A tale of Tango 6

Hannah and I are back at Fieldbase after joining Tango 6 on the beginning of their trek and we’ve got lots of stories for you. We were lucky enough to spend the first three days with them and now I know why the treks are called the Adventure phase!

We all left Fieldbase at 6am last Friday, and settled in for a day and a half drive down to Kerala, where the trek started. The drive took us through three states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Each state was absolutely beautiful but also increasingly different. The further south we travelled, the lusher the scenery got; with the greens of the countryside getting brighter and richer the closer we got to Kerala. As we travelled down the dusty roads, the vegetation became more tropical with the palm trees and banana groves becoming more common than we were used to around Mysore.

We drove through national parks on our journey and saw lots of monkeys which everyone loved - although we did all get a bit concerned when they climbed onto the roof of the bus!

We stayed the night in a small town called Udumalpetti and then continued our journey to the Silent Valley Tea Estate to begin our trek.

We started the trek in a beautiful mountain village. As we walked past the huts the locals where playing music, which soon became our trek soundtrack! After a quick lunch stop, and of course a cup of chai, our packs were on our backs and we were ready to start. And then it happened, the heavens opened and we started our trek in a complete monsoon! Apparently, this time of year, Kerala gets a second monsoon – which would probably account for all the lush green vegetation surrounding us!

Along with the rain came a chorus of leeches, all rearing their heads and trying to jump onto us with every step. The village music was still playing in the background and it seemed as if they were all singing along with it...as they crawled up our legs! After a few squeals, mainly from me, we all had our ‘finger flicking’ action perfected and it was heads down, fingers ready and a quick march for 4km until we reached our camp for the night.

Tango 6 starting out

Now, although they’re pretty gross, leeches can’t actually hurt you; so after we had all got used to the fact that, whatever we did, we were pretty certain to get leeched, everyone started to see the funny side. I think quote of the day had to go to Aaron who started the leech songs with ‘I want to have sex with a leech’ (a 90’s pop classic). This started the ball rolling with all manner of bad puns coming out...everyone agreed however that ‘Can you feel the leech tonight’ was not something we aspired to!  

When we reached our camp for the night, our lovely guides set about making us a fire. The boys did the manly thing and battled with the elements to put the tents up, while the girls set about making a delicious supper of pasta, baked beans and tinned cheese – just what we needed!

After a couple of hours, the rain subsided and we were all able to venture out from our shelter and see where we were spending the night -it was breathtaking.

We were nestled on the side of a mountain surrounded by peaks wrapped in swirling mists. The mountain tops looked like the white cotton candy machines you get at fairs, surrounding each peak with a delicate mist. The campsite had a lilly pond and crystal clear waterfall to gentle lull you to sleep – it was stunning.

After supper, and a lot of sock drying around the fire, it was an early night for all in preparation for our 5am start the next morning.

Warming up by the fire 

The view from the first campsite 

Sunday was our big day. We were going to climb Misapullimala Peak, South India’s second highest peak at 2,637m. One thing was for sure, it was definitely going to be a challenge!  

Fuelled by energy bombs, Tango 6 started out on what was to be their toughest day of trek. We were told by our guides that we had three ‘hills’ to climb before we reached the top. Now, I’m quite a fan of mountain climbing but these ‘hills’ were certainly not the sort of hills you might take a stroll up after a big Sunday lunch...in my view, they were mountains in their own right!

We trekked through open fields surrounded by mountains, across make-shift bridges and up some pretty steep paths! 

Helping hands across the river crossings

After our second ‘hill’ we stopped for a rest and then we saw it... Misapullimala Peak. Everyone was feeling pretty shattered by then, but seeing the top gave us all the spurt of energy we needed to keep going.

After a quick break and a few snacks, it was rucksacks on and best foot forward. We could see the top and we were going to get there, every single one of us, as Tango 6!

Before we knew it we were in the cotton candy that we were looking at the night before. The mist surrounded us, sometimes it was so thick that we could barely see in front of us, sometimes it cleared and we got a peak of what was around us. It was like the mountain was showing us a window into the world; we were literally on top of South India.

 Almost at the top

The last 200m to the top was along a narrow ridge. By this time the mist was so thick we couldn’t see either side. It felt like if you took one wrong step you would fall into a never-ending abyss. Now trek isn’t called an ‘Adventure challenge’ for nothing and this bit was certainly a challenge! Some of the group loved it, spurred on by the adrenaline rush of being up in the sky. The rest of the group, me included, were petrified! However, we all did it – the group came together, encouraged each other, gave words of support and offered welcoming hands to help people up over the tricky bits.

Soon enough we were all at the top. For many, it wasn’t just the mountain they’d conquered, but their fears as well. They had proved to themselves just what they could do when they put their mind to it – just the way Raleigh likes it!

Made it! Tango 6 - at the top of the world!

As they say, what goes up must come down and in our case it was time to get going. Next stop was the Silent Valley Tea factory for a very much needed cup of chai. As we headed down the mountain, the scenery changed from the rolling green hills that we saw on the way up, to perfectly manicured tea plantations. I’d never seen tea grow and was surprised at how flat the plants were – they looked like Bonsai trees.

Starting the descent

We can see you Tango 6!

Almost there...just as the rain set in!

Battling through the jungle!

Finally at the tea plantation!

As we got to the final stretch the heavens opened again and it was a quick march through the tea plantations to our final stop. The Silent Valley Tea Estate is the highest organic tea plantation in the world and proved the perfect end to our trek. As I’m sure you can imagine, the tea was delicious, especially as by this stage we were all soaked to the skin! After warming ourselves up with multiple cups of tea, we jumped into some jeeps which took us to our campsite for the night.

Huddled around the fire, spirits were lifted as we had a much-needed meal of noodles, sweetcorn and tuna (a Raleigh special). Everyone agreed that although it had been a very tough day, the highs definitely outweighed the lows and, as we curled up in our sleeping bags with full tummies, there were smiles all around (and a few sore feet!).

The next morning the rain subsided and we were treated to some more spectacular views before heading off to our next camp for survival day! Just as we got to the campsite we saw Little Manju waiting in the Bravo to take Hannah and me back to Fieldbase so, unfortunately, we left this part of the trek. However, I can tell you that Tango 6 were about to have all their kit taken away from them and, under the watchful eye of the guide, were going to be taught how to survive a night in the mountains without any of their kit! Exciting!

View from the second campsite 

Off to survival day!

After a long journey back to Fieldbase, I’m happy to report that Tango 6 survived their night on the mountain and had a fantastic time, building shelters, fires and even having a shower in the rain! For the next part of their trek they’ll be building bamboo rafts so they can cross the Anaerangal Lake to continue through the Western Ghats.

One thing’s for sure for Tango 6 – no day will be the same!

Back at Fieldbase, I’m catching up on what the other groups have been up to while I’ve been away, and will be posting a blog tomorrow letting you all know how they’re doing. So far everyone seems to be having a great time and making great progress with all their projects...more to come tomorrow!