Second day

Bangalore
All of us were up by 6 in the morning. Those who slept close to the burnt wood were up "half-baked and half-frozen"! We didn't waste much time and started exploring another route that Thomas assumed is the final way to Soochipara. (again!)

In an hour we were sure about one thing.

None of us wanted to spend another day roaming around in the forest where elephants were roaming around like cattle. Except for some sweets I had in my trousers and plenty of river water, we had no access to food.

We decided to trek back the whole distance we covered the previous day. At the least we knew the way and the time it takes to trek back.

Another ten hours!


Trekking back through semi deciduous forest

The fear was only in terms of climbing the last stretch from the foot hills to Meenmutty waterfalls. That is probably a climb from 200 metres ASL to 1300 in one stretch! Something that is quite possible on a normal day but not when fuelled by hunger, fatigue, fear and low morale.

As a last ditch effort, Anoop and I decided to climb a steep hill in front of us to check out the surrounding areas from a higher altitude. Halfway, we understood that both of us were literally risking our lives by climbing that slippery terrain with no equipments whatsoever. In half an hour, we reached on top only to see miles and miles of forest and mountains in front of us and signalled the rest of the team to continue the trek. We followed them.

From their onwards the speed in which we trekked was crazy! Those bamboo filled areas which we trekked carefully the previous day (considering the presence of elephants) were ignored completely and we were pacing as if we would just say a "Hello, nice to meet you" to the wild elephants and continue the run!

We just wanted to get out of the forest!

© GP 2007

Cold

Bangalore
Luckily, it didn't rain at all that night. Seeing the drizzle earlier before we settle down, I was wondering how we would stay dry the whole night, especially when the temperature was dipping. Without much dialogues and discussions, each one of us had found safe and 'comfortable' places to stretch on various boulders.

Thomas and Anoop had again become the wonderful resource persons. Gauging the importance of the heat and light considering the whole night in front of us, they had dragged in a huge wood. The fallen tree was stuck between rocks probably during the previous monsoon.

"half baked - half frozen!"

Probably for the first time, I felt happy to be in the company of a smoker. If not for Thomas who smokes his beedi often, we wouldnt have had a match stick to set fire to the wood! Even though we were all unimaginabily tired and calf muscles were literally withering away after ten hours of trek during the day, none of us realy slept because of the cold. The boulders were getting colder and colder by night and it became almost impossible to even sit on it.

After twenty minutes effort, we managed to set fire to the thick wood which lasted for the whole night. It saved us from elephants (fire keep the elephants away!) and we had some of our colleaugues literally lying down on top of it by the beginning of the next day!

© GP 2007

In the middle of nowhere!

Bangalore

Don't know if it was my training in disaster management or just sheer common sense, that I had started looking for a safe place to camp by 3.30pm. Even after an hour we trekked according to the information we had and the direction we reconfirmed with Velutha, there was an uneasy feeling about the trek route. It was obvious that not many had trekked this path in recent days.

Decreased light, hovering rain clouds and trumpets of wild elephants from all possible places (later we realised it was the echo because of the huge boulders) didn't give me confidence at all to trek any further. Being the leader of the group, Thomas didn't show much panic, but it was kind of obvious that he was lost when we reached the huge boulders that should ideally lead us to the Soochipara waterfalls.

"where to go?"

It started drizzling and slippery rocks were the last thing we needed at that time. The moment I saw fear in Thomas's face, I decided to take charge of the situation. While climbing from one boulder to another I had noticed couple of places that we could convert as safe shelter.

I wasn't looking at a shelter for the night, but more than that, I just wanted to ensure that we were on a height unreachable to elephants and be on a safe plain where there was no chance of a flash flood hitting us in the middle of the night!

© GP 2007

Meenmutty waterfalls

Fort Cochin

It was while trekking down Meenmutty waterfalls that we met Thomas "Chettan". Similar to some of our earlier "findings", Thomas was one of those experiences that made our work interesting day by day.

Living on the fringes of the forest, there wasn't a path that Thomas didn't know. From running to stop the forest fires set by miscreants or to help the excise department to chase the illicit liquor brewers, or to help those who got lost looking for the waterfalls, Thomas was all over the place.

During one of our regular treks, he mentioned about the forest track leading from Wayanad to Nilambur. We weren't sure about the geography of the area, but still was surprised to hear that one could actually walk through the forests to Nilambur from Wayanad within less than 6 hours! Considering the fact that it takes around 4 hours by road through the mountain roads in a four wheeler, I was longing to trek this route.

I kept on going back to Meenmutty on my own as well as with some of my friends and guests from Bangalore. The adventure actually starts from the approach road from Ooty road itself. The one km drive through the plantation in a jeep itself is an experience. Later, the short walk through the tea estate ends up on the cliff with a breath-taking view of the rain forests below.

In the sultry Cochin, I wish I were there in Meenmutty overlooking the rain forests! Still can feel the cool breeze on my face.

Even the refreshing spring that quenched our thirst many times!

© GP 2007