Today was a hell of a day...a hell of a walk. It was all uphill right from start. There were patches of even ground, but really, they were just patches. Hot and humid it was all the way and I was drenched with perspiration. I could feel the sweat trickling down from my head. The initial few kms were just one plantation after the other, construction and encroachment. In the afternoon we stopped by at a house near a stream. The lady was very nice, she gave us cold water, called us inside and offered us sherbet. It was a god send. I drank many glasses. She also insisted that we have lunch at her place. Typically in these plantations the owners have a pukka house. They usually don't live there. The caretakers(Kannadigas if the owners are Kannadiga or Malayali if the owners are Malayali), live in much smaller, more down to earth and humble quarters within the plantation. Uttaiah our guide was a very social guy, he would know the caretakers in most plantations or make quick friends. I suppose Uttaiah knew this lady coz he accepted her lunch invitation. He didn't particularly like our packed lunches - chitrana or lemon rice that we had almost everyday. Anyway, we had our packed lunch of cold chitrana, said goodbye to the lady and moved on. We were kind of pressed for time. The distance wasn't very long but since it was all uphill, we had to kinda hurry. Didn't want it to get dark while we were still in the forest. So it just became one big marathon in the end. It was evening and we still had a few kms to go. The good thing was we were out of the forest and in the grassland. The mist started coming down as if it was being pumped down artificially from above and started covering the hills and the valleys. The wind would play with the mist - it would suddenly become clear and suddenly be completely shrouded. The mist and the wind made everything so spectacular, so magical. But when you are doing the survey, you don't really get time to appreciate the landscape that much. I do steal a glance or two from the track to look around. This ridge walk from one misty hill to the other was particularly spectacular. Unfortunately it was getting dark and visibility was poor so I was literally running(walking very fast) along the ridge.
So it was like this when we started climbing the last hill. It was 7 PM already and getting dark very soon. It did get dark pretty soon. I managed laboriously with my small torch. It was really dicey. The narrow path was on the edge of a hill, so one false step would mean quite a shaky and jarring experience. It was getting colder now. There was that mist still, and one look behind me kind of made me shudder. The mountain behind me was all charred black because of a recent fire, all vegetation was burnt to cinders. Through the white mist, the charred mountain looked ominous and dark and spooky, the mist like a shroud covering it. I decided not to look behind and forced myself to trudge on. At one time, I kind of lost my way. The path disappeared and I could only see some big rocks ahead of me, on my left was a sheer drop. I panicked. Loosing my way was the last thing I wanted. I looked around, I couldn't see any path anywhere. I looked up and got a complete scare. I hadn't expected to see so many stars - it was like a magnified view, they all looked so close. Many of them were twinkling really bright in the night. I didn't realise I so close to heaven, panic taking the better of me every passing second. P was further up somewhere, I wasn't able to see his torchlight and he wasn't able to hear me call. With no other way I decided to go up the rocks. Somehow managed to heave myself up. The rocks were slippery because of due. I started waving my torch this way and that. P was further up, he saw the swaying light, came down and showed me the way to get back on the track again.
I realised I've reached the top when I heard voices and found an anxious C waiting there with the jeep. I was happy to reach the top safely, happier to get inside the jeep, away from the cold wet wind and the dark hill. Next few kms in the jeep brought us back to Forest IB. Jaya called. It was good to speak with her. She had called when I was lost on the hill. No wonder I sounded a little panicky so she was concerned. All's well now. I am sitting in the warmth of my sleeping bag and I have decided I am not walking tomorrow. I look forward to Banjara, Shoja. I am not really sick of this camp yet, but I do look beyond.
Into the grasslands - ridge walk
The mist and the wind
It's unreal - how fast the mist completely envelopes everything
The path we walked up in the dark
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