Kabbaldurga Trek: The Solo 200km Cathartic Climb for Alexi | Chapter 159 (Jun 21, 2018)

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

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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

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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/

⬅️ 158. Virajpete 160. Channarayanadurga ➡️

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Virajpete: The Surreal 600km 'Acid Rain' Journey & 2-Hour Sleep Delay | Chapter 158 (Nov 3-5, 2018)

Place: Virajpete

Distance: 300 x 2 = 600kms   

Directions: Bangalore > Kanakpura > Mallavali > Kollegala > Gundal Dam

Krew: Dileep (Koof) > Ashok (momz) > Chaithanya (Endu)  > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: SX4                                                                                      

Previous Visit: Gundal Dam

Budget: Rs 5000/head (let’s not get into the details :P)

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This I must emphasize was one heck of crazy TRIP. Yeah, you see the caps right?! This was one of those chapters, where in practically we did nothing but yet, so much was achieved. We pretty much never landed on ground throughout the trip. So, I will not get into too many details and will try to keep it simple & short! But every aspect of this trip had such a humorous side of it, simply crazy!

This write up would not be like most of the others I have written, as it was more of a within journey rather than physical one. So, people not interested SKIP & people interested, we shall meet someday in an astral world!

INTRO & PLAN:

Once we realised Endu would be in town, it was time to meet at Laxmi! At Laxmi we decided to head out of Bangalore for 3-4 days. Endu had spent the last two months hitch-hiking in the North-Eastern states living in tents. So, yeah major stories were in-stored. (There was this one time, where he started speaking to plants about their work – photosynthesis. And other time, where a cow was his talking guide through the forest. Pure Crazy guy!!)

TIME: 23:30 (2/6/2018)

  

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30, did a few push ups and sit ups, had a sip of coffee and was all set to go.  Phoned all and was happy to know all were up. The meet up was scheduled at our good old bakery. Momz and I reached bakery at 08:30 and the WAIT began. Koof said he would pick up Endu and reach us in 10mins, so we waited. 30mins, passed still no signs of anybody. 60mins passed, we called Endu and realised he was still waiting at the Metro station. We woke up Arvi (stays Koof home – 3-4kms) and asked him if was free to check upon this Koof. 

When no car was there near Koof’s home, we were worried. Then Momz and me caught and Auto and headed towards Koof’s home. Asked Endu to come there as well. We tried banging he door, calling his phone (46missed calls :P) Finally as were about to split and search the route from his home to Metro trying hard not think about the worst case, out came our boy… scratching his head with a BIG YAWN. “machaa, had slept off ra! What are you guys doing here, I would have picked u all up :P” With few curses and lot of laughs we finally left Bangalore at about 10:30AM (2hours delay)

TIME: 10:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Mysore – Gonikoppal - Virajpete)

Alright, the first stretch of the drive was from Bangalore to Mysore, about 150km. As the roads were pretty good, we were pretty much up in smoke by the time we reached Mysore haha! Continuing further after Hunsur, we entered the reserved forests.

TIME: 14:00

During our journey towards Gonikppal, all off a sudden I saw a car in the opposite direction travelling backwards on the forest highway. I laughed at myself, but then realised it was actually real. Then as we looked around we spotted a big elephant in the shrubs. Shaking our head off to get back to senses we enjoyed the elephant without any distractions.

At Gonikoppal, we just parked the car and started loafing around like locals. Venturing into shops, buying random stuffs. Finally found a good local hotel and started belting on some mouth-watering pork!

We did buy a scissors as we had to divide the square into 4 equal halves.

TIME: 16:30

As we reached the homestay, we realised we had found the right place. Killer isolated home amidst thick plantations with a stream running through it. So with still some sunlight left, we explored the plantations pretty much zombie mode and as the sun went down, we headed back towards the homestay (still in zombie mode)

TIME: 19:00

NIGHT-1:

With the night still young, we popped in few crackers in evening and relaxed near the camp fire. The Coorg special (pork, chicken and a lot of papad) was served and it looked yummy. But as we sat near the fire, we began realising the effect of the crackers and new doors started opening up within our minds.

The night was a long one and with so much innocence and fun. We spoke about turtles, horses, komodo dragons, albatross, one punch man, Pink Floyd, The Doors and what not. The group was right and the mind set of all was perfect - “get out there and let loose to have fun”

Momz, Endu & Koof decided to go for a walk at about 02:30AM amidst the plantations, I kind off refused and stayed back. They told me, the walk was a very long one (or felt like it, I am not very sure, neither are they :P)

  

When I was waiting for them at the home, sitting outside near the bonfire, the sounds around me felt crystal clear. The cracking of the wood, the crickets chirping away in the dark, lights glowing with strange intensity, and all off a sudden I could hear the rustling of the leaves and an animal came with maddening speed out of the bushes towards me. I swear at that moment I felt my heart explode and fear was so much amplified (I don’t think I can become afraid never again :P)

But it was a dog, poor thing got so scared seeing me, that it ran back into the shrubs.. Wait was it a dog?. By around 03:00AM they returned and we began playing the crazy game of Mendicot using WWF cards, which I had collected during 1990’s.

But 04:00AM we finished out dinner and crashed not really exhausted, but we decided to catch some sleep.

TIME: 04:00

DAY-2:

And the early bird award goes to?! That’s right, I was up by 06:00AM, not knowing what to do. Then I started having some of the left overs and began reading some comics. The weather outside was foggy and very nice with little drizzle.

I went out for a walk and it felt damn good. But 08:00AM some super coorgi coffee was served and we began waking each other up. All our throats had taken a major toll, after having some ginger tea, we sat outside, with the fog blanket all over the place and began to ascend quite early in the morning. We requested the breakfast to be served a little late.

The breakfast arrived at about 11:00AM and we began eating it outside the home simply enjoying the weather. After a kick ass round of breakfast we began playing cards (Mendicot) until 13:00 and decided to rest a little as nobody had slept well and we wanted another long night.

Waking up at about 16:00 we had some mind blowing lunch. One of the yummiest lunch I have had till date. After which at about 17:00 we ventured into the plantations and headed towards the stream that was in full flow.

To be frank, the stream was not that deep. It was not even until out knees but the force was so high that it was challenge, just to stand up. The small pebbles and rocks were literally being swept away. And as we rested, the small rocks began hitting out backs like a natural massager haha! Crazy force trust me.

By the time we got out of the chilling water, the weather was cold too and the shivers set in. We changed into dry clothes, and with the camp fire goin by 18:00, we popped in some crackers and began drifting away into the hazy night.

TIME: 20:00

   

NIGHT-2:

Once the dinner arrived, so did the drizzle. Sitting around the bon fire, where the colour of the flames were so vibrant, as if they were saying something to you. At the same time the winds caressing your skin, as the small tiny droplets of rain kept kissing our head. Yeah, that was our feeling, we were pretty much floating.

We all talked about Aghoras their way of life (had read the trilogy off late so yeah), real life crazy encounters we had with them, Dragonball Z – as to why Vegeta didn’t ascend to super sayen 2. As to whom to appreciate in Death note – L or N. And the Pink Floyd song where a dog sings at the ancient Greece ruins, Pompiee – creativity at its best!

Koof’s ghost story again cropped up, and I had read a similar thing in this Haruki Murakami’s book – The Wind up Chronicle Bird.  And not to forget Momz golden rule “Go with the Flow” :P

At about 00:30, we all decided to go out for a walk. The CCTV camera that was installed, the red light glowing simply freaked the living hell out of everybody. But we realised it was a camera and went ahead found a tree house. Man oh man! This was simply an emotional moment. We had to leave the next day and nobody wanted to land back to ground.

We sat in inside the tree house, which already had a wooden table in the centre and sit out all around. With light drizzle, we felt like we were in hut amidst the clouds floating away. I still remember koof who never judges any trip as good/bad opened up saying this had to the be the best trip along with his crazy Leh bike trip.

  

I too realised, and kind of reminded myself as to why I started this “theloapers” – bike/trek club. It was never about the place or the so called motorcycle club... it was more about meeting friends and keeping in touch with people who matter. Keeping the circle small but tight. Not allowing the ups or the downs to carry you away! Zzzzz..

We returned back in complete darkness to the home and began eating our dinner at about 02:00AM. We spoke and played cards for about an hour and crashed in.

TIME: 03:00

    

DAY-3:

I was up by 06:00 and strolled outside. The weather was simply in synch with my mind. By 09:00, Momz and me went out to check whether the Tree House actually existed. Ah, yeah there it was and we went inside and sat there for some time.

Once the Puttu and the egg curry arrived, I got the bon fire going again in the misty morning and we ate our breakfast in peace.

By 11AM we thanked the owner and left began driving back.

Drive 2: (Virajpete – Gonikoppal – Buyyondoddi- Bangalore)

It was actually a bummer that it had come to an end. Yeah all things might have to come to an end, but we kind of make sure another good thing starts :P (Laxmi always there)

So., as were driving back, still afloat and singing... we spotted a huge elephant right beside the road. This kind a jerked things up in our brain. Proceeding ahead, we did see another 2 of them afar. I almost cried inside a little for having to return back.

As we were thinking of having biryani at Mysore, the fish fry place of Buyyondoddi cropped up in my mind. As we had taken the guy’s number, we called and enquired if the place was open. Once the clearance was given, we asked him to keep about 10-12fishes aside for us and headed in full flow.

Since it was Momz & Endus first time at the place, they went on a steak of having about 4 fishes each, simply enjoying it.

The rain gods decided to end our TRIP with a good shower towards the end of the trip as we approached Bangalore. Thanking each on for making for this wonderful surreal meet we departed towards our respective homes.

TIME: 19:00

CONCLUSION:

“I know, I know, it was not about the physical place at all this time. But with all of us heading us into the mentally de-filed system of current world, sometimes it these kind of trip which remind of purity and innocence that prevailed and still prevail within us. I felt the RESET in terms of the mind set I had back in the days and began appreciating the task of having fun in everything you do :) “

Until next time, F’Cia \m/

⬅️ 157. Gundal Dam 159. Kabbaladurga trek ➡️

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Gundal Dam: Fire & Ice Swim, Hidden Jewel & Buyyanadoddi Fish Fry | Chapter 157 (Apr 7, 2018)

Place: Gundal Dam

Distance: 150kms x 2 = 300kms

Directions: Bangalore > Kanakpura > Mallavali > Kollegala > Gundal Dam

Krew: Dileep (Koof) > Madhu (Gundu)  > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar                                                                   

Previous Visit: Doddagaddavali

Budget: Rs 700/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Awestruck is the right word to describe our take on this chapter. Gundal is beautiful and serene reservoir located amidst the thick forests of lower Western Ghats. Hardly 15kms from Kollegala this reservoir proved to be a hidden jewel all these years. And to top things off we had our session at the legendary Buyyanadoddi fish fry, WOW!

INTRO & PLAN:

Weekday, I was browsing for few new places, when I hit upon this place. I was slightly confused and felt the google was fooling around. I mean it had been 7-8years on the road and we had covered a lot of places in an around that area. How the hell could we miss such an amazing place? So with my dear Laxmi friends – Koof and Madho we were all set to ride. This was the only time we had upto to PLAN E as we weren’t sure if the place would actually exist, if it does we weren’t sure whether water would be there!

TIME: 22:00 (6/4/2017)

   

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30, did a few push ups and sit ups, had a sip of coffee and was all set to go.  Called up Koof and Modho and woke them up. Initially the plan was to ride via Mysore road, but thanks to Koof’s last minute change we rode via Kanakpura road for a given reason you shall soon find out.  I left my home and while waiting for Modho outside his home, found 100bucks on road.. aha breakfast money set! Picking up Modho we met Koof at the NICE road junction at Kanakpura and left from Bangalore.

TIME: 07:15

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Kanakpura – Malavalli – Kollegala – Gundal Dam)

It was quite some time since we had started off on NH-209. It felt good and weird at the same time. Cruising through the snake way, we kept a decent pace. As we approached Kanakpura we pulled over at one of the super hotel – “HOTEL VAASU” the reason why we had chosen Kanakpura road over Mysore road.

TIME: 08:30

   

Belting 3 rounds of breakfast, and tummy completely satisfied with the awesome dosas and bath we left the hotel and resumed our journey. The ride was smooth and straight forward. To be frank it took me back to the days of Shivanasamudra, Talakdau, BR Hills, MM Hills days during engineering time. Not to forget the crossing the river on a coracle with our bikes on it hehe.

We cruised past Gaganachukki and Barachukki and entered the Kollegala limits.  The first canal of the Shivanasamudra was running dry and it pretty much left us low. Asking the locals for directions, we proceeded towards Gundal. Being harldy 12kms from Kollegala, we reduced our speed and had a good look around. The final stretch to Gundal had lots of solar panels kilometres together and on the other side of the road were chicken farm. Finally we reached Gundal and a huge bund wall was in front of us, not knowing what is on the other side was giving me butterflies in my tummy. As the bike good go on top we raced away to the top of the bund to get the look.

TIME:11:00

GUNDAL DAM:

My God! What a view we received. Whoo.. it was a huge relief that there was water and the place looks awesome! We rode all the way to the end mesmerized by the view the dam offered us. We went up to the IB which was being constructed and got a clearer view of the entire place. We rode back down to the bund and we decided to get into the water.

TIME:11:30

   

The waters were freaking cold and the sun was right on top of our head. It was like fire and ice effect. The waters were crystal clear and being in the waters koof and modho were picking on me as to why I didn’t search this place before haha! Also, please note the waters turn deep in a short distance. After an hour of swimming we decided to bask in the sun to dry up and shortly we left the place still awestruck!

TIME: 12:30

RIDE 2: (Gundal dam – Kollegala – Mallavali – Buyyanadoddi – Kanakpura - Bangalore)

The ride back was a flat 150kms, but with an awesome stop at Buyyanadoddi. As we began our ride, we knew it would be hard as we had taken a dip in the waters. We rode pretty much non-stop until Mallavali picking up a bottle of water we proceeded towards Kanakpura. At Halguru, we took a left turn and headed towards the legendary fish fry stop at Buyyanadoddi. As we arrived the fish were just being prepared on the tawa, so we decided to head out and get ourselves some kottu so that we could crash for some time. Once the fish arrived the session began and it went to a couple of hours. Whew! Awesome it was, finally paying them a lot of courtesy and respect we left the place afloat.

TIME:16:00

   

Riding back towards Bangalore, we stopped one last time again for the day at Hotel Vaasu to get a Masala Dosa into our system. Yummy! After which we rode non-stop and pulled over at NICE road. Koof went ahead through the city Modho and me took the NICE road.

No not yet over, on the NICE road as we approached towards the Shanmukha temple we were watching out for a place where we could get Modho off , this is when another Pulsar at 90+kmph slammed into my hand (had held my hand on sides of the handle). Right fist was numb, but dropped Modho back home and reached my home with a numb right fist hehe.

TIME: 18:30

CONCLUSION:

“Whata great chapter this was! Truly one of the top 15. Firstly we didn’t know whether the place would actually exist. Second of all, even though it would exist, what were the chances that water would be there considering the summer heat. Things paid off, cheers to that! “

Until next time, Cia \m/

⬅️ 156. Doddagadavalli 158. Virajpete ➡️

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