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Blog Entry# 1679554
Posted: Dec 14 2015 (22:28)

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Last Response: Jan 04 2016 (11:11)
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Travelogue
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Dec 14 2015 (22:28)  
 
PKV~
PKV~   25536 blog posts
Entry# 1679554               Past Edits
The NMR SAGA
Trekking along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway track is veritably a life time experience. One which combines both ECSTASY & AGONY. This ambitious venture was planned twice in the past but deferred if not shelved because of preoccupation and hence non-availability of some of the proposed participants. But God willing what had hitherto remained a wishful dream finally saw the light of day in the Nilgiris on Saturday, the 12th of December, 2015,
NMR is the steepest gradient in Asia and 8th in the world. Many have trekked from Coonoor
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to mettupalayam (down hill) ,No one had done an up hill trek , So we planned one such. Kallar to Runnymede, a steep gradient (1-12.5) and 16 kms…….. . However, keeping in mind the age and physical condition of Yours Truly, the trekking party consisting of 8 IRI admins and one ex-admin, kept me out of that group. A plan of action to which I perforce had to acquiesce with mixed feelings. It was a classic case of the " spirit being willing while the flesh was not ", more so, as I was in the recovery mode from a month-long bout of acute bronchitis. And so it was that the adventurers saw me off at 7.10 am by the MTP-UAM Passenger at Mettupalayam before they themselves proceeded by road to KALLAR to commence what proved to be the MOTHER OF ALL TREKS by an IRI admin group. Exhausting yet memorable, back-breaking yet exhillarating, arduous yet amazing. I guess in an effort to bring to you the thrill of the participants I could go on endlessly. But that would be a travesty of justice. For if the ends of justice were to be adequately served, it stands to reason that those who underwent the experience, and they alone, should narrate, both in prose and pictures, the sheer beauty of their endeavour.
I am merely doing the honours of initiating this post at the request of all those who actually undertook this MISSION PAR EXCELLENCE. And they are in no particular order 8 IRI admins Dr. Nazeer, Jayaraj, Subawarna Kohilan, Minti aka Pradeep, Shashank Bhatt, Raam from VSKP, MS Narayanan and last but not the least Pramodh Kommattil. One of our ex-admins Dr. Amit Kumar also participated.
I would be failing in my duty if I did not acknowledge the pioneering and organizational contribution of Dr. Nazeer, Jayraj and Kohilan who ensured that this venture was a resounding success. I as well the rest of the party are deeply indebted to these three gentlemen.
Now over to the others for their accounts of the expedition

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Dec 29 2015 (11:30)
MSN_Ponds~
MSN_Ponds~   2476 blog posts
Re# 1679554-31              
Pic 1 : click here
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And It Begins : After a heavy breakfast , group photographs and some light showers, the team started on its adventure. The gradient started showing its true colors in just 5 minutes. Look at the lead practiced legs have already taken over ours
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Catch Me If You Can : Thalai poses on in one of the early bridges we crossed.
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The First Tunnel : The first tunnel uphill on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. We were advised to keep a close eyes for a few species of the slithering variety
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Inside The First Tunnel : Our initial enthusiasm in the trek was contagious. The first tunnel and the first few bridges stole a lot of time from us for posing clicking and trying every angle
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The Exit : What did I just say ?
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The First Real Viaduct : As we exited the first tunnel, we came face to face with the first real viaduct / bridge on the NMR. We had already crossed a few small bridges before we came in here, but this was the first real deal. The advice from the gangmen were simple and precise. Move slowly and steadily and DO NOT look down. Stick to the center
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The Relay : We had 2 enthusiastic young and excited gangmen ready to take our reins from the 2 who were already accompanying us. Can you spot them in this pic. CLUE : They are at the end of the bridge
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Tempting : It was terribly tempting to go down and take a dip, but better sense prevailed and we moved on
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Watch Your Step : We carefully tread upon the bridge. This less than 100m bridge took close to 2 minutes to cross. This is like playing test cricket. Do not rush just because the end is in sight except if you are Viru
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Looking Back : After the slow walk over the bridge, time to look back and see what we achieved.
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Oh Thats Great : An amused monkey wonders what is so great about all this, but hey humans and crazier than you think
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Bridge No 25 : Bridge No 25, We saw this a km or so from below and honestly thought that this we the summit, but there is a lot more to cross
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Rest Stop : After a 2 KM walk along the tracks, the team slowly converges past bridge no 25 for a short rest
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And See Thats How It is : Explains the expert as we wait for the rest of the gang
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Perk Up Your Spirits : Some perk, water and glucose to continue the rest of the adventure.
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Well Lets Go : Freshened up, rested a bit and we move on as the 2 railway gangmen wait for us
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Destination Adderley : With lots of stories to tell us, the gangmen kept us entertained, informed and excited as we move along towards our first destination Adderley, 5 kms from our starting point
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Water Break : Just like the oil fired loco, each one of us needed some water filling and freshening up. We reached Adderley, a good 3 hrs and 20 minutes from our starting point. If you could discount the 30 min break time, this 5 kilometers took us 2 hrs and 50 mins to reach Adderley on a 12.5 steep gradient.
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Look Ahead : As we look ahead to the next tunnel and the fact that we have 15 more kilometers to go, our body already started begging us to be careful and not overdo it. The walk is not the problem, but the gradient and unfriendly terrain surely made mincemeat of all our energy

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Dec 31 2015 (10:58)
MSN_Ponds~
MSN_Ponds~   2476 blog posts
Re# 1679554-32              
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Under Belly Check : A small area to climb down and check the loco and the cars from below
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Mission Restarts : After a welcome break at Adderly, we continue on towards our next destination, Hillgrove
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A Striking Pose : Couple of our gang, strike a pose at the entrance of the tunnel immediately beyond Adderley
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Yours Truly : Well, what is it if I am not around :)
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Nothing Can Stop Me : With a terrible sprain around the knee, Captain is all ready to complete the trek. The crepe bandage around the knee area is not seen here
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Light Dispels Dark : It is the lack of light we call as darkness. Darkness doesn't exist. All we need is a source of light
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Road At Last : After walking close to 3 hrs, the view of road was, well a divine sight
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Abundance : One thing which our trip never lacked was water. There were loads of it as streams, falls or as natural mountain water channelized into pipes. One thing for sure. We were never dehydrated
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Lunch Break : Bridge No 37 and a small temple like structure. A perfect place to relax and enjoy our lunch. However our lunch time had a pleasant surprise for us
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Surprise : There were no trains expected on this line except for one last downhill service late in the afternoon, but we had a surprise unexpected breakdown special going downhill as we sat enjoying our lunch
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And It Goes : The Breakdown special vanishes into thick green foliage while we continue on with our lunch
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Fully Reloaded : Happy smiles as we were fully reloaded for the final 4 KM stretch
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A Modern Bridge : Amidst old wooden sleeper based bridges on the NMR, we end up with a modern version of another of the numerous bridges along the route. The scenes around are too breathtaking from the middle of the bridge, but the vastness, wind and the height make you a bit wobbly forcing you to not stop and move on
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Protective Rock : A protective like rock formation after bridge no 42. Bridge No 42 had some drama in store for us. One of the gangmen had to run and escape from a wild elephant on his way here. We had to escort one of our gang along a wooded pathway next to bridge no 42 down to the road as he was suffering from cramps probably due to dehydration. The short trek below was not short of drama as we had to wait out an elephant hunting jackfruit. We wasted around 40 minutes here or should we say, survived
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I Bless You : The rock seems to bless everything and everyone passing beneath it. One of the well known and famous landmark on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway
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The Last Mile : As we decide to finish our trek at Hillgrove, we had to literally pull us through the last mile to reach our destination. When the destination is near every step feels a hundred
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Hillgrove : When I went to this place a couple of years ago, it was on one of the passenger services and any hopes of capturing this train along with the name board was a distant dream. This time we walked all along from Kallar and just in time to get this very view which I have always wanted to take, the downhill MTP bound passenger descending to enter Hillgrove station for a relaxed halt.
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Seeya Later : The train had a relaxed 30 minutes no hurry halt at Hillgrove for passengers to freshen themselves up. Monkeys had a gala time waiting for passengers to treat them. Atlast it was time for continuing with the descent. As the train Chugs and fires along, we decided to pack up for the day and go down to the road along a narrow but defined path with the railway employees

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Jan 04 2016 (10:26)
MSN_Ponds~
MSN_Ponds~   2476 blog posts
Re# 1679554-33              
Pic 1 : click here
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The Climb Down : The Climb down from Hillgrove station to the road was no easy task either. Slippery stones and narrow pathways with a need to lookout for snakes and elephants was an experience. The sound of this fresh flowing stream was music to the ears
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Watching Out : Each one of watched out for the other to ensure they pass this final frontier without any incident. Needless to say without the help of the railway folks, we would have been lost in the Jungle
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Steady & Careful : Look at the concentration in each one as they pass through a very slippery stretch downhill. Two NMR employees guide us through this terrain
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At Last : After an 8 hour walk through the Jungle, passing streams, crossing bridges and tunnels, looking out for animals and snakes, atlast we found our feet on the road. Was it the satisfaction of completing our journey or was it being back in civilization or was it the gentle pain settling in on our muscles, we had no idea, but feeling accomplished
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Exhausted ? : Can you feel the exhaustion ?
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A Few More Steps : Just a final few more steps and the entire group would now be back on the road. Mission accomplished
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Just A Few Minutes : We spend just a few moments for the experience to sink in while we wait for our pickup to take us to our nightcap estate
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Good Morning Folks : We were too tired to click snaps once we reached our tea estate. The morning greets us crisp and clear with bright sunshine
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Show Me Your Clicks : The group busy looking through a few clicks taken on our mobile phones
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Fresh & Clean : The morning welcomed us with beautiful sunshine spread across the beautiful Glendale Tea Estate
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The Private Paradise : With the entire tea estate booked by us, we were free to roam around anywhere and enjoy the flavors of Glendale tea estate
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The Light Is On You : Sun Rays sneak through all trees and gaps and bathes the Glendale Tea Estate in a bright and cheerful sunshine
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That Satisfied Look : One of the best organizers and planners I have come across. One of the 3 organizers who worked his butt off to make this dream a reality
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Lazy Unwinding : With nothing else to do than just relive the last 24 hours, we spend a very relaxed morning at the Glendale Tea Estate
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The Fog Descends : Suddenly out of the blue, the beautiful sunshine is replaced by a low lying mist and was quickly accompanied with some rainfall
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Compare & Contrast : Just check how the weather changes in a matter of just couple of hours
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Before & After : Remember that Sun Ray's passing through etc description a few slides ago. Same place with a time gap of 3-4 hours
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Engulfed : The estate now engulfed in fog replacing the bright sunshine just a few hours ago
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It is Never Too Much : You can never have too much of goodness and freshness :)
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ND Experiment : Well, this is just an experiment using the ND filter
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Tea Mountain : Tea mountain on the blue mountains at Glendale Tea Factory
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Adieu : After having a great time trekking and a lovely experience at Glendale Tea Estate and factory, it was time for us now to move on. Plans made, plans cancelled, members joined, members dropped out, surprises galore, great food, amazing company, lovely trek, friendly railway employees, non red tape permissions and wonderful care and concern by the NMR employees and SR officials, heavy legs, cramped muscles, fatigued body and an extremely fresh and rejuvenated mind. This is in short my NMR trip of 2015. Hope to have more in the future and capture these memories of a lifetime
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Jan 04 2016 (10:29)
MSN_Ponds~
MSN_Ponds~   2476 blog posts
Re# 1679554-34              
And with this I rest my photoblog of this trip. Hope you all had a great time viewing them as much as I had experiencing & sharing them
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Jan 04 2016 (11:11)
PKV~
PKV~   25536 blog posts
Re# 1679554-35              
The clicks were a delight to all railfans as well as nature lovers.
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