With a few minutes to go to three, Riina, self and the missus had assembled at the starting point of the Clouds Walk. Two guides were assigned to this tour and with each accompanying a maximum of five guests, I surmised that the Forest Department estimated not more than 10 people to turn up. A woefully short number considering the Nature Walk had a sizeable participation and that too at 6 in the morning! So we waited, and waited some more. Then the guides gave up and combined the ‘groups’. So between the three of us, we had two guides to lead us.
We set out in right earnest, chatting up the guides with the standard set of questions whose answers I am sure, they can rattle off in their sleep. “How many people generally turn up for this?”, “Is this a different route from morning?”, “How much time will it take?” and most importantly, “Will we see an elephant?” We asked them everything except, “What is your name?” If they were irked by the questions, they did not show it. Instead, they patiently responded to all our insignificant queries. In fact, when it came to identifying the fauna, they were much more informed than our guide from morning. Soarer bird, common swallow, wire-tailed swallow, sunbird, dancing spiders, they knew it all.
The walk in the morning was actually a walk. But we had blissfully ignored the elucidating line below the Clouds Walk board that said it was a “trek”. Already, affected from the Nature Walk, we found it difficult to genuflect more than what we accustomed to. With each passing minute, the gap between us and the guide swelled up, so that he had to stop at regular intervals for us to catch up.
The denseness of the forest ended and we reached an opening. On the sides were barb wire fences indicating human presence in the neighborhood. It was the edge of a plantation and the fences kept stray animals at bay. At the bottom, we saw a widish hole dug into the ground. Our guide told us that it was the work of a bear who would have been scouting around for ants. And that’s when we realized for the first time that we were in mortal danger. We were roaming on terrain frequented by wild beasts that may either welcome our presence or get agitated with it. In the first instance, we could be snacked upon and in the other case we could be mauled for not toeing the line.
These fears multiply when you moving trough a forest. But that was behind us now. It was now a verdant hill we were ascending and we could see as far as the eye could see.
We paused to look back at all that we had conquered and it was an arresting view. Somewhere through the fog was a faint silhouette of what was purportedly a town in Tamil Nadu. Locals in Thekkady excitedly point out towards the Kerala – TN border as if it is the Indo-Pak LOC.
Let’s call it trekker’s folly. While climbing a hill, when you chance upon a good view, you invariably end up wasting time taking photographs, without realizing that a better photo-op awaits you. The view from the top is much more spectacular, much more complete as compared to the gigabytes that you currently using up, halfway through to the top. We committed the same faux pas. Clicking away as if there was no tomorrow only to learn than everything could also be seen from the peak, only better.
I will not attach too many pictures taken from the top because they will not do justice to the build up I have given it. Maybe the panorama mode on my camera ought to have captured the essence but I have not yet mastered that technique. A solitary cross was installed at the zenith, which was a welcome change from the makeshift temples that we see on the peak of so many accessible mountains and hills in India. Like God wants you to tire yourself out before reaching him.
Inspired by the moment, Riina sat cross-legged on the edge and went into meditation mode. Unbeknownst to her, I clicked her from behind, using the impressive range as the backdrop.
The missus and I took pictures, using various combinations of the cross, she and self. We spent around ten minutes recovering from the climb.
You know the trek has ended when you reach either a) a major water body or b) the highest point. This is where you take a break, catch your breath and eat what you may be carrying in you back pack. All fauna that you were supposed to see would have been shown to you by now. After that, it’s only a question of tracing your route back. The guides get to be a bit jumpy and rush you along. Since we were already at the top and were resting, it was natural for us to assume that it was over. But we were mistaken. The adventure had only just begun…
Cont'd...
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