Monsoon Trek, Tada Falls, Chennai, India

Day One

Tada Falls are about 50-60km North West of Chennai, the plan was to join up with the Chennai Trekking Club and spend a couple of days in the area. When we arrived at about 8:00am the weather was humid and very heavy, the temperature wasn’t too bad but with little wind and low cloud it felt as if we were in for a wet day. This was confirmed a few minutes later when, during a breakfast of Idli and Samba we heard the distant sound of thunder. Slowly and surely the thunder go closer and louder and we were soon were sheltering in a hut from the monsoon.

The rain abated as we set of on the path to the Falls and were soon motoring along a wide path alongside the river but received a call that the rest of the team were taking a different route so we quickly backtracked and soon met up and continued upwards along a much smaller path. In the humidity and rain we pushed upwards and quickly gain altitude walking along a path created to move cattle around the forest. Most of this was in damp, enclosed scrub, which blocked the light, the view and any breeze but kept the humidity high. Eventually we broke off this path and took a more direct route upwards to attain the first ridge of the day. Here there was some wind and some amazing views over the surrounding peaks. Underfoot the terrain was very rough, with a lot of loose rock and large boulders and the gaps between covered with grass, thorns or runners that often seemed intent on snagging the feet. We moved a way along the ridge and stopped for lunch at a view point.

Following a quick break it was on with much of the same, a quick descent down a steep route followed by another steep climb to attain another ridge and then down the river bed at the end of the falls to complete the first day. Throughout the afternoon the weather had started to get worst, with lower cloud and increasing rain, but even as the rain increased many of the team took a well deserved rest swimming in the river and falls.

The Night.

After a while, and as the rain continued to increase in intensity and the hills echoed with thunder it was decided to pitch the bivy for the night and get some food. The rain was now heavy and I must admit even though the camp was some way back from the river I did wonder if this was going to be the right place for a long night but nonetheless we were soon under cover, although a little uncomfortable and wet. However things went down hill quickly, by now it was dark and the river grew in size from a gently stream to a torrent and was soon at the edges of the camp and within minutes in the camp so a fast evacuation was called for. We quickly bundled everything together and regrouped about 20M or so up the ravine where we waited for the next couple of hours for the rain to slow. At this point I did realise I had lost my phone and Blackberry, only to find I had been sitting on them, and although the bag they were in a wet they seemed to survive with just a wipe down, my MP3 played fared less well (but after a couple of days of drying out it has come back to life as well).

At about 8:00pm we moved higher to some flat group and set up camp once again. Thankfully I had brought my small tarp with me so was able to find some space, and rock for a pillow and made myself comfortable (or as comfortable as anybody could be in the pouring wet with everything soaked). The tarp however worked well and I was able to spend a fairly comfortable night and got some sleep, although waking in the morning damp, cold and lying in a puddle of water was not the best start to the day.

Day Two.

It was quickly decided to change the route and return to base rather than push own due to the weather. As we moved off everybody was looking stiff and damp but ready for the next few hours. The rain held off for a while affording some fantastic views of the nearby peaks above the clouds it but slowly increased once again as we retraced our steps. This time as everybody knew the rough direction time seemed to pass more quickly and we were back on the cattle path fairly quickly. By now the rain was heavy and the path with its smooth rocks and wet leaves had turned slippery and more than on person had problems keeping balance.

Once we got back down we caught and auto-rickshaw back to the local town and the suburban train back to Chennai and some well needed food in Chennai station.

Overall.

I’m luck that I was well equipped, some of my fellow treks we less equipment but I did marvel and their skill and ability to find exactly the right place to place their feet. My equipment made up for a lack of experience in the very rough terrain. I was wearing my new Inov-8 Roclite running shoes which have an amazing grip on most surfaces but performed slightly less well on wet rock, however they remained comfortable for the entire two days even when soaked through. As always the Raidlight Rucksack proved to be perfect and resisted the rocks and thorns without any issues. For the first time I was wearing my Raidlight trekking tights, this was a perfect choice as there was no restriction in movement even when scrambling and they remained comfortable through both days even when soaking wet. However the real winner was the tarp, it was perfectly waterproof, very lightweight (only about 550g) and flexible, it was worth all the £8 I spend on it!

Overall a great two days, the night was uncomfortable but the views and experience more than made up for it. Certainly a big THANK YOU must go to my good friend Ram for organising the adventure, and the the Chennai Trekking Club for letting us tag along. Hopefully I’ll be back in Chennai outside of the monsoon season and it’ll be interesting to see the difference.