118) Shivagange Trek: (5/11/2015)

By Karthikprabhu03 @karthikprabhu03

Place:Shivagange Trek.   Distance: 60 x 2 = 120kms.Directions: Bengaluru – Nelamangala – Dobbaspete - ShivagangeParticiapants: Deepak (Deefu) > Karthik (Sp).Bikes: Pulsar   Previous visit: Manchinbele& NG Lake
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:This was an excellent trek we carried out on a weekday. This was the 2nd trip of November in the first 5 days. We had truly under-estimated the this trek. The battle with the monkeys saw some tense moments. Nevertheless it was a good day to end with. And a new hill under our belt (Remember last time, we hadn’t reached the summit)
INTRO & PLAN:The last visit to this place had ended bad, as we could not climb till the top due to a ferocious monkey gang attack. But this time I was pretty sure I could reach the top. As far as the planning goes, Deefu had his weekly off on Thursday for some weeks. So, I applied for a leave at office and asked whether he was up for a trek. After he gave a green signal, I asked Ashok & Dattu as well. Once the it was no, we both decided to head out.It had been 4days since the major breakthrough with Manchinbele Ride with Arun.TIME: 22:00 (4/11/2015)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:Yeah I was up at 05:00, did a push ups & sit-ups, had a cup of coffee and sat back listening to Doors. After about 1.5hours I left home, as I had to pick up Deefu. I reached Malleswaram at and waited for Deefu near his home. Deefu was caught up with some work and after an hour delay he finally arrived. After Deefu arrived, we left Bangalore.TIME: 09:00
  
RIDE 1: (Bangalore- Nelamangala – Dobbaspete - Shivagange)This was a 60kms ride, on the smooth highway of Tumkur road. Not much to write about the ride as it was a very short one. We started off slow initially chatting and riding cautiously. After passing Parle factory we rode a faster pace to spot Shivagange afar. Then we pulled over at our regular hotel for some light breakfast.TIME: 10:00

After the breakfast, we rode back a few meters and took a right turn. We could spot the hillock from quite some distance itself. After riding slow we parked our bikes near the temple below. With the mountain goat’s spirit wide awakened within us we were all set to conquer the hillock.TIME: 11:00
SHIVAGANGE TREK:

As far as the trek goes, I would say I had underestimated this trek by huge amount.It took pretty good toll on our energies with all the steps to ascend and at the same time to shoo off the monkeys which kept coming at us. We took 1hour to ascend, this my friends includes the war with the monkeys. Like always, I have divided the trek into the following sections:i) Initial stretchii) Battle Monkey Stretchiii) Final StretchSo, what do you think. Try to keep up with me, here all!
i) Initial Stretch:So, the trek began in full josh. Jumping on stairs and boulders, but soon all those stone steps began to take a toll on our knees. There were shops throughout this stretch. I was on a constant look out for monkeys, but nothing turned up.We did find a huge crab on this stretch, when we tried to play with it using a stick, the stick snapped. It meant business, (guess it had woken up on the wrong side of the bed) As we meant no harm, we continued to reach the Shiva & Parvathi statue.

ii) Battle Monkey Stretch:Well, my guards were up. I knew something fishy was just around the corner. But yes, we continued further and said hi to both Shiva & Parvathi and continued the path to the top. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere a fat monkey came right at me. I was taken by surprise and freaked out and made a run for it up on the steep stone stairs. And the monkey (guess what?) caught hold of my jacket and bag and was floating in the air trying to make its way up from behind. Once I got rid of it, it signalled its friends to join the “human bash up party” as well. 
I turned behind not to find Deefu anywhere. After sometime, Deefu came walking calmly without getting worked up at all. I realised the bag was what provoked the monkeys. Without the bags, humans I guess are invisible to the monkeys at Shivagange. Hmm, we had to find an alternate method. This was pretty easy for Deefu, he picked up a stick, and continuously hit on the railing. The sound and the sight of the stick, kept the monkeys comfortably afar. Finally we reached another bunch of shops where we gulped down 3-4 cups of buttermilk and were ready for the final stretch.
iii) Final stretch: Alright, the final stretch. It looked pretty intimidating. A narrow stone pathway that ran right up a steep rock face to the summit. And yes,we could see a lot of monkeys resting and inviting us over. Deefu and I both were not used to steps, it always wore us down faster than the steep rock faces we had ascended. But we had no choice we kept on pushing ourselves to the top and kept two sticks in our hand. Monkeys kept staring at the stick, it didn’t even bother about the bags now. After about 15mins we reached the top.TIME: 12:00
TOP:

As we reached the top, a dog came wagging its tail right to Deefu. It became a quick friend to both of us and followed us to the shop on top. Here we both picked up water bottle and gave a biscuit packet to our new found friend. After eating, we went around exploring the place. The dog became a good guide taking us to places and chasing away all the monkeys that tried to come near us. After visiting the Shanthala drop, we rested back in the shop for another drink speaking the shopkeeper about the crowd and his business.After sometime, we decided it was time to head back.TIME: 12:30
  

CLIMB DOWN:The climb down was a smooth one, with one good intermediate stop in between. It took us about 1 hour to climb down as well. As we began climbing down the trick was simple, keep a stick in the hand and keep striking the railings (people who carry bags, this is just for you guys, listen!) We reached back Shiva-Parvathi Statues, said hi again and proceeded to this spot wherein we had to walk some distance in super icy water knee deep to a temple deep inside a cave. It was refreshing and nice. After which we wore back our shoes and reached back the base. Reaching back our bikes, we revved it up and took off from the place, promising her a return.TIME: 13:45
RIDE 2: (Shivagange – Nelamangala – Bangalore)As far as the ride back goes, it was smooth ride. As we left Shivagange, our knees were pretty shattered owing to the lot of steep steps.As we rode, the breeze kept cooling us down. Once we reached back the highway, we decided to have lunch at our regular dhaba on Tumkur road – “Chandu dhaba” TIME: 14:30

After belting nicely, we left the dhaba afloat. After which Irode real slow from here and dropped back Deefu to his place and continued on the ORR to reach back my home. Day well spent huh!TIME: 16:15

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