OG2: A Success mission!!!
Diwakar ~
Hi everyone,
29 people from Chennai boarded Lalbagh express on Friday afternoon. After little confusions over the tickets, few were sleeping, few were busy playing UNO and few were busy chatting and overall it's a fun. We reached Bangalore by 10.00 pm. 9folks from b'lore were waiting for us to join and we had our contract bus waiting for us. 38 people boarded the contract bus and we started our OG mission. We stopped at a dabha for dinner and started back our journey.
By 7.30 we reached gundya check post, Claudy got down and bought few ingredients for Anti-leech medicine. After few minutes we all reached the OG start point. Everyone took their share of food, fruits and water and started walking. Arul was leading with Remi & RamaMohan in front and Vivek & Karthik Ramalingam was in the end as a tail and was pushing the people. Amal & I were in the middle.
It was quite a simple walk for initial few kilometers, here and there few leeches were trying to attack the CTCians and we folks didn't bother and kept moving. We crossed a 10m wide running water stream and had our breakfast there. The water was so fresh and the current was little heavy. We had a good dip over there. We started walking again after the breakfast session. From there on we were walking along the stream.
Many places we crossed the stream from one side to other and the reverse, to over come some steep end or some dead block. Each and every time when we crossed the water stream, one or the other guy use to fall in the water. Only for the first few times guys removed their shoes and crossed the water, later we realized its of no use and started walking with shoes in water :) And few guys were daring enough to walk in bare foot.
Arul with just a topomap and altimeter, navigated the way excellently and lead the group. Everyone was helping each other either in crossing the stream or giving a hand for a climb. An excellent example for CTC's Team work. By 3.30pm we took a break and had our lunch. Few guys had a nice dip over there and couple of guys had a nice massage in a waterfall just few meters ahead of our lunch spot which most of us missed to spot.
After the lunch we were walking again along the stream and inclination started from there on. After some time, we deviated from the main stream and walking along another small stream and started climbing up. It was under thick vegetation and it was dark. This is she short cut Arul had suggested and helped us a lot to make OG a success one. After an hour of climbing up in that vegetation, we were almost on top and deviated from that small stream to take left to reach the grass land. By that time it was pitch dark and we started with our torch lights. Arul took a group of people to the top and came back to take another group of people who were in the back. After sometime we all reached a grass land which is decent flat surface and we decided to camp.
While Karthik, kunal, nisha and few others were cooking, other people had a nice chat about the trek and other things. As always Cupanoodles tasted very very good after a day's trek. It was a clear sky with stars in clear visibility. After our dinner, we all decided to sleep under open sky. 600m high, grass lands, clear open sky, away from busy city's , zero pollution, what else we need to have a good sleep, yes we all had a good sleep after the dinner.
The next day morning, we all woke up by 5am sharp. Vivek and Amal too woke up by 5am to surprise :-). It was still dark and the SUN god didn't come, but we all started our trek again. Arul was leading and after few minutes sun had come and we guyz had an excellent view of the OG valleys. The mountain ranges were so beautiful and everyone were amazed to see such a beautiful valley.
We reached the OG by 7.30 which is pretty earlier than OG/1 due to the shortcut we took. We saw Vivek's tshirt and it made everyone so happy. After photo session and breakfast session we started the trek again to reach the jeep trail. This time we had left Pramod's denim pant to mark OG2.
On the way to jeep trail, we crossed one of the beautiful part of OG, we trekked in a thick vegetation/forest. After few minutes we reached the jeep trail and a local worker welcomed us and told us the way to the hoskire. Though walking in the jeep trail was boring one, everyone were busy chatting about something and kept moving. We took a deviation from the jeep trail for a short cut to hosikere. After walking for few kilometers we saw a decent-enough-running-water to take a dip and we all jumped into it. After a heavy trek for two days, A message in running water is priceless. After which we started and reached the bus.
We all changed and got into the bus and we started our journey back to B'lore. We were happy to be back on time. We had lunch at Belur and started our journey back. After sometime, the guys in the back of the bus got into full form of singing songs and it was so much fun at one point everyone were crowded there enjoying the moment. We reached b'lore by 9.30pm and were so happy to complete the OG and came back on time. B'lore guys had parted back with memories and Chennai guys headed to a near by restaurant to have dinner. After the dinner we all reached station by 11.30 and got into the train. After few minutes everyone had a good sleep and reached Chennai today 7.30.
Overall, OG is one of the finest treks we had. We missed Peter, Balaji, Ram & Vikram so much. IT would have been so much fun if they had joined us. And Arul's navigation skills helped a lot in achieving this, without him OG2 wouldn't have been possible. Arun Gowda & Claudy arranged all the food and made sure we had a good food for trek. Amal, Vivek, Anand, Karthik Ramalingam, Vinod Hari and everyone helped each other to make this OG2 a success. It's an excellent demonstration of Team work.
Three Cheers to Arul for his navigation skills. A great work dude!
Guys, lets upload the photos soon in this thread itself and make the non joiners to feel jealous J
Waiting for another beautiful trek :)
--
Diwakar
Stay beautiful :-)
claudy serrao
I want to add few more things that u may missed
1. SUper Bday bumps to Amal during Lunch time :)
2. Few night hawks played uno upto 11 pm :)
and how can u forgot the series of SU songs :)
It was a great trek in the absence of Peter and as usual CTC rocks :)
Claudy Rayan
nisha
Saturday it was awesome trekking through beautiful forest area where
we managed to see elephant footsteps,some fresh elephant dung and
elephant trap. Fortunately or unfortunately, no elephant in the
vicinity :(. Then we walked along water streams stepping over rocks,
walking on huge fallen trees couple of times to cross streams at
places, climbing up along the waterfall at places and hitting the
grassy uphill in late evening. The entire trail was so scenic and a
treat for the eyes. The wild mushrooms, the leeches who kept us
moving, the tortoise happily having its leafy titbit, the lush green
tall trees, the sound of gushing water getting stronger as we got
upstream.....
Sunday we started early and walked on the grassy hills upto peak and
returned through the jeep trail walk on other side of the hill. The
360 degree views from uphill and view points along the jeep trail were
breathtaking. At times, the leaves rustling in the breeze were
mimicking the sound of water stream. Inbetween we took a shortcut and
walked through lush green grasslands.The dew drops on leaves and
grasses glistening in the bright sunshine and slowly disappearing even
past 10am were amazing to stop and admire. The dip in the last pool
was refreshing. In the chill water, I could find all the muscle aches
fading away.
We had soooooperb fun in bus.Along the way, we had sumptuous lunch,tea
break and dinner before taking train back to Chennai. A memorable time
thanks to the organisers and the participants who made it all happen.
OG2 was definitely one of the most fun filled treks i've been to so
far .
>
> - Show quoted text -
Amal P
Hi,
I have no other words than "Perfect" to use for the execution of the OG trek. Kudos to each of the 37 Trekkers. You made a tough trek look so easy!!!
A few moments which I would pick,
Gathering at Chennai Central, distributing sleeping mats...
Viki at the station, for wishing a successful trek...
A long journey to Bangalore in the train, reaching there around 9:30 evening...
Everyone crying for food and Arun telling 5 minutes to Dhaba, 10 minutes to Dhaba, and 20 minutes to Dhaba and it taking around 1.5Hrs...
Filling in stomach with tasty NAANs and rice...
Everyone sleeping listening to the musical breaks of bus...
Stopping for tea, heading to Gundya, crossing the bridge, getting out of the bus, an hour and a half late start at 8:30, bad roads to blame...
Dividing the food, tying the sleeping mats, leaving extra clothes behind at bus, and heading to the trail...
A short morning walk, everyone hungry, heading to the water stream, makes it in couple of hours, having the breakfast, freshening up and heading to the peak...
One thought in mind, conquering Mt OG...
Walking along the water stream for hours, no stops in between, heading closer, inching closer, lunching in between around 3:45...
A 45 minutes lunch break, everyone pumped up, heading to the peak, things getting hard, sun sets early, trekking at night around an hour and half...
Cozy peak near to Ombattu Gudde, eating noodles, a promising clear sky, sleeping under the stars...
Damn!!! Vinod's waking up everyone at 5AM ;-). A good move which saved us lot of time, Mt. OG under CTCs feet, Time around 8:15AM.
A special feeling, the CTC tshirt we dropped during the last OG trek is still out there on the top, felt so nostalgic, missed many faces like Peter, Shyam, Sandeep U, Prem, Priyanka, Anala and the list grows...
Adios to OG, starting the way down, many tired faces, but none is stopping, enthusiasm still at high level, hats off to you guys...
Taking a shortcut, a quick dash to Hosekere, Diwaker cleverly walking on a wrong way behind, joins us 10 minutes later, didn't leave us a chance for at least one rescue mission :-(. :P
Entering the bus and everyone crashes out, sleeping with hunger around 3Hrs, eating a veg meal :-), and heading back to the bus...
The fun starts now at the bus, everyone singing, dancing, jumping, laughing, all back to high energy level, an awesome journey till Bangalore...
Reaching Bangalore, telling good bye to Bangalore folks, having dinner, heading to station, boarding the train back to Chennai... A nice sleep in the train...
Reaching Chennai at morning 8, telling Adios to everyone, With loads and loads of sweet memories to take away...
Special thanks to:
Diwaker - For organizing such a wonderful trek in between of his tight schedule at office.
Arun Gowda - For fabulous arrangements at Bangalore - like food, Bus, and coordinating the guys out there
Arul & Claudy - For leading and motivating the crowd all the way up and down.
Vivek, Karthick & Vinod - For sweeping from behind.
Indira - For your nice Karnatic music which gave us the fire to have fun at bus.
And huge Thanks and Kudos to:
Each of the other 30 folks who made it to the Peak of OG with excellent team work.
Had a superb time with you all guys... Can't come out of the sweet time we had...
Seriously, still I can't believe we made it out of OG without even a single Mess :-(.
Meet you all soon,
Amal
+91 900 30 12434
Cyber
SUcellent trip. No Words to describe it..
Last Man(Sweeper) uploading the photos :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/KarthickRamalingam/OG2
Thanks,
Karthick Ramalingam
+91 9840 1515 92
> I have no other words than *"Perfect"* to use for the execution of the OG
> easy!!!
>
> A few moments which I would pick,
>
>
> * Viki at the station, for wishing a successful trek...*
>
> * A long journey to Bangalore in the train, reaching there around 9:30
> evening...*
>
> * Everyone crying for food and Arun telling 5 minutes to Dhaba, 10 minutes
> to Dhaba, and 20 minutes to Dhaba and it taking around 1.5Hrs...*
>
> * Filling in stomach with tasty NAANs and rice...*
>
> * Everyone sleeping listening to the musical breaks of bus...*
>
> * Stopping for tea, heading to Gundya, crossing the bridge, getting out of
> the bus, an hour and a half late start at 8:30, bad roads to blame...*
>
> * Dividing the food, tying the sleeping mats, leaving extra clothes behind
> at bus, and heading to the trail...*
>
> * A short morning walk, everyone hungry, heading to the water stream, makes
>
> * One thought in mind, conquering Mt OG...*
>
> * Walking along the water stream for hours, no stops in between, heading
> closer, inching closer, lunching in between around 3:45...*
>
> * A 45 minutes lunch break, everyone pumped up, heading to the peak, things
> getting hard, sun sets early, trekking at night around an hour and half...*
>
> * Cozy peak near to Ombattu Gudde, eating noodles, a promising clear sky,
> sleeping under the stars...*
>
> * Damn!!! Vinod's waking up everyone at 5AM ;-). A good move which saved us
> lot of time, Mt. OG under CTCs feet, Time around 8:15AM.*
>
> * A special feeling, the CTC tshirt we dropped during the last OG trek is
>
> * Adios to OG, starting the way down, many tired faces, but none is
> stopping, enthusiasm still at high level, hats off to you guys...*
>
> * Taking a shortcut, a quick dash to Hosekere, Diwaker cleverly walking on a
>
> * Entering the bus and everyone crashes out, sleeping with hunger around
> 3Hrs, eating a veg meal :-), and heading back to the bus...*
>
> * The fun starts now at the bus, everyone singing, dancing, jumping,
>
> * Reaching Bangalore, telling good bye to Bangalore folks, having dinner,
>
> * Reaching Chennai at morning 8, telling Adios to everyone, With loads and
> loads of sweet memories to take away...*
> Special thanks to:
>
> Diwaker - For organizing such a wonderful trek in between of
> his tight schedule at office.
>
> Arun Gowda - For fabulous arrangements at Bangalore - like food,
> Bus, and coordinating the guys out there
>
> Arul & Claudy - For leading and motivating the crowd all the way up
> and down.
>
> Vivek, Karthick & Vinod - For sweeping from behind.
>
> Indira - For your nice Karnatic music which gave us the
> fire to have fun at bus.
>
> Each of the other 30 folks who made it to the Peak of OG with excellent
> team work.
>
> Had a superb time with you all guys... Can't come out of the sweet time we
> had...
>
> single Mess :-(.*
> Meet you all soon,
>
> Amal
>
> +91 900 30 12434
>
>
> read more »
Vinod D Varghese
---------------------------
"I shed my inhibitions, my fears, I traveled light. I traded my stock options for a lonely planet, my cell phone for a compass. My briefcase for a backpack. I took off. I wandered in the company of tourists, revelers & a guitar as old as me. I learned that people are good. Strangers are fascinating. And that every journey reveals another. I've lost track of time. And perhaps my job, my apartment & my fiancé. But I have my compass & I know its pointing me in the right direction."
gopal
OG-2 was, in the typical CTC style, perfectly planned and well executed. Time was not a factor at all since we all were quite before time, thanks to the push given by the organizers.
bala p
Rama Mohan Reddy Boreddy
Bastien PETIT
huzefa millwala
Last night in the train in S-13 was speaking to ARUL the chief and if i quote him right "It all went according to plan".It indeed did
AbSuuletly, Awsuume, Suuperb
Thanks Guys
Lets "ROCK ON"
Cyber
Some more portrait photos of Our CTCians..
http://picasaweb.google.com/KarthickRamalingam/OG2Portrait?authkey=CbSdMewzEDk#
Thanks,
Karthick
On Nov 3, 5:05 pm, "huzefa millwala" <millwa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well no words or explanations or lengthy blogs will do justice to OG-2.
>
> Last night in the train in S-13 was speaking to ARUL the chief and if i
> quote him right "It all went according to plan".It indeed did
>
> AbSuuletly, Awsuume, Suuperb
>
> Thanks Guys
>
> Lets "ROCK ON"
>
> > Hi All,
> > Thanks All of you (Arul, Karthik, Vinod,Gopal, Diwakar, Amal,Promod ,Remy,
> > Kalpana & all girls.....I have to mention 37 of you all) to your kind
> > support and team work shown , this proved that our CTC members not only for
> > trekking they are best in taking care of others and I have no words to say
> > about our teams good attitude and helping tendancy, this time I have not
> > enjoyed the trek but I enjoyed all your love shown to me during my fever.
>
> > I made it happen because of you guys.
> > Thank you
>
> > Warm Regards,
> > Bala
> > 9790989087
>
Ananth Prakash
If you can't convince them, confuse them ;)
Umaima Khilawala
I've been fondly looking at the pictures that everyone has sent in so far...
Great pictures, beautiful place, wonderful company, amazing team spirit... we can talk, write and photograph this as much as we like, but nothing beats the sheer experience of being there.. and watching the valleys.. the sunrise.. while you still trying to buck up the energy to reach the next peak! The satisfaction that you finally made it..
I just think that it was a matter of being at the right place at the right time.. I'm really glad I had this opportunity.. Really grateful to Claudy, Huzefa, Pramod, Anand, Vinod and all others who helped me out at various points of time during the trek.. And then there were others like Amal, Yaseen, Karthick, Indira, etc. whose enthusiasm was so electrifying that it gave me the strength to keep going..
And if the trek was not fun enough, we had the unforgettable bus ride! Guys who were recording the songs..please find a way to send those across too!
Oh and the SU part
Its not my place to talk about the SUspence SU... you just need to come to a wonderful trek like this to be a part of the SUcret group :)))...
CTC rocks,
Cheers,
Umaima
Vivek Yadav
--
vivek yadav,
chennai, IN,
viveky.blogspot.com
+91 98844 64473
Pramod
Enough SU yaaaar........ enough!!!
No more SU... :-)
We had LIVE bands inside the bus Guys!!! Right from suAmal's Rock
Suongs to Indira's Carnatic Suongs to Remy's French Suongs.... then
the mixture of tamil, kannadiga, telugu and malayalam suongs {pls not
"su" is not a typo error}.
1
2
3
SUUUU..kar mere man ko, kiya tu ne kya ishara
Badla yeh mausam, lage pyara jug sara
SUUUUUUUUUU..kar mere man ko, kiya tu ne kya ishara :-)
constantine
Isn't SU french for "under" ? i don SUstand watis the secret about it?? I am curious though .....
raghuvir reddy
Cyber
I have uploaded the songs that we did on Bus. I have converted
recorded AMR files to MP3. Still one file is big more than 10 MB. I am
trying to upload.. Let me split the file and upload.. So now u can
enjoy the other files. Kindly download the files and enjoyy ;)
http://groups.google.co.in/group/cyberkarthick/files?hl=en
Thanks,
Karthick
Cyber
I have uploaded the songs that we did on Bus. I have converted
recorded AMR files to MP3. Still one file is big more than 10 MB. I am
trying to upload.. Let me split the file and upload.. So now u can
enjoy the other files. Kindly download the files and enjoyy ;)
http://groups.google.co.in/group/cyberkarthick/files?hl=en
Thanks,
Karthick
On Nov 3, 6:32 pm, constantine <raghuvir.re...@gmail.com> wrote:
Arul Sekar P
I would really appreciate the WILL of Bala , Bastien & one other guy,
who made it to OG with sickness .
Their situation was some thing like this....
sickness makes them feel that they can't make it...
Their WILL says they will have to make it...
& They Made it...... that too kept pace with the team...
The real Hero's of OG-2.
yes, Team work has gone in.
It so happens that this WILL power & Team spirit of a trekker is
carried to his/her office & personal work ........................
This exactly makes a trekker handle day to day situations in a much
better way......
sorry - if that was a bit of management gyan...
It was wonderful to be a part of Team OG-2.
regards,
Arul.
Umaima Khilawala
Please find Srivatsa's pics here..
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/srivatsahg/OG2?authkey=0Efh1_YLU4A#
Cheers,
Umaima
Senthil Kuppusamy
here are my snaps.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ksenthilsubbu/OG?authkey=1k8A_hoCnz8#
Thanks,
Senthil.
arun gowda
kunal Bhandari
Just cant express how happy iam......
Its very true that on seeing post trek photos one tends to become jealous...thats wat happen to me. I saw the OG 1 photos and was so very jealous of missing it n at the same time super impressed n flatened by the beauty of OG n decided not to miss this one..... hmmmmm......im sooooooo happyyyyy to be a part of it.....
Just wanna express some of the best moments of OG2
1. Friday 31.12.2008 3.30 PM, Lalbagh express Get set goooooooooooooo.....(Happy)
2. Reached at base of the trail.... (Excited)
3. Water streams every where.....(Amazing)
4. Super dip into stream 1.... (So cold & refreshing)
5. Food after a long walk....(Yummy)
6. Night climbing....( Scary & Excitement Creeped)
7. Camping & Sleeping under millions of stars staring at u....(Wow !!)
8. Around 6.00 AM on 2.11.2008 started for the target ...(Unbelievable)
9. Mission OG 2 conquered ...(We have done it)
10. SUtainment in the bus.....(Gala time)
11. Reached Chennai n bye to everyone...(Yaadein.....)
A big round of aplause to the following....
The Macho man & GPS Arul
The leaders SuAmal & Diwakar
The Inspiration & Experience Vinod Hari
The Last Sweeper & Camera man Karthik & Vivek
The Treasurer - Real treasure of CTC Anand
The Never say die Bastein & Bala
The Mother of C Indira
The Rubber band & Funny Claudy
The TEAM REST OF THE OG PARTICIPANTS
Kudos to one n all.......
"TEAM WORK TRIUMPHS"
"Baatein bhool jati hai ...yadeein yaad aati hai....."
Still with the thots of OG.....
Thanks to one n all....
Cheers
Kunal
Vivek Yadav
here's the album link http://picasaweb.google.com/iamvivekyadav/OmbattuGudde2Nov08
it was really amazing trekking and spending time with all the wonderful people i met last week. missing everyone already, hope to c u all very Suuuuuuuooon.
-vivek
sheetal G.C
We really had nice time during OG/2 and i want to thank all the organizers Diwakar ,Arul,Amal,Anand, Vivek and list goes on... thanks everyone who helped me all the way carrying my bag :) ...CTC ROCKS!!!
Happy trekking and keep walking
-Sheetal
John Immanual
work !!!
Were you able to see your t-shirt that you left beind during the last
OG trip ?
John Immanual
On Nov 5, 12:21 am, "Vivek Yadav" <iamvivekya...@gmail.com> wrote:
> hello guys.. yeh rahi more yaadein.. these are pics taken from amal's cam
> which i'd hijacked from him at the start of the trek :p
>
> it was really amazing trekking and spending time with all the wonderful
> people i met last week. missing everyone already, hope to c u all very
> Suuuuuuuooon.
>
> -vivek
>
>
> >>> >> hi,
>
> >>> >> I would really appreciate the WILL of Bala , Bastien & one other guy,
> >>> >> who made it to OG with sickness .
>
> >>> >> Their situation was some thing like this....
>
> >>> >> sickness makes them feel that they can't make it...
> >>> >> Their WILL says they will have to make it...
>
> >>> >> & They Made it...... that too kept pace with the team...
> >>> >> The real Hero's of OG-2.
> >>> >> yes, Team work has gone in.
>
> >>> >> It so happens that this WILL power & Team spirit of a trekker is
> >>> >> carried to his/her office & personal work ........................
>
> >>> >> This exactly makes a trekker handle day to day situations in a much
> >>> >> better way......
>
> >>> >> sorry - if that was a bit of management gyan...
>
> >>> >> It was wonderful to be a part of Team OG-2.
>
> >>> >> regards,
> >>> >> Arul.
>
> >>> >> wrote:
> >>> >> > Another wonderful week-end in the nature with CTC!
>
> >>> >> > Few pictures here:
>
> >>>http://www.flickr.com/photos/31098814@N07/sets/72157608611786544/detail/
>
> >>> >> > Thank you all for your support when I was so sick on Sunday morning.
> >>> I
> >>> >> > am especially grateful to Vinod, Karthick and Diwakar ... thanks for
> >>> >> > your
> >>> >> > precious help and encouragements during this not-so-fun part of the
> >>> >> > trek!
> >>> >> > See you soon
> >>> >> > Bastien
>
> >>> >> > On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 4:19 PM, Rama Mohan Reddy Boreddy
> >>> >> > <mohan.sv...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> >>> >> >> Hi All,
>
> >>> >> >> As usual CTC rocks again with perfect team spirit and right
> >>> >> >> institution. It is thrilling to hear that KP is one of the peaks
> >>> around
> >>> >> >> the
> >>> >> >> OG. I am confident that CTC will explore the other peaks which are
> >>> >> >> really
> >>> >> >> challenging around OG.
>
> >>> >> >> Rama Mohan Reddy
>
>
> >>> >> >>> Hi All,
> >>> >> >>> Thanks All of you (Arul, Karthik, Vinod,Gopal, Diwakar,
> >>> Amal,Promod
> >>> >> >>> ,Remy, Kalpana & all girls.....I have to mention 37 of you all) to
> >>> >> >>> your kind
> >>> >> >>> support and team work shown , this proved that our CTC members not
> >>> >> >>> only for
> >>> >> >>> trekking they are best in taking care of others and I have no
> >>> words to
> >>> >> >>> say
> >>> >> >>> about our teams good attitude and helping tendancy, this time I
> >>> have
> >>> >> >>> not
> >>> >> >>> enjoyed the trek but I enjoyed all your love shown to me during my
> >>> >> >>> fever.
>
> >>> >> >>> I made it happen because of you guys.
> >>> >> >>> Thank you
>
> >>> >> >>> Warm Regards,
> >>> >> >>> Bala
> >>> >> >>> 9790989087
>
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
Sunil Golecha
--
Sunil Golecha
Golecha Impex India
73, Mint Street
Sowcarpet
Chennai - 600079
Tamil Nadu
India
+91-44-25295716
+91-9840555645
bala p
Here is the link (photos taken by Claudy and Nisha).
http://picasaweb.google.com/fordbala/OmbattuGude2#
Warm Regards,
Bala