Trekk To RangaSwamy Betta - Part 2

continued from Part I ...



Happy we found a trek path we followed the path and were satisfied that even though it would be long path it would eventually lead us back to our starting point.And then ,it happened again.This path ended and we couldn't figure out any other paths around us.Now how do we move forward and in which direction.Badri was getting really exhausted and started developing cramps.We had no other go . We figured out that first lest reach the bottom in the valley and them we could scale the adjoining hill( which was smaller than this one).That way at least we had a plan in our mings.Were were getting anxious to get to the valley and decided ,no point looking for paths now.Start moving down and we would have to figure out our way for ourselves.Myslef and Vineeth took turns navigating and figuring out our way ,climbing down the hill .in most of the cases we had to slide down dangerous rocks.Even badri ,with all his cramps ,having no other option ,had to slide down the rocks.It was quiet dangerous and one wrong foot who have lead to a a broken bone, but luckily we all were strong and composed enough to make our way thru the descent.



At last we made it to the valley ,we had reached the bottom of this hill...but hooo!! where /how do we move next.Either we scale the adjoining hill ,making our way thru the thrones or follow the path that the valley provided us hoping it would lead us around the adjoining hill.We decided on the latter and made our way thru the valley .But here again we meet a dead end .What do we do now.We were in no mood to trace our way back in the valley.




It was 3.45 PM and we were still no where.As the sunshine starter becoming tender , we knew we still had enough till (at least another 2 hrs ) before the lights starts fading .we decided to now scale the adjoining hill ,rather than look to follow the valley path .we started scaling the this second hill and after few strenuous climbs we hit another road block .We couldn't find any opening to move ahead.We were stuck again.As if destined to get trapped within these hills.But surprisingly all of us were composed and calm and that made the difference ,at the end of the day .while we rested for some time , vineeth decide to check if there could be any other way around the road block .in the mean time I decided to call the 108 service(in case of any emergency at least they would know we had contacted them ...at least they could figure out where we were )

THE 108 SERVICE(911 OF INDIA ? )
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I call up 108 service , and some lady picks up the call and starts asking something in kannada.I give her the background and ask if she can help locating us.She asks up for Zillah /taluk name (how on earth am i supposed to know that ) then she transfers the call to some guy .he said "we only ambulance service for emergency and accidents only "
Now to present to them an emergency situation i said that we are lost and one of our friend is dehydrating and going to faint ;-)
Badri: what !! when was i going to faint ? ;-)
then the fellow transfers my call to Some one from ambulance service who asks me for a landmark.I try to explain to him that We are lost and could he locate us ? he says sir i can come in ambulance tell me a landmark .....
in the mean time , as usual the signal strength became low and i could hardly make out what they were speaking.

I call up the 108 folks again and again they asked me for a land mark.I again try to explain to them in English that we are lost and hence are in no position to provide them with a land mark .he repeats we provide ambulance service for emergency and accidents .....Kindly gives us ur location and i repeated again "We are lost and do not know our location ... will u be able to track us ? "

The worst case scenario flashed in my mind....we might have to stay on the hill for the whole of night without water/food but once the sun comes up in morning we can make it back ...so the situation actually is not that dire ;-)

with none of the 108 folks ready to give us an ear and with the signal strengths varying we decided to switch off our cell phone for the moment as we could use them in case of extreme emergencies.
We again did a recce of the space and found a way that was leading to the top .We decided we have to cross this hill at any cost and started scaling the second hill.Making our way thru more shrubs and thorns ,we moved closer to the top of the hill .this wasn't the actual peak of the hill but we climbed the slanting part of it so that when we reach the top of the slant of the hill we got a birds view of the terrain and we were overjoyed when we saw a small group of laborers working on some dam.I was never so trilled and happy on seeing a human as i was this day .We knew tat if some how we are able to reach to them than all our trouble would be gone.
we headed downhill and this time as we neared the ground we came across more plain land and it was easier for us to keep walking towards the folks working at the dam.As we reached near we found a piece of land dug up (may be for farming ).I didn't have the patience to find another path around this and straight away slanted form high grounds.As i crashed into the ground the flashed by in my head felt the same way ,how a sprinter fells when he crosses the line.I was like some kind of victory but i didn't know victory over what. Badri and vineeth followed the suite and at last we were on the ground .Vineeth and myself hugged in joy and we approached the folks working there, who upon seeing our dire condition offered us water and gave us directions to the village where we had parked our .bikes.
even though tired to the bones this was such a moral booster for us .We reached the village and set for bangalore on our bikes.Vinit promised to give us a party upon reaching bangalore(although we are still waiting for it).we started at around 6.15 PM from the village and by 8.00 PM we reached bangalore.We crashed into our beds.
We ordered pizzas for dinner and laughted our hearts out over dinner. We simply were quiet thrilled and amazed at how differently things could have been .Here we are in the comforts of our room , having w coke and pizza and just a few hours back the possibility of spending the whole night out in the hill without water and food.
The whole experience is still to sink in.




Nature , some times can be so intimidating and be merciless to anyone who carelessly treads its path .having a matchbox and a torch lite is a must for any travel .we never know how things might turn up .if at all this experience did to us was not only improved our confidence but also taught us not to take Nature so lightly.Better preparation is always helpful.