Palani Exploration 5 (PX5)

Approximately 9 treks and a year ago, it was my dream to be able to go on a difficult trek organized by Peter, the founder of CTC and a God of sorts to all Trekkers. Today, after having lived this dream for 3 days and making it a successful reality, I look back at the path traced by me during the last one year to reach this destination – slow, yet steady! It is not about physical stamina but more about mental strength to go through the test of terrain – mind over matter! My first trek with Peter, for which I had been preparing for over a year (building on mental grit more than the physical one), has ended up becoming a true benchmark.

Soon after I registered for PX5, I was thrilled to see my name in the confirmed list of participants. Ever since this happened, I immediately booked my tickets and was enthusiastically engaged in a count-down. The journey that I was eagerly awaiting began and so did a lifetime of bonding with fellow-trekkers. Though I already knew around 10 of the 34 participants from other treks, the others seemed quite familiar upon introduction, possibly attributable to our common passion for trekking.

Met Peter & Co at Perungalathur and we boarded SRM transport to Dindigul at around 10.00 p.m. The events unfolding prior to my reaching the bus stop in time to board the bus were dramatic enough to be made into a movie. The moment I met Peter, even before greeting me, Peter took one look at the potential pregnancy of my backpack (cause: my sleeping bag) and expressed his sympathy (direct addition of 1.30 kgs to the backpack without adding the weight of food and other essentials)! Well, I did not have much of a choice, having brought it, I had to carry it. But I was confident that the pain of carrying it would be amply rewarded when the chillness tries to wage a war with my body at the campsite in the mountains/plains.

Day I (Friday): We all got off at Devadanapatty (few kilometers away from Dindigul) and coordinated with the other groups to meet at a common place – being the only breakfast shop which was prepared to make food for 34 people by 7.00 a.m. Breakfast was sumptuous – parota, idli, dosa, different dishes made of egg and poori, apart from tea and milk (Brijesh – being the milk baby!). While I was waiting for food to get ready and treated my stomach to tea as an appetizer, Venkat diligently bought a toothbrush and paste, maybe he was trying to make up for the next 3 days of no ‘brushing’! But I found it quite hilarious. We provided the amused villagers with much entertainment. Something that caught my attention was the way they served food – with a warm smile that spoke of abundant love, usually unseen in city life.

After breakfast we boarded a mini van which dropped us off near the Manjalar dam. We set off on the wild mission of diminishing the yawning gap between the rat tail falls and 34 tough minds! The initial couple of hours was quite comfortable and then began the steep climbs and the impossibly huge boulders. We dropped our bags at a particular spot and did more steep climbs and jumps to get to the rat tail falls. One look at the beauty of the falls cascading into the expanse of the pool below and I was completely mesmerized. I wasn’t aware of the steps that took me closer to the waterfalls, but when I came back to my senses I was right beside it and absolutely enjoyed getting myself wet. When I went near the pool with the intention of taking a dip, I realized it was a bit muddy, so decided against it. After taking a group snap there, we retraced our path and were back near our backpacks hungry – lunch was over in no time!

Peter told us that we had to do a bit of climbing to get to the top of the rat tail falls which is to be our campsite for the night. What he did not tell us was that this climb would be the wildest, steepest, longest and the most challenging ever.  The steepness of the climb hit me when I realised that every step ahead diminished the visibility of folks around me. There is a particular incident that will remain engrained in my mind forever. Ram and I were stuck at a specific point, progress beyond which was unimaginable, unless we were keen on taking a slide down - upto where was quite unknown, such was the terrain. We were stuck at that spot for 10 minutes, petrified of any movement for fear of getting dislocated. Venkat and Masi gave us the much needed encouragement that got us moving. Ram went first, I was impressed with his courage. After seeing him settle down a bit I thought I had the nerves to go next, but two minutes later as I tried my best to imitate the most intolerable of reptiles (lizard), I made out that I was a miserable failure. Seeing Ram's bag roll downhill with a will of its own was my undoing. I slowly started slipping but venkat grabbed my bag and got me safely back on solid grounds, where not more than 3 to 4 people could rest. As I waited catching my breath, my anxiety heightened not only upon noting the steepness of the climb ahead but also after registering the look on Brijesh's face. I have noticed many emotions on his face before, 'fear' was never one of them! By this time most of us had exhausted our water reserves, even 'The Reservoir' (Brijesh) had gone dry! The one thing that kept us all going through the rest of the day was the unwavering focus on getting to the seemingly evading campsite. The answer to the million-dollar question on why, being the undeniable need for water. We had almost reached the peak when we decided the last leg of the climb had to wait till Peter had taken a look at the prospect. He took one look and said is too risky; Brijesh and Venkat were nominated to find a different and new trail, for which we had to retrace for around 20 minutes. It was 8 p.m, close to 6 hours since we had water and we were still clueless about how long it would take to reach the campsite. Subsequent to a few hours of hanging on to trees and rocks for support, groping in the dark for support, crawling on all fours, a tough climb using ropes and yet another steep climb for half hour without an LED torch, we reached the peak.

It was 9.30 p.m when we reached the peak and almost half of the crowd was still way behind us. Peter, Arun & Brijesh had gone to the campsite in search of the three guys who had already reached the top of the rat tail falls by 6.00 p.m and also to get water for the rest of us folks at the peak. Craving for water like I have never known before coursed through me, my perception of water changed that day - reverence vis-à-vis indifference! Lemon and orange had never felt better on my taste buds, down my parched throat. I remember staying awake till 12 midnight before my hopes of tasting water anytime soon started fading. As masi, venkat and rest of us were debating on whether to go in search of Peter with the help of the GPS device, we heard a gruff voice echoing through the stillness of the night - Brijesh was calling out to us, demanding (he never asks) that we walk towards him. This time we went behind one another with unbelievable discipline and in quick succession, reaching our primary destination first (guys were waiting with water) and the secondary one (campsite) sometime later. My obsession over NUTELLA paled in comparison with the emotion that I experienced when I had the first drop of water in 9 hours! Brijesh conducted interviews and recorded the feelings of souls such as mine asking about how we felt after swallowing 750 ml of water in one gulp! And of course the response was unanimous - 'blissful'!

At the campsite we made Maggie/soup and had dinner at 2 a.m. The main advantage of the timing was that we had lost many of them to deep sleep resulting from exhaustion. The hot dinner and the cozy interiors of my sleeping bag kept me warm and I drifted into sleep, waking up only to the smell of tea, cool breeze and the lush beauty at the source of the rat tail falls.

Day II (Saturday): After the trying terrain of day one, we were groomed to be able to handle anything that came our way. Through the day we were trekking at a decent pace, had a relaxed lunch and a comfortable journey till our exit point, the ghat road. We took a bus to Kodai and had sumptuous dinner at Hotel Hilltop. We then set off to camp at the entrance of the pine forest 20 kms from Kodai. The weather started off being cool and steadily progressed into becoming 'cold' urging me to get a monkey cap, which became a part of me during the third day of our trek to Gundar falls.

Day III (Sunday): was more a treat to the eyes, mind and soul. Trekking was a bit tricky at places but we had become unconquerable - no terrain could make us bow our heads. We had periodic breaks at gorgeous spots, filled with lovely water bodies - either pools or flowing water laced with moss, and greenery in all directions. We had elaborate meals as well - breakfast and lunch! The climb from the Gundar falls, where another group snap at different angles and with different poses were captured, to the exit point of the pine forest was very steep, but it lasted for a little over half hour. Despite continuous trekking for the last three days, most of us had energy left in us to do cycling around the Kodai Lake for 45 minutes, before boarding our bus for the return journey. We paused at regular intervals to take snaps, capturing the happy moments and even had ice creams!

The way we ate during the entire trek, kept me reminded of something a German co-trekker in one of my earlier treks said about CTC - he said that CTC should be renamed Chennai Trekking & Eating Club!!!

I was the ‘only rose amidst a sea of thorns’, as someone succinctly put it, however a rose feels at home only amidst thorns and this rose was no different! :P Special thanks to those who shared their food/water with me and gave me company at difficult spots, in the name of chivalry. Hats off!!!

It was my best trek ever - a mix of everything - fear, elation, frustration, thirst, hunger, concern for all!!! One comprehensive experience, I must say. There was a time on Friday late evening when I actually gave up and let go with a couple of drops of tears in my eyes. Though I was ashamed at the helplessness I felt, I never fail to be honest with myself. Raj pulled me up at a couple of places during the climb to the peak amidst the engulfing darkness - ever grateful for that. Within few seconds of the tears coming out, they dried up because I realised I'm not someone who gives up - especially when the going gets tough, I believe only the tough can get going. This trek pushed my endurance and helped me comprehend the depth of my mental stamina (more than the physical one). Well, the saving grace being the fact that the next two days I did not accept any help and managed on my own :) :) :), called bouncing back - felt incredible !!!