ಸ್ಕಂದಗಿರಿಯ ಮುಂಜಾವು

Nature slowly unfolds itself when you take one step at a time with the help of torch light. Night trek shows only what you want to see. I was trying harder to look beyond the light of the torch I was holding but was not successful. However, stars seemed closer and shinier in the night sky. While the distance to the top did not seem tough (4Kms), it was the boulders on the path and the path itself posed a challenge to the lungs.

Taking deeper breaths as I started to climb Skanda Giri, I realized that it was like computer game which used to get tougher with each passing level. As I was sitting and taking breaks at various intervals to give my legs and lungs little bit of break, I practically experienced that after each break the challenge was getting harder like the computer game. Not sure, if it was because of my breaks it was getting tougher or the mountain itself was like that. Best thing about Night trek is that you can see or assume the next stage only after finishing the current stage. It also gives the feeling at night that we are almost done even when the climb is still longer and steeper. At some instances it made me feel give up when I realized that the climb is still pending but also made me to take on the pending climb with more vigour and enthusiasm.

When we started to climb it was 4 in the morning and everywhere it was pitch dark and eerily silent, as I reached the top it was about time for the sunrise and things around me was very slowly getting clearer. There was mild mix of red and blue colours surrounding me giving a relaxing feeling.

It could also be that the climb was over and my legs were literally relaxing then. Gentle touch of the wind on the top of Skanda Giri was cooling the body, which was drenched in sweat due to the strenuous climb. Sitting on top of the mountain and waiting for the sunrise was like meditation in itself.

 ಸೂರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಮನೆಗೆ ದೀಪವಾಗಿಹುದು ಚಂದಿರ 

ಕತ್ತೆತ್ತಿ ನೋಡಲು ಸುತ್ತ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರಗಳ ದೀಪಾಲಂಕಾರ 

ಉಪ್ಪರಿಗೆಯ ತುಂಬೆಲ್ಲ ಮೋಡಗಳ ಚಪ್ಪರ

ದಣಿದ ಮೈಗೆ ಆಹ್ವಾನವಿತ್ತಿದೆ 

ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ಹಾಸಿದ ಕಪ್ಪು ಕಲ್ಲಿನ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ 

ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಅಡ್ಡಾಗಿ ಕಣ್ಣ ಮುಚ್ಚಲು ನಾನು 

ತಂಗಾಳಿಯೇ ಬೀಸಿದೆ ಬೀಸಣಿಗೆ 

ಈಗಷ್ಟೇ ನಿದ್ದೆಯಿಂದೆದ್ದು ಹಾಡಿವೆ 

ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳು ಲಾಲಿ ಹಾಡನು 

ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯೇ ಅಮ್ಮನಾಗಿ ಬಂದು 

ತೂಗಿಹಳು ತೊಟ್ಟಿಲನು 

ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೊಂಚ ಮಲಗಲು ಬಿಡು 

ತಡೆಯದಿರು ಈ ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯ ನಿದ್ರೆಯನು 

As the sky started lighting a bit more, I was awed by the vastness of surroundings. There were smaller hills all around me as far as my eyes could reach. Nandi Hills was standing close like a big brother. A huge lake in front me felt as if it was still in deep sleep. However, there was no sign of sun waking up. After waiting for half an hour before we could start back, there he was waving from the top of mountains asking me to stop and wave back at him. I could only smile back at the Sun for his gentle gesture. He was like an orange bindi on the sky’s forehead.

Now that the surroundings were clearly visible. I thought of taking stroll on the top of the mountain which has a Shiva Temple with all Vigrahas intact.

There was dilapidated structure behind the temple on which a big group of trekkers had conquered and were capturing this win with a photo shoot. I could also see the ruins of the yesteryear fort and was amazed how people from those times were able to build structures on top of the mountain which was not easy to reach.

If the climb-up was not easy, climb-down too wasn’t easy as I had to take the same route of boulders and slippery path. Enormity of the trek was now very much visible and realized how I needed more motivation than earlier. Luckily nature around me supported with its magnificent views. I could also now actually see the various levels at which the mountain covered itself as I passed through one after the other, now fallen fort walls at each of these levels. I could also see some small caves on the path which would have been used by humans and animals alike.

While we were getting down after daylight, there were a lot of people/teams who were climbing the mountain. They had much tougher task as they were climbing up in warm sun and needed pep talks from us. We did our bit by not telling the truth and encouraged them to climb.

Since I could not see the massiveness of the mountain while climbing I wanted to take look back at Skanda Giri at every stage and realized that Skanda Giri would have deceived me anyways even if I was climbing it during the broad day light. Reason being that at no point mountain was completely visible to us from the path we took to trek and it was giving the impression that the mountain is not huge at all!

When the trek ended, my body was tired but there was freshness in the air and I could feel the morning warmth of the sun. It was unbelievable team of 200+ people who had trekked in the night. At different points in the trek, we were walking with other groups. Whole trekking team not just ours but other teams which came along with different organisers made the trek fun. Our Team leads from BMC made our job easy and were fun to be with. Thanks to Smitha for suggesting the trek and accompanying me with the trek.