Ending the Year with the Forest

That night in Vellagavi, as the mist wrapped the village and the campfire slowly faded into embers, I knew the journey wasn’t done. The forest had tested our preparation, offered us shelter, and gently eased us into a new year—but the mountains still had more to say.

Ahead of us lay another trail. Another silence. A longer walk that would begin before dawn and take us from the sacred calm of Vellagavi toward the edges of Vattakanal, and eventually, back home.

We slept peacefully that night—not knowing exactly what the next day would bring, but trusting the path as we always do.