Kudremukh

Starting has always been a problem. Be it a trek or a blog. Laziness holds you back in either of them! But in this trek you can be assured the forest officer will play a major role. A troublesome forest officer who doesn't like to give permission to trekkers is a very common problem most people visiting this place face! Hence an advice is to kindly do some homework and call him a day or two before starting the trek to make things easier! Other than the forest officer worries the trek is quite amazing! Let me go through the travel details quickly!
Location: Beltangadi- Lobo house- Samse
Duration : 2 nights and 3 days including travel(bangalore)
Trek difficulty: moderate(slightly more than that actually)
Ideal season: When ever permission available;)
Requirements :Back pack, sleeping bags, minimum 2 liters of water, snacks, ration to cook food for 2 meals, clothes as per requirement, comfortable foot wear, extra socks, warm clothing, towel, candles, torch, match box, knife, cup, plate.
Bus to Ujjire or Dharmastala and another local bus or jeep to Beltangadi forest office! Never forget to take the acknowledgment receipt for the amount you pay at the forest office. Else if caught trekking without it, you can be sentenced to jail under section XXX(damn those nos.). From here a jeep to the starting point which is around 5-6 kms from the forest office. Trek starts at the forest office cottage along a nice and well defined path.
The path actually is a diagonal across the jeep track, right to the top of the peak that you are climbing! Hence the gradient of the climb is quite nasty. An unforgettable scene after trekking a while is when you see the Bandajje falls at a far off distance. For a while I just stood there recollecting the sight when I looked down her mighty fall standing at the edge! From a far off distance or from right above her, Bandajje falls gives me the same thrill!!! She's just awsome!
The trek never really gets off the wide path until you reach the summit of the first climb. This actually is the only hill that you would climb on that day! Rest of the trek goes on into a flat mode but the tracks are a little confusing. The wide track might not always be there. Its actually created to avoid the forest fire from spreading across the jungle. Its an old technique of burning a patch of land like a path to make sure the forest fire gets halted and doesnt flow across! The Lobo house is a little hidden from view.Search a little by following some small paths which are quite a few in number. If you encounter a stream, then the direction to head is a little upstream and you will find Lobo house exactly in front of you!The actual trek to the peak happens only on the second day. First day ends at Lobo house! Lobo house is not a forest cottage built for comfort. Its a slightly broken shack which is used by the trekkers or the workers there to camp! There is a good cooking place and a nice attic where you can sleep warm. The sambar that a friend cooked is still quite fresh in my memory! Its probably the best food I have ever had on a trek. There are a few other deserted houses too a little further up but the first one is quite frequently used and is quite conviniently built by Mr Lobo(They say he still haunts this house though! ;) )
A very famous incident happened on this trek. It involves a lunatic friend of mine who finds a lot of mention in a lot of my posts since he's a fellow trekker to a lot of treks I have done and a regular news maker for his antics! Hence I decided to put him on the spot here! The guy at whom the pink arrow points is Mr Monkey! It was late in the night when we were all asleep monkey woke up. Sleeping next to him was donkey on one side and our famous cook on the other. Monkey chose donkey as the target and slapped him several times repeatedly. Caught in a state of shock, donkey woke up to see the monkey turn around and go back to sleep. Seeing all this action live was the cook, who got so scared that he moved a little and turned around, muttered a prayer or two and went back to deep sleep. Donkey who was so shocked to be slapped for no reason at 2 am was wondering what just hit him when he observered monkey perform some kind of a wavery movement on the floor, causing the whole attic to shake! Confused and hurt, donkey wisely decided to fight the issue out in the morning and went back to sleep. Also running in his mind were thoughts about Mr Lobo whose existance in this house now was coming to light! On rising up, when questioned, monkey dismissed the whole issue as being a scam on him to garnish his reputation of being the trouble maker!! The rest of us just hoped we could come back from this trek safe and sound without Mr Lobo's interference again!!
The trek on the second day can start without the luggage. You trek up to the peak to get a view of this whole range which is as beautiful as it gets. The trek is about 4-5kms uphill and back. The peak is a photographers paradise to say the least!! Back down and reload the luggage and head back in the opposite direction of arrival to a village called Samse. This village is all set to become very popular in a few days time as the glorious Kudremukh Hydro electric project is taking shape at this village. The main road is a good 10-12kms from here and finding a transport could be a problem. Coax a few villagers for a ride and try your luck.
Kudremukh apart from being a wonderful trek, it also is a good endurance check as it requires the trekker to be physically fit for some steep climbs on both days. The scenic beauty is second to none and the peak is the tallest in its range. One among the tallest five peaks in Karnataka. The place is a trekkers paradise. Have this as a must do on your list. If you are a non trekker I suggest you try something else like Bramhagiri for a first timer! This trek sure requires some good trekking sense and body ability! Other than that, the trek is a pleasure. Enjoy trekking :)