Kodekallu and Barekallu again!

I have already described this place in a blog post last year... We began our trek from the same point and we took the same route. Nothing had changed much in terms of topography - neither the huge rock we call Kodekallu nor the wild cows we saw last year at Barekallu! However,nature and time are reputed to never stabalize anything in its realm. This blog post will only tell you what was different about Kodekallu and Barekallu from last year - "bulleted"! 

The misty Charmadi - on our way to Kodekallu

• The climate:

Thanks to the rain gods, it was a true rain trek this year. Right from the moment we left Mangalore to the time we came back again, it was raining - not so heavily, but it was raining! The mist which enveloped Kodekallu and Barekallu allowed a visibility of about 15 feet. 

At Kodekallu admist rains and mist.

• The trail:

It was the same till we reached Kodekallu. From Kodekallu to Barekallu, we took close to 2 hours last year. This time we reached in just 45 minutes. The credit for this goes to the climate, precisely the mist, which made us miss the actual trail around the hill and we ended up climbing the hill. This resulted in us reaching the Barekallu peak much earlier at the cost of a little extra effort!

Climbing up the hill to reach Barekallu!

• The trekkers:

We had amongst us a set of trekkers (Achalesh, JK, JP, Karan,Malur, Karanth) who were among the first ones to explore nature under the name "Gypsies". They bonded over the old times throughtout the trek. We, on the other hand, simply enjoyed watching them bond! It's only rarely that we get to watch our seniors getting naughty! 

Missing: Achalesh, Rama, Gautam!

• The leaders:

Last year, we had a guide who took us through. This time we had Karanth and Achlesh who successfully led us on the expedition to Kodekallu and Barekallu.

• The adventure quotient:

Well, it was pretty much uneventful last year. This time we had almost lost our way while descending the Barekallu. We had to descend looking at the Kodekallu from Barrekallu, but the ist prevented us from doing that! We were contemplating spending a night on the peak with nothing to protect us from the chill and pouring rain. I was infact "hoping" for that - the fanatic that I am! Pleased to say that my hopes were shattered and we did find the way back! 

A view of Kodekallu from Barekallu

• The changes for me:

I started off trekking with the Gypsies with this trek and there I was - again!
Back then people were new and Mangalore was an alien land... Now it just feels like home!
I realized that there is a temple near the starting point of the trek. Never noticed it last year!
The leeches were so few!! Maybe because we went there at the start of monsoons!

Making our way back through the elusive hills

• The Goodbyes: 

To Karan Arora - who debuted as the first non-Kannada speaking Gypsy and who will be called an "Infoscion" for only a few more days!

When: 8th June, 2013.

With: Achalesh Jayaram, Jayakrishna K, Ashwin Karanth, Ramaprasad, Jayaprakash, Karan Arora, Karthik Malur, Soutonuka M, Ankit, Varun Iyer, Ketki, Monica Reddy, Buvaneswari R., Gautam Shenoy,Aditi Vishwasrao