So nEAr Yet sO fAr... A tALe of wRong rOUtes!!!!

I thought we made it this time and was waiting for a scream [outburst of joy & satisfaction] from d one who made it to the top of the hill first but that scream never came and was heart broken to hear "Wrong route!!!"..........

This weekend 7 of us thought of flagging our presence on top a hill called 'Ettina Bhuja [EB] [Shoulder of an ox]. It was a good idea to have a change from this polluted n ear deafening environment. EB is around 35Km far from a very famous [in and around karnataka] holy place called 'Dharmasthala' [Land of Lord Manjunatheshwara].

We left Bangalore at 11:15pm [KSRTC bus, Friday] headed Dharmasthala [DS]. We had no problems in getting tickets to this place even though we booked the tickets same day. We reached DS at 6:15AM the next day. Weather was not so cold but a jacket would be necessary [if not for DS, surely for EB].

None of had really been to Ettina Bhuja before. We had prepared ourselves by reading printouts of some blogs on EB by people who had been to this place. The route to the tip of EB was supposed to a easy trek according to some in our group. We carried two tents capable of accommodating 8 ppl, food for the night [MTR ready food], some vessels, Snacks, chocolates, bread-butter-jam [for lunch & breakfast], jackets, bedsheets, torches & salt for leeches.

Actual trek starts from a place called shishila. Its easy to find a bus or a jeep to this place from DS. We managed to get none of them though. We had our breakfast [@6:30] in a hotel in DS & headed to a place called Kukkhoda [18Km from DS and on the way to Shishila]. We reached Kukkhoda in no time and took a jeep to shishila [We had to pay Rs200 for the jeep ride]. We were all red & brown by the time we reached shishila [@8:15AM] as the road to shishila from Kukkhoda was under construction and it was all red soil throughout which is expected at this part of Karnataka.

Actual trek to EB would begin from a place which is around 7Km interior to Shishila. We could have taken the jeep till this place but since we were all enthusiatic & professionals [:-)] we decided to walk to this place and we didn't even took a guide. We started from Shishila at 8:20AM. What we thought would be the last house before we hit the trek trail was never the last house. We knew from the blogs that the trek trail starts after crossing last house. Each one of us carrying were carrying a backpack weighing minimum 4-5kilos [most of the weight was coz of 2lt water bottles that we were carrying] and in addition to this we carried tents in turns which weighed 5-6Kg each.

We knew that we would hit Kapila river where we had planned to take bath but this river never arrived soon. After a walk for 90minutes or so we came across Kapila river. All of us were relieved. At last, source of water & the beginning mark for the trek. We were on right track we knew as we reached the river as expected. We took bath here. River wasn't deep with water about waist height.

Filled out bottles and left the place after taking bath as soon as possible as we had planned to reach the top ASAP. After walking for an hour or so we came across a falls. Eve though there was no trail leading to the falls we managed to get to the bottom of the falls by making our way through and plants. We were there for 10-15 mins and were back onto trekking trail. Soon we found out that the trail wasn't a easy one as expected. The forest was thick with the land covered by dry leaves, small stones & loose rocks sometimes. Wearing shoes, jeans and full sleeves is advisable as we came across many thorny plants. I was wearing sandals for the trek like a dumbo and had to pluck 5 thorns outta my toes today.

It was 12:30PM now but we couldn't feel the heat as we were always under shade. Thanks to thick forest & long trees. This turned out to be our disadvantage as we never knew which direction we were headed. We just followed the trail. We hit a point where the trail ended & we were lost for the first time. After a discussion for few minutes about the possible place where we could have taken the wrong turn we trailed back for 10mins and took the other trail which we believed was the right one. 30 mins passed & guess what..... We were lost again. Rested for few minutes this time. The trek was getting more adventurous now. It was about 1:45PM now. I started feeling tired. It was more because of carrying weight I guess. Trail was not much tiring till now for few as they are regular trekkers. But for me, I was just waiting to see the plain land where we could unfold our tents.

We started our journey again. We hit a small stream this time where filled our bottles & continued. The trail got steeper & steeper which made all of us feel that 'we are almost there' but the steep never ended. At last, we could see the trail ending and a very steep land leading to open space. We started climbing. The path was slippery as there were many loose rocks and the weight on our shoulders made it more tougher to climb.

Few enthusiasts from the group reached the top. I thought we made it this time and was waiting for a scream [outburst of joy & satisfaction] from the one who made it to the top of the hill first but that scream never came and was heart broken to hear "Wrong route!!!". What was more devastating was that we could see that the hill [Ettina Bhuja] which we thought we conquered was standing right in front of us. Goddamnitt!!! we thought. We had climbed the hill opposite to what we were supposed to climb.

All of us sat there, heart broken. It was 2:45PM. All of us decided to have our lunch and then figure out the possible route to EB. We had bread butter-jam for lunch. It was already 3:30PM. Few of us went to explore the path to EB and after few minutes we were behind them continuing our quest to conquer EB [which was not so tough trek]. After a walk for 30mins, guess what.. We were lost. Everything was against us that day. Every effort to be on track went futile. It was already 4:30PM when we decided to head back to the "last house" and then back to Bangalore. Even though we never came down through the same route [most of it] which we climbed we reached the "last house" by 6PM. None of us had enery to walk 7Km to Shishila. More than energy none of us had enthu after a very disappointing walk throughout the day. We inquired about the jeep till DS from that house. Jeep was there by 6:30PM. We wished adieu to 'Bhuja' & headed DS. We thought it was over but nope.. Jeep broke down this time at about 14Km from DS. Luckily we managed to find a bus.

We reached DS, did 'Devara dharshana'. Had free dinner at temple & headed back to Bangalore. Reached Bangalore @ 6:30AM [Sunday].

Even though we couldn't reach the top of Ettina Bhuja or camp over there or put a camp fire or see the sunset from there or the sun rise in the morning the trek was a adventurous and memorable experience... It was fun