SAKLESHPUR‑SUBRAMANYA ROAD TREKKING

(15‑17 OCTOBER, 1988)

It all started when the IISc Nature club announced	 a weekend trekking expedition in the Western Ghats between Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road, along the Bangalore Mangalore	 railway track. Initially 
two groups of ten each was proposed, trekking	 in opposite directions and meeting at Yadamari, a station in between. Later some dropped out, some more joined, and 	finally fifteen persons formed the group.

The Netravati Express was not running due to landslides, so it was decided to go by bus. Unfortunately reservations were not available, and we had to travel without seats.

We reached Sakleshpur early in the morning, at 3 AM. From a street vendor we had tea and idlis and then walked upto the station. The Station Master told us that there were no trains that day and there was no need for concern about meeting one in a tunnel or over a bridge. He promised to inform the Yadamari station to arrange dinner for the night and was kind enough to offer First Class Waiting Rooms where we washed up. We reciprocated by taking a group photo in his office and he was very pleased to be at the centre. By 6 AM we started trekking and were in a enthusiastic mood in spite of lack of sleep the night before.

Everyone carried clothes, food provisions‑ bread raw 'avalakki', fruit juice, biscuits, glucose, milkmaid, chocklates ... salt for leeches (although we didn't need it), torches for tunnels, caps against sunlight, blankets for cold, candles and matches, carry‑mats for sleeping, a first‑aid kit and whistles for communication. We just hoped there would be no rains.

The fog was beautiful and so were the vast green fields of paddy. Trekking along the railway track, we soon saw a nice tiled house set amidst coffee plantations. The owner welcomed us, showed the estate and offered coffee. After thanking them and taking a couple of photographs, we were soon on our way.

We saw several small streams and falls on the way, and one of the streams offered a fabulous setting for taking a bath. But it was still quite early in the morning and we expected more magnificent places. We were to regret this later, since throughout the day we never found a stream or fall that could be approached easily. 

We were still at low altitude. It was not before Donegal, a distance of 7 km, that the ghats started. Just before Donegal there was a roadside hotel where we could get idlis, coffee and plantains for breakfast. Some of us felt there was no need for carrying so many foodstuffs, but later in the afternoon we passed through regions where there was no trace of any civilization for miles together.

The ghats after this were beautiful. The railway track being at a high elevation, offered magnificient views of far away mountains and valleys. Soon we had our first tunnel. As precautioned, everyone needed to have a torch. Some of the tunnels leaked water and some had screeching hordes of bats, but we soon gained experience in crossing them. We crossed about thirty tunnels that day. Bridges were too many. They didn't have any side walls, only a thin strip of iron over the sleepers at the middle of the track to walk on and one had to be very careful while crossing them, because of dizzy heights.

By noon we were desperate for a place to bath. Several streams could be seen, but they were too far below. The group had split into three and the leading team engaged itself in looking for paths to reach water. In the middle team, one had trouble with his shoe‑sole. Soon it came off altogether and he had to walk for a mile or so with a stockinged foot before godsent relief arrived in the form of a railway inspection trolley passing in the opposite direction. He went back to Sakleshpur, from where he got a bus back to Bangalore. The hot sun resulted in one person feeling faint. After taking glucose and honey and a bit of rest, he was on his feet again. These things caused delays. It was only in the late afternoon that they caught up with the leading group, which had been trying hard but in vain to find paths leading to the streams. Then, near a bridge, over a magnificient stream, and with tunnels on either side, we had our late lunch.

Just after this, we reached a place where the stream we had seen earlier was not far below, and four of us decided to find the way through the jungle to reach it. The undergrowth was dense and we had to be very careful about snakes. Soon the only path possible was going away from the stream and up towards a hill. But we decided to push further, and Lo! we were at the stream flowing through rocks set in a picturesque secluded spot. There was no time to call the rest of the team, so we stripped off, and relished the sensation of cool water over our exhausted bodies.

Meanwhile others were getting anxious. Repeated whistling had not produced any answer and any attempt to find the direction in which we had gone proved futile. So it was a mixture of relief, anger and jealousy with which we were greeted when we came back.

It was already evening and there was at least two more of trekking to do, so we started walking really fast. The soles of feet were hurting due to walking on the stones on the railway sleepers and the backs due the loads. By the time we reached Yadamari we were completely enervated. Just before this, there was a small waterfall near the track, and the rest of the team refreshed themselves with a dip in its cool water.

Yadamari was just a station. On the way we had enjoyed looking at Solar powered railway signals, but the realisation that there was no electricity in the whole region hit us only now. Anyway, the Station Master had been informed, and we could have dinner. For sleeping, we were provided with an open shed.

We had covered 25 km that day and most of us were reluctant to trek the next 31 km to Subramanya Road. The only alternative was to go through jungle for about 7 km to reach the nearest road connection. This was quite dangerous and ruled out too. The only hope seemed to be a goods train which was supposed to pass that way early in the morning.

Though it was cold, everyone had a really good sleep.	 At 3 AM we were awakened by the Station Master ‑ the goods train was due. The starry sky was beautiful.

From Yadamari to Subramanya Road we travelled in the guards van of the goods train. The scenery was much more grand. The guard told us that this part of the ghats were frequented by tigers and other wild animals. He narrated an incident a couple of years back about a local. This chap was travelling on foot in this part of the jungle and he was about to lean against the branch of a tree only to discover with horror that it was a python. It was here that we passed through the longest tunnel ‑ 1 km. There were quite a few good approachable water falls and streams for bathing purposes.

At Subramanya Road the Mangalore Express waiting on the platform. In a lightening decision, we agreed to go to Mangalore. Four of us hesitated and could not catch the train. Two of them came back to Bangalore directly, the other two went to Mysore to see the Dussera Festival.

Our train reached Mangalore at about 10 AM. First thing we did was to reserve seats on a Bangalore bus. Then we had lunch and proceeded directly to the beach where we spent the next four hours until sunset frolicking in the sea and the sand. By evening there was a lot of colorful local crowd. Bhelpuri was delicious. Reluctantly, we went back to the city, had dinner and were in the Bangalore bus by 10 PM.

Considering the fact that none of us trekked in this route earlier and few had any trekking experience at all, the trip was very successful. We had a little bit of everything. The average expenditure came out to be only 150 rupees. The only problem was with the group size. Initially there were fifteen and 
the coordination was very difficult. Later, at Mangalore, only ten were left and everything was very smooth. As far as trekking was concerned, the part between Yadamari and Subramanya Road is the best. Hence the ideal expedition would be between these two places, with a small group size, say eight. In any case, this part of the Western Ghats is something to be experienced by trekking, at least once in your lifetime.

The participants of this trekking are,

	1. D.NAGESH KUMAR	(CIVIL)
	2. B.RAVI	(MECH)
	3. B.SREEHARI KUMAR	(CIVIL)
	4. N.CHANDRASEKHAR	(CIVIL)
	5. LAKSHMINARAYANAN	(C.C.)
	6. GOPALA KRISHNA	(Ch.E.)
	7. SRIRAM	(CAD)
	8. SRIKANTH	(CEDT)
	9. MURALIDHAR REDDY	(CIVIL)
10. THANDAV MURTHY	(CIVIL)
11. MUKUNDA	(CIVIL)
12. PRAKASH	(CIVIL)
13. SAHU	(CIVIL)
14. SREEDHAR	(A.E.)
15. WILSON	(MET)