Place: Huthridurga trekDistance: 100kms x 2 = 200kmsDirections: Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramnagara > Jalamangala > HuthridurgaKrew: Datta (Dattu) > Ashok (Momz) > Madhu(Howle) > Karthik (Sippy)Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar Previous Visit: Kodachadri & Kavaledurga TrekBudget: Rs 250/headIN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:Alright, hey there, this was a short and sweet trip to wind up, what I must say a lousy 2018. Huthridurga is one of the Navadrugas which surround Bangalore and is one of the most easiest to climb, but hey it’s tricky as well. Known for the great escape of James Bristow post the 1758 peace treaty, this fort hill is deceitful and hence a pleasure to climb.INTRO & PLAN:Since 2018 was already limping, I decided to close off well by going to a nearby place which would offer a decent climb. Huthridurga was the place of choice. The crew on board were Dattu, Ashok & Madhu. TIME: 23:00 (30/11/2018)
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:Yeah I was up at 04:30, did a few push ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and called others and woke them up as well by 5:30. Picked up Maddhu from his home and we headed towards Mysore road as the meet up was scheduled at the Decathlon on Mysore road. Ashok and Momz arrived at about 7AM as per schedule as usual wearing gleaming smiles.TIME: 07:00
RIDE 1: (Bangalore– Bidadi – Ramnagara – Jalamangala - Huthridurga)This was about a 100km ride on the Mysore road. Finding the place turned out be a little tricky as it had been some years since we had roamed around these lands. Okay as we left Bangalore and as it was a Saturday, the road was flooded with traffic. We cruised at a peaceful pace and pulled over at our regular hotel on Mysore road for some yummy breakfast. TIME: 07:30
During the breakfast it was fun catching up with Dattu and Modhu. Dattu had returned from Hongkong few days back and had some crazy stories (if you know what I mean :P) And momz as usual was picking on Madhu making him a character in all of the jokes and pulling his leg pretty bad.After the breakfast we continued further to reach Ramnagara.
After reaching Ramnagara, we missed the first turn itself and ended up on a whole new route. Asking the localities for direction, we made onto a surprisingly freshly laid country road with almost zero people on it. It was a fantastic and peaceful ride.We pulled over at a bakery near the foothills, bought a water bottle and some cream buns – one of the best things for a day’s hike.
TIME: 09:30
HUTRIDURGA TREK:It took us about an 45mins to reach the top. The climb was easy and we spent more time exploring the place and the top of the fort. Like always, have divided the trek into the following section, hope you enjoy reading it!i) Initial path wayii) Rocky terrainii) Grasslands on top!iv) Face RockAlright, the sun was up, skies were clear, the air was cool, what else was missing, oh yeah the GOAT within us. Awaking the spirit, we were all set for the climb.
i) Initial stretch:The initial stretch consists of lot of gate ways and twists and some plain bare climb on the rock phase. But this part of the stretch take around 10-15mins and would be one the most thrilling parts of the climb. The first fort wall which had tricked us pretty bad during our first visit was a puzzle given to Dattu and Momz as it was their first time at this place.
ii) Rocky Terrain:After passing through the gates, it opens up into a somewhat barren rock surface. Steps are now carved clearly suggesting the direction to be heading towards. The scenery of the surroundings begins to lift up from this point on.
iii) Final GrasslandsAs you begin to reach the top, the grass keeps getting thicker and higher and at one point you will not be able to see the person in front. Finally there are two spots you can head on top. One is the Shiva temple which is the actual top and conclusion of the trek and then there is the what we have called “Face Rock”
iv) Face RockLast time we had visited the Shiva temple on top and quickly descended without exploring much. This time we decided to explore the top a little more. ( just a little not too much)As we proceeded further, we found some old cave routes, dried up grass lands – where we started imitating WWF starts (not E – always from the Attitude Era), finally we ended up on a parallel top.TIME: 10:30
TOP:Cool winds greeted us at the top. It was steep rock face, so yeah we couldn’t get lazy or too drowsy. We started munching on the cream bun and had some water. As we stared down the fort hill into the lands below enjoying the view, something weird caught us. The face of the rock hill adjacent to us actually looked like a face made up of rock. I mean weird teeth, strange eyes – perfect clustering illusion :P Resting for about 30-40mins on top we decided call Deefu and asked him if he was free to meet us all at White Horse. TIME: 11:00
CLIMB DOWN:The climb down was a smooth one. We hardly took any breaks, but we did meet a group of people making their way to the top guided by a person. Saying hi to all of them we continued on at a smooth pace to reach the base. An emergency came up and Madhu had to return home early. Hence we called up Deefu again and asked if he could pick me from the Magadi road. TTIME: 11:30
RIDE 2: (Huthridurga – Magadi - Bangalore)Yeah the route we took back was via Magadi road. The roads are narrower but tickled our memories of us visiting the TG reservoir with our lunch boxes during engineering days about 9 years back. I hopped onto Deefu’s bike and told Madhu I’d collect my bike from him latter in the evening.TIME: 12:30Stayed at WH until 9PM, met Madhu, collected my bike and decided to close our innings for 2018. 2019 – I want you to be different!! NO WAIT, I will make sure you are different!Until next time, Cya! \m/
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