Trip to Ranipuram (7/11/10)

Ranipuram is a small hill on Kanhangad - Madikeri road bordering Coorg. We set off to Ranipuram without much preparation on a Sunday morning.
We were told that the  road goes right to the top, so I had taken my wife and 5 yr old boy also along.
One has to take Kanhangad-Panathur road, and drive for about an hour. Just before reaching Panathur, a road deviates westward, which right away starts the ascent, which goes on for about 10km. It ends at a small T shop, from where have to climb.
My family stopped there and I climbed alone. Soon I started getting scared and hesitating to go.The path was through the forest,  with steep climb, slightly wet, a few stone steps here and there, full of leeches. But then two youngsters came, and I joined them. The path is a walk way, single unbroken one right to the top. Its very tedious, steep. We didn't stop, for fear of leeches. After about half hour, the trees end, then it's grass land. The path is still obvious, winding up between the tall grass. It was about 2pm, but there was strong winds and it was pretty cool. It was great view from the top, worth all the efforts. we took some time to ward off the leeches, rested for 10 minutes, and descended down. the descent is tedious too, puts lots of strain on leg muscles, to control the descent. As descent is faster, less leeches hooked on this time.
The trip was worth it.