Date: Sep 8, 2007
Mission: Trek to Mullayanagiri-BabaBundangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmangundi in 2 days
Prologue: Having got lost last time enroute to BabaBudangiri that too without a camera, this time we went there well equipped with a camera as well as a good mental picture of the Google Earth map of the trail. We had decided to trek to Sarpadari-Mullayanagiri-BabaBudangiri on day 1, BabaBudangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmanugundi on day 2. We 4 of us (me, Raghuram G, Raghuram L, Gins) were in Chikmagalur at 4.30 am on Sat, Sep 8th after travelling from Bangalore by Rajahamsa. Raghu G was the only other guy apart from me who were part of the group that made an unsuccessfull attempt to reach Bababudangiri last time. Gins suddenly remembered that he has got some serious work at his company and said he had return to Blore by Sunday but we decided 3 of us will continue to Kemmangundi from BBgiri. Raghu G had arranged for rented sleeping bags.
Day 1
As last time we bought monkey caps and bargained hard for an auto at ~6.30 am in front of KSRTC bus stand. Auto fellow dropped us at Sarpadari and warned us of very slippery path as it had rained all along. We started at 7.15 am and after ~15 mins I discovered that it was different than last time. Even though there was thick fog
there was no wind. Gins who had braved trekking without any jacket was the happiest. True to auto driver's word the path was very slippery. I was falling behind as I was carrying the heaviest rucksack with food for everyone for 2 days inside it. We arrived at ~60 deg incline where the rest 3 carrying light rucksacks on their back went ahead, climbed and moved ahead leaving me on tenterhooks. I called Gins back to take care of my rucksack and only after I said it had food for everyone he gave a helping hand. We went to the cave just below the peak before entering the small fort with a temple and priests house inside it at the peak at 8.45 am. This time we had carefully planned to avoid brea
kfast at the peak by having it in Chikamagalur and were satisfied with coffee.
One more group arrived which was a mix of some people who had come up via Sarpadari and others who had arrived comfortably in a van. As we prepared to leave, the priest demanded an extra contribution towards the temple along with the money for coffee. We left Mullayanagiri at 10.15 am. We were really missing the wind which had made the steep descend soon after the peak look like a matter of life and death last time with capability of being blown away. Bu
t the thick fog was there all through the way till we reached KavikalGundi, the point of road intersection. We halted here for a while to munch some sandwiches added with Raghu G's copyrighted PJs.
We decided to skip the scariest part through the cliff and instead walk on the road till Atthigundi as it would have been very slippery on the thin ridge with cliff ! Midway Raghu L lost patience of walking on the ro
ad and decided to cut short and reach the ridge. After some steep climb we hit a patch of forest. There was way around the patch of forest to reach the ridge but Raghu L's enthu to enter any damn forest found us making way inside this dense patch of forest with leeches on the legs and thorns on our jackets and skin. After ~30 mins we came out intact and with some moderate climb we reached the ridge where we found the path from Kavikalgundi via the cliff. We rested for a while and continued northwards till we exactly came to the same point where we got lost and returned back last time ! But again Raghu L's enthu to enter any forest came to the rescue. Last time one am
ong the group of 7 had entered the patch of forest to come back perturbed telling that it lead to suicide point. But this time we entered the forest and came out of it after sometime to find a path leading out. Now luckily the fog got cleared and we could see the microwave tower just on the side but on the higher side of mountain. I felt guilty of having missed it last time but such was the thickness of fog that we couldn't have spotted the tower. We continued the path assuming that it will circumvent the mountain and lead to the tower but came back as it was leading away from the tower. We climbed to the tower station along the mountain slope on all two hands and legs as a slip would mean rolling down to the base of steep 
Budangiri mountains ~1000 mts below at break-neck speed.
We entered microwave station at ~3 pm to catch the Ind-Eng cricket match and have some bread slices. The guard at the station was very friendly. We left the station at 3.30 pm as Gins had to catch the last bus to Chikmagalur from BBgiri which was at 5 pm. We walked along the jeep track through the thick fog and arrived at the tar road. We visited Manikyadhara falls and reached BBgiri at 4.30 pm. We had some
snacks at one of the two tea-shop present in BBgiri. With Gins hell-bent on departing, Raghu L who is also Gins's co-employee lost all enthu for 2nd day's trek to Kemmangundi and started finding vague reasons like getting lost in the fog (which was a possibility though), food ration, non-availability of guide etc. As an answer to his prayers, a guide whom we found at BBgiri asked for Rs. 1500/day and we had to abandon our 2nd day plans.
We caught the 5 pm bus, had dinner and loafed in and around Chikamagalur till 10 pm. We caught Rajahamsa to Blore and reached Majestic at 4.30 am.
Mission: Trek to Mullayanagiri-BabaBundangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmangundi in 2 days
Prologue: Having got lost last time enroute to BabaBudangiri that too without a camera, this time we went there well equipped with a camera as well as a good mental picture of the Google Earth map of the trail. We had decided to trek to Sarpadari-Mullayanagiri-BabaBudangiri on day 1, BabaBudangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmanugundi on day 2. We 4 of us (me, Raghuram G, Raghuram L, Gins) were in Chikmagalur at 4.30 am on Sat, Sep 8th after travelling from Bangalore by Rajahamsa. Raghu G was the only other guy apart from me who were part of the group that made an unsuccessfull attempt to reach Bababudangiri last time. Gins suddenly remembered that he has got some serious work at his company and said he had return to Blore by Sunday but we decided 3 of us will continue to Kemmangundi from BBgiri. Raghu G had arranged for rented sleeping bags.
Day 1
As last time we bought monkey caps and bargained hard for an auto at ~6.30 am in front of KSRTC bus stand. Auto fellow dropped us at Sarpadari and warned us of very slippery path as it had rained all along. We started at 7.15 am and after ~15 mins I discovered that it was different than last time. Even though there was thick fog
there was no wind. Gins who had braved trekking without any jacket was the happiest. True to auto driver's word the path was very slippery. I was falling behind as I was carrying the heaviest rucksack with food for everyone for 2 days inside it. We arrived at ~60 deg incline where the rest 3 carrying light rucksacks on their back went ahead, climbed and moved ahead leaving me on tenterhooks. I called Gins back to take care of my rucksack and only after I said it had food for everyone he gave a helping hand. We went to the cave just below the peak before entering the small fort with a temple and priests house inside it at the peak at 8.45 am. This time we had carefully planned to avoid brea
kfast at the peak by having it in Chikamagalur and were satisfied with coffee.One more group arrived which was a mix of some people who had come up via Sarpadari and others who had arrived comfortably in a van. As we prepared to leave, the priest demanded an extra contribution towards the temple along with the money for coffee. We left Mullayanagiri at 10.15 am. We were really missing the wind which had made the steep descend soon after the peak look like a matter of life and death last time with capability of being blown away. Bu
t the thick fog was there all through the way till we reached KavikalGundi, the point of road intersection. We halted here for a while to munch some sandwiches added with Raghu G's copyrighted PJs.We decided to skip the scariest part through the cliff and instead walk on the road till Atthigundi as it would have been very slippery on the thin ridge with cliff ! Midway Raghu L lost patience of walking on the ro
ad and decided to cut short and reach the ridge. After some steep climb we hit a patch of forest. There was way around the patch of forest to reach the ridge but Raghu L's enthu to enter any damn forest found us making way inside this dense patch of forest with leeches on the legs and thorns on our jackets and skin. After ~30 mins we came out intact and with some moderate climb we reached the ridge where we found the path from Kavikalgundi via the cliff. We rested for a while and continued northwards till we exactly came to the same point where we got lost and returned back last time ! But again Raghu L's enthu to enter any forest came to the rescue. Last time one am
ong the group of 7 had entered the patch of forest to come back perturbed telling that it lead to suicide point. But this time we entered the forest and came out of it after sometime to find a path leading out. Now luckily the fog got cleared and we could see the microwave tower just on the side but on the higher side of mountain. I felt guilty of having missed it last time but such was the thickness of fog that we couldn't have spotted the tower. We continued the path assuming that it will circumvent the mountain and lead to the tower but came back as it was leading away from the tower. We climbed to the tower station along the mountain slope on all two hands and legs as a slip would mean rolling down to the base of steep 
Budangiri mountains ~1000 mts below at break-neck speed.We entered microwave station at ~3 pm to catch the Ind-Eng cricket match and have some bread slices. The guard at the station was very friendly. We left the station at 3.30 pm as Gins had to catch the last bus to Chikmagalur from BBgiri which was at 5 pm. We walked along the jeep track through the thick fog and arrived at the tar road. We visited Manikyadhara falls and reached BBgiri at 4.30 pm. We had some
snacks at one of the two tea-shop present in BBgiri. With Gins hell-bent on departing, Raghu L who is also Gins's co-employee lost all enthu for 2nd day's trek to Kemmangundi and started finding vague reasons like getting lost in the fog (which was a possibility though), food ration, non-availability of guide etc. As an answer to his prayers, a guide whom we found at BBgiri asked for Rs. 1500/day and we had to abandon our 2nd day plans.We caught the 5 pm bus, had dinner and loafed in and around Chikamagalur till 10 pm. We caught Rajahamsa to Blore and reached Majestic at 4.30 am.
Cost per person : Rs 660
