Now you see me, now you don't... was the status of the Avalanche Camp right
till the last minute, as members continued their tight-rope walking, torn
between the lure of adventure and the weight of other commitments... So the
Club also did a balancing act (pun intended!) - and decided to take off by
jeep with the couple of dutiful souls who had confirmed fairly(!) ahead of
time! It was a no-frills, no-fuss, take-it-as-it-comes outing, perhaps a little
more adventurous than most...
The drive up to Ooty was like the beginning of a bad comedy show, with the
jeep behaving like a bucking filly - and putting the Major through his paces!
But the Major kept his cool, the group was game, the mood upbeat, and the
hospitality enroute excellent!
Ultimately, we hit the road to Avalanche on the morning of the 24th, and were
immediately transported to another world - misty mountains, dense sholas,
vast blue lakes, crisp invigorating air... By noon we were at the picturesque
Avalanche Trekking Shed, and it was time for some real excitement.
The next three days had an out-of-this world, unreal quality, with a series
of jeep rides and walks that took us through lush, almost impenetrable sholas,
planted wattle and pine forests, grassy mountain slopes dotted with flowers,
bubbling streams and rock springs... and of course, wildlife - hare, deer,
a group of foxes over a kill, maybe a mountain goat.
Most memorable, of course, was the 18 km trek across four hills to the microwave
tower at Kolaribetta, with rain clouds chasing us all the way, and the Major
and his missus reminiscing about their honeymoon trek to the same place aeons
ago! An impressive climb of some 250 ft, and what a sense of achievement when
we looked back - on our return - at the heights we had scaled!
Equally exciting
was the bumpy trek(!) oops, jeep ride down to Mukurthi (what was intended
to be a trek turned out to be a thrilling jeep ride thanks to the presence
of feral buffaloes). Here we stumbled upon the house and tombstone of Richard
Radcliffe, the man who has worked so much for the conservation of the Nilgiris.
Behind Radcliffe's house, we discovered a lovely shola, with the sunlight
barely reaching the ground, mosses and ferns on the trees, water gurgling
everywhere... Silently we revelled in the beauty of it all, treasuring the
moments, painfully aware that the future of such sholas is threatened...
Also memorable was our visit to the village of our Toda guide, who had made
our treks so fulfilling. We felt honoured by the hospitality of our Toda friends,
and posed with them for pictures - outside their traditional Toda hut, with
traditional Toda shawls and all!
Other memories linger. Of an adrenalin-filled night walk (without torches) through the jungle... of driving round a steep hairpin bend and almost bumping into a fluffy, dusky pink cloud... of a lush, serene Mudumalai unharassed by tourists... of watching a python lazily crossing the road... of Ooty chocolates guzzled hungrily... of the hospitality of our hosts in Mysore and Bangalore... of a holiday quite unlike any other...
When's the next long camp? - I want more details.
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