Moment in Nainbaug

Nainbaug, is least known highway pass-by town on the way to uttarkashi. But this small town came to very spot light with nature playing game with us with land slide and rain.
On our way to rupin pass we got struck in this small town with no way on either side.

Picturesque mountain with over 10 waterfalls. 

Nainbaug is just 45kms away from mussoorie and just 40 odd kms from bigger town parola.

our journey to this town started from Bangalore and boarding the flight late after arriving early to airport. Well many a thanks to our smoking partners. Delhi was hot and humid as ever and we had to rush to Delhi nizzamuddin railway station to board Dehradun express.
Our dinner was waiting for us at karai Gate of Railway station.

People enjoying heavy dinner at sai baba veg restaurant

Spot the paneer and Aloo items. 

Well most of the items in menu had paneer(cottage cheese) or aloo(potato) in it, we were left with no choice but to gulp it.

Train journey was cool till early morning when we were greeted with heavy showers and news of landslide flashing all over the news channels. Yes there was bit of dilemma initially but our guide and cab driver told it would clear soon. 

Road on the way to mussoorie

   our journey to mussoorie was quite memorable as we were charged up for the trek. Stopped at light tea and biscuit at roadside stall every time we got a chance.

stop for Chai!

Next few hours proved to be bit scarry as we saw lots of landslides being cleared and vehicles are returning with the message that road ahead is blocked woul not clear for another day or so. 

we still thought to take a chance and go ahead. 

Landslide

First sight of land slide was heart breaking and was enough to get our spirits low. But our driver kept on telling us that it will get clear soon. May be he is true. 

JCB at Work

An of course he was true. What seem like impossible task to me was done in hours by JCB.

JCB clearing Road  side boulders. 

NainBaug still 11kms long

Struck oh highway:(

It took us entire day to reach Nainbaug which is just 11kms away.

We managed to reach nainbaug at night 10 O clock and halted due to landslide ahead. We got one hotel or so called lodge in nainbaug. Hotel was on demand for that night and he hiked the prices of the room. and made some new laws in renting the room. His deluxe rooms had television facility with 10 years old cot and equally prehistoric era bedsheets. After all it was luxury in middle of nowhere.

HOTEL DESCENT!

One can have practical test of kirchoff law on this busy network.

Bull eye! hot movie in cold place.

View from hotel common balcony.

  our food was arranged at nearby dhaba. our breakfast menu was roti + eggplant sabji , our lunch menu was repeat of breakfast menu and dinner menu was repeat of lunch menu.
with rain creating havoc and chilly breeze hitting your face with cold nose, food was awesome. we Always got food hot. Thanks to the cook.

Nothing to do on first day, some of the folks had divine feelings with  marijuana aka bhang. while some got confused more then the normal and rest were more than quite. I had some suspicion as one of our mate could not differentiate between tomato ketchup and Jam.
Split personality exists! and I saw the real life demo in room from a guy intoxicated with marijuana. He was talking to his inner voice with pillow in his hand representing his inner voice. 

Nainbaug was all over with vehicles piling up for uttarkashi. with no hope of road opening we got one dry day and it did't rain that day. we decided to take small hike to nearby place. we crossed the river using military bridge and went to other side of village. It was nice walk.
Next day we decided to head back to mussorrie.  

road being created by excavator

Finally walking through the road and crossing the landslides we reached proper road. then we got a cab to drop us to mussorrie

Mussoorie road with large cloud cover.

Guruorasad will not be allowed at near sight of this lodge.

Hackmans hotel where we stayed in mussoorie.

did you guys notice the cream he is selling ?

hotel in morning.

Took cable car ride to top of mussoorie.

Night fall at mussoorie.

we took flight from delhradun to bangalore due to land slide on road to delhi. Overall good experience and some learning to plan the next trip in june july.

twin peaks conquered :)

We did it!


Managed to climb both the peaks in a day. Thanks to raghunandan for driving us around.

twin peaks

17th September is nearing and from now it's no turning back.
Me along with few trekkers put up a plan to climb two peaks in one day.
Well I never did it before but great. Let's see how it works out


PLAN:-

5:15 AM from my place to Hebbal drive
6:00 AM start to Skandagiri and be at the base by 7:00 AM
7:15 Start the climb to skandagiri

Skandagiri Peak

Assuming it take 2 hours to climb the peak and takes another 1 hour to descend should take us approximately 4 hours for return journey with 1 hour as rest period.

11:45 AM start to tumkur via bypass.

on the way have light lunch and proceed to madhugiri.

Madhugiri Peak

travel time including lunch will be 2 hours 30 mins

start at 2:30 to climb madhugiri.

takes two hours to reach on top and return will be 1 hour 30 mins. half an hour rest at top and start down.

if we start at 5:00 from top then we should be back by 6:15 to 6:30 PM.


hmm.. still sound cool.


I'll keep my fingers crossed for rain no to spoil our sport.

RUPIN PASS

Here is the itinerary...
                          Date 17 : Arrive Delhi
                                         On arrival met at the airport and transfer to the hotel for dinner.Overnight journey by train to dehradun.

                          Date 18 : Drive from Dehradun - Netwar .Dstce 180 kms.Halt.
                          Date 19: Mori - Dhula - Sewa (2000 M).
                                       We drive 40 km from our camp to reach Dhula (road head). Our trek starts from here; we will trek about 8 km in about 4 hrs time. At Sewa there is a                                          impressive wooden temple dedicated to Mahasu Devta (Local deity).
                                       Overnight: Tent

                          Date 20: Sewa - Jiskon (2320 M)
                                       After Sewa we continue trek to Jiskon. The trail and surroundings is extremely picturesque.
                                       Overnight: Tent

                          Date 21: Jiskon - Jakha (2650 m)
                                      After breakfast we will trek to Jakha, which is 08 km from Jiskon.
                                      Overnight: Tent

                          Date 22: Jakha - Saruwas Thach (3450 M)
                                      Today's trek is of 8 km and we will take about 5 - 6 hrs to reach Saruwas thach camping ground, moving at a leisurely pace so as to enjoy the beauty of the place.
                                      Overnight: Tent

                          Date 23: Saruwas Thach - Nuru (3600 M) Via Rupin Pass (4625 M)
                                      Early morning we set out towards Rupin pass. From the pass enjoy fantastic views of the Kinnaur Kailash range. From here we will descend to the grazing grounds at Nuru. To reach here we would have trekked for about 6 hrs covering 12 km.
                                 Overnight tents.

                          Date 24: Nuru - Sangla (2650 M)
                                     We will trek 12 km (3-4 hrs) to reach Sangla.If possible we can plan for a relax day.
                                     Overnight: Camp

                          Date 25: Sangla - Shimla.
                                     After breakfast drive to Shimla (237 km, 10 hrs). Upon arrival check into hotel.
                                     Overnight: Hotel

                          Date26: Shimla - Kalka.
                                     Drive to Kalka ..overnight journey to Delhi by train..

                          Date 27: Reach Delhi.

Hiking Requirements

Hiking is serious fun and prime adventure sports of Karnataka.
However badly planned or badly executed hiking can be a fierce nightmare. Planning is part of organizer and execution is combined effort of  members joining the hike and organizers.

To make this sport even a joyful and memorable even, me along with my friends have listed down some of the basic information about hiking essentials.

What to carry ? 
  Note hiking is strenuous activity. unless you are seasoned athlete or equivalent, this activity can rip apart your physical and mental integrity.
"mantra here is be light and go light".
getting unnecessary things uphill is self invitation to torture your body.

Things to avoid
1. shaving kit , mirror etc
2. blanket or pillow (absolutely not required when sleeping bags are present and rucksacks being used as pillows)
3. tablet/laptop or boombox (strict no due to interference with animals)
4. clothes for each and every occasion. Avoid like plague .. we are not into fashion parade.
5. make up kit. (other than basic necessities )
6. no bulky towel
7. denim top or jacket or jeans .. strickt no.. if they get wet then you will have hack of time to lift them!
8. army/ncc shoes.. our body is not trained to handle them.. please avoid.
9. handbag apart from hiking bag..
10. bulky camera or camcorder.

How much to carry and what to carry:- 
1. Pair of clothes , light and running track-pants
2. Rucksack good quality which can hold extra stuff like packed lunch and extra ration.
3. sports shoes or equivalent trekking shoes (no floaters please)
4. Bottle for water or hydration pack.
5. basic rain/winter jacket light to cover the body at windy night.

Discipline 
    Being in wilderness one should respect the nature and privacy of animals. Not we are their guest and not them to us. So behave to be the good one.
     
            1. Do not litter the place , trail or campsite with wrappers or other consumables.
            2. Screaming or equivalent in jungles should be avoided to keep peach and harmony of nature.
            3. Avoid soaps in streams and nature call should be enjoyed slightly away from the stream. Note the water is consumed by villagers downhill.
          4. avoid scaring the animals or charging on to them
          5. Avoid getting Non-Veg foods!!

Inside MadhuMalai

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Wiki:
Mudumalai Sanctuary is as an important wildlife habitat due to its strategic position as aWildlife corridor between several other protected areas that are a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. To the north is the Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park. To the west is the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and in the south are Mukurthi National Park and Silent Valley National Park. To the east is the Sigur Plateau which connects to theSathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary and Reserve forests and Biligirirangan Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. These parks, sanctuaries and the adjoining Reserve forests cover over 3,300 square kilometres (1,300 sq mi) of forest supporting a population of 1800-2300 elephants.

The elevation of the sanctuary varies from a minimum of 960 meters (3,150 ft) m to a maximum of 1,266 meters (4,154 ft). The sanctuary has a tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate that corresponding to the categories Aw and As of the Köppen climate classification.

Our Story:

Vindesh and Rishab

My dear friend Vindesh was visiting his uncle in Ooty. His uncle is regional forest officer for Mudhumalai forest reserve. We were invited to be part of the family to stay in royal forest guest house located deep in the forest. 

This was chance we never wanted to miss. 

Me, Gowtham and Meeta (close friends of Vindesh ) were invited to be part of this trip. We started from Bangalore early morning and crossed Mysore in hurry. 

School children attending Independence day parade.

     It was 15th of August and holiday. We passed through densely populated villages on the way to Ooty. Though forgotten by me and Gowtham, Meeta forcibly pulled to attend the 15th August celebration. We stood still sang national Anthem and Started our journey to ooty.

Do spot bigger kiddos

Resting next to my car

 We touched the mudhumali gate at about 2.00Pm. Had quick tea and waited for vindesh to arrive. He was comming with his chachji (Uncle). Place where we were waiting was nice and serene and had one huge tamrind tree. It was meeta who urged everyone to pluck few. I was reluctance for this but later joined along with gowtham. 

Gowtham in act.

CHATORA!

After about half an hour and over dozen of tamrind in basket, Vindesh and family arrived. Typical north indian guesture followed with lots of hugs and howling and few cat calls.

Reunion

From here we marched directly to Forest guest house. This house is located in middle of forest and little jeep route takes one there. My car may be one only civilian car entering that place. At checkpost guards were still not sure about letting me in. 

We spotted wild elephants enroute to forest officers bunglow. 

Cheetal spotted enroute to officers bunglow.

Picturesque Forest officer bunglow

Kargudi Resthouse

Trail to the watch tower

After having delicious meal in evening we headed for a small trail to watch tower. From here complete Mudhumalai forest space is seen.

Entire Lush green and Dense Mudhumalai Forest

Vinnie and Me

Vindesh & Family

Charlies Angels 

Forest range was very informative and showed us lot of pug marks of carnivorous mostly unseen by normal eyes. He told how they take census of the wild animals using the pug marks.

It  was memorable to watch such a dense green landscape. With lights fading out we had to return to the base. We were escorted by the guard to the forest guest house. 

Also warning was flashed not to venture 50 feet away from the guest house at night. 

Shinu :

SHINU

As we reached back to the base we encountered a small pug and later found to be part of Uncles family. 

Shinu is cute pug and will always follow you irrespective of your network. Guess hutch did a smart move in showcasing the pug. This pug has lot of emotions and they do get tired. You can lift him and caress and all the time he will be quiet.

Shinu loves tomatoes and can eat any number of slices you feed. And that was my mantra to attract him towards me. 

Shinu in my arms

It was fun playing with him and you can just run across and he will follow you and that was our game. We tried playing outdoor game and he relentlessly followed us. 

DAY 2

Tiger census reservoir 

Day 2 was planned with early morning safari to tiger census area. This place is in deep jungle and can be approached only by forest reserve 4x4 

 4x4 

Group Photo in Jungle
(L-R  Me, Vindesh, Rihus Sis, Uncle, Vindesh's Dad, Vidhu, Meeta and Gowtham)

It was indeed a great experience out there to know the life of the guards patrolling to preserve the wildlife battling against the poachers. I will not publish anymore pics to revel more about this place. 

After the safari we headed in the jungle to see if we could spot tiger. We were not lucky enough to spot tiger but we did spot elephants , wild boar , bisons and cheetal. 

Majestic Tiger Spotted by Rishu

we returned to the base for good heavy lunch and good nap. In evening we were taken to the nearby waterfall inside Mudhumalai forest to see a huge waterfall. This place is accessible to tourist and we witnessed many tourists out there.

Waterfall 

 

Another view

distant view of waterfall

We ended our day with night safari to see if we can spot any tigers or wild life. Again luck did't favor us and we could not spot any tiger,but there were enough of elephants , wild boar to be seen from up close. 

Best thing of the night safari was indeed the route it took us through. It was very dense forest with small trail where a small minibus can go. 

As usual good group of crowd and we ended our day with fun, dance and games. Must to mention was food out there, they had a special kitchen for us and use to cook taking menu from us. Food was delicious and prompt on time. I feasted on fish and chicken while Meeta has lots to choose from veggie menu. Gowtham too liked it but was missing curd rice at the end. 

Complete family photo. Clicked by Rishu

cool gang 

Typical morning in the forest

Monkey business 

Uncle holding captured cub

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after two days of wildlife, nature, friends and fun we finally said bye to the forest and returned to Bangalore. en-route we had to pass through the Mudhumalai forest as state highway passes through the forest. This time entire perspective towards the forest was different. 

Indeed it was a wonderful and memorable trip.. Thanks to Vindesh!