Minutes of Kodachadri....--Santhosh Kumar C.

Greetings all,

I know itz late..... but better late than never. There are various reasons which forced me into mailing this minutes of trek to you all....Any ways herez the recapitulation of the magnificent KODACHADRI trekking experience we had before the details fade out of our mindset. The end of the trek is a good time to reminisce on the highlights of the trip, and also to make others feel J about what they missed out by not coming for the trek.

First of all, thanks to all for helping manage/execute the trek admirably. The planning worked perfectly and right things happened at convenient times, a great showing in all from all. Thanks once again to all of you.

Special thanks to Sumanth (SU), Salma (The 5 minutes girl), Naveen (DJ), Darshini, the Sunfill, Coffee, Maggi, Cucumber ... Excuse me all others of whom I have left off the names here.

Some moments in time stand out like snapshots frozen in memory in the order as I saw:

20-02-04 Night

• The long wait for Praseed as usual (Comparatively shorter to last trek).
• The quiet entries of Anup S and Tenny Jacob.
• The Su (Sumanth) and The Du (Deepak) show.
• TALK TO MY HAND of Sumanth.
• Music mixing skills of our own DJ Naveen (Thank god GYAN wasnt there....).

21-02-04 Day1

• The early morning rituals in Teerthahalli.
• The long journey from Teerthahalli to Kodachadri.
• Tasty tasty dosa's............ and the long wait for the same.
• Ealry morning Queue for the Autodownloads..... :-) :-) :-) .
• Sardar's (Abhijeet) sun cream lotion (It was actually a fairness cream which Sooraj, Sardar and myself realised it later).
• The rather easy Roof Top Drive on the Swaraj Mazda to the foot hills of Kodachadri hills...
• The photo session before the climb to the top.
• Gang getting divided into various small groups on the way to the top.
• Gang of Su, Rohit, me, Salma and Darshini getting together as the last batch.
• Deviating from the Road route and trying the short cuts !!!!!
• The 5 minutes breaks of Salma (Climb for 2 minute and then throw the bag on the ground and then lying down on that :->>>> ).
• Sumanth,rohit and myself had to literally pull Salma in one or two occasions.
• Darshini's learning of how to climb to the top of the hill.
• Soooooraj in search of the lost partners....
• Hearing of the distant (KNOWN) voices from the wrong direction of the climb which people had taken the short cut.
• Rajesh Tripath, Sardar shouting for the route from a totally distant place (They had lost the route :-<<<<).
• The long wait for the lost gang and the Oranges .......
• The water spot in between.
• Trying to hide when a GEEP was passing by coz of the dust being generated by it.
• Reaching the top of a hill on one side and the expression on the faces when shown the final destination.
• The rush for the sun cream lotions on the top of the hill.
• Rohit's Cell phone giving EXACT information about the temperature on the top of the hill (I dont exactly remember the temperature...)
• Saniye's doubts (Ask Rohit what it was).
• The life saving Sunfills.........................
• Cramps for Tenny and Soooraj.
• My struggle to get Tenny's name right (was telling all sorts of names like Tina, Tessy, etc... etc......... and the list continues)
• The last stop before the first halt.
• The never reaching Lunch spot and the turns kept continuing.
• Saniye will never believe me when I tell the destination is very near.......
• Saniye and Tenny's speed doubling up when the lunch spot was approaching.
• The sleep of the first gang after completing the lunch.
• The delious lunch in the afternoon.
• Start of the second stretch with the dog following us.
• My struggle starting after getting the cramps.
• Satisfaction in all the eyes after reaching the top of the hill.
• Sooraj sleep in hiz own e-style.
• The Kheera and the keera cutter Rohit.
• Deepak ka doowaaan and the staring look in others eyes when the fire was being put on for the caaafffeee...
• Search for the wooden logs, water........
• The SUNSET view from the top of the hill.
• Antakshari competion in full swing and the fire lending its own support from the Camp fire.
• The Yummy Yummy Maggie.
• Struggle of Mine and Rajesh Naik with the wind.
• Hunt for the sleeping bags.... sleeping matts....

22-02-04 Day2

• People peeping out of the sleeping bags in the morning...
• Rohit's cellphone again displaying an amazing precision of 25 Degree C when people were struggling b'coz of the cold weather.
• The Sunrise and the start of a fresh second day...
• The first halt and the Break fast...
• Start of the final trek down the hill.
• People going in search of the short cuts and missing the routes...............
• The never ending walk to the tempo after reaching the base of the hill.
• Wait near the tempo for the people to arrive.
• The drive to the River for the bath without waiting for the other gang to reach.
• The peaceful river and the bath in the river the arrival of the second gang for the bath.
• The Scarriest drive of KK, Rajesh, Deepak and Andy on the Tempo top in the GHAT roads.(Still i can see these people not sitting on the chair properly :-) ).
• The WALK in the temple premises without Chappals (Was it a walk or a marathon run????).
• The Lunch and the Yummy ice creams....
• Waiting for the people and Saniye's comment on the Auto Download.
• Naveen on the top of the world (Suna tha ki sprite bhujayein pyas but here it was naveen bhujayein pyas ).
• The Beach at Maravanthe.
• Raghu's tasty SPRITE and the after effects (Thank God Mukambike Teertha was there).
• Coffin of Deepak, Rohit and Rajesh Tripathi.
• The TITANIC seen and the picture shooting of the same (Saniye, Rajesh Naik, KK, Yashwant and Andy {No prices for guessing who Kate Winslet was.. :-)})
• Saniye's escape from the KIDS.
• The Sunset snaps and Yashwants FRIEND.
• Salma's anxiousness when told we r going via Mangalore and the hurt when told we are not entering Mangalore :-< .
• The Veg dinner at BC Road and the short (LOOOOOONG) wait for the Non-Veg Gang.
• Ashok (Driver) chipping in with his stunts with the Truck fellass.....
• Gunny Bag treasure of Ashok with the BEANS.... from the road.

Photos are on the SHARE. That's it as of now catch u in the next trek... and by the way .

SHARES FOR THE SAME ARE AS FOLLOWS :-

file:////REPLICATION/Photoz/Kodachadri21&220204

file:////talisma255/Feb 20th - 22nd - Kodachadri

file:////aditi606/kodi

Minutes of Rail trek to Sakleshpur -- Santhosh Kmar C.

Greetings all,

Here's a recapitulation of the magnificent RAIL ROUTE trekking experience we had before the details fade out of our mindset. The end of the trek is a good time to reminisce on the highlights of the trip, cos our energy during the actual trek seemed to be spent mainly in that half-second that it took to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving in the tunnels and along the bridges.

First of all, thanks to all for helping manage/execute the trek admirably. The planning worked like clockwork and right things happened at convenient times, a great showing in all.

Special thanks to Deepak (code named APAC), Naveen, KK, Biju (aka Doc), Muru (Life saver of RaghuP), Arun (The COOK Prachi will still not agree with it since she has got one more name for him), Rajesh (The LiveWire ), Nandini (The BADLA Girl), Prachi (Fighter is there any one with whom she has not fought with J), the Sunfill, Coffee, Tea, Maggi, Cucumber (I know APAC will still be grumbling when I say about this), and the list continues… Excuse me all others of whom I have left off the names here.

Some moments in time stand out like snapshots frozen in memory in the order as I saw:

v The long wait for the trek to start.

v The packing being done with the luggages being distributed equally (Come on Prachi, KK, APAC excuse me if u have got more than what u had expected)

v Boddikuri saying that “ There is a cooker which is just I think 10 liters which can be taken for preparing the food in the trek” and the amusement in the others faces.

v The satisfaction on all the other trekker’s faces when KK finally turning up.

DAY 1

v The early morning rituals in Sakleshpur Bus Stand and the Police who came as a savoir and Rajesh’s leaning ness towards the cigarette <Now please don’t ask me for what>.

v Naveen’s late starts.

v Look of each one of them on crossing the first BRIDGE.

v Walking in the tunnels (a few were more than 500mts) without the lights.

v Was feeling like the Bridge was moving sometimes rather than I am walking when walking over the bridges!!!

v KK and Himanshu’s fear over the BATS.

v My fear to get down into the river after seeing the Viper.

v And the chashmawallas (KK, APAC and Narendra) struggling to see the snake without the glasses.

v Raghu stepping on the CHAMELOEN or rather should I say the other way round????

v Raghu’s fight as whether to drown or to come ashore (He’s very happy that he had attended 15-days training for swimming).

v THE ROPE of ArunC, which finally came in handy for getting Raghu out of water.

v The first signs of Leaches, which was found in Varada’s shoes.

v The walk back to the bridge after finishing the lunch.

v Arun’s cooking (or should I call the marketing for what he has cooked as Prachi calls it in the railway station).

v The Camp Fire of ours compared to the other gang (Was like Gulliver and the DWARF)

v Prachi with her MP3 collection of songs (Even Varada’s MP3 collection was not bad).

v Hats off to apna Gyan Bhai with his fantastic collection of pre-historic songsJ !!!

v Arun C’s uncanny ability of SINGING (I don’t know how many will agree with this).

v Kannada singer RAJ KUMAR who joined with us for the SONGS and GYAN’s desperation to get out of that.

v RAJESH and the BAT links??????

v Naveen’s scoldings in hindi (Abhey maar dhuunga saaley thumhe) <Excuse me for the Hindi>.

v KK & APAC’s Mouse Hunt in the night (Or rather should I call it as GOOSE HUNT).

v KK’s Search For The Candle (Don’t ask me why he was searching that).

v The HP (Cute looking) Bootni’s appearing in front of the Door and KK/APAC trying to scare them out.

v Rajesh tere agal bagal mein kaun soraha tha????????

DAY 2

v Narendra’s expertness in falling in the Tunnels and by the way Narendra wins the race just overtaking Prachi and that was a close encounter.

v Nandini’s BADLA (Read it in Hindi) or THE REVENGE for the walking stick and THE FALL. Please don’t ask anything about this with Boddikuri.

v Boddikuri’s worn out LEE JEANS and of course the yet to be released FADED Addidas shoes too…

v Himanshu’s priced catch (THE SNAKE SKIN…YES SNAKE SKIN. It will be on display very soon to TALISMA public that what I heard form him).

v Boddukuri’s uncanny ability to cut the CUCUMBER. (For more about this just ask Boddikuri to let him show his left hand and the finger he polished with the knife).

v Prachi’s fear on reaching the middle of the Bridge.

v The unforgettable un finish able final TUNNEL.

v LEACH SAMADHI.

v Leach affair, which I had in the fag end of the trek. (I pulled 7 out without any harm done to me and 3 other had sucked my blood).

v Raghup’s secret of keeping the leaches out of him (Maan he had worn two pants and finally the one which was there in his pant went inside Gyan’s shoe when removing it).

v Secret behind the leaches not touching KK (Did he have only one pair of socks and that might have been the Anasthesia).

v Wondering about Varada’s energy even after walking / trekking 40 Kms to get the Swaraj Mazda (Sooraj is still thinking how can she walk for another 0.5 Kms to get the bus!!!)

v The Awsome Sixsome who had a never forgettable Over the top TEMPO drive with our driver Ashok chipping in with his talents.

v The heartening news … Because of LUNAR ECLIPSE the Temple food is cancelled.

v And finally Biju gets the JAYAN award (ask me, Soorajlal or KK for more information about this awardJ) for his excellence in Dress Code and ANGER…

v Muru feeling his hunger after waiting for a long time for the Driver.

v Kerala Parata which Biju had promised (Infact it was very tasty!!!!!!)

v The final photo session with all the 20 models together.

v View of Kumaraparvatha behind the Subramanya temple (Which might be our next destination.)

v Praseed’s run back to get The SEAT (We could have send him to Olympics if there was a competition for Musical chair or we can send him to INDIAN POLITICS)J.

v Narendra our Sleeper Coach.

v Narendra’s Upendra Episode with Nandini (Poor Girl she still holds onto the table not to faint if some one says about UP<NAR>endra).

v Boddikuri’s finger PAIN in the night.

v Oops Apna Praseed KK ka t-shirt, pant ya Bag is baaar gira nahin (Please read this in Hindi for a change )!!!

v DJNaveen with his GOOD MORNING and wakeup call on reaching Bangalore.

v Now I know why Rajesh is very Tall (I saw just in the trek all were pulling his leg and of course it was the fact that every one agrees to).

v And by the way tell me how many have lost their weights…

Photos are on their way. That’s it as of now catch u in the next trek… and by the way last but not least Deepak thanks a lot for being the APAC Guide of ours.

Note: - <Kanchan thanks a lot for the sleeping BAGS>

Disclaimer: - This mail is not intended to harm anyone. If anyone is offended by this mail please don’t forgive me. JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

Trekking to Devarayanadurga...--Santhosh kumar C.

Greetings all,

Here's a recapitulation of the magnificent biking & trekking experience we had before the details fade out of our minds - sure the experience will remain unforgettable. I know you all might have your own moments to share, please reply all if anything I have missed out.

First of all, thanks to all of you and the people in the Cc list who didn’t make it, bad luck u missed the real fun!!!!

Some moments in time stand out like snapshots frozen in memory (No offences made to any one…): -

• Sathya coming up at 7:00 in the morning and telling that his vehicle is punctured.
  
• Naveen’s Early morning wake up call (8:00am and all are set to go…) and Sonal’s reply for the same as he was expecting Andy to come.
  
• All trekkers lined up in from of office for the Snap.
  
• Waiting for Raghut and Muru in Dobaspet.
  
• Finally Sathya getting a call saying that Muru and Raghu are waiting in Tumkur (That is 20 Kms beyond the actual Drive)!!!
  
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away and if the apple is having worms then keep the apple away (Biju knows this better).
  
• Peaceful Visitors (Monkeys) when having the apple (Nandini u should have been here).
  
• The Jullah stunt.
  
• Finally at 10:00am Andy’s calling saying that they are leaving to Devarayanadurga from Talisma.
  
• Sathya’s way of stopping the auto fella to ask about the place to park the vehicle (Poor auto fella, his assistant was pushing the vehicle to get the vehicle reach the top).
  
• The mornings break fast.
  
• KK agreed to part with his Sun Cream Lotion this time too…
  
• And by the way Naveen was competing for Parul’s position on taking the Sun Cream Lotion.
  
• Invention of the routes while trekking.
  
• Biju’s own way of leading the trekking troop.
  
• The PGMT thinking.
  
• Naveen’s easy way of finding out the routes.
  
• A Thud!!! When KK’s t-shirt fell off (Of course KK was inside the t-shirt).
  
• Dilemma faced by Raghu when climbing the rock.
  
• Deepak (PGMT)’s own way of designing the climb.
  
• My own invention of the routes when I saw Raghu T shivering while climbing the rock.
  
• Sathya’s desperation when Raghu and myself were talking over the cell phone.
  
• Raghu’s search looking through the Binoculars.
  
• The thorny bushes and the struggle in between.
  
• Muru’s confession on the XXXXXXXXX (Na, I wont say better ask Muru by yourselfJ).
  
• Our attempt to push the rock down.
  
• Finally the top of the hill and the ENERGIZER drink.
  
• Biju and Deepak’s invention of the CAVE Temple!!!
  
• Finally finding Andy and Sonal on the top of the second hill.
  
• Heart Break for Biju when the Olympus Camera fell down!!!L
  
• The lunch on the top of the hill with the energy boosters.
  
• Route searching by Sathya and the grumble from RaghuT.
  
• Chai biscuit at the final stop before the way back.
  
• The Formula1 Talisma Bike Racing.
  
• Muru’s doubt as how KK’s Cap is sticking on his head after my Cap flew off.
  
• Abhishekam KK and PGMT got on the way back form a KSRTC bus.
  
• The rainy drive.
  
• Finally my bike tire getting punctured in front of Aditi facility.

Check the link below for some of the memorable moments…

\\replication\Photoz\DevarayanaDurga111003

For better viewing of the snaps ACDSee viewer is in the below mentioned share:-

\\nubia\Installables\CoolApps\ACDViewer.EXE

Thanks all for an awesome experience and a splendiferous a beautiful day! Sorry for the delay in the mail…