An Ecstatic Route to the Mountain - "Ramdevara Betta"

My first trek ever and it happened to be with BTC. A friend introduced me to BTC and I can’t thank him enough for recommending. The journey began at 6:15 A.M for me and reached Majestic by 7 A.M. A brief handshake with new faces & shared smiles.

We boarded the train and an interesting introductory session began wherein we had to enact our names and the rest of the members had to guess it. Heard this is a BTC tradition and oh yeah this was the most fun and interesting way to actually get along with fellow trekkers. The bonding was right there. 

We reached Kyatsandra Railway station and walk to the base of Ramadevara Betta. Oh well, the hill looked spectacular, however I was not very sure if I would actually complete the trek. A rocky terrain, with greens around. The greens are always a motivation! We had a quick session by organizers and we ramble to the mountains. 

A walk to the wilderness! To the womb of the beautiful Mother Nature!!

Random talks, heavy laughs, playful teasing between the bushes and the rocks. The trek as time passed seemed moderate and not easy at all (at least for a first timer). We walked paths which seemed new and were never walked by anyone else. None of us knew why this was getting tougher. We almost reached the peak, like almost and then the organizer who was heading the troop says” Okay...It’s too steep and not all of us can actually reach the peak through this way  ...” And few of us, apparently two of us(first timers), our reaction was a “Noooooo”

I mean come on you climbed those rocky mountains with tiny legs with all the help required from the experienced trekkers and we cannot reach the peak.

However, I was enlightened that we were lost in the mountains quite a long ago and We are the “Explorers”!!. 

You see all that smiles even when lost? Lost never seemed so good.

We trailed back and then half way we found the actual path with markings, a clear and an easier path. Now I know why the itinerary read the trek grade: easy.

The easy path took us to one of those breathtaking view ever witnessed. To one side is a beautiful pond with clear green water planted with pink flowers and to the other is a spectacular view of the Tumkur city. All of us so tired, threw off our shoes and dipped our legs in the icy-cold water and that surely was a bliss! (If anyone reading this blog, do try it).

The beautiful Pond on the top

We then had our potluck session. Well we were told to carry food and yet few of us including me did not bother to carry. But why worry when you have an appreciable bunch of folks who carried enough food for the whole gang including starters, main course and desserts. 

What’s fun without a game anyway right? No better game than the Mad Ping Pong. This game had its targeted individuals most of them who are absent-minded. Well Einstein is known for being absent-minded too. So you know all the sillies were smart.The mad game pepped us up with some dance and lunatic acts. 

It's Ping Pong Time!! 

Photo sessions, lonely times, chilling scenes, and admiring the enchanting nature- all of it together summed up our time on the peak. The Serene weather made it much more delightful.

We headed back towards the base, reached the railways station and had a feedback session. Reached Bengaluru and all drift apart to our destination. I am not writing much on the return back journey because there is nothing good in a good bye. 

There is always a time where we meet a stranger who leaves a mark in our life. A bunch of 22 strangers, from different walks of life met and made memories for a lifetime. Someday, Somewhere, Sometime and Something will definitely remind us of each other. Clock ticks; time runs and we all live a life, so we made it worth living!

Thanks BTC for this wonderful and a memorable trek which will be cherished forever. With this I sign off from my writing about this ecstatic journey to the mountains.

Written By       : Neetha Bhat

Organized By   : DG & Aman

Date of event  : 5th Nov, 2017

Place               : Kyatasandra

Pictures           : FB Album