Dabbe Falls and hike around hosagadde

         Come long weekends and it is very tough to resist the temptation of going out on treks. After our Goa plan got postponed we (Ashwin, Sharath, Vicky, Kris and myself) decided to go on a trek to Kanoor kote. The travelogue of Kishore Moorthy and the info on dream routes were the only information resources for us about this place.

         We started from Sharath’s place early in the morning and reached Kargal by 12 noon. Hired Mahesh’s sumo and headed to Kunijaala in his sumo. We were also accompanied by Narasimh (a police man) and a few others of Mahesh’s friends. The chat along the way and the forests we went through was sufficient to make a good ride.

From Kunijaala through the dirt-ridden tracks in the forests we got a drop till ‘Nayakara mane’, which is around 4-5 kms from there. On the way we also came to know about ‘minus’ a new slang worth knowing if you are interested to go around these places?. Here began our trek!          The rain this year has been good in these parts and its very evident by the lush greenery everywhere. We cross a few streams and reach a good waterfall for our first big break. The waterfall though is very small and safe leads to one bigger fall on the other side of the bridge. After a few snaps, we headed on the same path to ‘Gowdara Mane’, a well-known place there. I was also lucky to catch a glimpse of a water snake. Gowdara mane is amidst thick forests a few acres of cultivated land. The place against what it name suggests belongs to Manjesh Jain and his family. After unloading our bags we began to trek down hill and it was tough.         The steep and the inclination made it hard to climb down. The forests are very thick and carrying a rope would have helped but not to be this time. From Gowdara Mane itself the sound of the waterfall can be heard clearly and as we began to climb down this became very strong indeed.The first view of the huge waterfalls made us all scream with joy. It is a great scene to watch any waterfall in its full glory and this was a tall one. From this point to the base of the waterfalls was even tougher to go and it was almost like getting down a huge steep rock .         Thankfully it did not rain for it would have been near to impossible to trek down in rain. Its easier to trek when the shoes is not wet as one gets the grip on the rocks. I did venture to get close to the falls and feel the freshness of the water sprayed from it. Ooh don’t I miss that!!!

The climb up was tougher but quicker than expected. As the sunlight faded away the forests became more and more darker making us loose our way more than once. We managed to reach our base camp before it was totally dark though. There was no electricity, which meant we had to rely on the kerosene lamp that Manjesh gave us. Quick rest and a good meal - it was time to sleep. There was also an enact of the popular e tv crime story ‘thanksOo’ episode.. :)          Just a few stories of the non-existent and there were a few tremors. We took a snap of the ghost amongst us and man that looked scary. Night around 4 30, I woke up to find that some one was pointing a torch towards the roof. I thought that was Manjesh and got back to sleep but after some time again found that the torch light was still stuck to the roof. Then I started wondering what that could possibly be. Mahesh and his friends earlier warned us that there were quite a lot of bears in these areas, but how could a bear point a torch light on to the roof? It took me a lighted matchstick to realize that it was just an opening and that was a sky. Earlier that night (amavasya night) as there was a kerosene lamp it was not noticed.

With the help of one of the locals we managed to locate Mahadev Nayak’s house. It was described about this person in the article and so we wanted to find more information regarding the path from him and finally reached his house at around 12:30. Unfortunately he was not at home. We decided to find Muktihole with the directions that his family members can provide. We dumped our entire luggage at his place and just took a sack with cameras, water bottles and some food & proceeded towards Muktihole (following directions given by his family members).          Early morning I went on a walk around the place into plankton garden and the paddy fields. The early morning freshness and sunrise amidst the mountains made it very memorable. I feel whenever we travel or trek around we should get up very early and have a walk around that place, more so when the region is hilly.

         After having an MTR breakfast we headed towards hosagadde. The hike passes through flowing streams, small waterfalls, grass top hillocks and lush green paddy fields. First we reached Mr.Masti’s place and met Mr. ChandraShekhara Bhatta there. He insisted that we also stop at his place, which is on the way as it was the festival day (Balipadyami). At his home we met his family comprising of his parents, wife and son Vasantha. The time spent at his place was a very good experience. They are so content about what they have and the way they lead their life. Forget TV or phone there is no electricity in these places, but the sense of satisfaction pervades everywhere and throws up a lot for us all to learn.

         After having some tea and banana at their place we walked up to hosagadde bus stand and took the Durgamba bus to Sagar. After a festive meal (thanks to sharath’s mom) and a walk amidst bursting crackers we caught a bus to reach Banagalore the next day.

Though the plan was to go to Kanoor kote 2 days were not sufficient, so that leaves us to plan for one more trek around here say some time next year, with lots of info and of course a very good experience behind us.