It was one another weekend and I wanted to do
something productive rather than lying in bed all day. Then I saw a trek to
Kabbaladurga and registered without giving any thought. The icing on this was
it happened to be a woman only trek. However, any trek does not happen without
convincing my over-thinking parents, this was no exception. The Kaveri issue
happened to be a blocker, yet I sneakily escaped! 😃
With full enthusiasm, I got up by 5am on a Sunday morning. As the meeting point was Banashankari this time, I had to travel to another city from Indiranagar. Google maps gave an estimated time of 1 hour and I had to reach the bus station by 6.45am. The punctual angel in me made me to book the cab at 6am and the outcome is reaching much early than expected. I reached at an odd time of 6.20am. As I waited opposite to the bus stand, I noticed a restaurant open for breakfast. DAMN! I spent my morning hours in preparing dosa, just because it was mentioned that we had to get the breakfast. If only I had known the existence of a restaurant, I could have parcelled it. As my mind was fighting, an uncle walked to me and asked if I was going to the Kabbaladurga trek. No wonder he spotted me because of my attire and trekking shoes. Then he introduced me to his daughter who was a first-timer in trekking and I was able to see that excitement. I was so impressed with his dad that he had read blogs about this trek and motivated us telling that we are going at the right time. The situation would have been completely different in my case, if only my parents were in Bangalore.
Then we walked to the bus stand where we met a group
of girls who looked like trekkers, and surprisingly many were first-timers.
They were totally geared up without missing even a single item in the
checklist. Meanwhile the group expanded and Raja Lakshmi decided that we could
finish our breakfast in the restaurant as most of us were already there.
Quickly gulped idlis and got into the bus to Kanakapura. That's when I found
two of my juniors as well, who registered for the same trek. The enthusiasm
paused during the travel as all of us were seated in any vacant seat that we
got and I dozed off happily. In another 2.5 hours, we reached Satnur, a small village in Kanakapura and
quickly packed our lunch. Got into two autos and in no time, we were on the
base of the mighty Kabbaladurga.
As the sun was scorching our skins, we decided to climb quickly without wasting our time. Since the group was mostly filled with first-timers, I got the privilege to lead the team with Raja Lakshmi at the end. The trek started off with a mild walk, crossing trees and bushes but suddenly there was a steep climb. Even though we had the support of rails here and there, the path was angled little crooked that it always felt like we were going to fall. Yet, if you focus on the steps without looking down, you could cross the small challenge quickly.
Then there was a small obstacle where we had to climb without any support, yet you could always cling to the rocks. As the group was filled with first-timers, the leading group got multiple breaks where we tortured our beloved Kurkure Aunty (just got married 3 months back) to narrate her wedding stories. Once you cross the two obstacles, congrats! You'll reach the top even before you wonder where you are!
We sat on an open space and finished all the
snacks, as many had brought so many things and wanted to reduce the weight of
their luggage. While our photographer Rashmi was clicking many to-be-dps, we
gulped a range of food items from healthy bananas and orange to homemade
sweets. As we were getting fried under the mid noon sun, we quickly finished
our lunch and wrapped up. The bonda helped in finishing the dabba full of rice.
Then we explored the peak, visited the hidden fort
and went to the other side of the hill which had the best view than any part of
the mountain. A small slip would land us in the base, alive or dead would
depend on the luck. After a couple of group pictures, we started to descend and
the route was the same. Being a steep hill, there were few phases where we had
to sit and crawl like a kid, yet most of us reached the base quickly. There was
cold buttermilk waiting for us at the base by a couple, sold at 10rs per glass.
Since we were devoid of water, the buttermilk was heaven to the group. As we
waited for the final group, we sat near a water dump and gossips started. Then
everyone came and we marched towards the Kabbalamma temple, yet didn't step in.
Drank sugarcane juice and bid goodbye to the mighty beauty - Kabbaladurga.Same as how we came, we took an auto to the bus stand and had our feedback session. As our eyes kept waiting for the bus to Bengaluru, patience was flying off and hence we boarded the next bus to Kanakapura. The bus journey was even more fun as Rashmi got into an argument with a localite for chasing her out of the seat, yet everything ended with laughter. An old lady was impressed by our kala chasma woman as she taught her how to pose for pictures and took selfies. Our next halt came quickly and we got into a private bus as the government buses were too crowded. Reached Bangalore by 6pm with lots and lots of memories.
A big salute to the lady who dared to take the
ownership of 16 other women in the group, out of which many were first-timers.
Good job, Raja lakshmi! You will always be an inspiration to all of us. Thank
you everyone for an amazing day and see you soon!
No of people in the group : 17
Total Expense : 250
