Back from Kabbala Durga

[ there seems to be some problem w.r.t images getting uploaded, because of which this post was/is in WIP]


Starring : Myself, Harshad, Ganesh, Rahul, Ashutosh, Rohit, Harish, Manish, Vikas, Venkatesh, Guru
Start Time : Saturday 8th July 2006, 8:00 am
End Time : Sunday 9th July 2006, 12:00 am
Total Distance Travelled on Bike : 180+kms
Distance Trekked on foot : 5kms


The plan was to finish the trek to the top of Kabbala Durga by around 12:00hrs or 13:00 hrs. Ganesh had estimated that it would take approx 2-3 hours to reach the top and came back to the base.Then, we had plans of going to Bheemeshwari and to Chunchi falls. Myself and Harshad had decided in advance that we would drop off from the rest of the group after Day-1. The rest of the group had some other plans for day-2.

Day - 1 ( Saturday , 8th July 2006 )

All were asked to assemble at Banashankari Bus Stand by 7am.But, as always, junta started coming one by one and we all were ready to hit the roads at 8:00am.We were 11 of us and had 10 bikes. There were Pulsar, Scorpio, Avenger, Victor, Spelndor and CT-100.I was the lone pillion rider. I was a bit sceptical as to whether the ride would be enjoyable by me or not - but anyways, i left my scpeticisms behind and was all set for my first ever bike trek. After initial round of introductions , we decided to start. Myself and Ashutosh had a cup of tea in a local tea-shop and we started.

Rohit and Rahul kept racing all throughout the trek - driving at around 90+kmph. However, my chauffeur - Ashutosh maintained a steady 70kmph which was very pleasant and enjoyable. Ashutosh happens to be an amatuer Ornithologist and he used to tell me the names of some of the birds that we could sight in the lakes that were on either of the road - this was interesting, as I was never exposed to bird-watching before [ No pun intended :) ].

[[ THE ACTUAL TREK TO KABBALA DURGA - 2 hours of ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLIMBING - WATCH OUT THIS SPACE - WIP ]]

We were told that the food at Kabbala Durga was not good enough and we could probably try out at Sathanur.The plan was to have lunch at Sathanur , which was 6kms from Kabbala Durga base and then decide on the future course of journey for the day. We had lunch in a road-side hotel - this was a very small hotel and the meals that they served were no better. Since, i was hungry i did not care about the hygiene and had the chappatti and the rice(along with sambhar) fast.Venkatesh dropped off from the trek and reured back to Bangalore.We all decided to reach Bheemeshwari, which was around 40kms from Sathanur.

[[ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE EVENING AND NIGHT -- MUST READ :) - WATCH OUT THIS SPACE - WIP ]]

Day - 2 ( Sunday , 9th July 2006 )

I got up at 5am and went to see the burning tree - alas! the canopy had broken and had fallen off ; but both the canopy and the trunk were burning. Everyone woke up by 6 and freshened themselves - along the banks of the river.We started at 06:25hrs.We decided to break at Mathhethi for Tea.Rohit and Rahul zipped away fast. Myself(& Ashutosh) and Harshad went at a steady speed enjoying the ride.

Ashutosh was also running on reserve and we had to fill in fuel.When we were 6kms away from Sathanur, Guru's back tyre got punctured. Ashutosh unscrewed the tyre out from the bike and we tried to contact Rohit - luckily Rohit responded and he was asked to wait in Sathanur. Myself and Harshad slept in the shade of the lone tree in the highway (with all the junta passing by staring at us ), while Ashutosh took Guru along with him to get the typre repaired.I had a nice nap along the along the highway - with the vehicles zipping past me. Ashutosh/Guru/Rahul and Rohit returned back in another 40mins.Ashutosh screwed the tyre back in ,while myself and Harshad had the Masala Dosa that these folks had got from Sathanur. We again started towards Bangalore - this was the last time that i saw Rahul and Rohit - they raced away to Blore.

We reached Sathanur and then continued to procceed towards bangalore.We had a brief stop after that - around 15kms from Bangalore - had fresh coocnout water :) After that , Ashutosh dropped me at Kormangala and we went back.This was a very good trek - i must say , it was one of the finest short treks that i have ever been to in the recent past; and am expecting some other trek to beat this one up hands-down.

[ Well, as I am penning down this, i am thinking about the rafting @ Sitanadi and the trekking at Koodlu Theertha and Kodachari that I will be doing this weekend ]