Having done small treks quite a number of times in past few days, I was looking for some "real" trek from quite some time. Last "real" trek I did was "Kudremukh", with the memory of all the horrible leeches and slippery terrain and what not. So when Arun asked me if I wanted to join for a trek to Chembra peak, I immediately agreed but was skeptical that it could be a bit too easy (another one day trek). After some discussions we arrived on a consensus for Brahmagiri (located near Coorg). Brahmagiri had been on our radar for quite sometime but somehow it didn't materialize s
o far. As always happens for any of our trek, some people joined in at last moment and some ditched, effectively leaving a group of six people just like last time. Out of these six three of us (Arun, Nidhan and I) were also part of the group that went to Kudremukh while three new persons (Shruti, Tejal and Ravindra) joined us. As expected Nidhan's fascination for the name Ravi made him really happy when Ravindra joined.
After all the preparation was done (which was not so difficult this time given our prior experience), we started from KSRTC Mysore Satellite Bus stand for Gonikoppal. We reached there at 4:30 am in the morning and had to wait for half an hour to take the bus for Virajpet, where we had booked the guest house. We relaxed there for couple of hours and had some heavy breakfast. At around 9:00 am Arun, Nidhan, Ravi and I (Gajendra) left for forest officer's office to seek permission for trekking whereas Shruti and Tejal stayed at Guest house. We were ready with the permissions and a guide by 10:30 am. So we started our journey for Irupu falls (the first stop for us). We stayed there only for 15-20 mins and then started our exciting journey for the peak.
Thanks to the excellent group we had become, the time just flew by. We reached the mid point much before we had planned, ate some stuff and started for the forest ranger's guest house. We reached there at 2:30 p m much before our own expectations. We relaxed The weather was so good and atmosphere was so full of pure oxygen making our oxygen deficient lungs so elated that not remembering our trekking anthem "Run Maadi Run" was impossible. So Nidhan and I decided to run a bit and soon left other four far behind. By the time we realized, we had already taken a wrong trail, which led us at the peak of another hill (Brahmagiri was still visible far away) with the descend that was so steep that the moment we looked at it we were sure that we were on the wrong trail. The reason being that if this were the correct path, its unlikely that even 5 out of 25 could make it to the top. Somehow we managed to descend and then ascend again to reach on the right trail leading to the summit of our ultimate destination, the Brahmagiri peak. We looked at the watch and it was 4:23 pm. Run Maadi feeling was still so prevalent in our minds that Nidhan set a target of 4:45 pm to reach the peak whereas I set the modest target of 5:00pm. Surprisingly, what was thought to be so difficult, we could do in 12 mins and we were on the peak by 4:35 pm itself. After about half an hour, we saw the signs of our guide and other four companions, who also climbed the peak without too much difficulty. Reaching the peak was a feeling which completely overwhelmed us and we just rejuvenated at the thought having achieved what we set out for. We had barely walked another half a km and reached near a stream, when our guide stopped us and told us that he had just now seen a tiger crossing our trail. Probably the cat might have come out to drink water from that stream. He showed us a very fresh tiger pug mark and we could still smell a typical smell (zoo kind) probably meaning that the big cat was still around. The thought of this itself passed shimmers through our spines. All of us seized talking, singing and even would have seized breathing also if it were in our hands. Thankfully our preparation was thorough and we had good enough number of torches and our guide was very experienced, which helped us find our way back to the guest house through the jungle. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we entered the concrete walls of the guest house, safe from any wild animal. We recovered from our thrills and then decided to cooksomething. We prepared noodlesand scrambled eggs with bread, which tasted excellent after the days hard work. Finally, we decided to have bonfire despite of the fear of wild cat still reigning in our minds. We sang, shared jokes and had some excellent time around the fire. As expected, Nidhan didn't miss any chance to pull Ravi's leg. After an hour or so we all slept only to wake up next day. In the morning, we made some excellent tea and scrambled egg as breakfast. In the morning also Arun spotted a wild elephant just 10m away from him. We wanted to go to Pakshipatalam to do some bird watching but later decided against it. So we started our journey to base in Virajpet, where we reached by 12:00 pm. Since we still had sometime, we decided to go to Rajiv Gandhi National Park at Nagarhole where we saw some deer, elephants, bison etc. We started our return journey from Gonikoppal. Just like my past experiences, again I was amazed by the hospitality of rural Karnataka. While sitting in the bus, those two days were still flashing before my eyes again and I was feeling a bit sad that this remarkable journey was coming to an end. On my way back, my feelings could probably be best summarized by Lord Byron's following lines: There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
lan was to reach the mid point by 1:00 pm, have lunch and then reach the guest house near Nirmala peak by evening 4:00 pm and then visit Nirmala peak. We planned to go to Brahmagiri peak next day morning. The reason for this relaxed planning was that Arun told us that climbing Brahmagiri peak is very difficult (with elevation of 75 deg in last half km) and only 5 out 25 people from STI could make it to the peak, when they visited couple of months back. But this wasn't to be the case. 
there for sometime and by 3:30 pm we thought we had enough time to go to Brahmagiri peak and return. So instead of going to Nirmala peak, we directly started for Brahmagiri. Since till this point only there is deep forest and abovethis there are grasslands, we were worried a little about sun. I wished that if there were few drops of rain, just enough to cool the weather but yet not make it slippery, it would be great and there it was. It seemed like god had all of a sudden decided to consider very few good deeds we had ever done and reward us for it then and there itself. The moment we started, those wonderful drops full of life and energy were waiting for us. 
beautiful trek for 12 km upwards which we easily finished running, singing and eating. Here also it seems god was just in mood to grant even smallest of my wishes. As it got a bit dark, our guide pointed out a group of four wild elephant about two hundred metres away. Knowing that elephant has a very strong sense of smell and hearing, we started walking as quietly as possibly. We had passed only a hundred more metres, we saw one more elephant again couple of hundred metres away. It was still okay till I noticed it moving and every one was dumbstruck. Every could feel the adrenaline rushing through there body. Luckily the elephant turned and went away from us. So we were all relieved and I thought that all is well that ends well but that was not all. 
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more...
