Skandagiri - revisited

We did it this time :o)
The place has changed a lot. The car parking is not dark like last time. Forest department has posted a few employees to collect Rs. 100/- as parking and forest entry charge (newly introduced) !!! And believe me, the number and varieties of cars and bikes can even put parking lot of some shopping complex to shame. The place has become too popular and do not be surprised if one of the Cafe Coffee Day outlets welcomes you next time. The only positive change is - way to hill is clearly marked at different places and there is very little chance of getting lost as we did last time. Trekking to top in two hours should not be very difficult for a reasonably fit person. If you follow some minimum safety norms like carrying sufficient lights etc. then Skandagiri is very safe for enjoying the adventure of night trek. We reached at the top around 5 am. Far away, Bangalore city was still shining bright. And there were countless people everywhere - lying of the flat stone, sitting of the round stone, standing on the roof of a small temple, resting on the floor of the temple, sleeping inside tents, sleeping outside under the open sky, eating, drinking, smoking, laughing, chatting, shouting ....... one can go on. Skandagiri is indeed one of the top favourites of weekend revelers!! As the sunrise approached, people grew restless – you have to guess the right spot, take a suitable place accordingly, be ready with cameras etc. Clouded sky was making the guess difficult and everyone around had their own views. And then came the clouds. Bangalore city, till now visible clearly, was fading fast from our view. Very soon Skandagiri and adjoining peaks were looking like islands in the middle of sea of clouds, rising upwards to engulf us. The visibility was dropping every moment and in between we manged to take a glimpse of the glorious sunrise. My writing skill is at it's worst while I try to describe sublime and some great fellow said that “one can only feel such heavenly things” --- so better to keep the description brief. In the beginning the cloud was not dense enough to hide the glory of the rising sun ... the sun was disappearing one moment and reappearing with full glory the next moment. The hide and seek game continued for some time, before it was mist everywhere. After a few moments of rest, we began to climb down amidst the cloud and mist, which gradually cleared as we trekked down. It took around one hour to reach the foot of the hill. I looked up for one last time --- the peak was still hiding behind a chunk of cloud.
Last but not the least – team members who made the trip memorable ---- Sukrit, Kaka, Bota, Titas, Ankur and Soupi.

Previous experience .......