We have just returned from 2 days trek training which involved walking up and around Chamundi hill in blazing sunshine and 30 degree heat with a 17 kg back pack. Surely only mad English people would trek in the midday sun in the name of personal development... The uphill was tough and I am a breathless, sweaty mess by the time we reach the Nandi bull half way up.
I swap sun hats with Jerry our trek leader from Kerala, I think his hat is much cooler (at least in style terms) than mine.
On the way up we see a snake, at least a metre and a half long, sashaying up the road. It narrowly misses getting flattened by two buses that swerve to miss it and the car behind screeches to a halt with inches to spare. Oblivious to the traffic, the snake continues across the road and into the bank on the side. None of us have seen a snake as big as this in the wild before. After more walking and map reading we make camp and spend a hot and sticky night in tents. We all end up with mild dehydration headaches. Ros my tent partner is sick so I have a tent to myself - what luxury, although not for Ros. The next day we trek back up and over Chamundi hill again. At the top is the Sri Chamundeswari temple where we see the goddess Chamundeswari being transported in to the temple. Feeling pretty exhausted and low on sugar after another hot and sweaty climb, I buy a Coke and a picture of the goddess to help me on my way - the combination works.
When we get back I find out that despite being hopeless at treking in the heat I will be joining the trek team PMs on their project planning trip to identify where the food drop off points will be. So I will be spending the next 4 days doing a recce for the trek route in Kerala...
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