Survivor series – Nagala to Tada (N10)
The previous day (night 12A.M) - Peter and 2 others were held up in Nagala. Myself, Divi, Baskar and Arun decided to sleep in that no mans land. Strange sounds came and soon we were in deep sleep. Morning we spoke to some villagers and they said the place where we slept is a graveyard!
Day1 - Feeling hungry, waiting for our Captain. Yes, he came with a roar in his Scorpio and finally we packed up with our gears. Believe it or not, the food we carried alone weighed nearly to 4 kg. Other than that, we carried a pair of dress, slippers, sleeping mat/bag, 3 liters of water! So, each was carrying around 7 to 8 kg of stuff on their back pack. It was very late in the afternoon and we decided to start the trek with no further delays!
The trail was excellent with full of running water all over it. For Nagala6, we conquered the 800M peak from front side. So, Peter decided to conquer the peak this time from back! We walked, walked and finally it was around 7:30 PM. We stood near an undiscovered waterfall, with flat rocks near by. When we looked up, gosh! There were fire flies (around 50) all around the area! I felt the Cinderella story true! We opened the Christmas cake, decorated it and started celebrating. Imagine @ the height of 600M+, a waterfall nearby, fire flies on top, with cool breeze, celebrating Christmas! No 5 star hotels can give this feel! Our dinner was with Mushroom soup as starter and the main course Vegetable pulav. We slept with good meal and peace.
Day2 – Woke up in the morning, had hot green tea. Started the trek a little late and we climbed the 800M peak from the back side. By afternoon, we reached on top of 800M peak and screamed! Luckily, Airtel was working there and I immediately called Ram for sharing this. Then, we messaged around 30 CTC members about this. Here comes the toughest part. We examined the trail from the 800M peak. Peter and few other lost hope as it was very far than we calculated/imagined with the topo maps! Though we know the distance, the dense forest and climate worried a lot. So, a quick decision was made among us. The captain, Peter gave us 2 options of either going right (which has water and very scenic, but a long trail!) or left (which is dry, but will be trekking throughout on top of the peak to reach the Tada hill range which is little less distance). Since we did not have enough time, we decided first to go left. Huh, when did last time CTCians lost hope? I guess it was never!!! We decided to trek on right side and came into one determination that we should exit Tada by 5PM on fourth day! But it was not easy. Dense bushes, thorns, ahh all played in our legs creating minor wounds. Nothing stopped us. End of the day, we reached another pool were we camped. Before hogging the food, we had a small discussion on how to plan our 3rd day trek as we were far behind the Tada range.
We came to a final conclusion that we should start the 3d day trek by 6:30 AM and for that we should get up by 5:00AM in the morning. Peter said that we all just talk, but no one is determined. So, we decided to raise the captain's hope on team. We had raw rice with dhal powder, ghee, Bhel poori, Vegetable soup and fish fry. Thanks to Tamal, Arun and Baskar for getting fresh fish from the waterfall and pond.
Day3 – Morning 5AM the alarm was disturbing everyone! Thanks Nani for waking up everyone! We completed all the morning formalities, had hot green tea, packed our back packs and were ready by 6:00AM. Peter was so happy to see his team's determination! We started off the trek by 6:40AM which was an initial steep, loose rock climb! Our entire mind was filled with only one thought. It was to reach the Tada hill range before evening! We climbed up many peaks and we do not even know what the altitude of those peaks was! Thorns, bushes were playing on everyone feet. But none minded about those pains. After 5:00AM, a long exhausted walk, we could see the Tada hill range. Just one peak to climb over and we do not have water also. Just a 40 minute climb, we reached the other side of the hill where we spotted the source/origin of Tada waterfall. Believe it or not, we trekked 21kms in 11 hours.
No trail. We just cleared the bushes and thorns with our boots, climbed down steep slopes, stood on numerous view points! Man that was an amazing experience. We felt how our determination and mental strength can fulfill our wildest dreams and targets! Purely, physical fitness was secondary in this trek. We all felt, mentally we were fit and that's the reason we kicked 21kms with very less breaks and no water. Each and every step we placed on the terrain was determined to conquer the Tada hill range. We slept near that waterfall, cooked maggi noodles with some chicken soup! It was freezing cold and all the 4 night camps, we literally froze by early morning 2AM. Soon, we all covered ourselves with the plastic sheet which was actually brought to pitch tent. 3rd day was very long, toughest part of trek with thorny bushes and no water!
Day4 – Nani, waked everyone by 5AM today also. Peter was still on bed as he was little tired. Tamal poured the entire petrol bottle on the woods and it blew the plastic over there. Peter woke up with this noise. Immediately, we started to pack our things and started our 4th day trek by 6:45AM in the morning. Peter was much excited as there were numerous pools on the trail. We couldn't resist ourselves to take a dip. Check the diving special pictures J Confident raised and we were on top of Tada water falls by 1 PM in the afternoon. Baskar got a bamboo pit viper and we took some videos and pictures. None was feeling hungry. I just turned people's mind about Chennai Deluxe hotel. So, everyone wants to have a tasty chicken soup, with some spicy starters. We were in full energy even on fourth day and we reached the Tada base by 4:55PM. We were on time! We messaged to all core members regarding this and kudos came from everyone. I called my mom to convey that we reached safely. She congratulated Peter and team for this successful trek.
I was happy to hear that too! Since our cars were in Nagala itself, we had to walk a long way to the Tada check post to get a transport first. Luckily we got a Sumo guy who helped us in dropping near a share auto point. We got a share auto and dumped ourselves inside. Pondering the 4 day experience everyone's taste buds were waiting for Chennai Deluxe! We hired a cab from the town and reached our cars by 7:00PM. From there we roared in Scorpio and reached Chennai Deluxe by 9:15PM. Hogged the food, enjoyed the drink and bid farewell to all. Reached home by 12 'o' clock in the night and crashed ourselves in the bed. Next day was light for me without my back pack! I need gravity!!! Kudos to Peter and CTC for this wonderful trek! Finally, Peter told this was the toughest trek ever done in CTC to till date!
I knew this this now or never, Nagala trek was the best days of my life!
Lessons learnt from this trek:
1. Punctuality.
2. Determination and goal.
3. Mental strength – this worked out for each and every step we placed on terrain even without water! Peter told it's just a mental thought that you are thirsty J yes it was!
4. Team work – helping and sharing with all.
5. Life long friendship!
6. How to make quick and sensible decisions with a team.
7. Patience was taught and panic was gone!
Write-up by: Vikram
Trek organized by: Peter
Participants: Peter, Divya, Vikram, Arun, Baskar, Guru, Tamal, Nani
Image galleries:
Vikram
Guru
GPX trail (can be used for Geotagging)
KMZ file (click to see trail in 3D in Google Earth)
Other post on Nagala 10 is here
The previous day (night 12A.M) - Peter and 2 others were held up in Nagala. Myself, Divi, Baskar and Arun decided to sleep in that no mans land. Strange sounds came and soon we were in deep sleep. Morning we spoke to some villagers and they said the place where we slept is a graveyard!
Day1 - Feeling hungry, waiting for our Captain. Yes, he came with a roar in his Scorpio and finally we packed up with our gears. Believe it or not, the food we carried alone weighed nearly to 4 kg. Other than that, we carried a pair of dress, slippers, sleeping mat/bag, 3 liters of water! So, each was carrying around 7 to 8 kg of stuff on their back pack. It was very late in the afternoon and we decided to start the trek with no further delays!
The trail was excellent with full of running water all over it. For Nagala6, we conquered the 800M peak from front side. So, Peter decided to conquer the peak this time from back! We walked, walked and finally it was around 7:30 PM. We stood near an undiscovered waterfall, with flat rocks near by. When we looked up, gosh! There were fire flies (around 50) all around the area! I felt the Cinderella story true! We opened the Christmas cake, decorated it and started celebrating. Imagine @ the height of 600M+, a waterfall nearby, fire flies on top, with cool breeze, celebrating Christmas! No 5 star hotels can give this feel! Our dinner was with Mushroom soup as starter and the main course Vegetable pulav. We slept with good meal and peace.
Day2 – Woke up in the morning, had hot green tea. Started the trek a little late and we climbed the 800M peak from the back side. By afternoon, we reached on top of 800M peak and screamed! Luckily, Airtel was working there and I immediately called Ram for sharing this. Then, we messaged around 30 CTC members about this. Here comes the toughest part. We examined the trail from the 800M peak. Peter and few other lost hope as it was very far than we calculated/imagined with the topo maps! Though we know the distance, the dense forest and climate worried a lot. So, a quick decision was made among us. The captain, Peter gave us 2 options of either going right (which has water and very scenic, but a long trail!) or left (which is dry, but will be trekking throughout on top of the peak to reach the Tada hill range which is little less distance). Since we did not have enough time, we decided first to go left. Huh, when did last time CTCians lost hope? I guess it was never!!! We decided to trek on right side and came into one determination that we should exit Tada by 5PM on fourth day! But it was not easy. Dense bushes, thorns, ahh all played in our legs creating minor wounds. Nothing stopped us. End of the day, we reached another pool were we camped. Before hogging the food, we had a small discussion on how to plan our 3rd day trek as we were far behind the Tada range.
We came to a final conclusion that we should start the 3d day trek by 6:30 AM and for that we should get up by 5:00AM in the morning. Peter said that we all just talk, but no one is determined. So, we decided to raise the captain's hope on team. We had raw rice with dhal powder, ghee, Bhel poori, Vegetable soup and fish fry. Thanks to Tamal, Arun and Baskar for getting fresh fish from the waterfall and pond.
Day3 – Morning 5AM the alarm was disturbing everyone! Thanks Nani for waking up everyone! We completed all the morning formalities, had hot green tea, packed our back packs and were ready by 6:00AM. Peter was so happy to see his team's determination! We started off the trek by 6:40AM which was an initial steep, loose rock climb! Our entire mind was filled with only one thought. It was to reach the Tada hill range before evening! We climbed up many peaks and we do not even know what the altitude of those peaks was! Thorns, bushes were playing on everyone feet. But none minded about those pains. After 5:00AM, a long exhausted walk, we could see the Tada hill range. Just one peak to climb over and we do not have water also. Just a 40 minute climb, we reached the other side of the hill where we spotted the source/origin of Tada waterfall. Believe it or not, we trekked 21kms in 11 hours. 
No trail. We just cleared the bushes and thorns with our boots, climbed down steep slopes, stood on numerous view points! Man that was an amazing experience. We felt how our determination and mental strength can fulfill our wildest dreams and targets! Purely, physical fitness was secondary in this trek. We all felt, mentally we were fit and that's the reason we kicked 21kms with very less breaks and no water. Each and every step we placed on the terrain was determined to conquer the Tada hill range. We slept near that waterfall, cooked maggi noodles with some chicken soup! It was freezing cold and all the 4 night camps, we literally froze by early morning 2AM. Soon, we all covered ourselves with the plastic sheet which was actually brought to pitch tent. 3rd day was very long, toughest part of trek with thorny bushes and no water!
Day4 – Nani, waked everyone by 5AM today also. Peter was still on bed as he was little tired. Tamal poured the entire petrol bottle on the woods and it blew the plastic over there. Peter woke up with this noise. Immediately, we started to pack our things and started our 4th day trek by 6:45AM in the morning. Peter was much excited as there were numerous pools on the trail. We couldn't resist ourselves to take a dip. Check the diving special pictures J Confident raised and we were on top of Tada water falls by 1 PM in the afternoon. Baskar got a bamboo pit viper and we took some videos and pictures. None was feeling hungry. I just turned people's mind about Chennai Deluxe hotel. So, everyone wants to have a tasty chicken soup, with some spicy starters. We were in full energy even on fourth day and we reached the Tada base by 4:55PM. We were on time! We messaged to all core members regarding this and kudos came from everyone. I called my mom to convey that we reached safely. She congratulated Peter and team for this successful trek.
I was happy to hear that too! Since our cars were in Nagala itself, we had to walk a long way to the Tada check post to get a transport first. Luckily we got a Sumo guy who helped us in dropping near a share auto point. We got a share auto and dumped ourselves inside. Pondering the 4 day experience everyone's taste buds were waiting for Chennai Deluxe! We hired a cab from the town and reached our cars by 7:00PM. From there we roared in Scorpio and reached Chennai Deluxe by 9:15PM. Hogged the food, enjoyed the drink and bid farewell to all. Reached home by 12 'o' clock in the night and crashed ourselves in the bed. Next day was light for me without my back pack! I need gravity!!! Kudos to Peter and CTC for this wonderful trek! Finally, Peter told this was the toughest trek ever done in CTC to till date!
I knew this this now or never, Nagala trek was the best days of my life!Lessons learnt from this trek:
1. Punctuality.
2. Determination and goal.
3. Mental strength – this worked out for each and every step we placed on terrain even without water! Peter told it's just a mental thought that you are thirsty J yes it was!
4. Team work – helping and sharing with all.
5. Life long friendship!
6. How to make quick and sensible decisions with a team.
7. Patience was taught and panic was gone!
Write-up by: Vikram
Trek organized by: Peter
Participants: Peter, Divya, Vikram, Arun, Baskar, Guru, Tamal, Nani
Image galleries:
Vikram
Guru
GPX trail (can be used for Geotagging)
KMZ file (click to see trail in 3D in Google Earth)
Other post on Nagala 10 is here
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