I am going to share my monsoon adventure happened in the month of July, yes the month of rains and a beautiful viewer of nature. Fortunately, my birthday is in July and i wanted to do something adventure, special and unique this time.
I started from my home and Mangalore to Kudremukha is around 100 kms. So yes, i decided to have a new adventure, solo trek on my birthday.
How to reach - Private vehicle is recommended. Buses are not end to end. For any peak treks, it is only allowed if you are in groups, otherwise forest department will not allow inside and no entry ticket will be given. Either you can reach the check post before 6 AM in the morning or do a overnight stay on a previous day.
Trek Distance - Kudremukh peak trek is 11 up and 11 down kms which around 21-22 kms in total. There are no stays available up there so this has to be done in a day. It is recommended to start your day early so that you can reach back early and rest enough.
Trek level - Moderate, it has straight and steepy way.
I started from home the previous day to avoid any last minute challenges. I went solo and had booked a troupe called Dhiksoochi Adventures. Once i reached i stayed in a homestay, had food and was going to sleep and realized that in a few hours it is my birthday and guess what, Airtel network does not work there and i realized "No birthday wishes calls or messages" this time but with all strangers and guess what i got a surprise at 12 with biscuits, chocolates and candles put together for my birthday and i was totally mesmerized.
Next day, i started my day for my trek starting to get the tickets, the homestay was 8 km away from the starting point, the muddy roads were slippery due to rain and was a roller coaster ride, then we had breakfast and started our trek journey around 9 AM.
It was slightly raining along with sunshine showing me way and beautiful waterfalls, meadows and what not.
This was the first glance i got to see after climbing. On the way i crossed many streams with full force water.
For sometime, it started raining heavily, full of fog and got windy. We had to wait for a while because of sudden bad weather.
Got to see a natural Heart shaped landslide.
Took a pause to breathe, took a pause to reflect.
Taking few pauses, enjoying the rain, getting wishes from strangers, sharing my adventure stories and enjoying my own company, finally reached the peak.
I also carried a small cup cake to celebrate my birthday myself which i ate after reaching the peak.
Once i reached the peak, i had that feeling which cannot be expressed and started drizzling. I also got a surprise wishes from all my group members, other group members who reached there. I was super happy.
Now its time get down before it gets too late and enjoy the evening with the sound of the river beside my homestay.
It was bit tiring because of bad weather and windy, leeches on the way. Beware of leeches on such treks.
