Merthi Peak trek (Monsoon trek)
Hi friends,
July-August is the Aashadha month or Aadi month or Ramayana month in Hinduism and it is the official start of line of religious festivals upto Diwali. The weather will also be pleasant in most parts of the country before the onset of North-East monsoons which will precede fall and winter! This year, many parts of Karnataka and all of Kerala were lucky to receive copious rainfall which to some extent helped in resolving the Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Talking about rains, we went for a monsoon trek last week with a group of enthusiastic runners from a marathon group. We are with this group, especially my husband who is a good runner and into running for a long time. Monsoon is basically off-season for many tourist spots for obvious reasons and also due to school days. We have been to treks before at different places in India and abroad, but they were all of short distances. I have barely heard of 'monsoon trek' and so I was a little unprepared for the adventure that lay ahead of me. The place we trekked is called Merthi Peak in Kalasa of Chikmagalur district which is about 350 kms from Bangalore and about 50 kms before Sringeri. As it was peak of monsoon season there, we were advised to equip ourselves with essentials such as Raincoats, umbrellas, shoes suitable for trekking, leech-protective pants along with bag packs to carry things like lunch to be eaten once we reached the peak. Generally, I am not fond of long-distance bus journeys, especially the overnight ones. But we had no choice as we were going with a group, and these kind of treks cannot happen alone.
We started from Bangalore on Friday night and reached the hotel Aashirwaad in Kalasa on Saturday morning.The hotel was arranged for us by our group leader Shyam , to freshen up and have breakfast. As with any hill station, the last few kms to the hotel was winding and circuitous, and our bus had to go really slow. But once we reached the hotel and saw the rooms allotted to us, we were all enthusiastic to get ready and go on the adventure! The hotel itself was bright and airy, in the lap of greenery. We had Idli-vada for breakfast with Mangalore bun as a specialty. We boarded the bus and proceeded to the trekking point which was 25 kms from the hotel. Two friends in our team, who did not want to miss their routine Saturday run, ran about 8 to 10 km on the winding roads. We were handed trekking poles which would help us throughout. At Basarikatte start point, our guide gave us a basic idea of the trek, how it is going to be and how important to go as a group and stick to the group. The trek would be about 6 hours starting from 10:25 AM. The total distance was 8 kms and the peak was about 1700 metres or more than 5000 feet. Without thinking much, we started our adventure. Initially, it was easy and we went ahead chatting and looking at the plants and trees around us. After sometime, the ascent started and we found ourselves puffing and panting. We were told to be extra careful as it may slip at some points because it was wet due to rains. We kept on climbing with the help of poles and giving hand to each other at some points. We were also on guard for those slimy leeches which will stick to our bodies silently to suck our blood!! As we crossed more than 1 km, we stopped for a break to have some snacks and selfies and just looked around only to see the surroundings getting covered in the mist. From there we looked at the peak we needed to conquer and I felt how am I going to reach the top of that magnificent peak! We proceeded forward then without stopping anymore. As we kept climbing up, some ridges were difficult and narrow, and I did not see the other side lest I get frightened seeing the depth below me! I just kept one step ahead at a time. At difficult and steep points I was helped by my husband and our trekking mates to keep my foot strategically and go forward. It was little difficult and tricky as it had just rained and the soil was wet and marshy. I did not have leech protective pants and so I did not think much about leeches entering my skin. I just concentrated on keeping one step forward, until I reached the peak. The valley below was engulfed with mist and it was becoming cloudy. Most of them had gone forward, but I was forced to take my own time! Going along the ridges was something which I had not done before. We paused at some points to breathe in the beauty of the nature around us. After about 4 hours of trekking we reached the peak where there was a small shrine of Lord Ganesha. Here I have to mention about an enthusiastic trekker in our group who had crossed 60, but physically fit for adventures like this! He is also a marathon runner. He is an inspiration for the whole group! After reaching the peak at 2:30 PM, I felt light in my head and a feeling of having conquered an 'Everest'! We were all happy that we could stand on the peak and take selfies/groupies, without any scratch. As we started to have lunch, it started drizzling and later pouring.
Hurrah!! We conquered you!!!
We were concerned as to how we will be descending as the chances of slipping and falling will be more! But our captain allayed our fears by taking us down a totally different route which was far less risky. I fell down at a couple of places, but it was not much to be concerned about. It was all a part of an incredible learning experience! But it was pouring throughout and we had to stop being concerned on getting fully drenched. We thanked the stars that it was not raining while we were climbing up which would have made our trek more risky and difficult! When we reached the base point, it was 4:30 P.M and the rains had not stopped! It took 6 hours to finish our trek. It was 6 Kms away from where we started to trek in the morning and our guide/captain had to arrange about 2 vehicles to go to the place where the bus was parked. We had small cups of tea from the nearby shop while waiting for the vehicles. Heavy rain and steaming cups of tea/snacks always go together!
While on our way to hotel by bus, our eyes drooped without our knowing, but the energetic ones were playing antaakshari! We freshened up after reaching the hotel and had a sumptuous well-earned dinner before heading back to Bangalore. It was a different experience and I would not recommend monsoon trek for people who want to stay safe. Barring few leech bites, it was something for all of us to be fondly remembered and we thanked profusely the people who organized this! As with every article on our travel, I felt I traveled the place all over again while writing this!
Take care,
Deepa.
July-August is the Aashadha month or Aadi month or Ramayana month in Hinduism and it is the official start of line of religious festivals upto Diwali. The weather will also be pleasant in most parts of the country before the onset of North-East monsoons which will precede fall and winter! This year, many parts of Karnataka and all of Kerala were lucky to receive copious rainfall which to some extent helped in resolving the Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Talking about rains, we went for a monsoon trek last week with a group of enthusiastic runners from a marathon group. We are with this group, especially my husband who is a good runner and into running for a long time. Monsoon is basically off-season for many tourist spots for obvious reasons and also due to school days. We have been to treks before at different places in India and abroad, but they were all of short distances. I have barely heard of 'monsoon trek' and so I was a little unprepared for the adventure that lay ahead of me. The place we trekked is called Merthi Peak in Kalasa of Chikmagalur district which is about 350 kms from Bangalore and about 50 kms before Sringeri. As it was peak of monsoon season there, we were advised to equip ourselves with essentials such as Raincoats, umbrellas, shoes suitable for trekking, leech-protective pants along with bag packs to carry things like lunch to be eaten once we reached the peak. Generally, I am not fond of long-distance bus journeys, especially the overnight ones. But we had no choice as we were going with a group, and these kind of treks cannot happen alone.
We started from Bangalore on Friday night and reached the hotel Aashirwaad in Kalasa on Saturday morning.The hotel was arranged for us by our group leader Shyam , to freshen up and have breakfast. As with any hill station, the last few kms to the hotel was winding and circuitous, and our bus had to go really slow. But once we reached the hotel and saw the rooms allotted to us, we were all enthusiastic to get ready and go on the adventure! The hotel itself was bright and airy, in the lap of greenery. We had Idli-vada for breakfast with Mangalore bun as a specialty. We boarded the bus and proceeded to the trekking point which was 25 kms from the hotel. Two friends in our team, who did not want to miss their routine Saturday run, ran about 8 to 10 km on the winding roads. We were handed trekking poles which would help us throughout. At Basarikatte start point, our guide gave us a basic idea of the trek, how it is going to be and how important to go as a group and stick to the group. The trek would be about 6 hours starting from 10:25 AM. The total distance was 8 kms and the peak was about 1700 metres or more than 5000 feet. Without thinking much, we started our adventure. Initially, it was easy and we went ahead chatting and looking at the plants and trees around us. After sometime, the ascent started and we found ourselves puffing and panting. We were told to be extra careful as it may slip at some points because it was wet due to rains. We kept on climbing with the help of poles and giving hand to each other at some points. We were also on guard for those slimy leeches which will stick to our bodies silently to suck our blood!! As we crossed more than 1 km, we stopped for a break to have some snacks and selfies and just looked around only to see the surroundings getting covered in the mist. From there we looked at the peak we needed to conquer and I felt how am I going to reach the top of that magnificent peak! We proceeded forward then without stopping anymore. As we kept climbing up, some ridges were difficult and narrow, and I did not see the other side lest I get frightened seeing the depth below me! I just kept one step ahead at a time. At difficult and steep points I was helped by my husband and our trekking mates to keep my foot strategically and go forward. It was little difficult and tricky as it had just rained and the soil was wet and marshy. I did not have leech protective pants and so I did not think much about leeches entering my skin. I just concentrated on keeping one step forward, until I reached the peak. The valley below was engulfed with mist and it was becoming cloudy. Most of them had gone forward, but I was forced to take my own time! Going along the ridges was something which I had not done before. We paused at some points to breathe in the beauty of the nature around us. After about 4 hours of trekking we reached the peak where there was a small shrine of Lord Ganesha. Here I have to mention about an enthusiastic trekker in our group who had crossed 60, but physically fit for adventures like this! He is also a marathon runner. He is an inspiration for the whole group! After reaching the peak at 2:30 PM, I felt light in my head and a feeling of having conquered an 'Everest'! We were all happy that we could stand on the peak and take selfies/groupies, without any scratch. As we started to have lunch, it started drizzling and later pouring.
Hurrah!! We conquered you!!!
We were concerned as to how we will be descending as the chances of slipping and falling will be more! But our captain allayed our fears by taking us down a totally different route which was far less risky. I fell down at a couple of places, but it was not much to be concerned about. It was all a part of an incredible learning experience! But it was pouring throughout and we had to stop being concerned on getting fully drenched. We thanked the stars that it was not raining while we were climbing up which would have made our trek more risky and difficult! When we reached the base point, it was 4:30 P.M and the rains had not stopped! It took 6 hours to finish our trek. It was 6 Kms away from where we started to trek in the morning and our guide/captain had to arrange about 2 vehicles to go to the place where the bus was parked. We had small cups of tea from the nearby shop while waiting for the vehicles. Heavy rain and steaming cups of tea/snacks always go together!
While on our way to hotel by bus, our eyes drooped without our knowing, but the energetic ones were playing antaakshari! We freshened up after reaching the hotel and had a sumptuous well-earned dinner before heading back to Bangalore. It was a different experience and I would not recommend monsoon trek for people who want to stay safe. Barring few leech bites, it was something for all of us to be fondly remembered and we thanked profusely the people who organized this! As with every article on our travel, I felt I traveled the place all over again while writing this!
Take care,
Deepa.
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