Trek Report GROUP II

DHAAKAD 26

INTRODUCTION

"I felt my lungs inflate with the on rush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy.'" —Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

PORTIMUND

The group is named DHAAKAD 26 as all the members though belonging to various services and cultural backgrounds made a

memorable experience of togetherness. Every member had some hidden qualities which were brought to fore. All 26 were

DHAAKAD to the core. From words to actions all members contributed in a unified manner.

• Saravana Vivek • Prashant Verma • Manjeet Bhatoya • Ramesh C.Yadav • Varun Jain • Ruthvik Malava • Pankaj Yadav • Akhil Patel • Deepak Patil • Prateek Singh • Chakresh Mishra • Subham Patel • Vikram Singh • Dilasha Vasudeva • Ganesh Kumar • Abhay Soni • Nikhitha Boga • Dharam Veer Singh • Upasana • Shrikant J.Yeilwad • Sajad Bashir • Sangeeta Mahala • Ramanand Bhaskar • Alok Kumar Maurya • Shaurya Suman • Noopur Chaudhary

TREK ROUTE A SAGA OF SEVEN DAYS ,SEVEN PLACES

Portimund

Pandiyar

Naduwattam

Kargudi Vazhaithottam

Sholur

7th mile Pine forest

It is said that if apocalypse happens, then Nilgiris is one of the places from where life on earth may arise again.

Day 1 : Portimund to Pandiyar

• The day began with sunlight slowly eating away the fog spread across mountains.

• A sumptuous breakfast provided us with the necessary energy to begin the trek.

• A few photographers among us got a wonderful delight of nature and their hunger kept on increasing.

• Our forest guard spotted a tiger in the bushes which fast disappeared in the dense forests.

• We spotted Nilgai in the shola forests. Many trees were fallen because of the rough weather.

• The enthusiasm of the group overcame every obstacle in the first trek and Pandiyar was conquered in no time.

• In Pandiyar, we were put up in tents with wild animals preying around in the close by forests. The bonfire lighted by Mr Sajad and Mr Prashant was unfazed despite fury of the rain god.

Day 2- Pandiyar to Naduwattam

• The last night was spent in confusion.

• People were anxious of noises made in the night as they feared wild animals nearby the tents.

• To our surprise, it was a few members who were snoring while sleeping at night.

• The trek was across tea estates and mobile network was also strong as the bonds being made between the members.

• We visited a village where a funeral procession was being carried out. A clear picture of culture in nilgiris was seen by us.

• Then, came the valley of leeches where we applied shampoos, dettol on our shoes to prevent them.

• A few of us were bit but the destination filled us with joy.

• A huge field was there to entertain us where we played cricket and other games. The night was celebrated in bonfire and dancing to party and romantic songs.

Day 3 – Naduwattam to kargudi

• Most of us took bath after two days and were ready to play with the forests again.

• We had a full view of the FROG HILL which was being washed by mist and rain continuously.

• The path took us downhill across the highways.

• Coffee tea estates and bamboo forests populated this trek with large spiders between tree trunks.

• A few encounters with leeches were there.

• The kurunji flowers which grow once in 12 years were witnessed by the lucky group.

• The last leg was on road across the MUDUMALAI TIGER RESERVE.

• Most of us developed blisters and it was an ordeal to trek further. Thanks to the antakshari that the painful ride became an exciting one.

• Despite the hardships faced during the day we lovingly celebrated Alok’s birthday.

Day 4: Kargudi to Vazhaithottam

• The morning was awesome when we spotted dears, bison in the forests alongside highways.

• It was a walk down the road with inclines and slopes. We shared our personal experiences on the road and had coconut water to keep ourselves hydrated.

• This was the most tiresome experience as we hardly trekked. Nevertheless, the destination was awesome.

• We had bonfire and danced till midnight.

• The resort had ducks, boars around. A river stream nearby attracted a few male members in the group.

• We took the bath like never before and removed dirt as well as pain in our minds and body.

• At the farm volleyball and cricket were played forgetting the blisters. We swung on a hammock and enjoyed the bonfire and music. This night was indeed a memorable one.

Day 5: Vazhaithottam to Sholur

• This trek gave an enthralling experience of the heights.

• We were carefully taken across by the forest guards as a herd of elephants was around.

• The silence of the group for a moment merged with the silence of forests. We had a view of bamboo forests merging into thick forests.

• We took rare breaks across steep slopes and even had a taste of wild flowery mushroom.

• The lunch was had near a small stream and as always we took care by not loitering in the forests.

• We sang poems like nilgiri k ghane jungle/badal ko ghirte dekha hai/OT ko kudte dekha hai/veer tum bade chalo.

• Finally we reached the beautiful SHOLUR town.

• Defeating the odds, a few of us went to sholur view point and were enthralled by the bounty of nature. Everything looked so small, still and very beautiful.

Day 6: Sholur to 7th mile pine forest

• The final trek began with a walk across the road to Dunsandale tea factory.

• The intricacies of tea making were understood and different teas were tasted by the

members.

• The Dunsandale tea factory is one of the only 2 factories in India exporting organic white tea to Russia/Germany/UK.

• We had our lunch in the pine forests and waited for our pick up eagerly.

• The divine intervention of rain god made the ending a moment to remember.

• With heavy hearts , we re-entered the concrete world but we were enthused about meeting our fellow FC batch-mates and learning about their experience.

We began as kids but ended as adults.

• This trek was the first time experience of most of the officer trainees.

• The toughest part was to walk across the mountains in a coordinated manner. All the members had to walk in a way that everyone reached the destination at the same time.

• As we climbed heights we were welcomed by rains. This made the path more muddy and slippery. Slowly we walked and helped each other in undulating tracks.

• From Portimund to Pandiyar, people swung along tree branches which blocked the path. With a heavy rucksack on back, many of us had aching shoulders though the destination was reached before dawn.

• The cold nights gave a chilling experience. The blankets and sleeping bags made us cozy in no time.

• Only a few among us feared to take bath in such chilling weather. Nevertheless, we had some able people to take care of cough cold or body aches.

CHALLENGES

• Along a few tracks across the tea estates, leeches greeted us regularly. Many lucky ones escaped scot free but a few became victims. The most interesting part is that it sucks blood out of you without any feeling of pain to the host.

• Not to miss, the long walk on roads brought many to buckle down.

• Yet we kept walking in our trekking shoes.

• The blisters could not demotivate the spirit of Dhaakad 26.

• The doctors in group as well as official ones at our halts helped us tackle pain well.

• A few took rest and joined us as soon as their body was ready to persevere again.

• In total, the whole group was in pain at times but it was more physical as mentally we were enthralled by the heights and beauty of Nilgiri hills.

INSIGHTS