OG Trek preview

I have been part of 4 1-day treks till now.Initially they were exciting but the the last 2 were not that exciting as the places became familiar and without camping,they became routine.SO I was waiting a long time for a 2,3-day trek with CTC.Doesn't mean there aren't any.Just that not compatible with my shcedule (Dude!! enough, as if you're CEO of a company)
Just then, around January ending saw this Ombattu Gudde trek (~4 day long).Checked my diary (habba!!!:( :( too much showoff) and immediately signed for it.Later i got calls from two of my friends one inviting to his home and other that he is coming to chennai for this weekend but i said Sorry..Okka sari commit aithe na maata nene vinanu.. oru dhadava commit pannita yen pecha naane keka maate.. (ippo mahesh vijay!! Hayyo veedi dreams thagaleyya)..Sorry guys..

So all the preparations are done.Now its 10 AM.Waiting for the clock to tick 3 PM.Here are a few excerpts from the prep mails sent by organizers.If the trek delivers atleast half of what it prmoised, I can add this to treks of my life list.(As if you've done hundred treks!! Shutit dude, and stop here please..) Ok enough from me.Pics and organizers will take it from here...

From Peter:

"During my previous 4-day OG mission a few months ago 18 out of 25 trekkers ran out of the jungle on the 2nd day as they were under heavy leech attacks and things were getting real bloody ;-) That was the monsoon (leeches need wetness to survive). Now it should be much less but I am pretty sure there will still be some in the shady jungles protected from the sun above.

My main concern in OG is mostly snakes - the western ghats have many venomous snakes and we have seen/encountered many in previous OG treks. So far we did not have any snake bites. Still it always remains a risk as we would be at least 8-10 hours away from any proper medical facility."

"The main challenges will be the tough climbs and careful management of our water reserves (we will be walking for many hours away from the water sources so need to carry extra weight and carefully consume water)."

Got more bloody pics but chose not to upload.

From Biju:

"Ombattu Gudda is a peak at about 971 meters above sea level, and at a distance of about 20 kms from Gundiya Checkpost, inside the Kabbinhole Forest. The peak is so named because there are 9 prominent humps on top, almost in a straight line (Ombattu in Kannada means nine, while Gudda means hill). The forest is extremely virgin with huge bamboos and dense foliage playing host to a range of wildlife from the tiger, leopard, jungle cat, barking deer to gaur, sloth bear and, of course, the wild elephant. There will be tons of fresh elephant dung along the way. As you go along the jeep track, there are many places where one can get lost and hit dead ends. This route is noted as one of the most mysterious routes in the Western Ghats. "




Will be back on tuesday with loads of clicks and experiences.. (Hopefully)

Gokul's gokarting with chennai buses...

This describes the journey back to IITM from vandaloor zoo.
Date:04/09/2010
Persons Involved:gokul,Bala,Manikanta and karthik (I am obvious)

PreScript:Before starting to the zoo ,inspite of the repeated assurances from Manikanta that we will be back in insti by 4 PM, our pal goutham was busy with some acads work and couldnt turn up.So he finally dropped off.But it was me who was jumping with joy on the sidelines as i was planning to play football that evening after a long time.

But what exactly happened was we were back by 6:15 PM thanks to some quick feet thinking by gokul..What actually happened was

We started return journey from Vandaloor zoo around 4:15.Caught a bus.BPC was sleeping at the front of the bus and we were all at the back.Then suddenly at one stop gokul said this is where we should get down.We just followed him and did what he asked to do.We all got down and dragged BPC out of his dreams and he too got down...

BPC acted like as if he was forcibly put into a dream by gokul(inspired from inception) nd he believed that all that he was dreaming abt in the bus was reality and we getting down at that bus stop was THE dream.

Then gokul realized that we have to walk for a short while from the bus stand where we've got down to get share autos to insti..So we followed him till thr and we all realized very late that "a short while" meant for 25 mins.Then finally my long spell of puzzling trying to understand BPC's bamboozlement was solved when we were taken to the bus stop by where according to him we will get buses or autos to the insti ( i mean IIT our destination).The bus we got down will actually pass through this very bus stop/point what gokul was telling all along...
That's the reason BPC was unable to accept the reality that we got down at that bus stop not this and the funniest thing is he knew this all along..But it was gokul who he have to object against...And he just couldn't.



So all hail Gokul...

Kovalam Beach - An amazing experience (It's near Chennai)

So finally after postponing continuously for a long time I decided to blog.
Recently we all ( i mean all ma friends )went to kovlalam, and it is one thrilling experience and so i decided to start blogging with this beautiful Experience..

One fine day , once going through one of my seniors orkut albums i saw some pics titled Kovalam beach which actually led me to search for kovalam beach. Then one of the items in the search is a blog by one of my seniors (hulla) titled "Kovalam beach;One of the best kept secrets in Chennai "....Immediately after reading the blog i ve been inspired to go there asap..
Next week nearly 25 guys from diff years ,from diif hostels n diff branches started for the trip.Kovalam is a small village which is just 40 bus minutes far from Chennai .Through out the journey i pictured myself floating in center of the sea with water on all da sides.....oooooohhhhhhh


After talking to a local guy there, fixed upon for 1 hr in sea, took the life guards and just jumped into the boats and then started the screamers once the boat set off into the sea and the screamers went on until boat stopped and that guy asked us to jump into the sea.

Then everyone became unusually silent staring at the deep blue waters, gaping at the calm blue sky(praying the Almighty for one last chance to step on the earth...) I am exaggerating a bit :)
But somehow, picking up the courage, one after the other, all of jumped into the sea. For the next 45 min, I ve just been screaming, savoring each and every moment.I cant express all my feelings verbally here , so i suggest, you experience yourself :P .I am still befuddled how fast time has passed but all i can say is that they are the most amazing,thrilling and unforgettable moments in my life.....

Here are some more pics .....












If anyone is interested in going to this place
Details:
Mr. Desing,
+91-98413 63922
+91-44- 27472246

Wish u a safe and thrilling experience.....