Ta-Daah! How we surprised ourselves !!

A post on this title has been due for more than half an year. If not for the lock down going on right now, it would have had a slow natural death in my head even before it was put down into writing.

A trek was in the offing for some time, primarily to test our physical abilities.  Especially after my surgery, I have been wanting to check my endurance levels. So this came up and looked moderately tough and good enough for us to test it out.   J is the energetic and physically active kinds and this is something that would excite him, I was pretty sure, even if I cannot make it, he will drag me along.  That’s the hope I had when I set out with him.

So it was 2^nd of October, 2019, that we ventured into this trek, though this ended up being much more intense than what we hoped for. Setting out pretty early around 6.45 am, it took a swift 90 minutes to cover the 90 km distance.  J was at the wheel and as usual the drive was a breeze.  Clear skies, scenic roadsides and we had the edge of starting out early, the roads were traffic free.

Doesn't it look good?

Tada falls is in the border of Chennai and Andhra Pradesh, in a village by that name. We were greeted by a sign board that said “Welcome to Ubbalamadugu Waterfall” and I realized why no one ever uses the full name.  The car park at the base was empty, & after paying the entrance fee, which was meagre, we set out for the trek.   Armed with our essentials, including water, snacks, jackets, goggles and sunscreen we crossed an iron bridge across a river, a fairly large one, to walk over to the road leading to the waterfalls. 

Jacket gets under the hat

I was expecting a mini trek, and to see the waterfalls in a few minutes but that was not to be.   We had to walk through sandy pathways which were by now sunny and bright (read as heat pricking the skin), some distance of which was  surrounded by thick shrubs and few metres just bare, open to the sky, with absolutely no vegetation.  The earlier rains kept the greenery on the surrounding mountains lush and bright, and that was a big respite to watch and tread along.  Few minutes in the sun and got to realise the flimsy hat was no good in front of the blazing sun, so had to use the jacket as my head cover  - didn’t want to end up with a headache, by evening.

At the end of the long walk we waded through another water way and continued walking along.  It is here the sand gives way to hard untamed rocks.  There is no pathway and you just use judgement and balance to hop from one stone to another and follow few of the young trekkers along.  Water was all around, and there were places so deep that it came up to the chest.   Knowing how to swim definitely helped J, while I took the round about rocky terrain, he would swim to cross that part and wait for me.   Mental note to self – Learn to swim, for heaven sake.

Scenic ! Ain't it?

The rocky pathway got tougher, with thicker vegetation, larger trees with a lot of our ancestors, arrogant and unhappy that we are intruding into their space.   J kept hopping in front of me with ease and I had difficult keeping pace with him and was also gasping for breath.  In some places the trekkable path was quite narrow and we had to hang on to thick rope like roots to walk along. Within an hours’ time the trek was beginning to be difficult and I had to sit down for a while under a tree for a few minutes of rest.  

The trek route was not crowded, and our fellow trekkers, were mostly men. I definitely gave the few young girls a run for their money, as I found myself in better shape.  Though I was lagging behind J, I was fitter than the those kids who were throwing tantrums even to jump onto a stone just two feet in height.  Some even were going back.  In most places the water was crystal clear, chill and invites to dunk yourself in.  Especially when you are sweating like a pig under the sun.  Every now and then I would stop listen to the sound of flowing water, and gaze at the fishes.

Water, Water, Everywhere!!!

The rocky terrain from here got rougher, and the pathway, if there was one, was getting steep. At one point, I was losing hope as I had to climb a rock above me which was almost 10 feet high. I knew J would be able to do it, but I didn’t see myself climbing up that boulder. Wondering if we have to abandon this trek, at this point, which I didn’t want to, as I could see J really enjoying it, in his wild elements, I heard him say, you can climb it, Vincy. That was just enough for me. He quickly maneuvered his way to top of the rock, took my bag and then guided me to climb up and also gave me a hand and literally carried me to the top of the boulder.

This was the point from where I never saw a single girl.   The rocks were getting harder to climb, a single miss could cost you the entire front row teeth or at least a couple of broken limbs. I was not looking around anymore, my focus was only on putting one step in front of the other and keeping up with the increasing altitude.

That’s when I heard the sound of water falling, feeble first and as we moved forward it was becoming dominant. It was a welcoming sound, signalling the waterfall and energizing and driving me forward.   Around 10 minutes later and after yet another steep climb, we came to a point from where the water was gushing through, one little stream but with mighty force. The sound of water now was loud, clear and transcending into your being, pushing every other sound into the background.

this one thing was worth all the climb!

A group of college / fresher kind of kids were under that stream and J didn’t to get wet.  J was also a bit apprehensive that these men may misbehave as I was the only woman there. I told him not to worry and brought out my HR skills.  I walked up, used all my years of practice in stretching my decibel levels and requested them for some space.  I found that I could speak over the sound of a waterfall, and the crowd, though a small one, recognizes a HR professional.  I saw J relaxing at this point.

Like Moses parting the red sea, the crowd moved away so I could get under the torrent, a chill running through my spine, water thumping my head, rhythmically.  Screaming all the while, in childlike glee, the picture J took, shows as if I am the only one around there and under that waterfall.   A few minutes, by which time, I was shivering, got out, thanked the boys and men who waved back and jumped back right in, under the waterfall.

Resting awhile!

The climb was exhausting and we rested for a while under the blazing sun. Tried snacking but  lost most  of the food packets to the cornucopia of simians around.  The moment we open a packet they throng to us in  hordes, wild and we were no match to their rapid pace.  J was embarrassed with high pitched shrills I would make when they snatch the packets away.  By now it was noon and so we trekked back. Except in one place where I needed help from J, remember the 10 feet boulder, which I struggled a bit, the others were easy as peasy.  Hopping most of the way, yeah in some places, I would sit down and put my bottom to good use.

Clawing our way back the place was packed to the hilt, people all over, the water sources were filled with people.  I thanked our stars for being there early. Found a quiet spot to spend some time in the water, spent some time gazing at small fishes and listening to the sound of wilderness. 

Towards the end of the trek!

Just one selfie finally!

What we thought would be easy, wasn’t all that easy a 10 km trek, up and down put together on rocky ground, really tested our mettle.   At the end of the trek, my hair was messy, my feet hurt, joints creaked, clothes wet but the realization that we could do it together, gave us the sparkle in our eyes.  

And that’s exactly how we surprised ourselves.