Trek to Kodachadri Peak

I had been pretty much frustrated with my work lately and badly needed this break.That’s when I decided that I want to go somewhere and after a week-long discussion with my friends ,we decided that we’d go trekking to the Kodachadri peak. So,it was decided that 12 of us would go on this trek.Many of them were first-time trekkers.This was the 3^rd time I was going on  a trek . The first one was when in my school days – Gangamoola Peak near Kudremukh.The 2^nd one was 2 years ago – to Chembra peak in Wayanad. I was very much excited for this trek as this was  going to be the longest trek so far .

On the previous day of the trip , I left office at 7. 30 p.m. and went to the nearby Supermarket  with  my friend to get food and other necessary items for the trek. We checked the weather forecast for the next day and it said – ‘Part cloudy and part rainy’ . This made us a little apprehensive as we were worried about leech attacks. So we brought salt,lime and tobacco too to fight  the leeches :-P

Day 1 -

Saturday , 4^th November 2017

Kodachadri Peak

Total trekking distance – Approximately 18 km

The plan was to leave Mangalore at 6 in the morning. But the schedule got delayed for about an hour and we left Mangalore by 7. We had breakfast at Shanthi Sagar restaurant at Udupi. We reached Nittur ,which is about 20 km from Kollur at 10.15 a.m.  The homestay manager Mr Rajendra was waiting for us near Canara Bank ATM and he showed us the way to the homestay which is about 3 kms away from Nittur . There is no mobile network here which is a good thing if you want to break away from the daily routine. The homestay was pretty neat .We freshened up and started the trek at 11.15 a.m.  Mr.Rajendra sent one of his guys to accompany us as  a guide during this trek.The initial 3  km walk was through kuchcha roads and through paddy and sugarcane fields.We walked through several bridges,streams ,Government Higher Primary school at Kumble and a couple of  huts and traditional Malnad-style houses to reach the check post. It was a bit sunny so we stopped at the check post to drink butter milk . Then we went alongside the backyard of the hut and entered the thick forest terrain.The path was slippery . We carefully marched forward through steep paths,streams and  fallen tree trunks. We saw several streams and waterfalls on the way.While we got tired,we settled on the rocks to catch our breath.

 

After a 4 km steep walk, we reached Hidlumane falls. It felt so good when the water spashed on our faces.There were few leeches near the falls. We were lucky to not have encountered leeches elsewhere.We stopped by  the waterfalls  for sometime and continued through the trail at the right side of the waterfall.The trek got more difficult with more steep and narrow paths.We had to use our hands to climb over the roots and steep paths. 

We climbed for another 2 kms and reached a grassy terrain.The meadows were inclined at 60 degrees and we could see the village and the huts that we passed through .  The sun was hitting right at our faces.The view from here was picturesque .This kind of terrain went on for another 2 kms and then we reached the point where we we had our lunch. The guide had arranged lunch for us.  We had buttermilk to quench our thirst. We stopped at this point for about 30 min.The guide informed us that we need to return back to the homestay as camping was not allowed at the peak after an unfortunate fire accident that occurred a few years ago as the fire from the camp fire left over by the trekkers ended up destroying a vast stretch of trees.It was sad to see how trekkers carelessly throw away plastics and litter the place. 

We continued on a jeep trail alongside the hill for about 2 kms.We were chatting with our guide on the way. He told us about the significance of each of the hills that we could see. He also told that we would come across wild buffaloes, rabbits and deers. As this path is regularly visited by trekkers, the predators don't venture into this stretch. 

We reached the Traveller’s Bungalow at 4.30 p.m . From here, the next 2 km walk alongside the hill to reach the Kodachadri sunset point was the most beautiful part of this trek. It was around 5 p.m. We could see the bright orange sun disappear amongst the clouds against the backdrop of a chain of hills. This was one of the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen and it was simply worth the trek. We reached the Sarvajna Peeta .It was here that Adi Shankara had meditated. It was 5.30 p.m .Few of them were very tired by then and rested at this point but as some of us wanted to finish the last 1 km stretch till the end point of the peak ,we sprinted towards the peak as it was getting darker and this was the most thrilling part of the entire trek. We were at 1343 m above sea level with wind blowing so hard that I felt like I will be carried away along with the wind. We spent a good 10 mins at the peak enjoying the moment. 

As it got darker,we paced faster down towards Inspection Bungalow point .We had to use our torches to make our way down the hill. As camping is not permitted in the peak nowadays,we had to return back to the homestay via Jeep. The jeep ride was a 40 min- bumpy ride through steep curves down the hill.As we descended the hill, we could see a beautiful view of the moonlight across the hills as it was a full moon night. We could also see few rabbits on our way back.

We reached Kattinahole at 8 p.m. where we stopped for sometime to have tea.

We reached back at the homestay at 8.30 p.m.We had dinner at the homestay and called it a day after singing songs and playing  a round of dumb charades around the camp fire and after endless talking and chit chatting ,we returned back to the tent  to sleep by  1 a.m. But the cries of the peacocks from the forest, kept waking us up throughout the night.It was around 3 or 4 in the morning when I could finally manage to get some peaceful sleep. I could sleep barely for 1.5 to 2 hours.  

I got up at around 6.30 a.m . Three of my friends had already woken up. We freshened up and decided to go to nearby stream.

The early morning walk was truly refreshing. We had a nice time crossing the streams and chasing fishes and playing in water.

While we returned, the rest of them had woken up. We had breakfast,packed up and left the homestay by 11 a.m. We visited a fort that was in ruins  - Nagara fort. The view from the top of the fort was beautiful.

Next , we visited the Kollur temple and had Darshan of the Goddess Mookambika , the deity who killed the demon ,Mookasura ( The mute demon).

We had lunch and started towards Mangalore. We reached at 6.30 p.m.

I was still lost in the solace that I could find at the peak.

And that's to an amazing trek!!

ಕಾಣದ ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಹಂಬಲಿಸಿದೆ ಮನ - The ocean is calling and I must go

(This photo was taken at Someshwar Beach )

It has been quite long since I have last blogged. I have always loved to write but somehow I got pre-occupied with my life - coding and debugging for hours enclosed in my cubicle ,watching my colleagues talk on the phone for hours with the Business trying to figure out solutions to design and I amidst it all – I was trying to figure out my life and career.

All my life I have lived in the coastal city – Mangalore and as luck (or God?) would have it,I landed in an IT job at a company in the same city I grew up in. That is the reason,I always feel connected to the sea. When I am happy , I go to the sea.  When I am with my best friends, we go to the beach and we talk for hours about everything and anything under the Earth. We celebrate birthdays in the beach.We don't need any reason to go to the sea,we just go. We take life decisions here.When my mind is confused , the sea is where I go. The sea seems to have some mystic power to clear all the turbulence in my mind. And I will never stop visiting the sea. Every time I visit the sea, I learn something new and this day was no different.

It had been a hectic day at office. But since it was a weekend , we left early from office and visited the nearby beach.I was always mesmerized by the sea – the reflection of the sun’s rays making its way through the water, the waves and its vigor and the foam that it brings along with it and the hues in the sky. Each time a unique combination of hues and every time it is a beautiful picturesque view of the sunset. How can I forget the seashells that have been washed ashore, crabs digging their way deep into the sand to hide from humans and then,there are other sea relics washed to the shore – broken tree barks and starfish too.

As I sat down watching the waves rushing towards the shore , I remembered a song  composed by G.S Shivarudrappa in Kannada - "Kaanada Kadalige Hambaliside Mana" beautifully sung by C. Ashwath, a versatile singer.

In the song ,the river has been personified and the composer has expressed the feelings of the river.

The river is yearning to merge with the ocean which it has never seen before. It pictures the images of the sea by putting together all the things that it has heard about the sea -

ಸಾವಿರ ಹೊಳೆಗಳು ತುಂಬಿ ಹರಿದರೂ

ಒಂದೇ ಸಮನಾಗಿಹುದಂತೆ

ಸುನೀಲ ವಿಸ್ತರ ತರಂಗ ಶೋಭಿತ

ಗಂಭೀರಾಂಬುಧಿ ತಾನಂತೆ

ಮುನ್ನೀರಂತೆ, ಅಪಾರವಂತೆ

It means that the river is wondering how the ocean remains so calm even when a thousand streams overflow and merge into the ocean.The river has heard that the ocean is blue and vast and looks brilliant with the waves but still it is always very composed and unfathomable.It is calm and composed like a sage and is abundant(unlimited).

The river is longing to hear the lullabye sung by the sea.It is wondering when it will get dissolved in the ocean and will it ever be able to join the ocean.The river is questioning whether it will reach the ocean or not . It symbolises the deepest urges that every one of us have just like how we all run behind achieving our dreams.

The last few lines of the poem kept resonating in my mind -

ಜಟಿಲ ಕಾನನದ ಕುಟಿಲ ಪಥಗಳಲಿ

ಹರಿವ ತೊರೆಯು ನಾನು

ಎಂದಿಗಾದರು ಕಾಣದ ಕಡಲನು ಸೇರಬಲ್ಲೆನೇನು

ಸೇರಬಹುದೇ ನಾನು, ಕಡಲ ನೀಲಿಯೊಳು ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು

ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು, ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು

It means - "I am a rivulet that flows through twisted paths in the dense forests and difficult terrains. Will I ever be able to join the ocean that I have never seen before. Will I be able to dissolve in the blue waters of the ocean?"

I like the positive note on which the song ends.

I feel like I am the river and I am chasing my dreams - the ocean .I wondered what will happen to the river? Did it make it's way to the ocean yet? Where did it go? Oh.. what happened to it once it joined the ocean?  Does the river exist anymore? Did it lose its identity in the vastness of ocean ?Where am I? Have I lost myself and my identity in chasing my dreams? What am I going to become? How do I know if this is the ocean that I wanted to go ?

And then suddenly,it started to drizzle,I ran to take shelter under a tree. Far away in the horizon, I could see dark clouds pouring down the rain directly into the ocean. And I started wondering about the journey of those rain drops that ended just in a few minutes.But where did it originally come from ? The river ?  Then what about the rain drops that fell far away from here, on the top of the highest of mountains ? Isn’t it the origin of the river? Ah! I felt so happy. I felt so light .This is cycle that the one above us has created. I learnt a life lesson here. All of us chase our dreams but it is the journey that we make that is important. It is important that we make this journey else we will become like stagnant water . Go chase your dreams ,lest your life will come to a standstill. Don't be lazy and useless ! 

 Rivers can teach us a lot about life.Rivers change things. They change the landscapes and create new landscapes as they make their way through rocks and mountains.In our journey,we meet a lot of people.Our actions create a long-lasting impact on them.I hope I have managed to create a positive impact on atleast a handful of people that I have come across in my life.Rivers speed up through difficult terrains. That is where they create magnificent terrains. Ah yes...those waterfalls and streams that we admire ! This is how our reactions to difficult situations shape us and our futures. 

At the end,the river flows calmly. All that fighting and rushing through the rough terrains are to achieve the serenity and peace at the end. This is a valuable life lesson which we can learn from the river.Rivers flow down hill and not uphill. When they reach the end, they just make another way.And that's the way we should chose our struggles.We are so caught up in our path and the obstacles we are facing that we often forget why we are on the path in the first place. When we reach a tough situation,we should take a step back and ask ourselves, “Is there an easier way to get to where I have to go?” 

We all have goals-whether it is family or career or responsibilities. In our journey, we can learn from the river to always have those goals in mind and to recognize the things we can change and accept the things we cannot.That is the ultimate way to the sea. The way to your dreams.

I felt so happy. I have etched this song on the sand and on my mind forever.

My mind is still humming - ಕಾಣದ ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಹಂಬಲಿಸಿದೆ ಮನ …

You can listen to this beautiful song here - Kaanada Kadalige Humbalisidhe Mana