Conquering Agasthyamala

It all begins with a dream. A dream to achieve something, a dream that shows you achieved something, a dream that keeps your passion burning to achieve something.

Five peaked mountain next to Agasthya (pic from net)

My tryst with the mighty Agasthyakoodam standing 6,129 feet began many years ago when I spotted the range of mountains that I knew to be the Western Ghats from my old school. On a clear morning, you could make out the outline of a picture perfect mountain flanked by his lesser siblings. The second highest peak in Kerala and home to the great saint Agasthya of the Sapthrishi who as instructed by Lord Shiva came down from the Himalayas to bring balance to the world. Renounced as the patron of medicine and healing, his blessings have enriched the pristine valley of this mountain with over 2000 herbs of immense medical value including the near mythical ‘arogyapacha’(Trichopus zeylanicus), the elixir of youth.  

Random pic from net to look cool

Seeing more than enough of NatGeo and Discovery in my childhood and being an ardent worshiper of things adventurous, I wanted to scale that peak since the day I left the couch. My buddies Sujith and Govind was in with me for the adventure while Mr Sinham Vijayaraj brought in his entire clan of a dozen men for the trek. I assured Govind that I will secure the online passes for the three of us and I screwed it up. Finally Simham & co got the passes for 23rd, myself for 24th while Govind managed to get one for him and Sujit on 25^th. My initial idea was to join the others by booking for another day but then my dear wife asked me not to be a cat (an unruly synonym was used there).

On a misty morning at 7.15AM, I rode into Bonacaud forest picket worried that I am late for the reporting time and ran to the desk. I completely overestimated the ability of government servants and waited till 8.30 for the morons to show up. Meanwhile I had a breakfast of cold porotta and packed our lunch which weighed a ton (big mistake).

Once His Highness the moronities of Forestry showed up they began the exercise of checking  the ID cards, our paperwork and finally our bags for things they like for banned and illegal things. In my bag they discovered a Swiss knife that had a blade just long enough to scrape off the dirt under your nails as a dangerous weapon and confiscated it with the promise to return it after the trek. Maybe my looks reminded them of Riddick !

This dude trekked all the 60KM barefoot and he
meditated like a log for almost an hour  

By 9.15 we as a batch of twenty guys lead by a guide Mr Thrupati left off the camp toward Athirumala base camp some 18km away. I befriended Mr Rajesh Ganesh, the hermit like publisher, Mr Manika Vasnanan, a veteran of the Himalayas, both from Chennai and Mr Chilapathy Kumar a startup business man from Andra. 

We quickly reached the first and second camps and at Karamanayar decided to halt for a dip. This is not the Karamanayar you know but the real deal. I being a bit scared of water decided to stay on shore while the rest had a blast in water; hours crept by and finally we had lunch at the bank of the river itself. By now the Sun was all guns blazing over our heads and I could feel it hammering down on me. 

The Grasslands and the death of my Bata sandal

The expansive grasslands was his playground where we had no shade to hide and no shadow to run, just walked and got roasted. The one recess that nature provides us is at the middle of the grassland a patch of forest like an oasis and the one recess the men provide us is a thatched shed atop a hill just before the plains ends and the true hills begins. My LifeStraw was indeed a life saver for me as it unburdened the need to carry water that weighs a kilo every liter and keeps increasing on every step I take. With the LifeStraw all I have to do is find a puddle of water, collect it and sip through the straw and it gives you water 99.9% pured of bacteria and protozoa (hope so).

Athirumala Basecamp

A series of tough technical climbs followed and Mr ManikaVasnan developed a snag in his knee and we slowed down to a crawl and by half past three we lumbered into the welcome sight of Athirumala camp. We settled into the allotted shed with our humble grass mat and ran out for the first proper view of the mountain peak. It looks monstrous with the cliff side facing us. A behemoth that had stood the elements for millions of years and would do so long after our ashes are scattered across by the wind. More than awe or terror, I felt a humility creep over me as I though how insignificant I am in the greater scheme of things.

‘Dude, how is it possible to climb this?’

I turned around to meet the Banglore trio of Ashtosh, Jeeva and Amithab who will soon be my team to scale the peak.

‘Right now there is someone at Everest basecamp staring at the Sagarmatha wondering the same thing’ I smiled.

Right then we decided to join forces for the rest of the expedition. Dead tired I went and had a nap till someone shaked me off my mat screaming the dinner is about to be over and I hurried to find my team mates. Mr Rajesh was on a veranda giving a small sermon to a cluster of  guys and I stopped listen. He talked in a calm, composed and self-assuring way in deep voice that resonated many things that I have read. But hearing them someone say  aloud filled me with a sense of tranquil that one seeks below banyan trees. A few minutes later, we had a dinner of rice porridge, payar, lemon pickle and went off to sleep.

Sometime in the night I was waked by an extreme chill that crept up my spine. I still don’t know if it was the cold night, the howling winds or was that the desolate soul of the place that woke me up in that ungodly hour. I twisted and turned for may hours listening to the torrent and the hurricane raging outside and sometime in between I drifted off to sleep.

Hike to the Summit

The plan for the next morning was to join the young guns from Banglore to ascent the peak as early as possible but the call of nature and the fact that only two working toilets were available spoiled my plan. The Banglore trio left by 7 am and myself scrambled off behind them by 7.30. In the walk – jog – run, I saw plants thrashed by boar/elephants, claw marks on the trees by bear/leopard/tiger ! and even the sight of a tree denuded of its bark presumably by a pachyderm. I crossed may streams and my biggest fear was that I might step on a hamadryad and that would be the end of my adventure. Finally an hour and half later, I reached a plateau called Pongalapara where the trio were taking a break. I had a quick bite of my breaklfast and stashed the rest for later and followed the guys up the peak.

The true technical ascent (for my standard) begins from here. We crossed couple rapids, went through the famed AC forest, named so due to its bone chilling temperature, Muttidichinala, the ruiner of your knees and finally the ropes. To our dismay, we found one of the ropes broken and had to spent quiet a while to figure out a way to climb up the rock. It was here my team mates learned that woodlands just make you look cool but are absolute trash on the rocks. They slipped, fell, bruised their knees and ditched off the shoes and from on then went barefoot. My trusty kalenji ekiden50, the 500RS running shoe held well even though I managed to find myself on my butt on couple occasions. Three ropes and lots of peeled palms later we struggled on to the summit of the roof of Trivandrum.

The first thing you notice is the wind that attempts to plunge you down the 2000 meter abyss, then there is the trees, all stunted to give appearance of a well manicured natural bonsai garden. And in the middle of all this, an ancient idol of the great saint Agasthya stood. Couple tribals offered prayers on our behalf and gifted us the sacred ashes while myself the self proclaimed atheist stood with folded hands and bowed head at the source of wisdom that dwarfs all that I have learned.

One great disappointment that I had was the five peak mountain next to Agasthyamala was completely shrouded in mist and could not be seen and I asked the tribal helper there if there is a chance that the weather may clear. I told him that it was something I wanted to see most desperately in this trip. He smiled and replied,

‘Then this mist will not clear today, Swami wants you to come again next year, he is still not done with you and when he is, your wish will be granted’

The Peak, its view and the bros back at the basecamp

The return journey was a much different story, we rushed back to the base camp in around half time it took to climb, packed our bags and grabbed the pass while running out of the camp by 2.45pm. Govind and Sujit had now reached the camp and greeted me. I followed the Banglorians as fast as I could but chasing guys a decade younger than you is not that easy. Couple hours later my left knee started paining like hell and my speed was dropping at an alarming rate. By then a tribal employee of the forestry joined me and urged me on, as he was on sweep duty on that day. His job is to get the last of the trekkers out of the forest before dark. I raced ahead and caught up with my team and we soon overtook two other crew trying to race against the approaching shadows. By around 6.30pm the sun dipped and then I understood what primeval fear is. Pitch dark with a plethora of noises and scents around us that puts a Hollywood horror to shame. We huddled together and moved as fast as possible and by 7pm, I could make out the distant lights of the Bonacaud camp. I climbed up the last ditches, hugged one of the Banglorians and sank to the floor. Its been two days, 60KM and in that 30KM nonstop hike including the brutal 8KM ascent to summit. 

‘Bro this is the life!’

Sri Rajesh Ganesh, one of the most illuminated men I have ever met

psss: remember the Swiss knife the forest guard took for safe keeping? Well the fucking moron stole it. I don’t know his name but he looks a bit dark, thick mustache, thick build and ~170cm high. If you see him on your trip to Agasthya remember he is a thief and don’t let him near your stuff.

pssss + : Planning to trek to Agathyamala? travel light, carry a potable water filter, one pair of dress is fine, a change of underwear preferable, blanket, painkillers, ORS, lightweight rubber shoes or sandals with ankle support. most importantly a couple of guys who is more sensible and stronger than you.