Blast from the past :: Donigal to Yedakumeri (sakaleshpur rail track) trek

Trekking Date: Sat, 20th Nov 2004

It was 5 in the morning, windy and cold, could barely see in the dark. I was running up and down the national highway (NH-48) in search of two morons (Kamath and Binu). After the futile search came back to the point where we all were suppose to meet. Ramu was still in the same posture, dozing on a roadside bench. On to the right side of the road there was a slightly steep ascent leading up to an abandoned railway station. As a last resort we went up only to find no one. The station was in total ruins, missing doors, broken windows and some scattered documents. Railway track itself was in no better condition. This scenic rail route in the western ghats was not used for at least a decade now thanks to all the lobbying by bus/truck owners. But this was a blessing for the trekkers, trek from Donigal to Yedakumeri is one of the dream routes. Special in it's own way with tunnels and bridges.

When we first heard about this not many of us knew of this route. After a few days of planning and getting some useful tips it was time for some fun. We packed food enough for a feast. Since all of us were working in the same company there was no problem coordinating. At about 10 in the night we boarded a KSRTC bus going towards Mangalore. It was scheduled to arrive at sakaleshpur by 2AM!!! This was the place from where we had to find our way to the railway track. If we miss the stop we'd doing a baywatch instead. Luckily for us the conductor was kind enough to stop the bus at many places to pickup the passengers. This kept at least one of us awake all along. We got down at the new sakaleshpur bus stop but there was nothing new about this 'new' bus stop. Some souls do get down at the old bus stop to find themselves walking in the dark for at least few KMs.

After a few attempts to sleep on the bench guys quickly gave up. Donigal station was further 6km from this place. We had to somehow kill the time until it is 4AM then catch a shuttle (referred to a bus that stops at every conceivable point) to manzirabad port. Here we had some eggs at a roadside hotel also enquired about the railway station. "illinda eradu kilometer agutte" (it is 2KM from here) said one hotel boy. But we were not to believe this, by this time we had come to a conclusion that the people around here have a different unit for measurement. From here any place is just 2KM down the road!!! We had no option but to hitch a ride. We made a decision, can't remember exactly who, to split up in a filmy style and meet up just below the station. A decision that would cost us few precious hours.

7AM and still no sign of these guys. We were sufficiently warned to start the trek by 6 or be prepared to stay in one of those bat infested tunnels. Though it sounds adventurous it was definitely not an option for us. We returned to the highway to see Kamath searching for us. After a few verbal exchanges finally the journey began.

It was my first time: Having lost at least an hour we began marching on the track. Initial 30 minutes were uneventful. One could hear the vehicles at a distance and the noise made as we stepped on the stones. After a while we could see a bridge at a distance. Track was bit slippary due to early morning dew. At some places the metal peace joining the sleepers were missing. We could hear a stream down below but couldn't judge the height as it was covered with thick vegetation. After a photo shoot kamath and ramu decided to cross first. Now it was my turn, being acrophobic didn't help much, mustered enough courage to take a few steps. There are few rules to crossing such bridges, never look through the sleepers, never look sideways and never lookup to see how much you have covered. I didn't follow any of those. Now I was in the middle of the bridge with my legs refusing to take another step. It took a lot of convincing and a few crazy guys laughing at the other end. I finally crossed the first bridge.


View from the bridge


Just another one

Soon enough we crossed another one and it was time for our breakfast. We ate few pieces of bread with jam, some rolls, banana chips and dates. For a while we encountered only small bridges which did get us used to them. All along one can get a breath taking view of western ghats to the right side of the track. It gets even better when you are on a bridge. Beautiful vegetation, streams roaring 200mt below (you can get a great view at some places where the sleepers are missing!). But none of us could enjoy this. Most of the time we were only worried about the next step. Inside the tunnels though it was a different story. Torches that you carry can only help finding your next step. Some of them are so long and winding it is hard to see the other end. Inside the tunnel one can hear the bats and the dripping water, perfect setting for a horror movie. As we went along we could see at some places expansion work was in progress. New concrete sleepers were replacing the old rusty metal ones. Though this is a trekkers dream route we did not see many people. At one point, I think it was just after a tunnel, we saw few guys taking a break. Here tunnel was immediately followed by a long bridge. So I decided to take a leak, as I did that I could hear those guys giggle and laugh. May be they thought I saw scared. By this time I was so used to these bridges I could almost walk with my eyes closed, assuming that the bridge was in good shape. They stopped giggling the moment I stepped onto the track, I never heard them afterwards.

The end or was it? After crossing series of bridges and tunnels we finally reached the destination, Yedakumeri. This station was no different to donigal except that we could see some souls. It took us just 6 hours to reach here!!!. The previous batch had taken almost 12 hours, may be because they had a much bigger group hence many varieties of monkeys to manage:-) We had our lunch here. We shared some of our food with a bog! but little did we realize that it will be there with us till the end. From here all we had to do was to take a route down the hill and reach NH48. One old man there suggested that we go with a guy and take a lorry to get to the highway. This was a wonderful news. We don't even have to walk. Immediately we said yes and followed him. Soon after we realized something was wrong.

we: where is the lorry?
guy: you have to walk some distance
we: HOW MUCH???
guy: 5-6kms
(that's the distance to the highway, why do we need a lorry after that?)
we: how do we go?
guy: same route
(He meant more tunnels and bridges. We knew that from this point bridges are going to be longer and higher.)
we: No..no..we don't want that route. We want to go down the hill. How do we go?
guy: You can go this way (he pretty much pointed nowhere). Only problem is you'll have to cross a neck deep stream (Near by there was a hydro electric power station, they leave water in the afternoon). You might see some elephants also. I heard that one male elephant is on the rampage.

Soon enough we were crossing those long bridges!

Dude, Where is the track? This route was straight out of hell. Many places the track just disappeared beneath the soil, in the woods. We had to do lotta out of track excursions. Having know that the unit of measurement here was screwed up, we prepared our self for another 6*2km trek. Missing sleepers no longer bothered us, if they are missing what the hell just jump. We had to reach the highway by nightfall at any cost. Sleeping in the tunnel was not an option for us. Soon afterwards one more moron joined our "guide". I had to literally run behind them just to make sure that we know where they are going. Having crossed another long bridge me and Binu decided to wait for Kamath and Ramu who were slightly behind us.

guy: saar, did u see the snake?
we: what snake? (casually)
guy: It crossed right in front of you. It went inside that pit. I'll pull it out you can take a picture!!!!!!

Me and Binu looked at each other in horror. It took a lot of convincing to calm the guy down.


Where is the track?

Everything that can go wrong will go wrong - Murphy's law: As we approached Gundy our guides went a bit ahead. We were totally lost among the crowd of construction workers. We forgot to ask their names, at least did not remember, also forgot how they looked like. There was no sign of neither the lorry nor the guides. Frantically we tried communicating with the workers. Fact that they didn't know the local language made it harder. Slowly it descended on us that WE ARE STUCK here for the night!!! It was already 5 in the evening. Here again we had to make a choice. Take a route that is used by the lorry, approximately 10km and frequented by elephants in the night, to the highway. Climb down the hill, which is pretty steep, and cross a stream (if we manage to go past the elephants). Neither of them looked enticing. At this point we were rushed into a near by tunnel (this is when we realized that the lorry was waiting here!) as they were putting some dynamites to break the rocks. They exploded with a loud bang.

some guy: Don't come out yet, some of them failed to explode.
binu: May be they are waiting for us to come out.

By the way things were going us since morning, I thought it was quite possible.


View from Gundya

Moon light dinner!: Here we met a guy called Mr Naidu. He was looking after the construction work. He offered us a place to stay. We were still not sure where? Once it became dark, it was a sight to watch. We had a stunning view of the moonlit western ghat peaks and the stream below. It was worth all the trouble and the pain. I really don't think many people would have had a chance to do this. We had enough food in reserve so really dinner was not a problem. Just them we heard someone say that the food the ready. Was it for us? No way! What are the chances that we get stranded in a mountain and some total stranger offers us a place and makes food for us. One in a million...may be even less. But it just happened. Our dinner was set under the moonlight with the backdrop of the ghats. How much one can pay for this? After all everything that happens is for good. Food was so amazing it was hard for me to resist eating more. But out of courtesy and constant reminders from the other folks I finally stopped. We were still wondering about our sleeping place. It was already prepared. Since lot of inspection happens during the construction work, they had prepared a hut using the bamboos. Inside it had a cement flooring. Few feet of the group was our bed supported by bamboos and covered with bed sheets. It was totally shielded from the cold wind. It was heaven, we all had a sound sleep that night!


Our bedroom

And finally...: It was morning. The view was no less spectacular than the previous night. By 9 our lorry was ready. We bid adieu to all, kitchen guys and Mr. Naidu, and started our final leg of journey. Just when we thought that nothing else can go wrong something happened. Half way through we noticed that a tree was uprooted mostly by an elephant. It was blocking our way down. All attempts to pull it using the lorry was in vain. Again luck was on our side, on the other side was a jeep waiting go up. We switched sides and reached the highway without any incidents. From here we got a bus to Bangalore. The trip was finally over, though nothing went according to the plan it is a trek that will be remembered for rest of our lives.


The final twist

Quotes of the trek:
(One of the construction worker): Once the track is ready it will be easier for you to come here!
Our "guide": It (snake) went inside that pit. I'll pull it out you can take a picture

PS: This trek was done almost a year ago. I really had to dig deep to get the facts out.