Wandering  in  Pushpagiri

“The best views come after the hardest Climb”            
 9th-10th Dec.2001

                                                                                                   

Having done the spectacular and immensely  popular Rail Road trek from Subramanya(Dakshina Kannada district) through the Shiraadi ghats a few years back  our group of friends bitten hard by the 'trekking' bug !and itching for more were all ears when conversation regarding nature or forests occurred or whenever anyone recounted their experiences.Each one of us carried back news about various places to the others.

It was during one such meeting that someone mentioned   wandering the Pushpagiri hills near Somwarpet in Kodagu District promised immense thrill.As luck would have it Friend Prabhakar informs that his Brother-in-law had taken up residence at Somwarpet only recently. He is contacted immediately and we are informed that all arrangements could be made

An advance party of three leave for  Somwarpet to finalize the programme.The rest  break into smaller smaller groups and we all arrive at Somwarpet in the evening of Saturday 9^th Dec 01. We are received  at Mr. Sadashiv's home perched amidst beautiful surroundings and offered welcome cups of delicious tea. We are lodged at a large  room   of a guest house atop a hillock overlooking the town.After being treated to sumptuous dinner by our hosts we all retire for the night.

Sunday 10^th Dec 01 we wake up at 5.00am , the early risers goading the lazier ones  to get up and ready. The 4 wheel drive Jeep requisitioned for the specific purpose is waiting.

We leave the town at 5.45 am in the Jeep and my Ambassador.After travelling 22kms  on winding  ghat road passing through  patches of cardamom plantation we reach the sleepy hamlet of Beedalli. The river Kumara Dhara descending from the mountains flows  near by . We park old faithful Ambassador  at  the hamlet and all thirteen pile into the Jeep and ford the river and travel a further 3 kms of treacherous and precipitous road. Suddenly a forest personnel waves down the Jeep and after enquries regarding the purpose of our visit, extracts a written undertaking in the visitors' book that no  litter or disposable items shall be dumped at the Pushpagiri forest range.He also gives us useful directions. The Jeep driver stops at the foot of a small hill and informs us that the trek begins from that point. 

At a small gorge nearby is a temple of Shanta Mallikarjuna Swamy. The temple  is closed  so  are unable to have darshan. While we get ready with our back packs , a couple of us set up the mini gas stove that we have carefully brought  and make hot tea. After Biscuits and tea , our motely group consisting of boys in their teens and twenties, three men in their  thirties, two in their forties and a lone fifty  year old , set out to feast our eyes on Nature at its best. A lightly  beaten path indicates the way.  We  walk single  file and the narrow path skirts round one small hillock after another.

  Gradually we enter the  forest. It is dark. Though we are able to see the sun  light atop the trees, hardly any light filters  to the earth.  The fresh smell of damp earth is invigorating.   Moving on  we come across giant trees all around  and in close array, intertwined with creepers all reaching out towards heaven.  Varieties of  flowers,orchids, and exotic ferns carpet the damp mulch covered earth.  The tons  of dry   fallen leaves forming the thick  carpet of mulch over the earth facilitates  generation of highly nutrient   humus which easily explains  the  dense nature of these forests.The way nature has sustained itself here is a marvel.

   The path  suddenly becomes steeper and we climb up a hill . At the  summit the  vegetation is rather  sparse and we savour the sun shine . Climbing down we come across a mountain stream that flows serenely over smooth rocks.An old cable stayed    bridge tied around two huge  tree  trunks on either side of  the stream hangs  above.  The  water is  sparkling and tastes divine. We  quench our thirst and replenish our  water stocks. Realizing that we have walked for almost two hours we decide  to take a break.     Munching  sandwiches & biscuits  we drink cups of hot  tea which is brewed at the spot.  Each member of the group advises the other not to  leave behind any   garbage. 

   The path becomes increasingly tougher as we move upwards  towards  the peaks.  Thick bamboo clumps and flowering plants  appear in the way.  We squeeze our way between the clumps.  The remnants of blossoms of  the last spring can be seen here and there.  Flowers of various colours and fragrance are seen.There are not many  flowers,  but we fully visualise the effect that a full bloom would present. It must surely  be ethereal. We  cross several other small hills and  streams.The atmosphere is damp,dark and cold. A  variety of beautiful Agaric fungus growth resembling  flowers proliferate on the dead wood  strewn all around.We collect a few as souvenir. By now the path almost disappears and we make our way over moss covered rocks on  narrow  beds of  dry water falls. We also hurdle across huge fallen trees and dead wood.  We are suddenly confronted   by a sheer  rock cliff, the slopes of which are at about sixty degrees to  the horizontal.  The younger members of the team just stroll up the face like lizards.  The rest huff & puff and clamber up the slope on all fours.  To our relief   the entire group is able to make it to  the top safely.   There is a sense of elation- we are at on top of the highest peak in as far as one can see.Some earlier visitors have arranged the small rocks and stones and built a small temple inside which  a large smooth rock resembling a Shiva linga is installed. An oil lamp is also found in place. The scene from the top is breathtaking  and  the silence eerie . We see  a group trekkers at a far away cliff below us. The group has made its way up the other cliff from the Subramanya side. 

We sit down under the bushes for a brief rest and lunch consisting of sandwiches, fruit and tea. Not wishing to get lost  in  the dark, we begin our descent in right earnest. We follow the same trail and at  places  realize that climbing down can indeed be a difficult proposition. After four  hours we are back at the tiny temple where the jeep is waiting for us. We turn back to have one last look at the awesome mountains. The peak that we  climbed  forms a silhouette  with the sun setting  behind. Some of us find it hard  to believe that we were  atop the towering mountain tip  only a few hours back.

  With fond memories  of the exhilarating nature walk etched  in mind and captured on film, we arrive at Somwarpet at 7.00 pm.  From there we drive back home to Mysore with a deep  sense of  fulfilment .

The Team:Chinnappa,C Anand, KB Chandan,Amith Premkumar,Shyamsundar, M N Naveen Kumar,Sharath Babu,Vedraj, Murali Mohan,T Ravindra, S Prabhakar, K.R.Dinakar,C S Jayanth Subramanian