Day 1: 25th dec. We planned to start sharp by 6 am and for a change I was up by 4 am. Called up ady and shobhit to check if they are awake. Everything was looking positive till boys didnt called back by 6 and later on told me that due to lack of bungee chords every thing got delayed. Finally we managed to leave mekhri circle 1 hour late around 7 am. I was doing run-in for my bike so decided to stick with ady as he was also going slow. We re-grouped at kunigal for breakfast, it was intro time for as 4 of us didnt know each other. After bonding and sharing the bill we decided to head towards sakeshpur. Sometime on the way tarun decided to rip arjun's lightening and engine got heated. We had to wait for 30 mins to let it cool down and we were losing the time which was bad as we had to pitch tent for which you need day light to scout the area.
Second regroup was sakleshpur where same bikes tyre went flat, while shobhit left to get mechanic we decided to have lunch, over lunch we decided that 3 of us will head for kudremukh before it becomes dark and will pitch the camp of others too. Here I have to recall ady's kaminapan, he always knew that we are not going to pitch our tent but he still wanted to photograph and ride in the sunlight so he said lets go. So akshay, ady and myself left to kudremukh via mudigere, kalasa. It was bad patch of single lane road with lot of bends till mudigere which pissed me off to the core.
Anyways we reached kudermukh town getting drenched and it was already pitch dark. We decided to checked into old guest house which has lost its charm after iron ore company was shut down. Shobhit and other two joined us half an hour later. The guest house was horrible, in fact it was depressing but once we decided to down few pegs, everything was fine and things started lighting up..
One day still no camping, thats why we were doing this trip remember. Rode till chikmagalur was serpentine, at one point of time it was getting boring. Finally we managed to reach chikmagalur around 4 took SK border sringeri, aldur.
There are joyous celebration after all six of us were re united and we packed food, headed towards baba budhangiri where we wanted to pitch our tent. With fading sun and dark cloud we spotted a grassland in foothills and decided to pitch our tent there itself.
Akshay overshot us and he went up the hill. Later we managed to contact him and found out that he is safe and sound. Within mins after pitching our tent it started pouring. We decided to drink, party in one tent Ady and shobhit got even with eachother with PJ's, hugs and kisses. But the show stealer was tarun, he literally murdered everyone one after one. Finally with lot of loud drama and funny moments it was time to hit the sack in our respective tent.
With fear of naxals, wild animals and locals I still managed to grab good sleep in my tiny world where I was safe and dry while it was pouring outside. I was really comfortable inside my quechua T2 tent. Best part was i could hear the rain drop falling so close to me on the tent but still felt safe and I was dry and warm in my sleeping bag. I knew then and there that I have to do this camping thing again and again.
ALL IS WELL, and next camping trip to kolli hills. Learning tips; if riding group is splitting then no matter people should stick to the plan. Personal learning tip - get a rain gear, I rode for 10 hrs straight in rain :(
But all is well !!!!
