Chembra Summit - Trek Notes
Clicked in November 2005 / Chembra Trek (*album) / the team - Vasu, Sudu, Venky & Satz
I woke up later than I intended, around 0545hrs. As I maneuvered my way out of the tent, others woke up too. We each took care of some basic bodily functions and cleaned up. By 0630hrs we headed off to the peak. The route was fascinating and took us along the spine of the mountain. The mist was thick, but it cleared every once in a while giving us a splendid view of the lake and the campsite. As we hiked, we split into two teams - ones who wanted to reach the top quickly, and those who wanted to take their time. The route was obvious and we were armed with walkie-talkies, so we remained in constant touch as we hiked.
Venky and the guide lead the way as I followed, informing about landmarks and route via the radio to Vasu and Sudu who were taking their time, enjoying the sights. Sudu managed to usher Vasu to keep the pace, and finally everyone made it to the top within minutes of each other. The mist was all over, so we were in a cloud and that left us with little photo opportunities. Then suddenly the clouds seemed to clear and the sun came out giving us a view fit for the gods. We were truly above the clouds. The humidity, a trickle of sweat, the chilling wind and air as fresh as it could ever be… the sensations made us all high. The one sound that could distinctly be heard was the sound of all our cameras clicking. The guide sat down and opened up the umbrella (I had given to him in case it rained) and all our eyes fell on him as it became the perfect prop. Each pursued the scene with his camera and tried his best to land different compositions. Once more debates ensued regarding conflicting camera settings and it ended with many more clicks. Feeling ecstatic and proud everyone had a big happy grin stuck on their faces, a sign of success for a trek.
After a while, some of us decided to head down while some chose to stay on and pursue possible photo opportunities. The guide and I headed towards the camp. Once there I set about drying the tent, which was a hard job as the sun was still hidden. I wiped it dry and aired it out. With that done, I set about dismantling it in portions as the guide took care of getting water and put it up for boiling. I now shifted my attention to making breakfast. It was noodle time, as we had finished all the bisebele bath, etc. the day before. Once done, the guide and I helped ourselves. Slowly I could see Venky and Satz climbing down the trail. They came down, sorted some of their stuff and ate their share of the breakfast. We saw other parties heading to the peak that day. Some of them were German women, so we had some fun pulling Satz’s leg as he was taking German classes back home. Finally, everyone was back at campsite and I realized the breakfast I cooked fell short of Vasu and Sudu’s appetite. Unfortunately the guide would not allow us to make another fire because he was in a hurry and we were camping there unofficially. If too many new parties that were hiking that day noticed it, that would make trouble for him. I set about packing while others took a nap and decided to pack later.
By afternoon we headed back. The guide took us down through a shorter but a more treacherous downhill route that made my knees scream. After a few hours we managed to reach the tea estate at the base where we met the forest guard and settled our permission issues and payment. A jeep that had brought the foreigners was there waiting for them. We struck a deal to take that jeep till Meppady after which we hopped onto another vehicle and headed to Kalpatta. After looking about for a decent lodge we hit the PPS lodge there and relaxed. It was still early evening. Bath, discussions, food, beverages and some TV kept us occupied till late night. As it neared 2300 hrs, we headed of to the bus stand. We could not all get seats on the same bus, and ended up split between two buses. As we waited we took more pictures. Venky set about trying some interesting highway shots over long exposure, and they all came out well. The buses finally arrived and we parted ways, deciding to meet up in Bangalore sometime later in the week. That marked the end of an amazing trek in Wayanad, Kerala.
