4th August 2013
Four years had passed since the
aborted climb of Madhugiri fort. The defeat was so shocking that it had
punctured ego a lot!! The failure lingered on our minds but our confidence was
low to attempt another climb. The steep hike where we retreated back was too
much to handle for us. Hence, we liked to keep hike to the fort in our backlog.
That was until I saw a photo of Madhugiri fort. Railings were put on the path.
Phew!! Time to hit back!!
So, the failed guys (Me, Krishna,
Subbu) sat for supplementary exam!!
The drive to Madhugiri was
uneventful with only nuisance being some parts of Dabaspet – Koratagere stretch
where road widening was in progress. And nothing much had changed in Madhugiri
town in the last four years.
The initial part of the climb was
easy. We reached the place where we had retreated in just 20 minutes. We always
thought that we could not climb the last stretch. But that was not true!
This is the stretch that is quite
steep and risky. But the risk part has vanished with the construction of
railings. Even at the place where water was oozing out, we could climb without
much difficulty with the support of railings. But this part is exposed where a
portion of fort wall on the top has collapsed. The structure looks ready to
collapse at any time!!
Madhugiri fort is deceiving as
the top of the fort is never visible during the climb. While we were relaxing
after the steep climb, few locals joined us. Looking at our tired faces, they
suggested us to eat “raagi balls” each day to gain strength. We had a readymade
answer for that. They were teenagers and we were “old” people. “It’s because of
the age guys”, we told. Their next sentence made our mouth shut. “My father can
climb this fort without taking break even today”. We went silent.
The climb never seemed to end. As
the pinnacle was not visible, we would climb the peak only to find another
one!! The railings were not present at this stretch was not dangerous.
Finally, we reached the top of
the fort after 75 minutes from the start. We had gained a height of 1450 feet
from Madhugiri town.
We ticked off a long pending
item!!
Labels: fort, trek
