CLEAN UP NAGALA - 1 & 2 MARCH 2014

Route: Nagalapuram(Western ghats) - west entry – till 5^th pool

Lead: Nithyan and Archana

Trekkers: Jai, Jaya, Wasim, Murali, Alex, Siva, Krishna, Umapathy, Swami and me

Midway stop for a cup of tea

My maiden trek with the Chennai Trekkers Club started with a call from Nithi on Friday 28^th Feb and what followed was total randomness. I informed home, Sai and myself did some shopping all day and I joined at Nithi’ s residence with an all loaded backpack and a sleeping mat. We started around 1.30 am on Saturday and six others joined us at ‘Motel highway’ with their bikes.

L to R : Myself, Murali, Alex, Wasim, Siva, Krishna, Uma

We reached Nagalapuram around 5 am and decided to take a short nap before we start off. Most of us were excited that we could hardly sleep and did a quick mobile photosession :D

 It slowly dawned and we began splitting up the ration. Everyone carries an equal share of the vegetables and snacks in their backpacks. Wasim was honoured with the Nithi’s trek bag which itself measured about three fourths of his height!

Jaya and Archana in the lead

A 40-minute walk took us to the base of the mountain. We got into the valley steering through dense vegetation and walking alongside the stream we reached the temple pool. It was a shock for all of us as the whole place was covered with hundreds of thermocol plates, even worse, with decaying food debris. I was told that the localites celebrated shivarathri there – probably they got bored of littering the town that they came up to the forests.

Litter everywhere!

A narrow ridge before the first pool where we had to curve to fit in

Crossing the stench we reached the first pool where we stopped for a swim. The ice cold water relaxed our muscles instantly. Filling our bottles we continued our trek to the second pool. The climb from second to third pool was quite steep and that was a preview to the more perilous path ahead.

First pool

We crossed the other side of the mountain and the next one hour of trek had the most stunning views to offer.  Steep rocks, extremely risky climbs all paid off when we reached the magnificent third pool. We did not stop to dip into the water though. Continuing with the stream, we climbed further up and reached the fourth pool. The fourth is a tall gorgeous waterfall and we could not resist. We took a refreshing bath till our bodies dropped off all the heat of the trek.

Murali enjoying the view

Third pool in the backdrop

crossing third pool

Wasim's backpack!

 At the waterfalls (fourth pool) - Nithi at the bottom

I felt the trudge between fourth and fifth pool was the toughest. What we saw was just the bare mountain at an inclination of 60 degrees. Nithi had that sarcastic grin but his masterly advice definitely helped. Soon, we all transformed into four legged animals manoeuvring with the slippery loose rocks, ascending slowly. We paused in between but even the larger rocks we chose to sit were quite unstable. With the adrenaline rush, we reached the top of the cliff and the other side of it. Breathtaking views of the valley followed, again. We got down the same cliff up till the valley and following a small ascent, reached the fifth pool.

"when you are about to loose balance, always lean forward"

Alex at the cliff top

Fifth pool -  At last !

Serene is just the word. Though not as big as the third pool, the stream had an innate calmness and the water looked immaculate. We dipped into the water, enjoying the sense of accomplishment but our tummies already started ringing. We got into work, picking firewood and cutting vegetables for the ‘enriched noodles – Nithi style’.

I saw everything going into the noodles -  from paneer to potatoes to kaju and dry grapes. The aroma was a gustatory treat! A sumptuous lunch was followed by some chat by the poolside.  The cold breeze and our tired muscles dragged us to slumber. A few of them succumbed over a boulder. I was just holding it till the tent was made. I should have had one of the deepest sleeps as I remember nothing that happened from 6.30 pm to 1.30 am!

We couldn't help but crash!

But there was still work to do

Everything thrills when you are in a forest. Imagine attending a nature’s call at midnight when its pitch dark amidst rattles of insects and reptile sounds. And when I woke up then, the bonfire was still on. I grabbed something to eat and after an hour of chat we got back into our tents.

A refreshing swim and elaichi tea started off the next day. We made sev chat and before eating more, we judiciously cleared the campsite and began descent. Our plan was to halt at the third pool for lunch. We hardly stopped anywhere in between and reached there by around 1.30 pm. We met another group of trekkers from Chennai Trekkers Club who were on a social trek. They said they had brought kids from 2^nd to 7^th class and had left them at the first pool. Soon, we had the entire third pool for us! We jumped into the pristine waters and for the first time I was confident enough to swim at waters so deep (40 feet) -  probably the do or die attitude that a trek brings in you!

Umapathy taking a confident dive

Banquet lunch followed – Paneer tikka for starters, Bissibelabath and potato curry for main course. “doctor sar aah.. avaru podi aakama udamaataare ma” Nithi enjoyed pulling my legs on how I chopped vegetables. The all-ladies trek, another group from the CTC crossed us and were greeted with our hot yummy lunch. We were all so reluctant to leave and started quite late. The rest of the descent ended up being a night trek and took almost two hours and a half.

Tempting?

Some of us carried garbage sacks that we kept filling along and the best part was the surprise that awaited us when we crossed the temple pool. The full area was cleaned up so well to all our delight. Later we came to know that it was by Bala and team. The trip ended with a group picture before reaching to the vehicles. We bid bye to the mountains and finished the trek with a filling dinner at the dhaba.

At the trek's end

Things excite even more when they happen at the unexpected moments and that’s exactly how this trek ended up being. More than just another climb, this was definitely an eye-opener for me, to what is called ‘responsible trekking’. We never used any soap/detergent all the days and carried water from the stream in separate bottles for toilet needs. We did as much clean up as we could but were even more surprised to see how everyone in CTC had the same amount of responsibility.

Littering public places is hardwired into Indian brains as an individual right. Trying to keep roads clean is talked off as impractical most of the times. But when I think – If some people can carry garbage all the way down a hill to clean up, can the others try not to litter at the least?



Photos from Nithyan s facebook album, mobile clicks by Wasim and me