Saturday, April 5, 2014

Kabbaldurga Trek: The 200km Solo "Silent" Dash to the Top for a Nap on the Steep 3-Point Stretch | Chapter 87 (Nov 28, 2013)


Place: Kabbaldurga Trek.
Distance: 100 x 2 = 200kms.
Directions: Bengaluru – Bidadi – Ramnagara – Chennpatna - Kabblu.
Particiapants: Karthik (Sp).
Bikes: Pulsar.
Previous visit: R.S Trek.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Well, this was a solo trip done to celebrate the 4th year anniversary of our club. Since it was a weekday nobody could join me in on this one, so it had to be a place where I would usually go alone, so it had to be Kabbaldurga, my secret getway!!

INTRO & PLAN:
On 27th Nov, the day before, I sat blank the whole day. I wasn’t sure myself whether I wanted to head out the next day or come back to office. I kept the entire plan and my thinking for tomorrow morning, post my short night sleep.
TIME: 23:00



RIGHT CHOICE:
Yeah, I was up by 05:00, had a sip of coffee, like all other weekdays. I decided that I better head to office. So I got ready, had bath, then when I saw my formal pants, something next to it caught my eye, it was my dirty old lovely jeans, unwashed for… okay let’s not get the “time” into the picture. My hand involuntarily and I mean every word I say grabbed the jeans, stripped my formal shirt (never was comfy in one) wore my regular attire told my mom that I was heading out and not to office!
TIME: 06:15

RIDE 1: (Bengaluru –Bidadi -  Kabbaldurga)
This was a flat 100kms outta which about 60kms was on the SH-17, our homeground which offered the no resistance. So, as I set off from my place the weather was pretty cold. Actually that made the cruise awesome! I rode till Bidadi about 30kms without a break. On reaching Bidadi, I pulled over at our regular hotel and asked for breakfast. As I sat, called up my office and said I wouldn’t be able to make it as I was un-well :P (sometimes, my lies are so transparent that people see the innocent truth behind it and they'd just say take care :P)

  

As I sat down munching on the breakfast, I decided to call Arun who was put in Madras for past 1.5 years. As soon as I called him up, he asked me which place I was heading to? Ha-ha!! We spoke about our first trip to Maddur 4 years back down the memory lane.
After having done with breakfast I left Bidadi, told Arun I was looking forward to his return to town after finishing his course!
TIME: 07:15

  

After the breakfast it was smooth cruising until Chennpatna, after which the roads turned narrow and the greenery increased. Loved the shiver I got down my spine as I got my first glimpse of the hillock. But I knew what I had to do! Reached the town of Kabblu in a few minutes, tied a cloth on my head and was all set for the hike.
TIME: 08:30

KABBALDURGA TREK:


This time the ascension is took only 30-40mins. Reason being, I had to keep my mouth shut as I had nobody to talk to, ha-ha! Anyway it was a straight no nonsense kinda a hike. Now getting to the stretches, guess we all know the stretches by now right? Alright here they are:
i) Initial Stretch
ii) 3-Point Stretch
iii) Viper Stretch

Initial Stretch:


Alright this is the tricky one, no matter how many times I’ve been here, I usually get mislead for a few minutes but eventually would find the right path. This was mostly on flat land and I must say on a few steps as well. By the end of this stretch, I didn’t break a sweat and found myself facing my favourite part!!

3-Point Stretch:


Alright, this is the steepest part was the entire hike. So I blazed on like a chameleon on the hot surface, without thinking much about what was going on elsewhere. About 10 mins I was done and yes it had taken, like always a toll on my energy. So, I decided to take a short 5mins nap before I hit the Viper Stretch.

Viper Stretch:


Okay, after a 5mins nap, had a sip of water and put a choco in my mouth and had a glimpse of the viper stretch. Hmm, yeah it was looking beautiful like always. It was pretty green and the curve looked wonderful. It took me no sweat to finish the curvy part.
Beyond which the final stretch had pure rocky terrain with railings and steps but it was steep, trust me. The energy drain was high but I took sufficient rests, to get my breathing to normal and as I did, I could feel the strange buzz inside my head, because of the incredible silence that I was facing throughout the trip. Anyway I reached the top.
TIME: 09:00

 


TOP:


I felt calm and serene maybe a little stupid too. But straight away I went the Kabblu temple, as no one was around had my conversation with the place. Then I decided to head to the Nandi temple to catch some sleep. As I entered the temple, it had a very cool and smooth air and it felt great. Took my cell phone and read a text from my friend back at the office it read “I strongly recommend you to come to office tomorrow”  haha with a smile on my face, took out a book wrote a few things down for about 10-15mins after which I crashed for a nap, so that my energies would normalize.

 

After about an hour, I woke up, fresh and pure! It felt great, for a moment I wondered where I was and what I was doing on top of the hillock :P Anyway had another sip of water and decide to climb down.
TIME:10:00

DECENSION:


Alright the descent took about 30mins. Same rate as the ascension, but with a little less energy spent of course. As I began climbing down, no sweat I blazed my way with the last and viper stretch. The silence was really nice and trust me on this one the place was much holier to be alone with yourself.
As I reached the 3-point stretch, I received a call from office enquiring why I hadn’t made it there; I told them I was not very sure myself.

 

Anyway told them I was atop a mountain. And also told them I would get back to them the next day.
I glided myself down the steep 3-point stretch without much trouble and made my way back to the town.
TIME: 10:30

RIDE 2: (Kabbaldurga – Bangalore)


As I reached back, had some coconut water and left the town. After riding a few kilometres out of town I looked back at the hillock smiled at her, promising that I would return to talk again!! Some other time!
Rode my way till Chennpatna, I realized my face had turned moist and soft. As I cruised along the SH-17 smoothly it felt great as the soft wind cooled my face. The cruise was smooth and the roads offered very little trouble as it approaching noon. Reached back home and decided to continue my sleep!!
TIME: 12:30

 

CONCLUSION:
“This had to be one strange trip with my good friend silence. And trust me on this one friends, the place felt much holier with the silence around rather than all the noise, pollution, and bizarre stories you hear at a place. One place I’d like to go alone, speak with the place and return, 
And before i end this article, i would like to thank every single person who has been there for the past 4years on the road with me, it must have carved out a different side of  you, i hope. And also sincerely thank the people who have been following my blog, hope i ain't boring you guys with my writing, ha-ha, for the past 4 years, Cheers !!"

Until Next time, Cia \m/


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Monday, March 31, 2014

Revana Siddeshwara Trek: The 100km Short Walk to the Top for 60 Minutes of Pure Tranquility | Chapter 86 (Nov 16, 2013)

Place: Revana Siddeshwara Trek.
Distance: 50 x 2 = 100kms.
Directions: Bengaluru – Bidadi – Ramnagara – Jalamangala - Revanasiddehwara.
Particiapants: Datta(Magu) > Chethan (Zethu) >Karthik (Sp).
Bikes: Avenger > Pulsar.
Previous visit: Huthridurga Trek.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Hey, this one was a short & neat chapter. More than the hike, meeting fellow krew after a month was something we enjoyed. R.S hillock (hope you don’t mind me calling that :P) is one of the short hikes around Bangalore. People usually mix it with Ramnagar hills to get a neat blend of both the hillocks. But our visit was more like a hill that we climbed to get some sleep for an hour, in pure tranquility of course.

INTRO & PLAN:
Yeah, I was outta town for about a month or so. Came back and planned for a short trip around Bangalore. The place was either Manchinbele or Ramanagar. Zrthu & Dattu were on the confirmed list.
TIME: 22:00


ASSEMBLE:
Yeah, I was up by 05:00, had a sip of coffee, did a few push ups and sat back listening to music. After about 2.5hrs Dattu & Zethu arrived at my place, after a formal meeting we decided to leave Bangalore.
TIME: 07:45

  

RIDE 1: (Bengaluru – Bidadi - Ramnagar)
This was 50kms stretch on the smooth SH-17. As we left Bangalore, the weather was cold and it felt good cruising in the cold wind. When we reached RRMC asked others if they were done with breakfast. When the response was a negative, we decided to pull over at our regular stop in Bidadi.
TIME: 08:30


After having a smashing breakfast, we decided to hit to Revanasiddehwara hillock first followed by Ramanagar hillock. After passing through Ramnagar we took a left deviation to reach the base of R.S hillock.
TIME: 09:30

REVANA SIDDESHWERA TREK:


I guess we took about 20-30mins to reach the top. It ain’t much of a hike, more like a walk below a shelter, yeah a shelter! But yeah, another place, so no complaining. We parked our bikes at the base. And started off, the path was clear and steps all along not like our other hikes, but this was a different experience by itself. The weather was kinda spooky! Got fantastic views of the lake below on our way to the top.

 


Within 20-30mins we reached the top. We found a perfect spot to rest and we crashed speaking for about 20-30mins after which we decided to enjoy the tranquillity of the place, high above the ground. The sky was foggy and dull, a few eagles kept swooping down in search of something which kept us engaged. We crashed on top of the hillock for about 60mins after which we decided to head back.

The ascent was an easy one; the descent was the same too. As we were heading down the place was beginning to get crowded. We were happy that we had the place before it would get polluted by people.
After reaching the base, Zethu said he had to head back home, so the plan of hiking Ramnagar was scrapped and we decided to head back home.
TIME: 11:30

  

RIDE 2: (Ramnagar – Bangalore)
This was the back ride of 50kms or so on the smooth SH-17 once again. As we reached the highway it was pure sailing until the JB split stop, where we would split. After thanking each other for making it, we headed back to our respective homes.
TIME: 13:00

CONCLUSION:
“Short sweet trip is what I would call it. Not much of energy consumption. But a super breakfast and short hike made a perfect morning that would be stepping stone for the next big one. Oh yeah the fourth year anniversary of our m/C, Stay tuned!!"

Until next time, Cia \m/


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