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Old 30th September 2010, 12:18   #76
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pramod View Post
Addy,
Now that people wanna visit and stay at Kudremukh, i got to post these snaps. We had stayed at Bhagavathi Nature camp inside Kudremukh reserve an year back in Nov 2009. We were a group of 13 people and stayed in a Dormitory which had 15 beds. Reminds me of General ward in Saint Johns hospital.. kidding . But thats the best way to have fun, in a place like this.

Accomodation details:
1. 2 bed room cottage - 2 nos
2. 15 bed dorm - 1 nos
3. Tents - may be 4 nos (the new tents were to arrive last winter, to replace the battered age old jamshedpur tents).
4. No food available. We need to get ration from Kudremukh or any other town and hand it over to them. And they would cook food for us.
But the weekend we were there, we had to compete with another group of 15 people from Karkala. So, the girls in our group ended up cooking curry and the official cook at the camp prepared chapathis. But it was so much fun doing a crude weekend like this.

Cautions:
1. Staying overnight here is not for family which is looking for a relaxed resort like feel. You would have to be wary of the numerous Indian Bisons around. There is no boundary to this camp. It extends into the forests.

There is a brilliant water stream running next to the camp. And its great fun taking bath in it. But none the less, you have 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets in the dormitory.

Cost is very very nominal. 110 Rs per head.

You could trek to the nearby Gangadikallu peak or Kurinjal peak (7 kms).

Location:
1. If u are driving from Samse to Kudremukh, you need to cross Kudremukh and continue further towards Karkala. On this stretch, say after 6 Kms, you could see the camp on the left side of the road. You wont miss it.

Activities:
1. Walk around the camp area. And trace Bisons. Pls dont get too near to them. They could charge. But we traced a group of 10 bisons, grazing at a distance. It was a hair rising experience.
2. Bathe in the stream
3. camp fire after dark
4. Drive on the Kudremukh highway for some wildlife sighting. How can you not do this
5. Early morning, wildlife sighting drive again.

So, you got to come here with your own vehicle.

Regards
Pramod
Hey Pramod, thanks for the review and the pictures. I wanted to ask you to post a review and you have read my mind. This will serve as a guide for travellers wanting to stay at Bhagavathi Nature Camp. This looks like an awesome place to stay going by your review.
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Old 30th September 2010, 12:36   #77
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Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-camp-800x600.jpg

Google Earth Location of the camp.
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Old 1st October 2010, 20:10   #78
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Amazing Pictures.Last time when i had been to Hornadu i did not take Kudremukh route to go to Sringeri, after seeing these wonderful pictures i regret my decision.
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Old 2nd October 2010, 13:01   #79
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Kudremukh? My friend has an estate at Ballehonnur. We make a trip there every year. Kudremukh is pretty close.

We also drove from Ballehonnur to Dandeli forest via Agumbe-Honavar-Yellapur. Beautiful countryside.

Last edited by John : 2nd October 2010 at 13:04.
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Old 4th October 2010, 09:10   #80
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maximus. View Post
Amazing Pictures.Last time when i had been to Hornadu i did not take Kudremukh route to go to Sringeri, after seeing these wonderful pictures i regret my decision.
Even the regular Hornadu-Sringeri route is beautiful, but this route has more open spaces for good views and most of these views are seen only on treks or when you go interior.

Quote:
Originally Posted by John View Post
Kudremukh? My friend has an estate at Ballehonnur. We make a trip there every year. Kudremukh is pretty close.

We also drove from Ballehonnur to Dandeli forest via Agumbe-Honavar-Yellapur. Beautiful countryside.
Yes, Balehonnur is approx 50-60 kms from Kudremukh.
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Old 27th October 2010, 17:34   #81
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On top of Karnataka - The second part of the travelogue

Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who have viewed this travelogue and appreciated it. I hope I can live up to your expectations for the second part of this travelogue also. I know I have been late in completing this Travelogue or rather Trekkalog. I had my mind set on numerous other things and I did not have the time and patience to finish this. Even now, I am yet to resize and sort out the photos. I will do that as I go along finishing this travelogue.

After we returned from the Kudremukh trek, it was quite some time before we went on a trek. We were longing to do a serious monsoon trek and somehow due to the delayed/weak monsoon, we could not achieve that. Even Kudremukh was supposed to be a monsoon trek, but unluckily for us, it did not rain for the whole duration of the trip. We i.e. me, Jeevesh (optimystic01) and Vivek - the core guys of our trek team, were longing to do one more trek before the monsoon ends to fulfill our desire to do a monsoon trek.

We began shortlisting probable dates and locations and finally selected the first weekend of september for the trek, almost 2 months after the Kudremukh trek. The monsoon had picked up and we sure of doing the trek in the rain. For the location we had selected the route from Kaginahare to Bisle ghat. Those who have read my previous travelogues might remember Kaginahare. This route passes through one of the densest forests in the western ghats and is infamous for trekkers getting lost and getting killed. Again from Bisle ghat, we wanted to trek to Kukke Subramanya. This plan was for 2 days. We did not have any guide to take with us. Then we contacted the forest department who advised us against trekking there during this time. The reasons given: Elephant menace, zero visibility, very very very heavy rain, landslides and flash floods.

We debated the reasons given by the officer. Rain and zero visibility was not going to be a problem (atleast we thought so). But, the elephants, landslides and flash floods were very valid reasons. The forest officer even informed us that their own staff (watchers, guards) were not venturing into the forests due to these problems. Apparently, he even has complained to his higher officers that elephants are not allowing the staff to patrol the forest and do their duties.

We guys discussed and with a heavy heart, let go of the plan. Time to find an alternate location. Again drew out a list of probable locations and then finally decided that we will complete a trek which we could not complete last year. We decided that we will do the Mullayanagiri-Bababudangiri-Kemmangundi trek.

In August 2009, we had planned to do the same route. Due to certain reasons, we could only do the trek upto Bababudangiri and came back to Chikmagalur. This time, we were determined to do the whole trek.

So, Mullayanagiri it was!!! For those of you who don't know, Mullayanagiri is the tallest peak in Karnataka. Check out the links for more info.

Mullayanagiri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baba Budangiri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kemmangundi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We got the weather update from a friend and it was raining cats and dogs over there. Yippee!!! now we could do an full fledged monsoon trek. Everything was planned.

The plan - Leave to Chikmagalur on friday afternoon (sept 3), stay over in a lodge, catch some jeep or auto to the start point of the trek (there were no buses) next morning (sept 4), trek to Mullayanagiri and Bababudangiri, Stay at Galikere (4 kms from Bababudangiri) and trek to Kemmangundi the next day (sept 5).

I know this post is a bit boring with no pictures at all. Pictures and more info coming tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!!!

Last edited by addyhemmige : 27th October 2010 at 17:42. Reason: typo
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Old 28th October 2010, 07:13   #82
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Addy - I am waiting for the Mullayyanagiri to BBB-Giri snaps where, you got to walk all along the high cliff, on the edge of the ghats, looking at the plains below!

BBB-Giri to Kemmannugundi is all about numerous Silver Oak trees. isnt it.
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Old 28th October 2010, 10:21   #83
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pramod View Post
Addy - I am waiting for the Mullayyanagiri to BBB-Giri snaps where, you got to walk all along the high cliff, on the edge of the ghats, looking at the plains below!

BBB-Giri to Kemmannugundi is all about numerous Silver Oak trees. isnt it.
Pictures coming right up. Mullayanagiri to Bababudangiri is one of the scariest treks I have done. Most of the trek is on a ridge where one slip could have sent you down crashing.
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Old 28th October 2010, 12:25   #84
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The trek - Part 1

D-Day

Everything was set and all of us was ready to go. Tickets were booked on the 2.30 Volvo to Chikmagalur. As we were leaving Bangalore, the omens looked good as the skies opened up and started pouring. There was heavy rain upto Hassan and after Hassan, it was bone dry. There had been no rain for the past 2 days.

Uh oh!! There is no rain. This killed the very idea of a monsoon trek. We were dejected as we got down at Chikmagalur bus stand. We started searching for a place to stay the night and finally settled down in a broken down place. We went to a hotel nearby for a quick dinner and enquired about the rains with the hotel waiter. He said although it was not raining in Chikmagalur, the hills had been receiving good rains. This cheered us up a little and we went back to the lodge for a good night's sleep.

Early next morning (day 1 of our trek), we went to the bus stand to have breakfast and to catch the 7.30 bus to the trek start point. There was a slight drizzle and the weather was awesome.

Morning in Chikmagalur
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-1.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-2.jpg

What I had forgotten was that I had read in the papers that the Chikmagalur-Kemmangundi road was blocked due to a major landslide and had been cleared only for LMV traffic. So, now there were no buses. We were contemplating hiring a jeep when suddenly a man said he will take us to 'Sarpadaari' - the starting point of our trek. He said that he will charge Rs.200 for the drop. Then we remembered our previous trek where we had paid Rs.250 for an autorickshaw for the same distance. This time we were going in a Maruti Omni.

Inside the 8 seater Omni
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-3.jpg

The driver then took us to 'Sarpadaari' (which means snake's path in Kannada) which was the starting point of our trek.

At Sarpadaari - the driver is on the extreme left
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-4.jpg

The trekkers!!! (Sorry for the pic quality)
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-5.jpg

The arch is the start of the trail
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-6.jpg

As we were starting, another group of about 10 people also arrived at the same time. We did not want people tailing us nor did we want to tail other people, so we quickly picked up pace.

Views from the trail
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-7.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-8.jpg

The trail gets steeper and steeper as we go up. Although Mullayanagiri is the tallest peak in Karnataka, the climb itself is not that tough. IIRC, we took only an hour or so to scale it. On the way, we encounter a huge rock face where it is a bit slippery and tricky to climb with a heavy load in your back.

Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-10.jpg

Very Misty
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-11.jpg

The huge rock face covered in mist
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-12.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-14.jpg

View opposite the rock
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-13.jpg

Ooh!! that is pretty steep
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-15.jpg

Mist mist and more mist. You guys are going to see a lot more of this
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-16.jpg

Giving weird poses
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-17.jpg

More mist - You can see the trail
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-18.jpg

Just as we were making good pace, it started raining. All this time it was not raining and we never even thought about it until it started drizzling. We then took our raincoats out. Jeevesh had got these from the Army store in Shivajinagar and this was quite effective (although we did look ridiculous). It was very difficult putting on the raincoats over the backpacks and we had to help out each other. Then we trudged on until we reached our first landmark - the 'Nandi'. This is a very small idol of 'Nandi' the bull 10 minutes below the peak.

Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-dsc06580.jpg

This was how ridiculous we looked!!!
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-19.jpg

The tree behind the Nandi - looked eerie
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-20.jpg

The first signs of 'hill top' life - This cow was grazing just outside the temple.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-21.jpg

Phew!! Finally reached the peak
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-22.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-23.jpg

Time for some weird poses again!!! It is pretty windy at the peak.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-24.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-25.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-26.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-28.jpg

Continued.....
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Old 28th October 2010, 13:37   #85
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Addy - No sign of leeches i guess. Too late into the monsoons, to have leeches around?
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Old 29th October 2010, 11:22   #86
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Addy - No sign of leeches i guess. Too late into the monsoons, to have leeches around?
We did find leeches. But not as much we would have expected.
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Old 2nd November 2010, 17:11   #87
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Part 2

On top of KA - Mullayanagiri - Mullappaswamy temple

We reached Mullayanagiri peak in quick time and made way to the temple at the peak. The Mullappaswamy temple on the peak is the highest point on the mountain. We went to the temple and sought blessings from the deity and then started to discuss and debate the routes. We had a map and compass with us and we wanted to make full use of it (although it was of no use. It was misty and foggy all the time). We took a heading on our compass and set off on the trek. By this time the other group of trekkers had reached the peak and were starting the trek to Bababudangiri. This time we were to have company all the way to Bababudangiri.

Charting our course inside the temple and the local resident also joining us in the discussion and giving his inputs. That did not come free though, we had to give him half a pack of biscuits
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-29.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-31.jpg

The only Leech bite for the whole trek (or so we thought)
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-32.jpg

After all the discussions and debates, we finally left the temple and started the long trek to Bababudangiri. The initial path is quite steep and slippery. The Bababudan Hills are covered in mist for almost the whole of monsoon and it is always wet. One way, this is good for trekkers since there won’t be a hot sun to trouble them, but on the other hand, the visibility will be very bad and it is easy to lose your way.

The steep path through the rocks
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-33.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-34.jpg

Bad visibility
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-36.jpg

Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-37.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-38.jpg

Getting down on a slippery slope
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-39.jpg

Wild shrubs growing all over the slope
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-40.jpg

Another mist covered trail
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-41.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-42.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-43.jpg

By this time, we had caught up with the other group of trekkers.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-44.jpg

We stopped to have lunch at Kavikalgandi view point. But, as luck would have it, it started rain again (I loved it) and we had to look for shelter to eat lunch. There was a bus stop on the road and we headed towards it. Kavikalgandi is a place where the road crosses the Bababudangiri ridge from one side to the other side. It is actually a mountain pass, if I can say it so.

In the screenshot from wiki, the yellow lines are the roads and the blue line is the ridge (and the trek route).
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-kkgandi.jpg

At the bus stop, we had a quick lunch (chapattis and chutney powder) and started off along with the other guys.

This was how difficult it was to put on our raincoats. We had to take help from each other to put them on!!!
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-46.jpg

We moved on for about 10 mins when we stopped. There was no road ahead!!! This was where we had stopped during our last trek. We simply did not know where to go. We actually headed back trekked on the road till it rained heavily and caught a bus to Bababudangiri. But, this time, we were determined to find a way. Luckily for us, one guy in the other group had trekked this route before and knew the way. So, we just followed him.

But, the route he was taking was so scary , that we were having thoughts about turning back. We had to climb over huge rocks which were slippery and steep. One wrong step and we would be down the mountain. And to top it up, we were carrying very heavy backpacks on our backs which added to the problems.

Climbing the rocky terrain
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-47.jpg

As we were climbing up, I noticed something moving in the grass next to me. I was startled when I saw this next to me
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-48.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-49.jpg

This dog had been following us all the way from Mullayanagiri. We thought it could not get through those rocks, but somehow it managed to accompany us all the way to Manikyadhaara Falls in Bababudangiri.

It was so windy on the ridge, that one loose raincoat could have led you off-balance and plummet into the rocks below.

Check out the slope. That platform was the only place where we could stand. We had to crawl on that to get ahead.

Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-50.jpg

The dog was totally chilled out and always waited for us before it went ahead.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-51.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-52.jpg

Another scary climb. The spot where I took this photograph had a very scary descent.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-53.jpg

An example of how windy it was
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-55.jpg

Still climbing precariously. It was very very slippery!!!
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-56.jpg
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-57.jpg

The dog could access places where we couldn’t go.
Experiencing the Monsoon - On the Horse Face and on top of KA - A Trekkalog-mbgiri-58.jpg



Continued......

Last edited by addyhemmige : 2nd November 2010 at 17:15.
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Old 2nd November 2010, 20:03   #88
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Addy

Absolutely brilliant travelogue maga. The place looks ideal for someone looking for a good adventurous trek. Pictures speak a lot, must appreciate your effort in taking pictures despite the rain, wind, climb etc.,

good work man, keep it up.

Cheers
Subs
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Old 2nd November 2010, 21:52   #89
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Addy

Absolutely brilliant travelogue maga. The place looks ideal for someone looking for a good adventurous trek. Pictures speak a lot, must appreciate your effort in taking pictures despite the rain, wind, climb etc.,

good work man, keep it up.

Cheers
Subs
No additional words are needed. i repeat what subs wrote here.
Addy, i admire the passion for the trekking among you guys. Would love to join some (less stressfull) treks with you if possible.

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Old 3rd November 2010, 10:31   #90
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subs View Post
Addy

Absolutely brilliant travelogue maga. The place looks ideal for someone looking for a good adventurous trek. Pictures speak a lot, must appreciate your effort in taking pictures despite the rain, wind, climb etc.,

good work man, keep it up.

Cheers
Subs
Thanks a lot subs. Rain, wind, climbing.....aha, the perfect ingredients of a beautiful trek. This is just my opinion, but I love trekking in the rain with the wind in my face. Nothing beats that experience. But, the downside is that you miss out on the amazing views that are on offer.

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No additional words are needed. i repeat what subs wrote here.
Addy, i admire the passion for the trekking among you guys. Would love to join some (less stressfull) treks with you if possible.

Thanks Star. These words coming from an accomplished writer such as yourself really mean something. I really admire the way you write your travelogues.

Sure, we can do some shorter treks sometime.
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