KUDREMUKH TREK

(11‑14 November, 1988)

When a holiday was declared on Monday the 14th November on the occasion of Nehru Jayanti Centenary celebrations, we suddenly decided to utilize the three consecutive holidays (together with the weekend) to go on a trek, this time to Kudremukh. The tickets on Bangalore‑Malleswara bus were booked on Friday afternoon and by 10 that night we were on the way.

The time for packing was short, but the experience in an earlier trek to Sakleshpur came in handy to decide which were the essential items to be carried: clothes, food, torches, matches, carrymats, water bottles, whistles and salt (for leeches). This time we also carried a pressure cooker, an egg carrier and utensils for cooking. It was decided that the cereals and vegetables be bought on the way from some village.

The ghats started around Chikmagalore early in the morning. The KSRTC bus driver proved to be an inveterate expert and he handled the bus through the ups downs and hairpin bends at such breakneck speeds that some of us felt dizzy. Yet, never even once did he veer off the narrow road. We felt he ought to be in the Himalayan Rally. None of us could have a good sleep, but the beautiful scenery of fog covered valleys lit with the rays of rising sun filled us with vigour.

We got down a little ahead of a place called Samse to begin the trek. First we had to have breakfast and so 
scouted around for a hotel which some rustic chap said was a little ahead around the bend'. We had faced this statement several times and were quite skeptic about what 'just a little ahead' generally meant. Finally we located the hotel - it was no different from any ordinary hut. The proprietress said dosas were available and we ordered them, our appetites rising in anticipation. What we got half an hour later were ‘meenu’ or fish‑dosas, a local favorite, but which few of us could even dare to taste. We hastily ordered tea and coffee.

To get provisions, two of us went back to Samse. It was 9 A.M. when we pulled the rucksacks on to 	our backs and crossed a stream. Soon we were climbing up steeply and passing through forest which was dense enough to barely
allow sunlight onto the ground. The path was however quite wide because of being used by local people and we had no doubts about direction.

Hardly had we covered a couple of miles the complaints of hungry stomachs forced us to stop for breakfast. We collected dry leaves, twigs and soon had a nice fire going, on which we made omlettes for sandwiches and then tea. My! Was it delicious!

It was here that we had our first 'darsan' of the terrible leech ‑ a threadlike black creature which is barely longer than a fingernail and moves like a caterpillar, but after attaching itself to a human being or animal, expands like a balloon filling itself with its victim's blood. All of us, barring a lucky two, fell victim to this creature sooner or later, and came to dread it more than tigers and snakes.

Like sincere Nature lovers, we put out the fire carefully, cleaned the mess and then resumed trekking. Our destination was the house of an old priest called Simon Lobo where we expected to get further directions to go to the peak of Kudremukh. As we went along, we enquired the shepherds about the distance and received varying replies: one said it was two miles and another said it was fifteen kilometers. So we changed tactics, and started asking the distance in terms of walking time. But to no avail. The estimates ranged from half an hour to six hours. Finally we gave up and decided to rely solely upon our discretion and luck.

At about noon we reached a diversion. There was tree in the middle of the road and a board upon it, giving the direction of Kudramukhe as toward left and some village to the right. There was no doubt and we turned left, after taking a bit of rest. We never guessed that an error had been committed.

The climb was quite steep after that. There were a few trees of 'Awla' and we enjoyed the sour fruits. The path became narrower and narrower and finally we lost the trail altogether. Soon we were in deep jungle with marshy patches here and there. Then we could proceed no further: steep mountains surrounded us on all sides.

We were not certain if we were on the correct path, so leaving one person to guard the rucksacks, we started climbing the mountain directly in front of us. It required crawling and clinging throughout and by the time the top could be reached, we were completely exhausted. The vista presented from the top was however, worth the effort. The height was so much that we could just make out a white spot amidst the greenery, representing our companion left below. On all sides still more mountains and valleys could be seen, but no sign of any paths. We concluded that we had lost our way.

After coming down, which was more difficult than going up, there was a difference of opinion regarding what to do next. Finally, we decided to follow a minute stream of water. This led 	to a nice shaded spot with two small water falls. We decided to take bath and do cooking and then think about further course of action. So we lit a fire, put the pressure cooker on it and into that went rice, dal, vegetables and sambar powder. For the starving stomachs it was nothing less than Ambrosia.

We followed the stream some more distance, but a sheer gorge made us turn back and try other directions. it took two hours and a bit of luck to find our way back again. At about 4 in the evening we were back under the tree of the diversion. We asked a passing shepherd about the way to Lobo's house and when he pointed us the way, we were in for a surprise, since there was another path going toward left. Only, it was partly obscured by the tree, which was the reason why we had failed to notice it before. Now, we were not certain about the distance to Lobo's house, and there was no use asking the shepherds. But going back to Samse would take four hours and that was not a very encouraging aspect. The better alternative seemed to take the risk of going ahead by the new path.

The path was not very difficult, but we had to cross several streams. Soon it was getting dark and still there seemed to be no sign of Lobo's house. We really got disparate. We saw some huts on the way and every dweller repeated the same thing, that we had to go a little further, another half an hour. Finally we passed through a plane area and thought that if not anywhere, this place would be the safest to sleep in the night. Fortunately, our travails came to an end when someone offered to show the way to Lobo's house assuring that we would get shelter and maybe some food for the night. By this time it was dark and had it not been for this chap, we would have never found our way. It was also getting very cold and if we had to sleep in the open, we would have certainly frozen long before morning.

The family in Lobo's house was ver y hospitable. It seems almost every trekking team stops by here, but none stayed overnight. We were however offered shelter, and they even agreed to cook dinner for us. Meanwhile we checked for leeches on our feet. There was only one case, but it proved to be the worst ever, since the vein had been punctured and the bleeding was difficult to stop. Our host, Father Lobo's assistant, put some tobacco leaves at the spot and that seemed to work.

It was sometime before we could meet Father Lobo, since he was in prayer. A quiet, old man of 96 years, he walked unaided into the room and shook hands with everyone. He was a little hard of hearing, but he could count that we were seven. He talked about his younger days when he used to climb to the church, on top of Kudremukh, everyday. When he described the beauty of the sunrise as viewed from the Kudremukh peak, our imaginations were fired. We asked him if it would be possible for us to experience the same. He said that the only way to see the sunrise was to climb the peak the day before and spend the night in the church at the top. But if we were willing to 
take the risk of mountain climbing in the dark, and if we had torches, he could ask someone to show us the way. Fortunately, most of us did have torches and it was arranged that Dhanavelu, a person from one of the neighbouring huts, would guide us. We threw the risk to winds! Since the distance to the peak was an estimated two to three hours, we decided to start before five in the morning.

The temperature outside would have been much less than ten degrees, but inside the thatched mud huts it was quite warm. We saw a clever contrivance: they had channelled the flow of a small stream into a pipe provided into the bath‑hut. It was almost like a tap. Only the water was freezing cold, and had to be mixed with hot water before use. We washed up, and soon were served a nice dinner. Before long, we started feeling drowsy. So we spread the carry-mats on the earth floor and immediately fell into blissfully deep sleep.

We were awakened a little after 4 AM. After having steaming tea, we started. Besides our guide, a nice dog, Dasu, accompanied us. The moonless sky was absolutely clear, and the stars shined like jewels on a black cloth. It was possible to see only a couple of feet with the torches and we concentrated solely on climbing, watching the step carefully, praying that there would be no snakes. The mountain was very steep and a step in a wrong place meant others would never know what happened until sunrise. Added to this the path was through waist‑high elephant grass. In no time our trousers were soaked wet with the dew on the grass. The shoes became filled with water and later we were to discover that many of us caught leeches too here.

By six the sky was beginning to attain a bluish tinge which gave in to violet and reddish tinges in the direction of east. With lungs bursting with panting breaths we just managed to reach the summit of an adjoining peak by sunrise. The beauty of the surrounding hills and fog covered valleys in the rays of the rising sun has to be seen to be believed. The photographs could hardly do any justice.

We had brought some bread etc. with us which was now devoured greedily. Fortified with this, climbing was resumed. At the peak of Kudremukh we furled a flag (a towel in fact) and took several photographs. The view from the peak was breathtaking. Far below toward West could be seen the mining town of Kudremukh. Because of early morning time it was mist all around, otherwise, it seems it is possible to catch a glimpse of the Arabian Sea from here.

Climbing down the other side, we passed through a dense forest. The thick foliage and the errieness sent chills through us, but it was enjoyable. Immediately after coming out, we came across the dilapidated church Father Lobo was talking about. It almost looked terrifying, but for a night shelter in that place there is no other choice. A little ahead there was a stream flowing over some flat rocks and we stopped here to remove water from the shoes and check for leeches. We were in for a shock when more than a dozen in total were discovered, mostly in the shoes. Many had already started growing in size. We doffed our clothes and checked to see if there were any further up than the feet, but there were none.

At this point our guide offered us a choice of routes to go back to Lobo's house: one back by the same path, and another a very difficult path through a jungle. Our spirits willing, we chose the latter.

The path was tortuous, with sudden drops and rotten, moss covered trees. The jungle was so thick, there was no trace of sunlight in several places. There was no path, and we had to go carefully over, under or around the branches of trees, ever vigilant about snakes. Soon we reached a clearing, and caught a path going down. Climbing down needs some restraint and putting a foot on a loose rock can send one down quite fast, but at least it does not need as much energy as while climbing up. So by noon time we were back in Lobo's house.

We presented a bunch of wild flowers collected in the morning to Father Lobo and had a photograph of the entire family along with our team taken. By this time the lunch was ready and we heartily attacked the rice, curry, sambar and buttermilk that were served. After paying some money for their services and bidding farewell to Father Lobo and his family, we started back for Samse.

One member of the family accompanied us: Dasu the dog. We lost our way once again, but recovered early and without any trouble. The afternoon sun was hot, but the path was mostly under trees and by late afternoon we reached the bank of the first stream we had came across. Here we stripped off, and plunged into the stream. Not for long, since the water was very cold, and also because a bus was due at 4 PM.

After bidding farewell to Dasu the dog, we boarded the private bus which took us to Chikmagalore. Two of our team members who wanted to visit Shringeri, Udipi and Dharmasthala, got down midway to take a different bus. Rest caught a night bus to Bangalore.

This trip was quite adventurous and eventful. We climbed two mountains, one of them in the dark, trekked through typical tropical forests, cooked in jungle,	stayed overnight in a hut, bathed in cold water streams, lost our way, and not to forget, faced leech attacks. We established a very good rapport between ourselves and with nature and this trek will always be worth remembering in times good and bad.

Our team consisted of the following nature lovers:

1. D. NAGESH KUMAR 		(CIVIL)
2. B.RAVI 			(MECH)
3. B.SREEHARI KUMAR 	(CIVIL)
4. MURALIDHAR MDDY 	(CIVIL)
5. GOPALA KRISHNA 		(Ch.E.)
6. PRAKASH 			(CIVIL)
7. ROUT 			(Library)