26/October/2013, Saturday :
I have been in Bangalore for more than a few years, but my travel history is close to empty !!! I heard that there are many wonderful, natural hang-outs in and out of Bangalore, Karnataka. The month of great October, in 2013, was waiting for the first ever trekking in my life, though I had been to Edakkal at Wayanad, Kerala, long time before.
It was with my colleagues, Saneesh & Siva, I planned for a trip just to hang out for a day on the weekend. With these roaming in mind, I have taken my car from my native, Thalassery, a month ago. Thanks to Ragesh who drove it all the way from Thalassery to Bangalore. [By the way, Ragesh is also about to come in here very soon] Saneesh introduced a place called ''Shravanabelagola' which is one of the pilgrimage destinations in Jainism. And we 3 confirmed it, as anywhere is fine for all of us. But later we realized it is about 158 kilometers from Bangalore which is bit too tough for a one-day weekend outing. It was then , just a day before weekend, on Friday, as usual, Saneesh re-suggested -" LETS GO FOR A TREKKING AT MADHUGIRI HILLS !"
Entry of Ragesh & Amsul, my college mates:
Ragesh & Amsul, incidentally planned another trip on the same day with their friends, which was cancelled on the last minute, [un]fortunately. And thats what I was waiting for. I pulled both the guys to our trip, which was agreed by them on Friday night, though bit hesitant initially. And the team of 5 is ready for an early morning start on Saturday, 6:30 AM from Marathahalli, Bangalore !
The start:
Thanks to all the guyz who were, as usual, bit late; me too :) By 7:00 AM, when Ragesh and Amsul joined, for a moment, I forgot to introduce these guyz to my colleagues, being into the thrill of the journey after a long long time. But Ragesh, broke the ice.. hand shakes all over.. All set, and with the team of 5 enthusiastic trekkers [ Amsul was bit sleepy ] , the WagonR moved ... moved to a great experience of lifetime!
On the way:
Amsul's and Saneesh's camera were continuously capturing many spots in between. After Nilamangala, some of the places were really cool. We didn't mind to stop our car and have a couple of clicks.
It was Amsul who reminded us that we started for Madhugiri trekking, not for a photo shoot. By then it was almost 10:00 AM. We raced to the spot !
Madhugiri hill, a 'not-so-big-looking-one' from the base:
By looking from the base, Saneesh & Amsul commented "Is this the second highest monolith ? No man, I don't think so !!!". We thought its a 20 mnts job to be on the top. That assured more time and hence had multiple clicks from the base itself. We started the ascent by 11:30 AM. There were plenty of well-built steps initially, which added on to our assumption that this is going to be easy. The cameras were restless. All of us became 'Professional photographers' ...
But as we moved on, we realized the fact that this is endless ! The view that we had from the base is just one part of it, and we realized this only when we climbed some distance. It has a huge amount of hidden (from base) peaks, which were the toughest of all ! Our breaks were getting increased, cameras got some rest too. We started the real trekking !!!
It took more than 3 hours with many breaks in between, to reach on the top. Since we were all beginners, at some point of time even we thought of dropping and start the descend from there. To add on that, the water we were carrying in a couple of bottles was over in the middle.There was some water we saved in one bottle thinking to have it from the top, but Amsul & Ragesh, being very kind (& bachelors), given it to a girl who has not even completed her question - "Do you have wa...?". The major part of the rest of the trekking was without even a drop of water. But as I always believed, 'Determination & Enthusiasm' won over the heavy 'tiredness'. Though struggled, finally we made it... At Madhugiri Fort on the top of the hill .. Ecstasy .. A memorable achievement for freshers like us, to cherish for a long time to come.
The descend was pretty cool and easy. Cameras started in working mode again ! Had plenty of water to keep up the hydration level. Our car looked alone by the time we were back..With the satisfactory minds and tiring bodies, it started running back to Bangalore. On the way back, we had our lunch by 5:00 PM, which is the only bad experience for us for that day.
By the time we reach Bangalore ,it was about 8:30 PM. From the back seat I could hear Saneesh & Amsul whispered "This is of-course the second highest monolith ? Yeah !!!"
Take home lessons from the trip: Never take any thing for granted & Never give up !
Overall, My first trekking became a day added to the unforgettable ones, and hopefully many more to come!
I have been in Bangalore for more than a few years, but my travel history is close to empty !!! I heard that there are many wonderful, natural hang-outs in and out of Bangalore, Karnataka. The month of great October, in 2013, was waiting for the first ever trekking in my life, though I had been to Edakkal at Wayanad, Kerala, long time before.
It was with my colleagues, Saneesh & Siva, I planned for a trip just to hang out for a day on the weekend. With these roaming in mind, I have taken my car from my native, Thalassery, a month ago. Thanks to Ragesh who drove it all the way from Thalassery to Bangalore. [By the way, Ragesh is also about to come in here very soon] Saneesh introduced a place called ''Shravanabelagola' which is one of the pilgrimage destinations in Jainism. And we 3 confirmed it, as anywhere is fine for all of us. But later we realized it is about 158 kilometers from Bangalore which is bit too tough for a one-day weekend outing. It was then , just a day before weekend, on Friday, as usual, Saneesh re-suggested -" LETS GO FOR A TREKKING AT MADHUGIRI HILLS !"
Entry of Ragesh & Amsul, my college mates:
Ragesh & Amsul, incidentally planned another trip on the same day with their friends, which was cancelled on the last minute, [un]fortunately. And thats what I was waiting for. I pulled both the guys to our trip, which was agreed by them on Friday night, though bit hesitant initially. And the team of 5 is ready for an early morning start on Saturday, 6:30 AM from Marathahalli, Bangalore !
The start:
Thanks to all the guyz who were, as usual, bit late; me too :) By 7:00 AM, when Ragesh and Amsul joined, for a moment, I forgot to introduce these guyz to my colleagues, being into the thrill of the journey after a long long time. But Ragesh, broke the ice.. hand shakes all over.. All set, and with the team of 5 enthusiastic trekkers [ Amsul was bit sleepy ] , the WagonR moved ... moved to a great experience of lifetime!
On the way:
Amsul's and Saneesh's camera were continuously capturing many spots in between. After Nilamangala, some of the places were really cool. We didn't mind to stop our car and have a couple of clicks.
It was Amsul who reminded us that we started for Madhugiri trekking, not for a photo shoot. By then it was almost 10:00 AM. We raced to the spot !
Madhugiri hill, a 'not-so-big-looking-one' from the base:
By looking from the base, Saneesh & Amsul commented "Is this the second highest monolith ? No man, I don't think so !!!". We thought its a 20 mnts job to be on the top. That assured more time and hence had multiple clicks from the base itself. We started the ascent by 11:30 AM. There were plenty of well-built steps initially, which added on to our assumption that this is going to be easy. The cameras were restless. All of us became 'Professional photographers' ...
But as we moved on, we realized the fact that this is endless ! The view that we had from the base is just one part of it, and we realized this only when we climbed some distance. It has a huge amount of hidden (from base) peaks, which were the toughest of all ! Our breaks were getting increased, cameras got some rest too. We started the real trekking !!!
It took more than 3 hours with many breaks in between, to reach on the top. Since we were all beginners, at some point of time even we thought of dropping and start the descend from there. To add on that, the water we were carrying in a couple of bottles was over in the middle.There was some water we saved in one bottle thinking to have it from the top, but Amsul & Ragesh, being very kind (& bachelors), given it to a girl who has not even completed her question - "Do you have wa...?". The major part of the rest of the trekking was without even a drop of water. But as I always believed, 'Determination & Enthusiasm' won over the heavy 'tiredness'. Though struggled, finally we made it... At Madhugiri Fort on the top of the hill .. Ecstasy .. A memorable achievement for freshers like us, to cherish for a long time to come.
The descend was pretty cool and easy. Cameras started in working mode again ! Had plenty of water to keep up the hydration level. Our car looked alone by the time we were back..With the satisfactory minds and tiring bodies, it started running back to Bangalore. On the way back, we had our lunch by 5:00 PM, which is the only bad experience for us for that day.
By the time we reach Bangalore ,it was about 8:30 PM. From the back seat I could hear Saneesh & Amsul whispered "This is of-course the second highest monolith ? Yeah !!!"
Take home lessons from the trip: Never take any thing for granted & Never give up !
Overall, My first trekking became a day added to the unforgettable ones, and hopefully many more to come!
Nice to read and i cannot believe the water bottle gal :) , if so these people would have given every thing including camera :).
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