Place: Kabbaladurga trek
Distance: 100kms x 2 = 200kms
Directions: Bangalore > Bidadi > Channpatna > Kabbaladurga > Kanakpura > Bangalore
Krew: Karthik (Sp)
Bikes: Pulsar
Previous Visit: Virajpete
Budget: Rs 400/head
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, I usually do this solo-trek on my birthday to flush out my system and have a cleansing experience. But this year couldn’t do it on my birthday and I was disappointed. But it had been 1 year since Alexi’s passing, so as I wanted to spend some time alone with my thoughts about Alexi who represented two things in my life – *unconditional love* and *purity*. The trek as such was great and like always it forced me *not to think* – else I would slipped and fallen :P
INTRO & PLAN:
To be frank, I was little out of shape. And wanted to test my endurance out, and what better way to test it than to climb a hill which can shatter you apart. So with things planned out, an inch of sadness still there remembering Alexi I had disturbed sleep as usual.
TIME: 02:00 (20/6/2018)
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah I was up at 04:30, did a few push ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and sat back. Saying I would be back by noon, I headed out with blank head and pumping heart and a picture of Alexi in my mind!
TIME: 06:00
RIDE 1: (Bangalore– Ramngara – Channpatna - Kabbaldurga)
This was a 100kms ride on the butter smooth SH-17. Yes, as I left Bangalore, I had no worries and rode at a comfortable pace watching things that had developed over the months, on this road. After riding about 30kms, I pulled over at the regular hotel in Bidadi for some yummy breakfast.
TIME: 06:45
After the breakfast, I continued further towards Ramnagar. From here took a left turn and continued on the country roads and I started feeling a little peaceful. But I’ll be a little frank, I was worried if I could climb the hillock.
The first view of the hillock like always, sent chills down my spine. I saw her, as she was and with a deep breath out, I decided it was time to ascend!
TIME: 08:00
KABBALDURGA TREK:
Well, I was not expecting this climb to be easy as I was little out of shape. I did struggle this time, but pushed through to ascend the hillock in about 60mins. Quarter of an hour more than usual, might not seem much, but trust me, I was felt dead somewhere in between haha. As before, I have divided the trek into the following sections:
- *i) Initial stretch*
- *ii) 3 point stretch*
- *iii) Viper stretch*
- *iv) Final Stretch*
Ready? Alright, like other solo treks to this place, had three companions, *the strange buzz*, *the wind’s howl* and *the sound of my own heart beat*! (*Last one went berserk sometimes* :P)
*i) Initial stretch:*
The initial stretch as always proved to be the most confusing. I mean, it made sense, you wouldn’t want your enemies to have an easy welcoming into your fort right? Following the sense of directions and shooing away the thorns that tried to prick me I easily made past this stretch with a few tears on my hand.
*ii) 3 point stretch:*
Ah, this stretch pretty much was the tester. My grip, my knack for reading the cracks on the wall, my balance, my breathing, my endurance everything. Just as I began breathing slow to get my body into the normal stance, some weird thoughts started cropping up – *what if I slip?* I asked my mind to shut up and began my ascent like a wild chameleon.
As I began, I realised I had receded a little. But never the less needed that jolt into my system to get the juices flowing. The spotting of the cracks and balancing were kind of good (I can say this proudly cause I haven’t slipped, else I wouldn’t be writing this :P)
But midway I was busted and had to pull over near some cacti nearby for shelter. These kind of insane pit-stops are the ones that scare me. But pushing myself not thinking much (I mean these kind of stretches forces you not to think much) I made it over the fort wall.
*iii) Viper stretch:*
As I continued towards the Viper stretch, I began to feel shaky. The sun was up and shining bright, but I was pretty much low on energy and burning out fast. I sat down a few times listening to the wind and to get back my breathing to normal. The viper stretch was smooth, but few weird sounds here & there did scare me a little.
*iv) Final stretch:*
The final stretch had a lot of railings and support. And pulling myself up, and remembering the first ascent of this hillock, I was pushing myself every step. Every bit of energy (hope atleast the dark ones) were being thrown out of my system. Finally I reached the top.
TIME: 09:00
TOP:
The cool winds greeted me on the top. I began to heal and as I walked towards the main temple to pay my respects, I tried searching for the monitor lizard I had once spotted 5years back. But then I realised, when you expect things from natural beings, they are seldom found. I made it to the temple, paid my respects and headed towards the Shiva temple.
I went around the Shiva temple to get a panoramic glimpse of the mountains. After which I lit incense sticks at the top in the memory of my dear friend and slept for about an hour. Once I got up, a strange buzz prevailed in my head. The silence was simply over-whelming. Paying my respects to the place and remembering Alexi, I decided to begin the climb back down feeling fortunate to have met such a great creature.
TIME: 10:00
CLIMB DOWN:
The climb down was a smooth one. It took me about 30-45mins to reach back down. The same as before. Guess I had got my edge back! Taking a long deep breath, I said bye-bye to Kabblu temple and began my descent like a lizard again. That jolt was necessary to get thing going, and it did get things moving. I was feeling much better and in rhythm as I descended. Once I reached the 3-point stretch, my stupid mind started cropping up again. Telling it shut up, I began the descent down the three pointer.
Few times, I just sat down hanging mid-way just to get used to it haha! Finally I made it down in some 40mins or so and found a small bullock near my bike. It was eating grass and as I approached the bike, it picked the grass and started moving away from me. I tried explaining that I was not there for its food, but it wouldn’t listen.
Taking my bike off, as I began to depart I turned back and had one last look at the hillock. The hillock which helps me re-store myself. As I was about to turn around and head back, I realized the bullock was still staring at me, laughing at myself to get into a situation like this, I left the town.
TIME: 10:45
RIDE 2: (Kabbaldurga – Kanakpura - Bangalore)
I decided to ride back via the Kanakpura road as the route back really didn’t matter much. I cruised along at comfortable pace, negotiating the beautiful curves of NH-209 to perfection. I did have thoughts about belting some masala dose at Hotel Vaasu in Kanakpura and in the flow I asked my mind to shut up again hahaha. This time I think it was not required, missed the dosa :( Damn!
Made it back home for lunch.
TIME: 12:30
Until next time, Cia \m/
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