve seen this picture in many a blog by now and the place has been looking the same since then. At 10.30 we hit the second big stream and trust the guys to make a huge commotion in the placid waters.

But among all this, the fun was to act as the “know-it-all” person about the leeches. Had a fun time explaining all the leech fundas to the willing (or maybe the unwilling) listener! Yes, there were a couple of leeches. Monsoon time would be a leech fest though.

An hour later we started again and we were still following a trail. I must say that I was kind of getting bored now. The same kind of forests and we were following a trail – nothing exciting was happening. Soon we reached another gushing stream and it goes without saying that the guys jumped into it.

Another hour passed by and I would’ve slept on the way had we continued on the trail. It was now that Ravi deemed fit to introduce some excitement in the trek and took us on a small detour – not as much as a detour as a roundabout way to reach the same trail. But some excitement at last, climbing through the thicket of the jungle! We went up, took some photos on a collapsed tree bridge and came down to the same stream again. We did the same thing a couple of times, trying to lose the trail through the thicket but ending up on the same trail again.

AND THEN FINALLY, LOSE THE TRAIL, WE DID!

Also in the process, the overconfident yours truly stepped on a loose rock in the water and proved yet again that gravity works just about fine whilst the waters claimed my camera! Yes, my dear companion has abandoned me!

It was around 2.30 PM and we were keeping close to the stream. Many a times we would get down to the stream and walk among the slippery rocks, wade through waist deep waters or simply try to climb up to the thicket growing alongside. But we kept doing the same thing in turns. Climb down, walk some distance, climb up and walk some more distance and so on. But all the while we were walking along the stream. Now the excitement started building up. On my previous treks, we had grasslands for most parts but the crossing streams I never did. This one needed a lot of team effort. With our backpacks humped on our backs, we had to cross streams many times. And I kept slipping on the rocks many times too.

One particular time was even interesting, I did nothing. I was standing on the rock and waiting for the rest to start when I realized I was just slipping down the slant! No change is position, maybe change in centre of gravity (: P) but I was slipping down just like that. Thanks to the amazing reflexes of Shivi and Sai Ganesh, I evaded the fall just in time

We stopped for lunch at 3 PM by the stream side. Having lunch and being lunch as well – as Shivi put it. Well the blood suckers (leeches) were still by our side. A quick lunch of the polis and we were back on track. Same routine followed, walking through the jungle and walking along the stream. And I don’t think I have explained well what I meant by walking in the jungle. This is not your typical walk along huge trees jungle. This is the dense undergrowth along with huge trees jungle that I am talking about. Bamboo trees and thorny bushes block the way and they are just about everywhere. As I said already, no trail which meant walk through the bushes which wouldn’t budge at all to give us way. Cut through them – either you get cut or them. But someone has to get hurt!

Claudy was leading ahead with the GPS tracker while Vinod was the tail end. We were looking to reach a campsite by the stream side which was flat enough to accommodate 36 people. It was 5.30 PM and still I could see not a patch of flat ground. It’s either all rocks or all bushes on uneven land. By this time, I was getting a bit wary about the nightfall and us still not finding any campsite. But it helped that we were 36 of us and that’s a crowd. So I wasn’t too worried about being lost in forest. Soon it was 6 and we were wading through yet another waist deep watery path. This was it for me! I didn’t want another step in the water as the last of the light faded. But the leading guys realized we missed a turn somewhere behind just before we crossed this stream and were contemplating going back along. I had my heart in my mouth right about now! It was dark and walking through that slippery water and rocks was by no means inviting. Some considerate person decided against it and we decided to move ahead into the jungle and find a campsite somewhere.

It was pitch dark and we switched on our torch lights and stayed close as we walked. 15 minutes into the forest and we came to a small clearing amidst the huge trees and a respite from the undergrowth. It was by no means looking like a probable campsite for 36 to my eyes but to the experienced it was close to perfect. Only downside being, the stream was flowing around us and camping at a watering hole is not advised much. Lack of options and time made us call it a day for trekking and now we got down to the task of transforming the clearing to a campsite.

It was 7.00 PM and totally dark. Immediately we got down to work. Some left to collect firewood while the rest cleared the stones. A huge tarpaulin sheet was spread and the guys settled down with knives and their victims – onions, potatoes, carrots and more. Not to worry - not the humans. Soon the fire was lit and an hour later our soup started boiling! While I was totally drenched from the stream crossing, a hot cup of soup felt divine. Another hour and a half later, delicious poha was ready. We helped ourselves to generous servings and now it was time to setup the tent. It was the very first time that I was camping at such a location in the forest. And the tent was not so much of covered protection, but huge tarpaulin sheets instead. We tied them to the trees around and we settled beneath the spread.

As I lay down and stared at the trees above, a firefly was glowing! The stream flowing around us was creating a perfect harmony. I was at peace and I was asleep. It is the timeless moments such as these that beckon us time and again back to the wild.

The morning next day was pleasant. It was just then that I realized the stream was flowing so close to us. After a blissful morning tea, which got better only with time, we set off towards the elusive Ombattu Gudda peak at 9.30 AM. After a few minutes walk away from the campsite, we reached the stream yet again and yet again it was time to cross it – Only this time it would be the last time. After this, we decide we would just gain altitude no matter what!

So the quintessential climb begins. Slope or not, climb we shall. Thorns or not, climb we shall. And that’s exactly what we did. This as well was a new experience for me. Always having trekked in grasslands, negotiating steep and slippery 70 degree climbs with nothing but roots to hold on to was an exhilarating experience. And if I forgot to mention, it was loose soil and loose rocks everywhere. But, I was back on familiar turf. I was climbing a mountain and not wading through slippery stones in streams. I was back in shape powering through. I was almost ahead with the leading pack. This sort of climbing through the thicket continued for a while. Until 1 PM we were doing the same thing. After which, we hit a small patch of grassland. It was just now that we were above the tree cover and could get a glimpse of the mountains that surrounded us – from all sides! Couple of “been there done that” group photos and then we set off towards Ombattu Gudda which was seen at a distance. We just had to cross one valley before starting the climb to Ombattu Gudda peak. It was the same thick thorny forest we had to hike through. At 2 PM we hit the grasslands again and now just some small peaks were in between us and the OG peak. We stopped for lunch here.

I still couldn’t believe that I was finally going to reach OG peak in a couple of hours. It was a dream, a dream which came true soon enough. At 2.30 we started the climb again. It was grasslands all around. At a distance, we could see the clouds playing hide and seek with Deepada Kallu, another lovely rocky peak in the Western Ghats. I couldn’t wait any more to reach the peak. Claudy was leading us and he didn’t want any of us to go ahead leaving the group behind. The group was busy taking pictures of the beauty around and I was getting restless. Slowly we started to ascend trying not to create huge gaps in the line so that everyone is close by and no one is left too far behind. We would’ve climbed three peaks probably and then we could see OG towering right in front of us. Pavan, Vipin and I were walking along with Claudy and after we reached a height of 850 meters, we three along with Christelle headed towards OG which stands at 970 meters above MSL.

From here, we could see vast vistas of rounded mountain tops and clouds covered peaks all around. Distant waterfalls on the distant mountains were also to be seen. Pavan went a little ahead of us and reached the third peak from here and he had a funny expression on his face when he called out to us. The thing was that, the climb was not over yet and we were not on OG yet. There was another peak to be seen in front of us. We climbed that one too and yet another peak was seen. We climbed that one too and I guess another was seen. Bottom line, there were not just three peaks between us and OG as I contemplated earlier instead there were several. And finally after climbing the false peaks we made it to Ombattu Gudda!

Yes, Ombattu Gudda Conquered! We four were the first ones to reach the peak that day at 4.00 PM. This was OG1 meaning the first of the nine peaks of Ombattu Gudda (nine hills). OG2 was at a tad higher altitude than OG1 and was right in front of us. Sagar, Ramjan, Sai Ganesh and a couple more were already headed towards OG2 and Claudy told us that we would need to cross that peak on our way down. So we four also headed there. Only few of us were there and it was silent. After two days of trekking, we wanted to revel in the glory of making it to the peak. Few were wandering around and the rest of us were lost in a world of our own. It was a while until the whole group made it and once we were all there, photo sessions and bumps sessions started. After considerably disturbing the eerie silence of the mountains, we decided it was time for us to get back to civilization. Victorious and reluctant we started down the peak while the setting sun was casting its fiery rays over the distant mountains. We could see the jeep track on the mountain in front of us and there was again a valley to be crossed before we could reach the track. We reached the forest and Claudy went inside to check out the trail to the jeep track. Unfortunately, the monsoons had erased any signs of trail to jeep track. As it was getting dark already, getting into the forest without a trail was not an option.

Claudy and Ravi decided we’d go further ahead and try to find the trail through the forest. We went ahead in the grasslands along the forest and here they tried to locate the trail but to no avail. Perplexed, and in desperate measures Guna went inside the forest with the knife to check out and a little inside, he found a proper trail. Elated, we all entered the forest in a race with the fading light. Very soon we reached the jeep track.

And just as it began, it all ended too! We still had a good 10 kilometer walk to the nearest estate where the bus would pick us up, but that was nothing compared to the last two days’ ordeal. It was 7 PM and it looked like it was about to rain. Thunder storms and lighting strikes were making it an interesting walk. We walked and walked ..under the open skies, along with the twinkling stars, with the cool wind in our hairs and earth beneath our feet. Sometime later we took a diversion to Hoskere through what looked like a jungle to me in the darkness. But we walked along and finally reached the village and the bridge at 9.00 PM. There was a small stream flowing beneath the bridge where many freshened up and it was now that Vinod stamped on my leg right on!

A rather delayed candle lit dinner at a dhaba for reasons that no light should be lit after 12.00 AM in the night was another interesting experience. Soon we were back in the bus headed towards Bangalore. It was 6.00 AM as we reached Bangalore station. It was farewell time and I hate GoodByes! Each time I am on a trek, it transports me to an altogether different world and each time this bloody goodbye drags me back to this world.

In Retrospect –

It was an epic journey!

We trekked 12 hours straight each of the two days!

It was super fun and the fun can be attributed to the fact that there was no existing trail and we made our own path!

For the coming one month, my legs will look like I am just out of a cat fight! Scratched left, right, center!

I missed my dear camera!

Fact File :

Base camp for the starting the trek – Near Gundiya Checkpost
Distance from Bangalore – 275 kms approx

Time required – 2 days
Existing trail – No
GPS or Map required – Yes
Difficulty – moderate to difficult.
Distance covered – 40kms approx
Alternate route – Yes, through the jeep track which was our exit point. From Lakshmi Estate.
Water Sources - Plenty till you are in jungle. Once you hit the grasslands no more water.

Written by: Ponderingmusings

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With leech-bites itching on both legs up to the knee, smarting scratches all over the body and soreness in muscles I didn’t even know that I had, I wonder whether the two day trek at Ombattu Gudde was worth it all. Then I recollect the cool green confines of the forest, the gurgling streams, the superb vistas and the wonderful camaraderie shared with the other trekkers and all these minor inconveniences fade into insignificance.

The trek started from Gundya on a comfortable trail which was almost like a walk in a park. Once we reached a stream we stopped for breakfast and a bout of splashing around in the stream. One needs to be hot and sweaty and then hit a lovely forest stream in order to realize how enjoyable the experience can really be. After about an hour of sojourn there we proceeded on the trek.

Walking through virgin forest, jumping from boulder to boulder on the stream bed and wading up to waist deep while crossing streams we proceeded towards the first day’s campsite. The trek was not too strenuous in terms of effort or terrain and, but for de-leeching breaks, we could probably have comfortably reached the campsite in daylight.

When someone who hasn’t trekked at all thinks about going into forests, the idea of being close to Nature is exclusively benign. It doesn’t always work out that way! One of the less comfortable facts of Nature is the leech. An amazing creature which first anesthetizes the site of its bite, de-coagulates the blood and sucks blood enough to bloat from needle-size to a near-globe and then falls off. One can look on it in amazement till, of course, it practices its act on you!

Our trek group had four schools of thought with regard to the leeches. The organizers had come prepared with snuff and oil which was formed into a paste and applied on the legs (one of the very few healthy uses for tobacco, I suppose). Another group believed in eucalyptus oil and yet another believed in the miraculous effect of lime(chunna). The last school of thought, who included yours truly, believed in allowing the leeches to have their fill and drop off without either preventive measures or any effort at interrupting their feeding. The impact of the last school was that my leg bled as though it had been mangled in an automobile accident! The first three schools of thought were probably foiled by the fact that wading through streams washed off the applications and, thus, guys spent a lot of time plucking leeches off their legs or spraying painkillers to make them let go. (Pharma companies note! One more use you can advocate for painkiller sprays!)

Thanks to this repeated de-leeching the last part of the trek was completed in darkness. This was the first time I had trekked in the night with only torches to illuminate the way through a dense forest. The experience was eerie but extremely enjoyable. Well! But for the photophilic insects that clustered around my headlamp and made me wish for a flypaper attachment, it was thoroughly great! We eventually reached the campsite by the side of gurgling streams.

My treks, hitherto, had been either with people hired to set up tents and cook or with camps in forest rest-houses or both. It was, therefore, amazing to see the organizers and co-trekkers pitch in and convert an unpromising site into a cozy camp. Open air though it was it looked like home away from home! People cleaned up the site, fetched wood and generally got ready for dinner. The chefs got into the act chopping vegetables and soaking the avalakki/avul (beaten rice, I suppose, is the English term!). Naveen dished out a delicious avul upma/Ogranai and how good a camp-cooked hot meal can be only experience can tell.

Just as we were lying down to sleep it started raining. Being prone to acidity attacks and having had one just then I was in too much distress to help the guys who rigged up tarpaulins above us to keep us from being drenched. (With my fabulous aptitude for messing up the simplest physical tasks it was just as well that I did not get in their way!).

Next day we woke up to some delicious black tea (of course, there were the generous souls who woke up and made the tea that we woke up to!) and set off on what promised to be a strenuous trek. Crossing the stream that had lulled us to sleep the previous night we proceeded through the forest. Our constant companions – the leeches – were with us still but the group had to hasten to complete the nearly 20 KM trek for the day. Ploughing your way through creepers that trip you up when you try to bull your way through them and readily break off when you hold on to them to avoid a fall is an unforgettable experience. After nearly four hours of walking through the forests (Well! We did rest a lot in-between!) we reached the grasslands.

A steep climb up and we were on the peak. To stand on top with valleys displaying all shades of green stretching out into the distance and gazing at fluffy clouds lazily moving across distant peaks is an experience that uplifts you but does not lend itself readily to descriptive phrases. It is at times like this that you truly feel that you are on cloud nine or should I be saying in cloud nine since we appeared to be in the clouds?

After taking a fill of soaking in the blissful atmosphere and a couple of group photographs down the line, we set off on our way back to civilization reluctantly. There was a kicker in store for us, however. It was near dark and there was some confusion about the way forward. Guna went into the jungle and found us a way back to the jeep trail that was to lead us back to where our bus was parked. (Considering that this was the place that three trekkers had lost their way and their lives a couple of years back and that another group of trekkers who were there at the same time as us had also lost their way and sent out an SOS, this feat is worthy of mention!)

Another spell of night trekking through the forest and a 10 KM walk on the jeep trail and we were back at the bridge where the bus picked us up. A scrumptious dinner down the road at a Dhaba (sans beer, alas!) and we settled down to sleep in the bus to wake up in our mundane everyday world!

It is difficult to adequately praise Ravi Ghosh who organised the trek and Claudy who was the pathfinder. Nor indeed can one forget all the other guys who selfless pitched in to make the trek comfortable on the way and at the campsite. If Nature provides the aesthetic component of joy on treks the emotional satisfaction of trekking is provided by such wonderful people who not only create the camaraderie on the trek but also make it possible for the group to enjoy nature at its best.

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Also read : Aswin Anand

Organized by: Ravi S Ghosh

Image Galleries:
Ravi Gosh
Ramani
Pavan

Previous treks to OG:

Mission DFS , OG 4, OG 2, OG 1

Mission Dead For Sure 2 - DFS/2, September 26 to October 1, 2009

This, so far, is the biggest mission in CTC.

The idea of trekking 9 days in forest was exciting. We were dreaming of sweet Venkateswara pools but Peter had a different idea in his mind. Since he missed the DOA7 in OG, he changed the DFS location to Kabinale forest to conquer OG and other peaks. We finally decided the food materials which will make us survive for 10 days. We had several issues in sorting the food items and getting gas canisters for the gas stove. Finally we were able to get 4.5 canister cylinders. Guru was new to western ghats trek and brought snuff powder and tiger balm for the leeches. They proved their worth when we finished the trek 6 days later.

Day 1
Finally the day arrived and Peter, Divya, Guru, Kannan arrived Saturday morning (Sep 26) to Bangalore. I joined the guys at Majestic. Rajiv gave the gas stove and the canisters. The bus conductor were able to identify that we were from trekkking group and helped to dump bags. We had a boring bus ride and the traffic was heavy till we reach Neelasandra. We tried to kill time by going through news papers. By 1 PM we were near to Hassan and we had a small break. We filled our stomach with tender coconuts. Again we went to dozing mode and by 2.30 PM we reached Sakleshpur. We filled food with Rotis, Bisibellabath and nuts knowing that will be our proper food for the rest of the days to come. Finally we were in Gundiya checkpost by 4:00 PM. We missed a sleeping mat inside the bus while boarding down from the bus. We had few snaps and a tea before we start to walk. We were walking with fully loaded backpacks each about 10-15 kgs and few more items with plastic covers in hand. This is the heaviest backpack after the disastrous Picnic. The cars and the oil tankers zoomed past us in the road. Finally we were at the start point near the bridge. We dumped extra clothes and a gas canister in the house. The women around there were enquiring about the week before DOA 7 where they had the same start point. We changed our clothes and the weather was ideal for trek. The women there were wondering our plan of staying 9 days inside forest.

We started trek inside the forest and we could see the lush green and the soundy stream all along the trail. Suddenly the weather changed and it become cloudy and started to rain. We were crossing small streams which I could remember was just flow of tiny stream in last OG3 trek. Also the path was so bushy and lot of trees had fallen due to recent rains. But combined with rain the current was strong and chill. We were crossing the streams slowly and as a group. Now the leeches started their first thirst of blood on all. I was running to get rid of leeches in my fingers and fell down directly in a stream and had few bruises. The rain increased and the water flow in the streams were also increasing at alarming fast. At one stream the current was so high and we werent able to cross the stream. Now the team DFS were thinking of to return back to the same house where we dumped the backpacks. We started walking backwards towards the houses and the rain stopped. Now one and only Peter took the decision of proceeding the mission. The plan is to pitch the tent near to river and start trek the next day. We waited for few minutes and the flow of water reduced drastically. We were able to cross the stream where we were stuck up and proceeded towards the river. Peter took the right decision even though we were hesistant earlier. That was the first test for the DFS team.

The chill weather and the rain made our backpacks heavier but we progressed in a steady pace to reach the river by 7:30 PM. Peter and Guru started pitching the tent and Kannan and me went to collect water in the nearby stream. We werent able to use the river water since it was brownish due to rain. All this time it was drizzling and we made hot tomato soups and rotis. Arun gowda bought rotis and polis for us and the rotis and we were required to use them for the next five days. After we had dinner we played few card games and we slept. I was fearing some elephants might come and stamp us. The first day campsite was very next to river.

Day2
The Day started fresh and we had sun light and rain had stopped. We had tea and rotis again. We were conserving rusks to be used later. The rotis tasted like teplas. It took more than a hour to pack back the items and start trekking. We didnt crossed the river and we sticked on to the left side of the river. We had the leeche medicine snuffpowder+coconut oil to keep them away. We applied all over the hands and legs before we started. We crossed few ups and downs. After some time we were in a place where two bigger streams met. We missed our planned trial towards OG in taking the OG1/2 trial and hence we  proceeded on the right side of the stream. After some time we stopped for a dip where 2 streams met. The current was strong and good enough for sliding inside water. We had videos of all swimming along with strong current. Also there were lot of butterflies in that place and took pics of them. After taking bath we started walking in the stream direction. It was cool and the boulders were with green patches which made the progress slower. By 11.30 AM I could identify the OG2 lunch point. The amount of water it flowed earlier was nothing compared to this time. We stopped at the place where it was idle for sliding with water in rocks. Peter pushed us all to the jacuzzi bath and took few polis as food. We were planning to pitch tent on top of OG  that day. We started from the jacuzzi rock and we proceeded on the right side of the stream. Then we had a steep climb to reach the grasslands. We were delighted to reach the grasslands as there were less leeches compared to the forest. But the grass were so thick and it cut the hands and legs with small wounds. We were walking up the grasslands and were so tired becoz of the heavy backpacks and the plastic covers in hands. Finally we were able to see the  OG peak by 4 PM. We were still some 2 kms away from the peak and it looked very steep. Peter guessed it would take 1 hour to climb the last stretch. We were progressing slowly up the hill with the view of OG peak in front. By the time we reached the last stretch it was 6 PM. Peter decided to pitch the tents there. We were delighted to pitch tent there. This time Guru and Kannan went to fetch water after pitching the tent. We were planning to start camp fire but it started drizzling again.

We cooked soup and had polis and rotis again. We were desperate to finish them first to taste other items. We had a nice dinner and by the time we were about to sleep it started raining. Kannan became the savior of our tent by making few canals around the tent to prevent water coming inside the tent. The  rain was continously pouring and the flow of streams sounded heavier. We were discussing of Peters good decision as it would have been a disaster pitching tent on top of OG with heavy wind and rain. The sound of streams was roaring like anything and we had a wety camp site for day 2.

Day3

Day3 also started late and our destination was to reach the base of Jenkal beta after climbing up OG. We were happy to find the methi rotis gone bad and we dumped them all. We still had polis for the rest of the trek. We had hot tea and rusk. Guru started camp fire with the puncture lotion he had. Also we had the energy drink which Kannan bought. After finishing breakfast we started towards the peak. The climb was very steep and we reached the peak around 10 AM. We spent lot of time taking fotos and taking rest. Peter was reminding everyone about the tough terrain to reach the base of Jenkal Beta. On the way Divya spotted a deer but it disappeared very quick. Guru ran to catch a glimpse of that but was unsuccessful. Finally we started to trek downwards towards Jenkal Beta. Peter was counting the times we slipped and Kannan was the one who fell lot of times. Divya fell lot of times. We were walking downwards towards the forest cover for about 1.30 hours. At one point we entered the forest cover. We were protected of leeche medicine to some extent. We were now walking in the forest cover in a used trial and were happy to be on trial. Everyone were feeling thirsty and we reached the stream. We were supposed to take the downstream for sometime before we climb up.

We started trekking downstream and we crossed a big stream to the left side. We were taking bath and the rain started. It was heavy and we were lucky that we crossed the stream at right time. We had few polis as lunch and we started climbing up in the forest cover. We were in jeep trial for sometime and there were thick bushes and leeches all over. We were required to follow the stream along the boulders. But the heavy stream didnt allow us to be near the boulders. By evening we lost the jeep trial. One point we were climbing a steep climb up and climb down towards the stream. Later Guru and Peter identified we missed the trial and hence we climbed up the stream. Due to wetness and rain all had become slippery. The thorns, bushes and leeches made the progress slower. Diwi was telling that I had less leeche bite. I was sure that it might have climbed up. Finally I found several leeches climbed up the legs and they were sucking blood from stomach and hands. Also was so tired becoz of the weight and were desperately looking for the campsite. Peter was explaining that no naxals can live in this leechy wet forest when compared to the dry , warm eastern ghats. It is true. Peter and Guru went back to find the jeep trial and it was already 6. They came back with the news that unable to find the trial and we decided to pitch tent. The place was near to a small stream. There were no flat place to pitch tent side to the stream and finally we pitched tent on the small space near to stream itself. We were able to hear the main river where the stream joined was flowing heavily. All this time the rain was heavy and were shievering most of the time. We finally pitched tent and had hot soup and maggie noodles for the first time in the trek. Peter was noting that noodles and soup were the best items to carry for n days trek. Other items are too heavy and bulky. We had a rocking bed for the day. We were under the big tree to which tent was tied and other end towards the stream. We were expecting anytime to wake up and trek if it rains heavily and the place goes inside water. Luckily the stream didnt increase and we had a rough sleep on the rocks.

4th Day

The next day except Peter none wanted to wake up. It was already raining heavily and we were hesitated to trek. But Peter brought us to sense by preparing tea and waking up all. Also we shifted all over hand luggages to our backpacks to make things easier. Also he changed to wet clothes and said we were required to catch the jeep trials and finish two peaks the same day. JenKalBeta and the tougher Deepadakal Beta. We were initially on the forest cover and finally we reached a nice trial towards Jenkal Beta. The places reminded that we were in the trial during one day conquer of OG3 trek. At one climb up in the trial Peter saw a poisonous snake and asked us to stay away. Then we were on the trial through thorny leechy bushes. Finally we reached some coffee estates with nice jeep trial. We decided to dump our backpacks and come again to pitch tent for the night. The time was about 11AM and we dumped all our backpacks and food items. We carried oneday meal and dinner in case we werent able to reach back to that place. We took the jeep trial for sometime and we were in grasslands. The GPS showed that we were at altitude of 1200 and we were hoping to reach the peak in another 10 minutes. But we were in wrong trial. We went inside one more forest and a stream and we were exactly north of the Jenkal Beta which is a very steep climb. We climbed up the hill using bushes and it was hell of a climb. I could remember in the last OG3 that climbing up the hill is not at all possible. But this time we were climbing up the same path. During OG3 we climbed the hill from a gradual slope from the south direction.

Finally we all 5 were on top of JenKal beta. The view was amazing. No view after 10 meters. The fog , rain and wetness blocked us all the great views from JenKal Beta. We took few pictures before we started for the next peak Deepadakal beta which was just 2 kms far from Jenkal Beta. The Deepadakal Beta is slightly lesser in height and it was in the south east direction to Jenkal Beta. We climbed down the last stretch of JenKalBeta and took a left turn when we reached the forest cover. We were walking with Peter always in front to lead us to DeepadalKal. It was wet, rain , leechy. I could remember the chillness of the path to the peak. Finally we reached the peak and we found that we need to climb up a rock to be on top of the peak. We climbed the rock from the right side and we were able to reach the another base. Above that there was one more rock which was too slippery. We decided to climb down as Divya stayed at the bottom of the rock. Climbing down the rock was much difficult and Guru warned that I should not take such risks since I was the first to climb up the rock. We had few fotos in that rainy wetty place and started climbing down towards our luggage dump place. The rain didnt stop at all and all were shievering. After an hour about 4 PM we were at the base of Jenkal beta last stretch and the clouds cleared for a while to have a look at the mighty JenKalBeta.

But that was a only for a short duration and again the rain started heavily. We found a relatively easy trial from that place to the dump place and Peter amazed how we missed the same trial during climb up. While coming down Peter asked for some chocolates. I gave them the good Finland Chocolates which my colleague bought during his visit the last week. We had some great views while climbing down and we were at the Jeep trial by 5 PM. We went to the dump place and found all our belongings were as it is. We took them and we were happy to end the day earlier. Finally we reached a grass land ideal for camping. Peter and Guru went to fetch water. Meanwhile we started cooking. Since we had only a liter of water left I prepared Semiya Payasam. Divya gave the idea as we had nuts and resins to make it better. After about an hour Peter and Guru came with news of no water. They had to cross a stream which was full of leeches and terrified all about the place which had lot of fresh elephant shits. Now Kannan and me were required to take water from the place where we dumped our bags. Meanwhile Guru and Peter pitched the tent. Everyone enjoyed having Semiya Pal Payasam and we decided to have Raagi for dinner. We had our regular soup and none ate Raagi which was cooked. Peter and Guru took critical notes on that day without that this writing would not be possible.

The night was horrible. It rained heavily and the tent fell several times on us. We were required to make the tent upright several times in night. One time the tent fell down and everyone were trying to fix it and Guru was snoring well. Peter noted that without the tent in western ghats it is hell and was very careful while pitching the tent so that it dont leak. That day was the day which I wanted to remember for a long time. That was my birthday and none known or able to contact me. It was a different experience of reaching two peaks on the same day with friends.

5th Day

The fifth day was a dull day as I went to refill bottles of water. There were few villagers who were with cows asking about us. When I came back everyone were still in beds and started the day with hot tea and rusks. While we were packing we found some villagers and children walking towards our tent and asking questions. They were wondering how we were able to reach the places inside forest. We showed them the maps and gave the children our energy bars and chocolates. We didnt had a single energy bars till that day and for the rest of the trek too. By the time we packed and started trekking towards Ballekallu it was already 11 AM. We were too lazy in that morning. The plan is to reach Ballekallu base by evening. We went back in jeep trail for some distance and we took the same path where we came the earlier day. Guru decided to go up the hill at one point. After 10 minutes walk Peter decided to stick on to the older path itself and took a U turn. Then we were walking in the jungle. While climbing down we were having few views here and there when the clouds moved. We crossed the main river and proceeded along the side stream where we found the jeep trail. Peter found another snake lying ready to attack and we moved  away from it on the right side of the stream. Soon the jeep trail disappeared and we proceeded along a foot path marked by sickle cuts which climbs steep uphill on the left side of the valley. Kannan was leading this time and was quick in identifying the sickle cuts on trees.  The climb up the hill was toughest and it was full of thorny leechy area. It was climb up and up and up. Still the backpacks were heavy and no words to tell about the climb on 5 th day. Finally Guru said to Peter to reach the other two peaks and leave once we conquered them.

Peter said that we are losing our focus to remain inside forest for 9 days and took foto of the place. Later after sometime we reached the grasslands and was happy to see the grasslands. But again climb up the grasslands. With heavy backpack, rain, leeches all places looked identical. It was again climb up and up the grassland. We were able to see the start of the streams in the grasslands and the thick forest cover started. The visibility was very less and we couldnt see the jeep trial. Our mission is to catch the jeep trial and camp before 6. Finally we were required to climb down the grasslands and enter the forest cover to reach jeep trial. The GPS gave information that only 500 metres but it seemed like it said in altitude. We climbed down inside the forest and finally we reached the jeep track. We decide to camp at the same place where the DOA6 people camped. I had leeche bites and the blood was flowing and not clotting at all. After setting up the best tent in the whole trek , Peter took fotos. We cooked soup and maggie which made us alive again. That night Divya was trying to convince Peter to get back to civilization the next day. She was our spokeswoman and we were very tired carrying backpacks. Also it was raining and our spirits dimnished due to wetness and rains. Eventhough we had a nice camping place the wind was cold and it was the coldest night of the trek.

6th Day

The 6th day started with a hot tea and rusk packets. We were planning to dump the backpack near to campsite and reach two peaks and a 100 meter waterfall. We started towards 100 meter waterfall. It was still raining but we were still brisk. We were walking all through the grass lands in clear jeep trial. We reached the end of the grasslands where there was a stream. We descended along the stream and found lot of elephant shits all around. It was cold , damp, wet leechy place again and we were on the top of the 100 meter waterfall. The wind was blowing heavily and this water falls is right in center of the valley. We could see heavy wind up the waterfall but the views were reduced to 10 meters. We had few fotos there. We found the correct jeep trial while coming out of the stream on the right side while climbing up and took the jeep track. Finally we were in the jeep track and our plan is to reach Ballekallu that day. Next day plan is to go to Murukallu and go back to Gundiya checkpost. Divya surprised all with the news that Peter decided to end the mission and we were going to catch the same 2.30 bus the DOA7 people took. All were pumped up to go back. Peter said that only 3 hours left to make to Ballekallu and catch the bus. That would be the last peak of that trek. We decided to go up the peak and dance at the top of the hill. It was a grassland and climb up the hill. Divya was reminding of the great views which they had last week during DOA7. We were unlucky because of rain and cold.

Finally we reached the top of Ballekallu at 12:00 noon and we danced on top of the hill. It was a funny video. We started descending down fast as we had only 2 hours left to catch the bus. Guru and me went ahead after reaching our camp place first. It was a proper Jeep path and it was fully muddy. Due to rain it had become super slippery. Guru was almost running and whenever I tried to take long steps I fell. I fell lot times on that road. Finally we were in sight of villagers and locals who work in the estates. While we were walking down the jeep , we found Peter, Divya and Kannan on a jeep. Guru and me too joined them and we had a great jeep ride. The road was  beautiful and the jeep driver dropped us to a near by town. We then took a jeep to Saklespur. People inside the jeep were closing their noses. We didnt know how bad we smelled. Finally we reached Sakleshpur and we went inside a restaurant where we can change clothes and have good food. We went to restaurant "The Prestige". It was a nice one and clean. We dirtied their restrooms and had a great food. We made calls to Arun, Vinodh to tell about our exits. Vinodh booked tickets from Bangalore to Chennai. We took a Volvo from Saklespur to Bangalore around 4:30 PM. We viewed fotos took by Peter and it were feeling good to return back to home. We reached Bangalore around 10:30 and we had dinner at KFC where we departed. Guru went to his native Vellore and I stayed back in Bangalore.

Victory Dance at Ballekallu

This whole 6 day trek tested everyone's limits and the human endurance. Peter was pushing always to higher limits and we are yet to find our limit. Personally I think that this particular trek is not possible for anyone other than Peter. The trails he chooses and the approach is unbelievable. I never thought in my life time that I can do such things. But we did. Guru , kutti Peter we can call him. Amazing always with heavy backpack and finding the paths. Kannan the trekker who with his never down attitude and coolness was a great companion to have with. Divya as usual will be seen in front but when she runs I always fails to catch her in climbing uphills.  I dont know how to thank you Peter but you are the Trek God for me and lot of CTCians .

This particular trek taught us lot of small important things during treks. They are

1. Good Back pack.
2. Gas with canister cylinders. For western ghats and raining conditions it is a must
3. Plastic cover.
4. Dry clothes to sleep at night
5. Leeche medicine (Snuff powder and kerosene, tiger balm)
6. Good jersin material trouser and tops.

Written by: Senthil

Organized by: Peter

Image Galleries:

Peter

Participants: Peter, Divi, Senthil, Kannan, Guru

Posted by: Karthick Sundararajan

Ombattu Gudde 2 (OG2)

There was a lot of excitement, anticipation and hope in the minds of 38 CTCians who set off to conquer the mysterious peaks of Ombattu Gudde on Friday Oct 31st. 32 of us boarded the Lalbaugh Express and 6 more joined us from Bangalore that night. After noisy games of UNO, snoozing and snacking on the train we set off to OG from Bangalore in the SRS travels bus. All hopes of a sound sleep were ruined by the fearless driver and his ultimate supersonic brakes! Nevertheless nothing could dampen our spirits. We stopped at a roadside dhaba for a sumptuous(well some could call it that) meal of Rotis, Chana, Dal, Paneer and Rice, much needed before the arduous adventure we were about to embark upon.

Another 5-6 hours of not-so-sound sleep later we reached a small teashop close to the destination, where people stocked up on anti-leech supplies and very soon we were all out of the bus, distributing food, fruits and water. Even at the beginning of the trek, one would be amazed by the beauty around! It was just a trailer of what we were about to see. We started off with a simple walk of a few kilometers which was spiced with fun conversations, during which we really got to know each other. And if that wasn't enough the leeches were also persistent on befriending us, we had a lot of "aaah, eeew, leech!" cries, but we managed to stay on track nevertheless, nearing the jungle at a steady pace. We were greeted of course, by a beautiful water stream, which was just ideal for our pre-trek swim/massage. We had breakfast after a nice dip in the refreshing cool water and all of us were energized for the task ahead. This was of course preceded by elaborate and varied anti leech remedies being put to practice. There was Nilgiri oil, tiger balm, volini, deospray, lemon, snuff, mixture of stuff being applied on the feet, stuffed in the socks! Various unique combinations of pants/sock/shoe styles also came forth.

Hats off to Arul, Claudy, Remi and all the other navigators who were deciding the path ahead using the map, we were just following them in the dense jungle that lay ahead. Anand kept marking the path on the trees/rocks. Diwakar and Amal were ensuring that all the trekkers are going at a steady pace, sending the slow ones like me to the front every now and then. Vivek and Karthick sweeping us deeper ahead. There were huge elephant footprints/pugmarks(?) here and there, everyone was on red alert to catch some wild life in action. But we fled when we heard noises of bamboos being split and broken followed by loud trumpets of elephants. No one knew if that was one elephant or a herd, but we didn't want to risk it! We kept going, in the dense vegetation, slowly on the edge of streams, trying to avoid getting our shoes in the water, and taking the rocks and fallen tree branches whenever possible but then eventually we were walking only in the streams! Arul kept telling us that we need to stick to the stream at all times, that was our trail. So we kept wading in the ankle or sometime knee deep water, Oh the water, crystal clear, ice cold.. there couldn't be anything better than that! All along we had scenic forest beauty around us, wild mushrooms, vipers, a treat for the eyes! After hours and hours of this, we finally stopped at a nice spot for a lunch of thepla, chappatis and pich-koo!

Next was where the real trek started, uphill all the way, the boulders kept getting bigger and bigger and the thorny bushes all the way. There were tricky green branches lying around which we kept grabbing for support only to find that they are all broken. We crossed huge broken trees. There was no path to follow, we were just trickling ahead like water, each person taking the path which they found the easiest. This is where the real team work came to play, the guys ahead warning us about the thorns, or slippery rocks, everyone giving each other a hand. Heavy bags were being passed ahead to reduce the effort of skirting tricky rocks by the waterfall. There were massive boulders to cross, where shoes came off. Everyone was either in their hawai chappals or walking barefoot. I found it so easy climbing it up barefoot, amazingly God just designed our feet to be so much more flexible than 3k shoes! We even spotted a tortoise there, who was photographed like Queen Victoria being the rare wildlife that we spotted. The tortoise too enjoyed the attention I guess, because it did not go back in its shell even once, during all the flashlights of cameras! Alas, eventually we had to bid farewell to the tortoise, and continue on our way. After 2-3 hours of strenuous trekking, we reached the last water source, where we all filled up our water bottles. By then we had scaled atleast 500 m I guess, and the Sun God was slowily dissapearing. We were still in the forest though. Arul and Co, went ahead to figure out the trail, while we all sat behind marvelling the beauty around us. We knew we were at the edge of the forest, for we could see the promised grasslands between the tall trees!

Within minutes Arul was back, and the decision was taken to go to the RIGHT. This RIGHT is very important, because in Arul's words "our trek got 20-30% easier, compared to OG-1, because of the decision to go RIGHT." After this right we just kept going steep uphill towards the grasslands. The sun set at around 6 pm, and soon the torches were out, and the climb kept getting tougher and exhausting. "Come on, you can do it", "Don't stop, you will get more tired if you stop", "Keep going, we have to get out of the jungle before it gets dark" these were the common lines used to shepherd the tired crowd. Very soon we left the forest trees behind, and were walking in tall grass, which was tricky, because we had no idea what we were stepping on. There was gravel, pebbles, sand, rocks, boulders concealed in the tall grass, making it even more challenging to complete the last steep bit, with torches in hand. With tremendous effort, people carrying each others bags, we finally made it to the base camp at around 7.30 pm, which was heaven after a whole day of arduous trekking!

Everyone was busy trying to settle down for the night, finding a neat spot to lay the mat, drying clothes, shoes, fighting for snacks that were appearing out of nowhere. There were murukku, halwa, energy bars, dry fruits, dates and even olives! The cooks started collecting firewood for boiling water for delicious cup noodles, which were the most yummiest most deliciousest thing for starved trekkers like us! After a nice dinner, there was a UNO session which went on till 11 pm! But there were others like me who hit the sack at 9, and slept blissfully under the clear starry night sky. Never have I felt more in touch with nature. After a good nights sleep, only interrupted by the chilly cold breeze or the occasional noisy snoring trekkers, we were woken up by Vinod at 5 am sharp! Surprisingly everyone woke up without too much delay, I guess the promise of watching the sunrise washed away all longings of sleep!

By 6 am we were all set and raring to go. Aah the beautiful grasslands, which we couldn't appreciate in the darkness of the night, looked so appealing at the break of dawn! We still had to scale a few hundred meters to touch OG-2, but the sight before energized us like nothing else could! It took about another hour of steep, grassy uphill climb to finally reach OG-2. It was tiring, but there was an upside to it, if you got tired, and stopped for a bit, you could look around at the mighty peaks, beautiful valleys, the sun slowly rising and the sun rays sprinkling beauty on everything they touch... grass, rocks, pebbles, people ! Cameras were going click click. It was an unforgettable experience. And we had so much more in store! Most of all was the immense satisfaction of finally making it on top of OG. Looking at the faded old CTC T-shirt, proudly resting on top of OG. A great moment for the entire team, those present and those absent as well! We left Pramod's tattered old denim, as the OG-2 mark.. maybe the OG-3 team can put the OG-1 T-shirt and OG-2 pant on a scarecrow :).

We had a huge breakfast of butter jam sandwitches, theplas, fruits, chappathis, pretty much everything that everyone had left to eat! After stuffing our faces, we started with the photosession, pics to prove that we made it all the way! There was one pic where we went a bit downhill on the other side, so the photographers could click it from the top. Some of us did not want to go there and come back up, in order to conserve what little energy we seemed to have remaining. But we still went ahead and did it, mob mentality or whatever you want to call it. Looking at the pics now, I think it was worth every bit of effort.

After this all we wanted to know was, how far the jeep trail is. Somehow after we reached the peak, we all seemed to just wanna get out! Arul and Diwakar kept showing us how far it is, and I kept thinking how much more climbing is in store for us. Nevertheless, the team spirit came into play again and we climbed two more peaks, with the sun beating down on us, and limited water to drink. It was a relief when we finally reached the jeep trail. There we met a gentleman who told us the way to get to some estate from the jeep trail where we can find water as well as reach Hosakere. After thanking him we started walking on the jeep trail. But I was a fool to think that the hard part is finally over. Because the challenge of the jeep trail may not be steep rocks, and tall grass, but the fact that its just a long never ending road, which has no trees, no shelter, exposing us to the elements! It was about 10.20 am on Sunday, when we started walking on the jeep trail, and the sun was only going to get hotter and hotter. But I soon realized that heres where the friendship and camaderie that was developed in the past two days, really came to play. Even though we were all tired and thirsty, the friendly comments, stupid conversations, kept us going, and we did not even realize when we reached the point where we had to get off the trail, into the estate! We were so happy to be there, that we forgot about Diwakar and Karthick, who had no idea we left the jeep trail! They kept walking ahead!

The estate was a nice walk, acres and acres of grass, beautiful trees, tiny streams flowing here and there, to quench our thirst. Everywhere we looked was a treat for the eyes! At long last we found a nice big stream of water, for all of us to take our post-trek dip in. Even though it was not the best of the streams that we had encountered, everyone was ecstatic to take a dip in the refreshing water. The last of all the food was polished off at this point. At long last, after we all felt that we were good to get out of the water, we saw Diwakar and Karthick walking in from afar. And thats when we found out that they had reached the end of the jeeptrail, which was an alternate exit point. But being the perfect organizer that he is, Diwakar realized that he had all the return tickets, and in view of the greater good, he walked all the way back, into the estate, and reached us in time!

After all our blunders came to light, and after everyone had their fill of water fun, we went another half km ahead, to find our musical brake bus waiting for us. After a change of clothes and tidying up, we started for Bangalore from Hosakere at around 1 pm. We saw a couple of movies in the bus. A fast forward version of Lagaan, and a mysterious 20 min version of Rang De Basanti! But ravenously hungry that we all were, we had to stop at Bellur at around 2 pm for lunch. After a nice vegetarian meal, energized, we got into the bus again, this time not as trekkers, but crazy singers! One would think that after all the hard work of trekking we would all be snoozing in the bus right. But no, we started our suong suession in full gusto, and there were carnatic suongs, sung melodiusly by Indira. There were modified Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam suongs sung with full dance action! Remi joined in with French numbers!

It was crazy crazy fun, that just cannot be described in words! No one knew where the time flew by and we reached Bangalore at around 9 pm. After long goodbyes to all our Bangalore buddies, and with more than two hours to spare, we all had a sumptuous meal again, at Hyderabadi House, close to the Bangalore Majestic. We boarded Chennai Express at 12 am, Monday from Bangalore, and were back to Chennai at 7.30 am Monday morning.

A wonderful trek, perfectly organized, extremely well executed! There were no unexpected surprises, and everything went according to the plan. Dying to go back to OG!

Written by Umaima.

Organised by Anand Chanduri & Diwakar

Image Library:

Umaima

Karthick Ramalingam

Vindys

Gopal

Senthil

Vivek

Bala P

Srivatsa

MP3 Files (Antakshri in bus)

Karthick Ramalingam

Ombattu Gudde, May 17-18, 2008

Let me start with an apology to all those who have conquered these mythical hills long long ago and kept it as one of the most well kept secrets in Western Ghats. Also, lemme pray for all those who were lost here, including people I knew. I don't want non-serious trekkers coming to this place and making it another garbage area and I am trying not to put so much information (I don't have much either) here, to help non-serious trekkers or kill the suspense, thrill and challenges involved in this trekking trail. For a long time, Ombattu Gudde had been a secret of only hard core trekkers and by now, the place has accounted for a few trekkers getting lost and even some lives! While praying for no more mishaps in this area, I also hope that the mystery of these hills remain as it is. In recent times, with a slew of blogs available in the internet, the maps from Survey of India and equipments like GPS and compasses, more people have conquered this place. Of course, even more are getting lost in those jungles!

The Chennai Trekking Club planned to head to Ombattu Gudde in May! Ombattu Gudde / Ombattu Gudda is @ an altitude of 971m in the Kabinale reserved forest range accessible from Hosakere (near Mudigere) as well as from Gundya. The usual trek trail is to start from Gundya check post (in NH48 / Mangaluru / Mangalore highway), head towards a waterfalls, climb up Ombattu Gudde, get down @ Hosakere and take a bus to Mudigere. We too planned to do the same over a weekend ... but the only difference with the normal groups heading to Ombattu Gudde was the team size. Peter had an ambitious team size of 31 people! Big crowd for even a small trek around Bengaluru (Bangalore) and a nightmare to manage @ a place as treacherous as Ombattu Gudde!

As planned, on the Friday afternoon after having lunch Chennai Trekkers team assembled at the metro station @ Tidel park to take a local train to Central where a couple of other trekkers were assembled. At Tidel park metro station all the sleeping mats were distributed and all the new ppl got introduced to each other. Here comes the train and the members get in with their curious questionnaire to each other about what are they going to encounter in the trek. At Central couple of members took lunch and others spotted their cabins and seats and there comes a whistle. Yes we all started for the voyage. With lots of fun in the train each person got close to others sharing jokes and discussions on topics. Time just passed in fun eating drinking sleeping. All reached and assembled at Bengaluru railway station where the Bangalore counterparts of the trekking club were already present waiting with truck load of cartoons, filled with water bottles!

Before 10 we had full house, with 18 people from Chennai and 3 people from Tuticorin landing @ the railway station. All the people, were happy to see each other, few for the first times after they realized they have had long e-mailing conversations with couple of them but encountering them for the first time and others have been previous trek mates. Divya had a surprise in store wearing a beautiful white saree and we all wearing our trekking outfits were left wondering if shez joining the trek or heading for a fashion show in Bengaluru ;-) We took turns to shift the luggage (some heavy cartons containing water bottles) to the back side of the station, where our private bus waited.

Since, most of the people from Chennai had missed their dinner, we stopped at a dhaba on the Mangaluru road. At the dhaba, a few people were reported to have fainted after seeing a lady with open hair and wearing a white saree. I wud also have fainted, had I not recognized that the ghost which scared the people was actually Divya! The rest of the night was peaceful on the bus except for someone who was snoring big time behind me. We reached Sakleshpur by around 4 in the morning and fortunately was able to take the Shiradi ghats (in spite of the road repair which was going on) to reach Gundya check post by day break. After a small break for changing, distributing the supplies, packing the bags and snaps, we took the jeep track towards Ombattu Gudde @ abt 6.30.

The jeep track initially was amidst houses; but, as we progressed, it narrowed down and became a small footpath. There were some signs of moisture and good greenery even @ this peak summer; the path had a good 'junglee' feel about it. We had our first share of confusion when the road was crossed by a dried up stream leading to another path to the right, which we soon found to join back the main path :) With the rising humidity, we started sweating profusely and its not a nice feeling when sweat impedes the vision and drops into the mouth. It was a welcome break, in little more than an hour from the main road, when we found ourselves near the first stream, which was beginning to dry in the summer. All gladly washed their faces and hair in the cool waters to brace ourself for a tough trek ahead. It is here that we first spotted leeches, generating interest, especially in those who haven't seen them yet!

Next break was another hour away, in an open land, from where we could catch a glimpse of the mountains (not Ombattu Gudde, I guess). The sunlight had begun to seep thru' the forest and it was getting hotter. Hence, the third leg took a little more time than the first two. The number of obstacles, fallen trees, branches growing into the path, leaches, frogs, flies, unknown forest insects with varied shapes n sizes started increasing in numbers, giving us a feel of what a true dense forest must be.

By about 9.30 we were near a big stream, where we planned to get fresh and take our breakfast - chappathis and jam. The stream was a li'l stagnant on one side, but had clear water on the other side. Peter jumped into the water straight away, followed by the rest of the gang and started making merry in water. Mahalingam, the youngest dynamite in our group, seemed the most ecstatic in water, splashing water on the other swimmers. Couple of photographic enthusiasts at once started showing their talents with varied photos of the action. Soon, Peter reminded us that the major part of the trek is only going to start now and we need to move fast to make it to the grass lands before the light fades. We ended up spending an hour in water, before starting to move again. It is from here that the real trek started. Peter, Arul, Ramki and Shyam, the leaders of the group had plans made too.

The idea was to let Arul lead the group, closely followed by Peter, then Ramki. Shyam was to bring the rear up. We had a walkie-talkie set as well to make sure there is enough communication between front and rear. The instructions from the walkie-talkie (from Peter) was to continue along the river and we did just that. But after a few minutes of making our way through the bushes and rocks, unable to spot others, doubt crept in. A little ahead, we spotted some more people including Ramki, but soon realized that they were as lost as us! In between, somebody told that two guys started walking up the hill (and away from the river) and one of us volunteered to go and hunt for them. It was all chaos, till we spotted Peter and the rest of the gang waiting for us. We all looked at each other, as if to say: "Welcome to Ombattu Gudde - the paradise for people who wants to get lost!"

Peter's verdict after this initial goofup (which took about an hour to rectify) was straight-forward. We should move in a group! From here on Shyam took up the sweeper responsibilities to heart and Arul was excellent as the path finder! We were walking along the river now and it went on for a couple of hours. The path criss-crossed the river every now and then and we kept following the stream, with Peter and Arul rechecking positions on GPS and map every now and then to make sure that we are on the right track. One bad thing that happened during all this was one of the walkie-talkie falling in water and becoming useless. This made things a little more difficult since moving in a group was a must now.

The going was tough with slippery rocks and time running out. It was also important to make sure that everybody kept together. Shyam kept saying "Move People ... Move it ..." and made sure that the people behind kept up with the front runners. Experienced trekkers started realizing the need to use their experience to help the novice trekkers to move on those tough and slippery rocks. While, we were chugging along, the water in the stream was crystal clear, all along. Any time u r thirsty just sit down and drink water ... wow!!! Btw ... all water bottles were emptied to reduce the weight and we were carrying only empty bottles. Why carry artificial mineral water when we are walking next to a crystal clear water stream?

After walking for about 3 hrs along the river, we finally reached a waterfall @ about 2'O clock. It was time for a break. Lunch boxes (bread and jam) were opened up and some people headed to the waterfall to get soaked. As usual, the photographers spent a while with their cameras, but, ultimately headed to the waterfall. In another hour we climbed up by the side of the falls and headed up. The trail got steeper from here on and the rocks were slippery. This ensured that we took more time to head towards our camping point. The final climb which was supposed to take us to the grass lands never seemed to come. According to one of the blogs, this was abt 2km vertical climb and a very tough one. Obviously, this wud have been even tougher one to do once its dark ... and that meant we had to hurry. We crossed one stream after the other and climbed one slippery rock after the other and it was getting darker and darker.





Arul had been going ahead every now and then and coming back with the news of "Therez a path ahead" and Shyam kept pushing people with his trademark "Move people ... Move it ..." The desperation levels of some reached the levels of saying "Whoever says move ... I hate them all!", "I am not moving an inch now!", "I hate that guy Arul ... can’t we camp somewhere here???" ... etc etc. I am not saying who said all these ... c'mon ... u guys can guess!!! At abt 6, with darkness already looming large, I suggested camping near the falls and Peter supported me. I was actually waiting for that scary 2km vertical climb and didn’t want to do that in the dark. But, Arul already moved ahead and we decided to follow him. Time for trekking in the dark along a 70 degree (and possibly vertical later) ascend! Frustration had crept in by now and even Shyam started shouting "Is there any space to camp up there?"

Finally, by the time it was pitch dark, one of the front trekkers came back with the news that there indeed is camping space @ the top. This, surely elicited responses like "Liars ... I can’t walk in this night!". People from the top kept assuring that the grassland is nearby and people @ the rear kept throwing tantrums! In between, Arul himself came down and assured that the 'promised land' is just about 10mins! People showed us lights and kept pulling up the entire group. One of the trekkers found amidst of a vertical climb holding just a branch of the tree and his leg on a small rock which started losing up which was a danger for the ppl hanging the trees behind him, it was a tough situation and a few ppl above were asked to came down and helped to pull him up safely, and asking others to take different path as the rocks were too slippery and dangerous at times.

Finally, after numerous falls, slipping and even crying, by abt 8'O clock everybody was up and sure enough ... there was 'promised land' at the top ... lush green and bright even in the night, with a view of the sky and the far away hills! Lying down all exhausted @ the 'promised land'. Thank god, the 2km vertical climb never came - it shud either be an exaggeration or a wrong way. I felt that, since we did the trek during summer, climbing along the water falls was possible and we could avoid that 2km vertical climb. Thnx to Arul, the path finder, and Peter for taking us through the best route possible. In hindsight, getting up here after a climb in the dark was the best thing we did. It not only made things doable for the next day, but also saved us from the dangers of camping near a water source in summer, with wild animals roaming around.

Also, the last water source was just behind us and it was always possible to go down and fill the water bottles needed for the following day and cooking. Later, Shyam also located a climb up to another hill, which might have been the 2km vertical climb, straight up from the water falls. Some ppl quickly started cutting grass around the fire area, collected water, setup the campfire and prepared the cup noodles and soup. We gobbled up the dinner, spread the tent, sleeping bags and soon crashed into a good sleep. Our unofficial bar keepers ensured we had a bar operational. A couple of hours later there was pin drop silence as everyone was dead tired. Any qualms of whether we would be able to sleep on hard ground was soon vanquished as it hardly took a couple of minutes to fall asleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

There were some initial worries of wild animals and lying in the open, but I doubt if that affected anybody's sleep :) Next day, we were all ready by 7, with few of us already gone down to fill up the water bottles. There are no water sources in the hills from now on and it was important to carry enough water. When I looked around, there were peaks all around us, but the map says Ombattu Gudde is towards North-east. Arul, as before was leading the group, with the rest of the gang following. We started off towards the North - East direction, but slowly started drifting southwards as we kept going down through the bushes. Peter, smelt a 'bug' and rushed to the front, suggesting not to lose the attitude we gained. To correct the 'bug', everybody headed back to the base camp and after more discussion, headed a little west of north, descended a little and then started climbing up again. In about 20 mins time we were near another grassland with clearer views. Looked like, this is where the notorious 2km vertical climb landed!

Our camping site, as per Peter's GPS equipment was @ a height of about 560m and we had to reach a height of 971m @ Ombattu Gudde. Hence, it was quite important not to lose altitude. Our path, even now was among the bushes, occasionally with a view of the surroundings. But, as soon as we reached the next grassland, @ about 8.30, it all changed. There were some beautiful views on offer all around us. Lush greenery till the horizon, punctuated with dark green areas of thick shola forests, covering mountain ranges on all four sides. We had one more steep climb ahead of us, again to the North-East direction, which took us to even more heights with gentle breeze. Now, the views were good and all the tiredness of a hard trek was beginning to pay! We opened up our remaining food packets (bread, chappathi, jam, ketchup) and had it for breakfast.

At 9.30 we started climbing again and proceeded steadily to the next hill in another half an hour. Here, we spotted a few insects flying in the sky with nice singing zzzeee, in no time we realized that there was a swarm of tens of thousands of honey bees above in sky moving towards us. That scene took breath away from all of us for a while. All were advised to lie down without making any noise and motion else it could be really dangerous. Soon we found that the swarm was a past tense without even touching any of us, a rule of nature is if you don't disturb nature it won’t disturb you. We were almost in celebration mode with only abt 200m ascend left and tiredness already gave way to excitement of finally making it to the Ombattu Gudde. Before 11, we could see the jeep track heading to Hosakere far to our left when we reached the hill just before Ombattu Gudde. From here, the jeep track may be accessed to our left (North-west direction) and Ombattu Gudde to our right (eastwards). We had a short break, left our luggages there and headed to our final frontier. In spite of a tiring day behind us and an option of staying back and waiting for the rest of the gang, only 3 people stayed back.

From here to Ombattu Gudde peak was straight forward. Couple of ups and downs, enjoying the views around and taking snaps. Ombattu Gudde is definitely not the tallest peak around. There were even more majestic peaks all around us, separated by deep valleys and thats one more reason why the surroundings looked so beautiful! At abt 11.30, we were at the top of Ombattu Gudde. It was time for photo sessions. Speaking abt dedication, one thing that Peter used to motivate people specially the girl trekkers was an offer to dedicate a paragraph for them in the blog! And rightly so ... coz of the way they braved thru this in spite of extreme difficulties, refusing to even give away their bags. Kudos to u all! Of course ... the whole group (most of us hardly knowing each other before this event) was always ready to offer a helping hand whenever they can. Without this help and co-operation and the leadership skills of a few experienced real trekkers, a big group like this, may be for the first time, couldn't have made it to Ombattu Gudde. Kudos to the Chennai Trekking club and the spirit of trekking!

To celebrate the occasion, one of the trekking club t-shirts (Vivek was brutally stripped of his t-shirt) was hoisted at the peak as a flag. Hope it stays there till our next visit! After all the photo sessions and celebrations, it was time to go back. People from Chennai had their tickets booked in a bus starting @ 11pm from Bengaluru and it was looking increasingly difficult to catch it. So, we were back to the luggage point @ abt 20 mins and along the trail towards the jeep track in another half an hour time (by abt 12.30). There was a trail, along the bushes all the way till the Lakshmi estate premises, where we can hit the jeep track heading to Hosakere. It was back to civilization with a few workers around this area. The jeep track would lead to Hosakere where the bus was waiting for us. Though, Hosakere is abt 13kms from this point, it was a little lesser to the tar road and we braced ourselves for a walk along the sunny jeep track @ mid noon to get back home!

This was probably the toughest part of the trek, with an ascend in the beginning and hot sun @ its zenith. To make the matter worse, most of us were hungry and even short of water. At 1'O clock we stopped for another munch and finished of whatever was remaining as lunch and then continued the walk. The jeep track actually goes higher than Ombattu Gudde @ 1065m, when it winds around a hill and offered good views around us. Once the ascend was over and some tree-cover was available, giving us shade, things became easier. Time was running out now and catching the 11pm bus looked even more difficult for people from Chennai. Peter already started discussing alternate plans like booking tickets in another bus or taking a train early morning. After walking like 10kms we saw some live huts and it was the laxmi estates where we all paused to wash our faces and take some rest.

Some of the guys, went ahead to catch the bus and get it back to as far as they can. The tarred road was about 3kms from this point and we kept meeting people telling us that it is 'just ahead'. We had to cross a gate in between, where a person (carrying a gun) told us that the bus is waiting a 'furlong' away. Finally, by about 4.30 we were at the tarred road, where the bus was waiting for us, thnx to Prem, John, Sabith ... etc who walked another 4kms, till Hosakere, in this hot sun to get the bus here! It was time to go home now after an exciting trek. We started back @ 5pm and people from Chennai didn't have much hope of making it to Bengaluru by 11, in time for their bus leaving to Chennai.

At 6.30 we were at Sakleshpur for a lunch cum snacks cum dinner and then headed to Bengaluru by 7, to reach there by 12. At a restaurant at Station the chennai team had their first nice dinner and discussing about the trek. A swaraj mazda (tempo traveller) was arranged for people to get to Chennai, which came only @ abt 3:30 and we had a tough time and a sleepless night and touched the scorching heat of Chennai at around 1030 hrs , bruised battered and dead tired……………. but smiling. After the exciting experience @ Ombattu Gudde this all seemed pretty acceptable! Kudos once again to Chennai Trekkering club, for pulling off something as wonderful as this without any mishaps. Not everyday wud u spot a group of 31 at the top of Ombattu Gudde!


Was this one of my most memorable experiences – Yes
Was it tough- Are you serious?
Will I do it again ? - When do we leave? :)

Image Archive:
Sandeep U
John
Amal
Aditya
Shyam
Ramki
Sabith
Anala
Rudi
Preetha
Vinod
Santosh
Simon





Participants:
Existing trekkers: Peter, Johh, Maha, Sandeep, Shyam, Sandeep U, Vivek,
Amal, Arul, Srikanth, Nayantara, Divya, Anala, Patil, Chandrashekar, Aditya,
Sreekumar, Prem
New trekkers: Preetha, Ruddi, Ravikanth, Simon, Sarath, Sabith, Sanothsh,
Subendran, Maharajan, Vinod, Karthikeyan,

Parts of story copied from Sandeep Unnimadhavan's blog with his permission. Parts contributed by Prem Joseph. Merged by Aditya.

GPS log and detailed info on how to plan this trek is available upon request to serious trekkers only,
Peter.