Kodur - Talakona Trek - The Helluva Trek :)

Kodur - Talakona Trek: Trip Log

Members: 17 (Trek organized by Chennai Trekking Club, ‘CTC’)

Start time: 10:30 PM, Friday, 18^th Jun, 2010

End time: 05:00 AM, Sunday, 21^st Jun, 2010
Total travel: 300 Kms (Train) + 50 Kms (Jeep) + 40 Kms (WALK)

Total expense: 1200 INR/head

What went great:

- One Helluva of the trek

- Adventure at the peak: It had everything Night trek, forest officials, cave pool splashes, stream crossing, gorges, the rain, flash floods, staying awake virtually all night, very slippery rocks, gigantic waterfalls, amazing gorges, lost in the forest, heavy rain, dinner and so much more. (Copied from Tamal’s mail)

- Flash flood: Leaving I actually enjoyed it

- Great team. Even first timers were far better than the earlier trek I went.

- 2 very li’o’vely girls ;)

Pain points:

- No rest and brisk walk

- Forgot my rainy suit.

- Lost in jungle during the end trail

Total duration: 2 days + 3 nights

Going: Chennai Central station (10:50 PM) à Renigunta Junction (2:00 PM) à Kodur by Jeep à Trek from Kodur (4:30 AM)

Coming: Kodur à Talakona à Renigunta à Chennai

Weather Conditions: Full of rain/Pleasant/Sunny

Vehicle: Train, Jeep
Photographers: Rafi (Major photography contribution, most of the pics shown are taken by him), Shekhar, Varun...will add more once people share the pics :)

Prologue:

After having an unstoppable fun for 1 year during my MBA, I am back to the job once again. A break was much needed to fill the gap of missing all fun. Kodur-Talakona trek was among my next targeted treks…so guess what I registered to the trek as soon as I saw the mail. Soon my colleagues, Dipendra and Shreyans, both first timers to CTC, also registered.

18^th Jun, 2010

Chennai Central station, Chennai à Reningunta

22:30 hrs – Reached to Chennai Central Railway Junction, Chennai. Greetings, Hi, Hello!! Hmm..all look so happy…let’s see :D

22:50 hrs – Train started. Chatting with Shekhar and Dipendra. Don’t know when I just dozed off.

19^th Jun, 2010

Renigunta Junction (2:00 PM) à Kodur by Jeep à Trek from Kodur at 4:30 AM

2:00 hrs – Reached Renigunta. Put bags in jeep. Had tea

02:45 hrs – Alok and Rafiq arrived from Bangalore

3:00 hrs – Jeep start

4:30 hrs – Trek start from Kodur forest area

Team pic at beginning

So happy? ;)

JB: A very nice guy

08:00 hrs: Lazying around. 

Caught by forest guard: 

At 7:30 am, when the team took a pit-stop for small refreshments a forest guard caught us and didn't let us enter into the forest area without permission. Finally permission granted after 1.5 hrs of the request from all kinda people and authorities on call. thanks to Pawan, Tamal and all other guys who made it happen. :)

Inside the deep well.Can you see the depth...?

Entring into Pandora island (Remember movie Avatar)...i mean forest entry

Tough crawl

The First pool

Fun @First pool

Margot: Picture perfect

Rafi in full mood!!

Shreyans: Don style

Alok: Ashoka style

Dipendra having fun @first pool

Shekhar: Ultimate photographer

Passing through a large cave

Spectacular gorges near to the first pool

Pawan: Hell of a trekker

Suicide point!!

Glory!!

'Dil Chahta Hai' time

Another beautiful small waterfall

Luie and Gatien: ULtimate guys

Team work for crossing the 2nd pool

The camping point. Chakraborty and JB busy in catching fresh water crabs for dinner. Behind (in between the 2 guys) there is the kitchen!!

The Flash Flood....: 

Finally at 6:10 pm, we decided to put our camp near to a small but beautiful water stream. The stones were pretty much flat there which make them ideal for taking rest at night. So few of our gourmets started preparing the meal which started with hot n sour + chicken soup, then to delicious khichdi + soyabean n potato gravy :D... what a treat!!...it 'became' the most delicious meal I ever had...after working out for whole day long what else could you wish in a beautiful but lonely jungle!! BTW Rafi, JB, Chakri also caught 5 big crabs which incidentally they never cooked...guys were too tired to cook anything and too full to eat anything more i guess !! :)

Dinner finished by 8:30 PM, went for sleep in hope for taking a good rest after a real work out whole day!! 

But the real adventure was yet to come...at around 10 PM rainfall started...it started pouring all over...everyone started running towards small caves for shelter...damn!! we will have no rest in this trek...reached 1st "master" cave - HOUSEFUL, RUN...2nd cave - Shit it's too small to accommodate more than 1 person, RUN...3rd cave - By this time I was completely drenched...ok some place to sit...but water is still coming all over...Loie sitting beside me...sat for 15 min while Rain god was pouring water on our head and under our feet...heavy rainfall started...

ME: phew!! Loie this place is of no use now...let me go outside and check other place...plz give me your torch.

Went outside for exploration and got one more very very narrow  and scary cave after climbing some more. I was scared because of a high possibility of some king cobra sitting in the cave...waiting for fools like us...anyways got Loie along with me and crouched for around 1.5 hours inside the cave...BTW the cave was better than earlier but not water proof again...so water was still dripping over my head...:(

^20th Jun, 2010

Rain became too low (drizzle) at 12:30 AM...Loie and I came out of the cave to straighten our back...suddenly there was a loud noise of water gush...we put our torch on the water stream...damn stream was becoming swift and lot of water was gushing in....Tamal almost screamed - FLASH FLOOD...take all your stuff...run for the high place. Within 30 seconds or so...water was in full rush and almost 3-4 feet high.. Most of the guys went for higher place (luckily it was near to main cave)...Rafi, Pawan and I were left behind at our old small cave and didn't want to move as the "master"cave must be houseful already...water stream was very near to us so we kept on watching water stream...as one more Flash flood would have been enough for a nice batching of 3 of us ;)...so till 4:30 AM we kept watching the stream while taking quick nap in between...Bored...at 4:30 AM we also moved to master cave/bedroom area...where all people were snoring and sleeping happily on/in the water :D

I also took out my mat...put on wet place full of water....SPLASH!! and I was also sleeping on water. 

Morning everyone was discussing thrilling FLASH FLOOD and topic became a great time-pass for all of us...LOLzzz...Lifetime experience!!

One of the beautiful waterfall at the trek

Enthusiasm!!

Tamal arguing with naked guys!! For what...?? ;)

Fun time!! Reached at the source/peak of Talakona waterfalls/trek

And we got LOST:

Well as topic itself says that this was a helluva trek...so ending of the trek could not be so easy...YES we got LOST during the end trail of the trek. After reaching to the source (one of the source) of Talakona stream we were required to descend back...it was a dense forest with shrubs and bushes everywhere. We started going back at around 12:30 PM

Walk Walk Walk - 30 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking some rest

Rest for 2 min as Tamal (grp leader) was calculating the directions

Walk Walk Walk for 10 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking rest

Rest for 2 min as Tamal calculating the directions...

Tamal - Guys we need to fall back...as this is the wrong way!! 

Laggards - What the hell...first of all you are running like hell and then you got us on the wrong way...

Tamal - Let's go back...

Well no choice for any one of us!! :D

Walk Walk Walk for 30 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking rest

A water stream came...2 min rest

Walk Walk Walk for 30 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking rest...

Rest for 20 min!!

"Tamal - Guys we are LOST

All: !@#$#$#$%$^%$&^$^%&%$$%#$%!@#!$@#$%$#%

Laggards: We will die now...we are out of energy and water..we can't go back...

Wise people: What are the option?"

Tamal: We have to go back from where we started and then I may search for the right trail...moreover we need to be near to the water source for survival..so let's not delay and start asap.

Make sense!!!

Walk Walk Walk for 30 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking rest...

The old water stream came..10 min rest...this time we filled water bottes...for any kind of emergency.

Walk Walk Walk for 30 min...Laggards shouting for becoming slow and taking rest...

30 min rest as Tamal and Pawan went for searching for the right trail...once they came back...they asked to us to go back towards the source of Talakona stream...basically the place from where we started at 12:30 PM...

Walk Walk Walk for 20 min...and we reached back to the same place...

By this time it was almost 4:30 PM...

Tamal and Pawan went for search while others took some rest...I got ultimate massage from Rafi...:)

at 5 PM...Tamal came back...

"guys i found a trail which must be the right path...we may all go together on that path. What you all say?"

NOBODY AGREES...most of them them tell that they should first confirm 100 percent and then we should go but then it will take toll of the time!!

Finally after persuading the laggards...the team started back for the new trail...Let's hope this is the right way

Walk Walk Walk for 30 min...and YIPPIE we got the right trail!!

Rainbow while coming back...saw after a long time

Rest for 15 minutes and there was around 6-8 kms more to walk...but at least no risk of getting lost now...!!

Walk Walk...now it started raining again...walk walk rest...completely drenched...walk...walk...it was getting dark...dawning...

Now got thousands of stairs to descend while raining...phew...it was tough..especially for me who have problem in my left knee...(accident 2 years back)

Finally reached to Talakona waterfall (main) which was huge and beautiful...it's a famous picnic and tourist destination...unfortunately were not able to take any pics due to heavy rainfall...

Walk walk...reached at the place where jeep were supposed to come...but they were not there...Reason: it's almost 6:30 PM...while this place is abandoned at 5 PM by forest authorities...so 

Walk walk for 2-3 kms more...suddenly I got a cramp in both of my legs....and then the walk became among the most difficult walk for me...anyways somehow managed the finish...:)

Jeep arrived...had dinner...bid the bye to Blore guys (Rafi and Alok)...reached to Reningunta station at 11 PM...train at 1 AM...waited at platform while it was raining heavily...I was wondering...if we would have been there at the place tonight as well...we must have had confronted a Tsunami....:)

Anyways took some rest...then caught train at 1 AM...don't know when I jsut slept...Chennai station came...woke up...Team cuddled and huddled...and broke up...keeping an unforgettable moments we passed with each other...

Awesome time guys!! Missing the trek and you all!!