Made it

I think I've made it. There is an amazing sense of freedom and adventure each time I set out on what turns out to be a trek. I can't describe it well (obviously). Its almost always unplanned, I just see a hill and think, right I might climb that, I will see what happens. Or perhaps just reading about a fort nearby and finding it free of other tourists. Its what I didn't want to write...

There are moments - communicating with a local with no common language and getting directed to follow a goat herd. He leads the goats calling "Bah, grrr, bah bah" and they run after. I follow him over the rim of the hills that surround yelagiri, and on the other side he gives a gesture on how to reach the village. I try and follow but I am quickly lost among the goat trails on the hillside. Yelagiri is a hill station and the route is mostly descending, but becomes too difficult - clearly made by goats alone. Rather than backtrack I just pick my own route. Away from the forest reserves nobody seems to pay much attention to where you walk

The landscape is beautiful, not too dry and mostly green with the odd red rocky outcrop. As I descend I have to meander increasingly over the hillside to avoid steep drops. A goat appears from the bushes slightly above me. It bleats for a while, watching me, and then moves on. The thorns return, every plant in this country has thorns, thorns on the leaves, thorns on the stems, trunk. Occasionally a plant has spines instead just to throw you. Soon my skin is cut and clothes are tearing and I am again locked in another bitter battle with dehydration. 2.5 liters of fluid was not enough... when will I learn!

Despite my aimless wandering my phone has started beeping (insert standard nokia sound). It has picked up the signal from the town I am trying to reach (Indian cell towers helpfully broadcast the location). After another few hours of crawling, shifting and sliding down the hillside I emerge into a road at the bottom, its been some 8 hours walking and I have barely stopped to take a photo... I swore to myself I would take it easy.

I'm looking for a waterfall in this village so I ask some locals 'temple' and they point further along the road. As is the custom in India at any beautiful spot there will be a temple. The waterfall does not disappoint though is used by the locals as a free bath so is covered in soap wrappers and such. The water falls from a fair height and is a bit more vigorous than most showers, verging on painful. As I'm quite dehydrated I drink some of the water... tastes damn good