11-Jan-2004 -- Today, we planned to visit 14N78E and then 14°N 77°E as well. We found that it would be a good idea to try and reach 14N78E first and then proceed towards 14N77E soon after.

We started off from Bangalore at about 0700 hrs and drove north along National Highway #7 (NH7). From home, the GPS indicated that 14N78E was 121 kilometers away in a straight line. The plan was to drive past Bagepalli and then turn right on the road that leads to Putaparthi. We stopped for breakfast at about 0800 hrs. Nath and Mohan brought sandwiches with mint spread which were delicious! On the map we noticed that we would reach an intersection at which we would have to take a right turn to head towards Gorantla. The confluence was located between Gorantla and Kadiri.

After driving about 30 kilometers from Gorantla, we noticed that the confluence was about 2.3 kilometers to the right. We did not find a road or track immediately, so we drove about a kilometer further and saw a dirt road leading right in the direction of the confluence. When we were about 400 meters from the confluence, we turned right onto a narrow track that was bordered with thorny scrub. A few minutes later we reached a large tamarind tree that was 30 meters from the confluence. The point was in the middle of a barren field. It was 1005 hrs. We took photographs and recorded an altitude of 588 meters. The confluence was about a kilometer from the village of Aakuthotapalle.

We stopped for a while for Mohan to knock some tamarind to the ground. There’s a photo of him displaying the spoils. We then piled in and back-tracked to the road to head towards Gorantla. The GPS indicated that the next confluence we intended to visit (14N77E) was 105 kilometers in a straight line from 14N78E. We left 14N77E incomplete on a previous visit as it turned dark and we were about 600 meters away from it. Hopefully, we can make it this time!