Place:
Nidagal betta trek
Distance: 200kms x 2
= 400kms
Directions: Bangalore
> Dobbaspete > Madhugiri > Pavagada > Nidagal
Krew: Aditya (Adi) > Ashok
(Momz) > Deepak (Deefu) > Karthik (Sp)
Bikes: Enfield
> Pulsar
Previous
Visit: Huliyurdurga trek
Budget: Rs 600/head
IN
LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, we knew this would be a
little tiring trek, as Nidgal Betta is situated 200kms one way from Bangalore.
But, this chapter turned out be a super tiring AND a super duper trek. The trek
is one of the longest done till date. It was like a never ending walk to the
clouds. The nature of climb is very similar to Kunti Betta, Tadiyandmol &
Skandagiri.
INTRO &
PLAN:
After the completion of the 150th chapter we did plan for the
next couple of weeks. But when all that failed to materialize, we decided we
capitalize on the long weekend which marked the end of August. Nidagal was the
destination and very less info is available on this place, told the others it
was clearly about going there and actually exploring. Adi, Deefu & Momz
were on the confirmed list.
TIME: 22:00 (25/8/2017)
ASSEMBLE
& LEAVE:
Yeah I was up at 04:30, did a few push
ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and sat back listening to music for some
time. As the ride was pretty far we had decided to leave early & assemble
at our regular hotel 50kms away from Bangalore.
TIME: 06:15
RIDE 1:
(Bangalore – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri – Pavagada - Nidagal)
This was a 200kms surprisingly butter smooth ride. We had expected the
roads to be filled with those multiple road breakers, but all were demolished
and the ride felt awesome. Anyway as we left Bangalore, Adi & me left on
time and cruised along Tumur road at a decent pace to reach our regular hotel.
After some time Deefu & Ashok arrived as well and we belted down on some
yummy breakfast.
TIME: 07:30
After the breakfast, we walked out for some light tea and we came with a
concrete plan to ride 50kms and pull over for a short break. It was the only
way, the day wouldn’t feel dead tiresome. So, we decided next stop would be
Madhugiri (100kms) after that Pavagada (150kms) and then we ride into Nidgal
and take it down.
We stuck to the plan pretty solidly as well. As we took the deviation
from Dobbaspete the traffic thinned down pretty quick. The roads were wide and
surprisingly all the horrible speed breakers were demolished. This made riding
easy and a bliss. We cruised away in 80’s negotiating every curve with joy.
Saying hi to Channarayanadurga, we crossed Madhugiri and decided to pull over
for the first stop.
TIME: 09:30
We stretched out and were taking a break, when momz was the only one
busy removing the tool kit from the enfield and heading towards its brakes.
Deefu and me looked at each other totally puzzled, we were wondering if he was
trying to remove the brakes off the bike as the traffic was very thin hehe. He adjusted the brakes and we took off
in full force one again.
Saying hi to Medigeshi, Madakasira we reached Pavgada. Here there was
some festival and hence the entire town was flooded with people. Asking the
locals for directions we continued further and made it out of the town. Then we
found the route towards Nidagal and rode on at a slower pace top pull over for
one final time. Here Momz opened his can of Whoop-ass jokes and choked us with
laughter.
The last stretch to Nidgal was through villages and forests, but the
hillock was freaking huge and could be spotted from way back. The terrain was
both mud road and well laid tar roads but the surrounding began to quieten down
and we began the drift into tranquillity. We reached the first temple and could
not find anybody around, we made it to the second temple spoke to the priest
and getting to know the direction to head up, we parked the bikes, kept our
helmets in the temple, awoke the lizard king’s within each of us and were ready
to conquer this mighty beast!
TIME: 11:45
NIDAGAL BETTA
TREK:
As we began the trek up the peak looked farther than we thought. Good
thing was we hadn’t come expecting it to be a short or long trek so, we had no further
thoughts other than to reach the top, come what may! It took us 2hours to reach the top and it
proved to be quite tiring. The nature of
climb could be compared to that of Kunti betta or Skandagiri but a little harsher
on the body.
Like always, have divided this long trek into three stages
i) Initial
Stretch – to the first fort wall
ii) Middle Stretch – to the
settlement
iii) Final Stretch – to the
summit
So, those were the stretches, now I shall describe each one of them, so
keep up with here:
i) Initial Stretch: (To the
first fort wall)
Alright it, this was the easiest of
stretches. And the quickest one to complete as well. We locked the summit into
our minds and didn’t waste much time finding the initial trail. The priest had
pointed afar a fort wall to reach and we intended to do that as a part of the
first phase. Once we found the trail there were neatly laid rocky pathway with
steps here and there which lead us directly to the fort wall. The temple was
already afar.
TIME: 12:00
ii) Middle Stretch: (To the settlement)
This stretch is little more substantial. It’s of easy difficulty but one
must be aware of the gravel sand and the more importantly white stones which
are extremely slippery. This took us a lot of time, as it had a lot of steps
kind. It took a big toll on our knees and we rested few times.
The ascension stated becoming steep and tricky at spots, it was a real
joy to execute these phases. The clouds did shower us with light curtains of
rain a couple of times, which got us worried initially but we decided to enjoy
it. We also spotted a lot of caves and shelters with ancient game boards carved
into stones. Finally be made it flat land to spot the old granaries and
settlements. We decided to check this out latter and finish of the final
stretch.
TIME: 13:00
iii) Final Stretch: (To the summit)
The final stretch to the summit proved to be a perfect endurance tester.
We were tempted to explore the settlements, but with summit still pending we
decided to push ourselves and reach the top before the clouds could catch up.
This stretch was pretty steep and slippery. On a rainy day it would be best to
avoid these stretches. Gripping onto protruded roots, grabbing hold of boulders
with fingers, sticking our hand into the soil, we pulled ourselves up step by
step. After a point of time we infact stopped looking for the summit and kept
climbing like zombies and paying attention just to our next step, hoping the
summit would show up soon. But never did that happen, the trail went to going
up and up. The base temple was become insignificant as the minute passed
finally a call came through from Momz, “Momz,
finished”. I was the last to reach, the fever had increased and the knees
had begun to shiver.
TIME: 13:30
TOP:
We explored the top and trust me it is a small place with just a small Nandi
shrine. The scenery all around was just amazing. One of clouds had just burst
over a certain region and the surroundings were basking in the sun. We decided
to crash to replenish by energy levels. It was deep slumber and once we woke
up, we could see some more dark clouds approaching afar. We had one look around
took a deep breath and decided to head back down.
TIME: 14:00
DESCENT:
The descent was a quick one and easy to start off with. We glided, slid,
hovered our way down with ease. One thing we made extra sure is to get a firm
gripping on the very next step as every slip would have cost us. In about
15-20mins we were down the final stretch and entered the old granaries and
settlement area. There were ruins of ancient temples and old building all
around us. But the most significant find was the two cannons that lay scattered
in this area.
TIME: 14:30
After spending a good amount of time, we decided to head back. From here
on descent was non-stop and pretty well paced as we could see the dark clouds
catching up. We wanted to get off a white rock phase (slippery as crazy) before
it would start pouring. Even though it was well paced it sapped out a lot of
energy and we reached the first fort wall. As we walked on the stony path to
the temple afar, down came on us, the rains mercilessly. Nope, we didn’t run
for cover, we were pretty much on buffalo mode, legs pretty much busted and
drained out of all the sap. We just walked in the rain like peaceful buffalo's
assuring each other anyway we wanted to wash our faces at the temple hehe.
When
we were just about to reach the temple, we turned to have one last look at the
summit. The sight was amazing and intimidating at the same time. The summit was
shrouded in complete mist. We wondered how it must be like to get stranded on
top under such circumstances.
TIME: 15:15
We made it to the temple, thanked the priest for looking after the
helmets. Asked him the direction to the water tank, filled in our bottles and
decided to head back. The plan was made clear and simple just like the ride to
the place.
TIME: 15:30
RIDE 2:
(Nidagal – Pavagada – Madhugiri – Dobbaspete – Bangalore)
The ride back was again was well constructed and smooth. The plan was to
stop at Pavagada for lunch, then at Madhugiri, following which was Dobbaspete
and finally Bangalore. The 50kms stretch rule at its best execution.
AS we left Nidgal, the rains got pretty heavy but we rode to the forests
of Pavagada and made it to the highway. From then on we cruised along
seamlessly along the brilliant curves. Then Adi’s pull over got caught in my
back tyre and rattled the entire bike and tore of the mud guard. We called the
other two back, by then I had removed a knife and was half way chopping it off.
With the tools in hand, we ripped open the mud guard and threw it aside and
continued to reach Pavagada for some Andhra meals.
TIME: 16:30
After a heavy meal we fuelled up as we knew it would be a focused and
no nonsense ride. As we left, it started raining pretty heavy, Deefu and I
looked at each other and with a thumbs up going up in synch we decided to ride
on. Both of us love to ride in rain. The roads were clear and we kept a decent
pace and zoomed past Madakasira, Medigeshi to cruise into Madhugiri. Once we
were out of Madhugiri we decided to pull over for the scheduled break. Here a funny
incident happened.
Once we got off our saddles and stretched out, had some water and
chocolates, a question struck me. I turned to Momz and asked him the inevitable
question “momz, which is the hillock we
had been to for today?” as the blankness began to descend on his face so
did the choking laughter on us. With Madhugiri right behind us, he made a good
attempt and said “Madhukkal” Hahaha!
Momz is Momz!
TIME: 18:00
Finally we got back on and idea was to reach the Tumkur highway before
the sunset. Then Deefu and I again kept a good pace and started riding in full
swing. The sun was almost down on the right horizon. The mountains, trees and
fields looked as though they were lit on fire. It was a beautiful ride trust
me! When we were 10kms from Dobbaspet, the darkness descended and the road wasn’t
one of the most rider friendly. As we closed by Dobbaspete, we could see a lot
of wet puddles on the road, the rains had just passed we realised. We crossed
the town and pulled over at a hotel for some hot lemon tea.
TIME: 19:15
After the tea we felt refreshed but knew we had a good 50-60kms still to
go. We started of slow but dwelled into the normal riding pace, and sneaking in
between cars and trucks we rode at a pretty good pace to reach the NICE road
entrance on Tumkur road. Thanking each other for making it for the day, Adi
& myself took the NICE road were as Ashok & Deefu continued to reach
our respective homes.
TIME: 20:30
CONCLUSION:
“this was, one crazy way to start
this new phase! A 400kms ride and a pretty long trek isn’t an easy piece to
swallow. And the kind of trek it was, whew! IT was amazing and satisfied us all
to the core. But what I loved best was the way we paced the trip and more importantly
executed the plan to almost perfection. Loved it! \m/ “
Until next time, Cia \m/
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