Taming the Mustached Leopard Hill.

All my hiking trips are well organized, planned and prepared ones. My buddies include guys who have more forest and hills under their boots that what the everyman have in his entire lifespan. I am often the baby of the group and depend on them for a safe and comfy trek. But on my recent hike to Meshapulimala, the second highest peak in Kerala, it all changed. This time I am to lead a group of 52 kids with almost zero hiking experience to one of the most challenging routes in Kerala. What could go wrong?

The plan was to start the trip from Munnar to Suryanelli (yes the infamous one) by 6am, cover the 12KM track through low hills and tea plantations in 4x4 jeeps, reach the base camp at Kolukkumala and ascent the final peak by 8am so that we can take our sweet time doing the hike and be back at our resort for a late lunch and a nice rest. As always the plan got blown sky high.

We left Munnar after a light bite of bread (yuck) and biscuits to prevent any visceral projectiles during the rough ride in the 4x4 by 10am. The jeep guys were waiting for us with seven sweet rides and we began our ascent to the base camp. Each jeep held eight people; I was in the lead jeep driven by Mr Ebin. He had been driving this route for the last 24 years and had a lot of stories to tell from the days of the British raj to the present day. As we moved higher, the terrain got more unruly and we were thrown around in the jeep like rags in a washing machine. Ebin seems to get a high out of our screams and did a few tight corners and skids to spice up the ride. My primary concern was not that the jeep may nose dive to 4000 feet below but someone sitting behind me might throw up on me! Sorry kids, I did not trust your guts then.  

                 

           

According to Ebin the hill is actually called Meesha-pullu-mala which means the hill of the mustache grass and was wrongly quoted in the mallu flick Charlie as Meesha-puli-mala, meaning the hill of the mustached leopard. He even went on to claim that he have seen leopards, deer’s, wild tuskers and bison’s run rampage through these grass lands numerous times.  In his wisdom I learned that the tea plantation was established in 1905 and is expected to have a life of 400 years. Out of awe I plucked out a bunch of leaves and was about to chew them and Ebin shouted at me like I have caught a snake.

“No saaar, don’t eat. It’s full of poisonous chemicals they sprayed!!”

“What ? Are these not fresh leaves from the highest tea plantation in the world?”

“Yes saaar, but the real organic ones are fully exported. They sell the sprayed ones in India”

How reassuring. We kicked out the British to handle these plantations to the MNC’s. The workers here still break their back for a day’s pay; we drink the toxic tea while the foreigners enjoys organic cuppa. I marveled at our progress and freedom.

We reached the base camp at 12.15Pm and I quickly instructed the kids to travel in groups and never alone. Further I selected few boys of able mind and body with a sense of responsibility to be our rear guard. Their duty was to make sure that they were the last ones and no one lags behind them, while I would be the guide and travel ahead. As we started I had the feeling that we would soon split into many groups but I was not worried as I had faith in the guys behind. A group of around 10 girls were on my heels and we quickly covered the first one kilometer only to know that the others have already lagged much behind. Unfazed we walked on as the climb and the chance to slip began to get steeper. Slowly the kids in our group stared to drop to catch their breath and join the main body while we labored our way ahead.  

Half way into the hike, I was left with three girls while Shamaz sir decided to quit the climb and rest his legs. The path ahead was very steep and the soil crumbled below our feet threatening to roll us down. Anisha threw away her sandals and stared to go barefoot for a better grip. I was skeptical of this move but the few foreigners who we met on the ascent clapped and looked at her in awe. Slowly we inched and rested our way up on to that lofty mountain. I kept on motivating the kids with stories of bravery and determination and pointed out how awesome they are to attempt this hike. I pointed out that we haven’t seen a single girl on this trek yet other than them and they were truly pioneers.

Ascending a particularly steep slope and an acute turn, I spied the peak what was around 100m away. I turned and told Anisha and Devika, 

“ So who is going to be the Edmund Hillary of SSDC?”

Both of them increased their speed and managed to reached the peak in a matter of minutes. I have climbed many hills and I always felt elated when I touch the peak but this time it was different. A sense of achievement in me reflected the grit of these first time hikers who did the impossible.

After a few minutes a few more kids joined us on the peak. The fourth person on the peak was a Akshay while the podium positions were taken by the girls. Few selfies later we began our descent and on the way we met the rest of the group in various stages of ascent. I encouraged them to keep going and advised them to stick together. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had an uneasy feeling that I may have to climb back here again but I ignored it. 

We took a detour through some thick jute forests to avoid a slippery climb and got back to the base camp without incident by 4.30pm. In my calculation the rest of the group were around 1hour behind us and should reach back by 5.30Pm.

Minutes and hours tricked by so did the black tea in my cup (hopefully not the toxic one). It was now past 5.30 and there was no sign of anyone. The shadows grew long in the fading light of the dusk as did my worries. When the sun was about to exchange his position with the stars, I could no longer wait and I decided to head back into the mountain.  My first climb was systematic with a stick for hiking pole, knee braces to minimize the impact and safe threading on the uneven terrain to avoid injuries but this time I was in a mad dash to get back to my kids up there.

“Saar don’t go alone in the dark up there. There was a leopard sighting last week”.

Now what I felt was a different kind of fear. It was a battle between fear of myself being alone in the dark probably staked by a leopard against the thought of my students afraid and lost in that mountain. I picked up a stick for support, lighted up my mobiles flash and ran for it. In the darkness I saw many shadows stalking, some slithered as I almost stepped on them while a distant howl sent a primal chill down my spine. I don’t know if all these were real or tricks played by my troubled mind, but at that moment they were all real for me. I shouted the names of the students as I ran panting and out of breath. I watched in awe as the moon rose in all his glory and the silhouette of the mountains gave the perfect foreground for the splash of stars which we called the Milky Way.  I spied a shooting star cruise and disappear behind the dark giants and I made my wish for the safety of my kids.

Somewhere far off I heard someone shout my name and I saw multiple flickering lights coming towards me. I hurried up the rocks and tripped on a root landing face down; luckily the only thing injured was my pride. Brushing up and collecting the stick and my mobile, I ran up the last ledge and there to my immense relief found the kids scared but super excited.

“Sir, we had the greatest time of our lives.  It was so scary and the risks were huge. Some of us slipped and fell couple of times and we all helped each other “

“This is the most memorable day of our life. It was so adventurous and we never felt so close to each other ever”

“Sir, this is how life is to be lived. So huge risks, but our guts and the force of our friendship helped us to do this”

My god, they were so excited. Sacred, yes but even more happy. Some sported small cuts and bruises but the grin on their faces was even more evident. The sense of achievement of conquering the second highest mountain in Kerala, trekking through the highest tea plantation in the word under a star lit sky while stalked by an imaginary(?) leopard; well how else can you feel alive than this?

On reaching the base camp I once again counted the grinning faces to ensure that none are missing and proceeded to the jeeps waiting to take us to our dinner and a warm bed. My rearguard guys have done their job well. They took care of their friends in my absence in the most admirable way. On our way back rocking in the 4x4 I looked at the gem splattered sky and wondered that how lucky we were to enjoy this pristine land. I asked Ebin, how do the people survive here with no electricity or medical help and in constant fear of animal attacks?

“Saar, the spirit of the mountain look after the ones who comes to him.”

Probably it was Ebin’s spirit who looked after us after all.

PS: Its been a few days, and this is how I remember the day. Okay, maybe I have dramatized it a bit, but the story remains the same. This is the greatest hike that I ever had.