One Day Trekking to Kunti Betta 11.2.17
This was my first trek with BTC. I arrived
at the meeting point early and met Ashish, who was one of the organisers of
this trek.
Everyone arrived before the designated time
and we could proceed without any delay.
We reached the platform and our train
arrived in a few minutes. We scrammed to beat the crowd and secure a seat for
everyone.
There were 25 of us, but we managed to
squeeze into just 2 adjacent compartments. Once the train started, we had a
formal round of introductions. We had trekkers from many parts of our country.
Then followed the traditional round of dumb
charades to kill time till we reached Pandavapura. This day will probably go
down in history as the day it took the better part of an hour to guess a film
title, which was a whopping 38 words long!
Having disembarked at Pandavapura, we hired
a few autos to drop us off to the base of Kunti Betta. Suffice to say, the ride
in the overcrowded auto was an exhilarating one.
We started the climb at just after 10. The
trek was relatively easy and everyone managed to keep going. We made frequent
stops in shaded areas to take pics.
Whenever there was a tricky section,
BTCians rose to the occasion to ensure their teammates cleared the obstacle
safely. And there were quite a few obstacles along the way.
https://youtu.be/RuraaEsYiRM
With winter almost at its end, the sun was
bearing down on us relentlessly. By the time we reached the top, the sun was
overhead and we were all huffing and puffing, which left us hunting for shade
under the rocks.
After catching our breath and relaxing a
bit, Ashish and Pavan taught us the game of Ping Pong (no, not table tennis).
It backfired though, since some of us teamed up and made it our mission to get
the organisers to lose and dance/sing for us! :D
Lunch was potluck, everyone shared whatever
they'd got with everyone else. This was followed by a group photo session on
the hilltop.
Soon, it was time for us to head back down.
Some of the tricky uphill sections were even trickier when going downhill. Once
again, team effort ensured everyone got down safe and sound.
https://youtu.be/5FAB8auxq3Y
Every trek is a learning experience, and we
did learn a lot about our own individual capabilities. And how to improve upon
them.
The most memorable moment, for me at least,
was the very end: sliding down the rock for the last dozen or so metres. Seemed
like the inner child came out of us all.
https://youtu.be/CMDQdGp8pB4
The auto ride back to the railway station
was even more fun, with one auto running out of oil and another one stopping
coz of a loose spark plug.
All in all it was amazing to have spent the
day with an amazing bunch of people who understand the value of being
environmentally responsible, while at the same time making sure there's never a
dull moment.
Thanks to the organisers for taking care of
everything, and thanks to everyone for making it an amazing experience!
Looking forward to the next adventure with
BTC!!
PS: Kudos to everyone for actually putting
the No Littering, No Smoking, No Drinking rules into practise!
Other videos:
https://youtu.be/NKdjpilk0UI
Written By : Niranjan
Organized By : Ashish & Pavan
Date of event : 11th Feb. 2017
Place : Kuntibetta
Pictures : BTC FB Page
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