Its been some time since this trek happened. But still blogging it because the trek was quite good. A group from BMC had done this trek a coupla weeks before we did, and that is how we got to know about the trek. At Masinagudi, on the road towards Ooty, towards the right hand side is a steep looking cliff. Anyone who sees that from a distance will testify that the climb is impossible. And we went about climbing that cliff! Before you start thinking that me and fellow-climbers did something akin to Stallone (in Cliffhanger) let me tell you that the climb is not tough. You just need to find the right path. And we had a guide to help us find the path! :D.
We set off from Bangalore in a qualis (as usual, what's new in that?) and reached Masinagudi early morning. Sirish started shuddering every now and then just by the thoughts of elephants that we might come across on the road. (He is paranoid about elephants after a trek to OmbattuguDDa and starts hallucinating at every opportunity). Luckily for him and unluckily for us, we didn't spot any pachyderms that day. At Masinagudi we were welcomed by our guide Swaminathan who is a decent chap. Finished our ablutions at a public toilet, had breakfast and started the trek from the foot the cliff. Sirish, age notwithstanding (he is 27 and is considered a senior citizen amongst us) did well for most part of the trek. But the gizmos he carried started weighing him down. He had got a DSLR camera with a huge lens, two binoculars and a GPS other than the usual sleeping bag, mat and tent. Its another story that he never took any of his gizmos out.
Too many things hanging around the old man?
After a few hours of routine climb we reached a small village which is about 20 kms from Ooty. Must have been around 3 in the afternoon when we reached the village and we hadn't had lunch. As soon as the packed food was opened, we jumped on them, which would have made even the smartest of the predators turn green with envy. Another lazy walk for about an hour and we reached a villager's hut who was supposed to provide us dinner.
The evening was spent hanging around the place and the usual bantering with Sirish and Subbu. The dinner was provided by the villager who was quite warm and friendly. He charged a nominal amount for the dinner.
Subbu with his 'Rajkumar' impersonation
Do the socks smell? Let me find out..
Too many things hanging around the old man?
The evening was spent hanging around the place and the usual bantering with Sirish and Subbu. The dinner was provided by the villager who was quite warm and friendly. He charged a nominal amount for the dinner.
Subbu with his 'Rajkumar' impersonation
Do the socks smell? Let me find out..We decided to pitch our tents about a kilometer from the villager's place and we found a suitable run-down house for that. The place was supposedly very close to elephant habitat. Needless to say, Sirish spent a sleepless night. And oh yes, that day was the first time I practised what we call "community shitting". No prizes for guessing what it is, although you might be invited to be part of the exercise the next time :D.
Next morning we got up early to get on top of a cliff to watch sunrise. And the sunrise was worth it.
On our way back took a slightly different route which eventually joined the original path and we reached MasinaguDi for lunch.
Photos are here and here!
09486630968 is the contact number of Swaminathan who arranges for treks in and around Masinagudi.
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