[akroy]

Nice detailed travelogue with Do-Donts of trekking and excellent pics with it.

Abhi

[lohithrao]

Very nice enjoyed going through the logue....lovely pics... western ghats never fails to entice me

[hotstuff]

An extra pair of socks. (UNWANTED)

- After day 1 of walking my socks were totally wet with sweat and salts... I normally prefer wearing fresh socks the next day. Wearing fresh socks helps prevent blisters and foot infections...

Floaters / Hawaii slippers. (UNWANTED)

- I find it a little ackward to wear shoes while going to the loo, while camping out (Since you have to walk away from the camp to do the deed ?). So I carry a light pair of hawaiis.

One extra pair of shorts / jeans. (UNWANTED)

- I have had experiences where my clothes got fully drenched, or I had an accident and ended up with torn clothes, so I always pack a T-shirt & shorts/jeans as a back-up.

Waterproof jacket if you are climbing up during the rains. A good sweater will do in winter. (UNWANTED)

- Unless you are carrying a tent or a well insulated sleeping bag, it does get quite cold out there at night and till early in the morning? And if it is raining then I do need a waterproof jacket ?

Comb / hair-brush. (UNWANTED)

- Depends on who is trekking :-) Given a choice I wouldn't even take a tooth-brush! forget hairbrush. But, Sangeetha would think otherwise... so Comb / hair-brush is optional.

Odomos tube. (UNWANTED)

- Not required at KP, but I have had sleepless nights in other places due to mosquitoes. So I do pack a small tube of odomos in my medicine kit always. Quite a useful thing to have...

One towel and a small napkin. (TOWEL IS UNWANTED)

- 'Towel' is a relative term is'nt it ? a towel can be a two meter turkish affair for some... it is a thin cotton cloth for me... which may be someone's napkin ?

A plastic bag to carry trash to be disposed off at the trash-bin at Bhattaramane or carry down to Kukke. (UNWANTED, THERE IS WASTE BIN TO DISPOSE IN)

- I found three trash-bins in 13 kms.. one near Bhattaramane - Forest office, one near the stream at Mantapa and another near the stream just before the final stretch. So I always prefer to carry a plastic bag to put in all the chocolate wrappers, empty snack packs etc. and carry it for disposal to the nearest trash-bin ?

And for KP, lunch on 2 days is taken care at Bhattara Mane. You need to plan the food only for the night and breakfast.

- Which is precisely what I have mentioned ? "Chapatis or Rotis (Preferably without oil)@ 4 per person x 2 meal breaks."

I also agree with you on carrying only the essentials and one of the first things I have written in the travelogue is "Pack as lightly as possible, carrying only the absolute essentials. Every extra gram gets magnified if you have to carry it up all the way through 13 kms!"

[hotstuff]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Excellant travelogue with loads of information, Its amazing time to trekk in best place.
Ravi.

- Thanks Ravi! Thankfully there were no leeches at this time of the year... while Sangeetha doesn't seem to get so bothered by them, I always dread them... just like she dreads cockroaches!

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Nice travelogue covered with good explanations. The ideal place for trekking with nightout option. BTW did you encounter any wild animals or reptiles (snakes) in forests during your trekking?

Except for a couple of birds and of course Mr.Bhat's cows grazing on the hill-side, we did not see any animals whatsoever. :-(

Originally Posted by akroy

Nice detailed travelogue with Do-Donts of trekking and excellent pics with it.

Abhi

- Thanks Abhi!

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Very nice enjoyed going through the logue....lovely pics... western ghats never fails to entice me

- Thanks lohith!

[JMaruru]

@Hotstuff: Excellent travelogue, but you have left out the tent in your checklist. So, it brings me to the question, do we have to stay for overnight up there ? Can't we start early morning from bhat's place, reach the peak and come back by evening ?

[hotstuff]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

@Hotstuff: Excellent travelogue, but you have left out the tent in your checklist.

During this season, tent may be considered 'optional'. We saw that some of the trekkers had carried tents, but there were equal numbers who were just spread out on sleeping mats / bags. A tent does have it's advantages.. i.e. it is a 'sealed unit' with the walls + floor, a mesh window for ventilation and a 'door' which can be completely zipped.

- Once you are in and zip it up, you are safe from insects / snakes / small animals.
- weather-proof, so you don't feel the wind, cold, rain... and you get a peaceful sleep. Which can make all the difference the next day.

But it is also a painful exercise to carry 3.5kilos up and down the mountain.

So, it brings me to the question, do we have to stay for overnight up there ? Can't we start early morning from bhat's place, reach the peak and come back by evening ?

- Yes, overnight stay at Bhat's place is a viable option. There were people who had halted at Bhat's place for the night and planned to reach the peak the next day. You can leave all your luggage at Bhat's place and carry only water and it will be a faster ascent. You will also have to keep the pace up.. to ensure that you reach Bhat's house and then back to Kukke by nightfall.

A more spread-out trip would be to :
- Reach Bhattaramane on Day1, stay overnight.
- Start early next morning, reach the peak and return to Bhattaramane for another overnight stay.
- Start early the next morning and reach back to Kukke. [Bhattaramane to Kukke can take anywhere between 2 to 3 hours]

But do confirm with Bhat by calling him early so that there will be place to stay at his home. During weekends or holidays, groups of trekkers / college teams can fully occupy all the available space. [I have given the contact numbers in a previous post]

Infact I was not so confident about making it down to Kukke by nightfall and was planning to halt at BM overnight and go down the next morning. I asked Mr.Bhat about how long would it take for us to reach Kukke. After seeing 1000's of trekkers over the decades, he has a unique way of predicting your ascent / descent time. He asked us what time we had started down from the peak and what time we reached his house... then he predicted that at the same pace, it would take us around 2.5 hours to reach the bottom... and it was an accurate prediction!

[maximus.]

Another spectacular trek, with all details. As always it was pleasuresome reading this travelogue.@ Hotstuff

[ampere]

Thanks for taking this out. Nice one hotstuff! Nice one : Once again!