Man’s best friend | Vivek | Kanoor Kote (Fort) - Trek Notes
Kanoor Kote (Fort) / August 2003
On the day 1 of our hike - At Sagara we had to wait till 0730 hrs (Aug 22) to get a bus going to Bhatkal. We took tickets to a place called Hosagadde from where we began our trek. We changed into our gear at the bus stop at Hosagadde and started our hike towards Dabbey Falls (Gowdare Mane). We checked with the shopkeeper next to the bus stand, as to which direction to take. His was the only shop there. We met one more guy at the bus stand who guided us on our path. So we hiked our way to Gowdara mane (Gowda’s house). We reached Gowdara mane after getting lost more than 3 times. And each time we met someone on our path, we were informed that we were walking in the wrong direction. The route consisted of crossing through fields, log bridges, trails under the canopy of bamboo and walking on the mud road.
It was crossing through fields and across houses that completely confused us for it was not a trail that could be followed. We reached Gowdara mane by 1430 hrs.
At Gowdare mane we dumped our luggage and walked in the direction of Dabbey falls. We caught a glimpse of it from far. It is a tough descent to the falls and best attempted in the summer. We tried despite the unfavorable climate. But in the end, we resigned for the risks far outweighed the gain this time. The funny thing is that we guys took the gowda’s dog for a guided tour. We initially assumed that it would guide us, for this was its home territory… instead of leading us, it followed us faithfully. There was a moment when Vivek’s and the dog’s eyes met each other and instantly they connected in some way. I was really happy that I could capture this on film.
