Full Moon Night Trek to Channagiri
Date- 29th August 2015
Organizers - Bangalore Ascenders
Location - Channagiri -Known as Land of areca nut with an average elevation of 662 metres (2171 feet).Channagiri is a small hill located near Nandi Hill range, it is said that the hill was fortified by Rani Chennamma of Keladi (1672–1697), Queen of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom and town was named after her.
As a traveller, you are going to travel in spite of many changes in a day. Once a time, you will facing the direct sun on the path while sometimes the other way around. Now here is the biggest secret of all.Night trekking is the best if you are insecure of about your complexion getting a little bit of tan to dark. I am choosing the trekking that matters whether it is anytime, and If you are like me, nonetheless you will be less concern whatever time of the day. You are set to go..fill it, shut it and go.
After coming from the Financial capital of India to the southern part of India. The opportunity to be in the part of Hikers have increased of late, and I am looking forward at any chance. Unlike last time, this time I had a chance to be part of Night Trekking team and I was prepared mentally to have the physical and mental capacity to enjoy.
Being a Chelsea Football Club fan and on the losing side on that particular day match, I was mentally ready with my trekking bag and leave for the meeting points. The change in meeting time from 1830 hrs to 2230 hrs made my schedule easy. Still I was in a hurry to reach without getting delayed in Bangalore Traffic. Finding 40 people on meeting point made me surprised rather than confused about the expectation of at least 27 people for the night trekking adventure after reaching there.
Our Organizer (Achintya) confirmed in affirmative when I asked him about the group of people are all the part of Night Trek. Achintya invited few of his IISC friends for this adventure. Without a doubt, Achintya managed everyone by 2300hrs to be at the meeting point.
Well, Sagar Patil, Here is the headcount = 42, If you were there at that day, It will be 43 ….isn't it? Never mind, we miss you sincerely and hopefully for next night trek, You are going to be part of the experience.
Achintya convinced the KSRTC people about the full occupancy of the bus. They were kind enough to let all of us board and agreed to drop at the base point of Channagiri.
We are all set for the adventure for night trekking with a bus full of excited Trekkers towards Channagiri.
The common theme of night travel is people sleep but for some people, it's not the case at this hour. I can hear people talking to each other including me. I was listening intently to the experience of Uttarakhand Rescue operation from Surya, A scientist by profession working with ISRO. The experience from someone who have been there handling the situations is totally different from what we see on Tv and read in the newspaper. The realization of tough times faced by those souls during those days can make you grateful for your life. I was humbled. The journey took 2 hours to reach the destination.
By looking up towards the Hill, my initial assessment was of not very big in size and able to climb efficiently without hassles. Achintya discussed the standard set of instructions after handing out on paper. I took a deep breath …Everyone was ready including me for trekking.
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| The Sleeping City |
If you have gone on a school trip in the past, you can easily relate the need for the count to be same when it is related to some people. We are doing the same, ensuring we all are there. The path leading towards the Hill was not steep, more so like hiking rather than trekking. The lights during that hour were enough to see the path clearly visible for our route towards the peak. I realized the peak came when every one of us came to the top after some brief moments of trekking. Achintya requested us to create a group of seven with a surprise just about to come. The surprise was offering the sweet “ Rabadi “ to each of the members. Achintya informed us about the actual Channagirl hill that we have to reach. I was able to see the top of the hill through the dense cloud at that hour. With the usual process of headcount, everyone proceeded towards the top and within an hour, every one of us was able to reach.
There was a small Temple on the top that has two small rooms. Everyone was busy with their agendas in their mind. Some were exploring the area, a few trying to find shelter with some of us having a rest on the slope there. One of our group was busy in setting up the tent nearby as well. There seemed a probability of having rains, but in actually never happened. The cool breeze was enough to make everyone feel shivering. Most of us was busy in searching the place where they can take care of themselves from the cold breeze at this hour. Finally, I was able to find a place for a short nap around 0400 hrs nearby. Hearing people’s commotion around 0530-0600 hrs, I woke up to find people waiting to see the Sunrise. It was not possible for us to watch the sunrise due to clouds on that particular day.
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| The Sunrise |
I was walking to keep myself warm to avoid shivering due to cold breeze. I was surprised to find at least 20 people in deep sleep around a place with a small bonfire and a pond nearby. The efforts to make our trek leader wake up from the deep sleep around 0700 hrs was successful. The entire group of people were ready for descent from the top of the hill with a different route in place.
Achintya discussed the itinerary ahead with everyone assembled in a circle. Everyone was able to see each other in the morning light and been self-introduced to the group. We were ready for the descent after the group picture for the remembrance. It was little risk however everyone were safe during the time of coming down from the hill. We were able to reach the base village around 1030 hrs with a next bus scheduled with half hours. Every one of had breakfast at Chikballapur and ready for Bangalore.
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| The Descend |
It was a great experience with a large group of people and well managed by Achintya and Team. I am looking forward to joining them again in future.
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| Hiker Selfie |
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