Trek Mates' Diary

Kulang Trek 31 Dec 2011 - 1 Jan 2012

2012-01-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

friends, visit my blog at http://trektourclick.blogspot.com/

I had never imagined the New Year party to be so different than all that I had earlier. As planned, I did not want to celebrate the New Year party within the city limits or any kind of civilization. Been planning on how to do it for a while, I happen to visit the TrekMates blog, and I had my answer. My friends at TMI had plans for a trek to Kulang on the 31^st of December. As my local friends asked me about my plans, I returned them the same answer which made most of them unhappy. But as I think of it now, it was a real good decision to go for the trek rather than to be in the city, spend a lot of money and still hurry up for things without any satisfaction. This was a mindboggling experience for me and one of my best treks.

I happen to call up Nilesh and Vikram, letting them know about me joining in for the trek. As for the celebrations, I promised Vikram that I’d be carrying my guitar with me for the trek, which would add to the excitement. I also called up rest of my TMI friends, and surprisingly many of them joined in along with some new names I already knew about. We had a bus hired to take us to Ambewadi which was the bas village. I met the TMI gang at Swaminarayan Temple in Dadar from where we were supposed to board the bus, and to my surprise I found that for a total we were 53 trekkers in all. Now it was 53 people, 1 bus and the highest climb from base. It was going to be a whole lot of fun.

For the group, it was me, Nilesh, Vikram, Niraj, Manoj, Adhaar, Bharat, Shweta, Shraddha (chiuu taee), Nakul, Vishal, Vinayak, Renuka (o ya ya ya!!), Jaal, Mahen bhai, Kaustubh and Manish (to name a few common names) and many more who made up for the trek. A grand total of “53”.

We started at around 11:30 pm on the 30^th in the bus to meet the rest of the Thane friends. As we stopped at Thane, we welcomed the rest of the gang with the “Aa oO!!”, it sounds funny but (its funny actually!! J ). All set and we head towards our destination. Just as the bus moved, then started the singing session that went on and on throughout the journey. Stopped in at a Dhaba around 2am in the Kasara ghat for some tea, the feeling was just awesome, the chilling cold and a hot cup of tea, what else could someone ask for. The life at a road side Dhaba after the midnight is simply wonderful; you have to experience it to feel it. Barged back into our bus and reached Ambewadi around 4am, till when the songs still continued throughoutJ. The night at Ambewadi is always so beautiful. This was my second trip to the place and the star lit sky leaves me almost astonished. The cool and clean air in the surroundings, the breeze going through the plantation makes the feeling just beautiful.

We all got out of the bus and got some rest, some in the bus and some out on the village road in the darkness and I knew it was time to take my guitar out as most of us were sitting out and chatting their way to glory. Now it was the cool breeze, some good friends and good acoustic music playing on the guitar as we sang through the dawn. That was an amazing feeling appreciated by all. An hour later, the surroundings got lightened up as it was sunrise and we had to get ready for the trek.

Packed our sacks and got into our attire, we all were ready and it was time for some introduction to all. And then, there came the qualifications, whereabouts, lifestyles and passion people had in them along with the knowledge about trekking and the mountain. We had a new friend who was the birthday boy for that day, what a surprise; we even had a cake to be feasted uponJ. It was the birthday of my new found trek mate on the 31^st, what a date to celebrate birthdayJ. Followed by the b’day bumps we had our piece of the cake. Some jokes and chatting and we started our journey towards ‘Kulang-gad’.

We started around 7am. Got divided into two groups, one led by Vikram to reach the top first, and other who followed slowly and had the most of fun (the fun groupJ). We travelled through diverse traverse, through beautiful landscapes and farmlands. The start is quite a walk for an hour or so before we reach the thick plantation across the farmlands. The route then is a rugged one of steep slopes of land and stones. It was quite a tiring walk but we managed to move on with our chats going on and on. The songs still continued. In some 2 hours or so, we all got divided into leaders and followers. The leaders went way too far for us to catch up with them, so we decided to take it slow and steady without any hurry and enjoy the trek. I guess we’d stopped for many a break whilst climbing. At a certain tough patch, it was I and Nilesh directing and helping out Kalyani with the climb as it would have been too tough for her to do it alone. But helping fellow mates is quite an adventure in itself (& our teachers did teach us “sharing”J). It took us around an hour or so to complete a distance of some 500ft. That was one hell of a climb. At a certain point of height the leaders and the followers met to catch up with some rest. It was somewhere halfway the mountain where we’d halted. The place was the last place where water was available amidst the jungle. That place would be a lovely location in the rainy season, wit the water flowing over the huge rocks and falling down into the valley. The imagination itself was so wonderful; I’ll surely try to visit it in the monsoon. We drank the water settled on the rocky surface just the way animals didJ (that’s something you don’t try everydayJ). Filling out bottles with the water and having some snacks we resumed our journey with the leaders leading againJ.

Now the route was full of steep ascend through loose mud and stones. I wonder how the first timers walked their way, never wondering what kind of trouble I had while climbing. None of my hands were free while the climb. I had a very heavy 25l sack packed over its limits, a guitar attached on the right side and my SLR through my neck, leaving none of my hands free (it really was a hectic job to take care of the two things I loved, my camera and the guitar). Besides taking care of all these things I had to take care of the land where I placed my foot and acquire proper balance (I’d advice not to try such things, unless you have the MADNESS in youJ). Anyways, madness is like a cosmic feeling that drives you towards attaining something extraordinary.

The group resumes the trek after this short break. The later part was followed by thorny shrubs & tall plants that covered the so called ‘path’. We had to move our body in all possible ways to maneuver through this patch, which lasted for nearly 2 hours. Most of my mates took a long time. And once again, the leaders (Vikram & regimentJ) were nowhere to b foundJ. I just imagined what the rest of the group was thinking while trekking this patch. Still we moved on slow & steadily. A few minutes later, it was just I Nilesh & Renuka (ya ya ya!!J). We three halted at all the possible spots till the rest of the group barged into us. Our friend Renuka would sure remember each time the 2 Patil’s talked about running all over the patch and leaving her behindJ (but as responsible TMI members, we stayed with her and covered the patch at turtle speedsJ (and surely! Singing the “o ya ya ya!!J). It was fun!! Joining and rejoining again with the rest of the group we climbed up to the part which leads to the stairs in another hour or so. A long break and the ‘turant shaktidayak koi nahi aisa, glucon-D jaisa” we resumed the climb through the steeply ascending stairs with nothing for our support. Once again back to turtle speeds we covered that patch in another half an hour or so and finally touched the summit.

The feeling at the summit was so beautiful, I’d never had thought of it. The feeling was like a mixture of beauty and satisfaction, beauty of the nature that surrounded me and satisfaction of trekking on of the toughest trails in Maharashtra. These feeling gelled just perfectly with the presence of so many friends. I vas in love with the ambience around that place for a while (which subsided just as one of my friends called meJ). Just as I dropped my sack off my back, I felt so relaxed, I could have just wished for a massageJ. After a short chat with the rest of the gang & the ‘hi, hello!!’ it was time for FOOD. All I could have wished for was some good chicken curry, and there it was. Nilesh took out the chicken curry which he had got already prepared a day before. Along with it opened all other lunch boxes, all spreading different aromas, but still the winner was ‘Chicken Curry’J.

A long feast and a long chatting session exploring the different experiences on the trek was just a beautiful feeling in itself & still having the chicken in front of us was just amazingJ.enjoying each bite of food with pleasure we feasted towards gloryJ. Some of us rested while others explored the surroundings. While everybody else had explored and rested (the leaders) it was time for us to roam around in the wilderness.

The fortification at the top of Kulang has broken to pieces with the lapse of time & weather. Most of it had fallen apart into huge stones that occupied the land. There are water tanks (cisterns) on the top filled with water from the monsoon season. Some distance ahead and there were another 4 water tanks which were much deep. The cave is a place that could accommodate around 30 people. The rest of the fortification was just ruins of the history that took place on Kulang-Gad.

Looking at the tanks, it could be foolish not to have a bath after a tiring day. I and a couple of mates took no time to reach the tanks and jump into the water. I could have never imagined the water to be so cold, it shivered every part of my body, but the feeling as I came out was total relaxing. Oh! What a feeling it was. Out of the chill feel and into the normal world, we rested near the tanks with out bodies laid down. It was sheer relaxation. One should really try something like this. A few minutes later, the rest of our gang, which had come out of hibernation from the cave were out to witness the sunset. For a while, looking at the whole group coming, it felt as if they had all come up like touristsJ, and then after Nilesh giving all some knowledge about the fort and surrounding peaks it was time for some games. And then followed Nilesh’s games. This time it was mathematical games which I and many others preferred to stay out of (knowing our mathematical capabilitiesJ).

Experiencing the last rays of the year from the sun reaching the mountain top and spreading different hues of colors was just a magnificent view. The feeling itself, of thinking about the completion of yet another year and still living to experience a whole lot of life to come was a much different one than I’d thought of. Celebrating this moment at such a height was extraordinary in itself. One should really try celebrating in such a way. Then came up the cameramen, all equipped with their SLR’s and freezing all those lovely moments. The scenario there was too beautiful, that can only be experienced. All gathered around posing in their own funny ways and basking up in glory of the coming new year. I had a whole lot of beautiful photographs. The colorful sky up above was fantastically beautiful. Still the songs and the chat continued, and we all had a jolly good time.

With the sun now setting, it was time for us to reach our cave and start with the dinner preparations. Thanks to Shweta, Nilesh, Niraj, Vikram, and Shraddha for preparing the good food that we had, and thanks to Nakul, Vishal, Aniket as we watched patiently the process. Preparing food is also an adventure sometimesJ, and that too at such a height in an uncivilized infrastructure. However the food was, it felt too good. We had some hot soup, good biryani, papad's (which eventually got mixed with all that we had for tasteJ). The food felt perfectly satisfactory. Still the songs and cats continued.

All charged up for the night to come, we rested for a while, till when it was time for the celebrations. We all started singing songs to the 'dafli' beat with the dancers coming out of all. I remember Shweta dancing all the way from the beginningJ. The Gujarati’s danced to the 'garbha' while the rest dance to our ‘Maiboli Gaani’. And who could have missed the ‘baghtoy rickshaw wala’ and ‘retiwala nawra’ girl, Renuka. After a couple of songs, these songs HAD to be repeated followed with a dance from her and me (the Agri guyJ). The dancing and singing continued till the stroke of midnight, (when the rest world was celebrating too) and there it was. We welcomed the New Year with all the joy and cheerfulness, all happy and without worries about tomorrow. That was the best New Year celebration I ever had. It really was a jolly good time. With the moon as the witness and the nature as the place, we basked towards glory into the night.

Wishing all the greetings to all my friends, I some how managed to wish my good friend Austin a very Happy Birthday. What a lucky guy to have a birthday on the New Year’s EveJ. A guess till that moment of wishing and cheering, everybody was awaiting the moment when they could listen to the guitar that somebody had brought up for the trek. And then we all settled down around the camp fire to listen to some good acoustic music on the guitar. And there I was, playing the guitar since hen for over an hour, continuously, with everybody joining in for the chorus as well as the lead. All sang pretty well with all the feelings. For an hour full of singing to the guitar, most of us fell asleep.

And then, none could have imagined what went trough one of our friends. I witnessed a proposal by my good friend to his lady love (pssst… know him??J). What a perfect ambience and mood it was for such a thing. The cool breeze, the dropping temperatures aroused by the camp fire, the sweet vibrations from the guitar, a bunch of roses & the ‘first three final words’. I wish…!! That was a moment my friend would remember for his lifetime, I guess!! Oh! What a moment! And we still sang for their love as the rest slept into the night. That was a moment I’d remember too, me being the facilitator for the event. Bless you my friendsJ.

Time for sleep and I was the only one who was left to the nature, with just a bed sheet to cover over my clothes and a sheet of plastic to rest my body on. Even in the blistering cold and such low resources, I somehow managed to catch some sleep. I slept like a stoned man in the chilling temperature out in the open. That was sheer adventure, mixed with pleasure and a bit of coldJ. Well sleep, I could still hear Shweta talking most of the time (just cant let others sleepJ). I listened to some psybient music as a slept away.

Wake up time: it was around 6am when a few of us woke up to witness the rising sun on the first day of the New Year. The beauty of the morning glory was simply awesome. I guess the pictures can explain what I felt. As time passed and the sun rose, all of s woke up and then again started the photography sessions. A need to freshen up, and some daredevils like me, Vishal, Manish, Jaal, Kaustubh, Bharat decided to head for the water tanks for a nice dip. But what welcomed us was thoroughly chilling. The water in the tanks had reached freezing temperatures that could take the crap out of us. Slowly and deciding for a while, we all finally jumped into the water. The water just free zed our bodies for the time we dipped into it, and we had to get out of it a.s.a.pJ. That feat was one hell of an adventure. One should try this too. I still remember the expressions on our faces after coming out of the waterJ.

All freshened up, and rested, we head towards the caves where a hot cuppa tea was awaiting us. We had the all-time hit ‘Maggie’ for breakfast and tea. Sipping to some hot tea on the top of the mountain was a different feeling in itself. Done with the routine daily chores, it was time to pack our bags for the descent and bid a farewell. An hour later it was time for a photo session and group photos. We all cheered as the moment free zed in my camera. What a lovely photograph it is.

The descent: as Vikram led the first group; Nilesh, me and a handful of friends decided to wait and follow later on. A small guitar session by Adhaar, Nilesh and Aniket, we bid a very good farewell to the place. What an experience it was! The only two girls remaining were Renuka (ya ya ya!!) and Shraddha (our chiuu taeeJ). Slowly and steadily we descended through the stairs. And then came the “_____Dash” songs era. That was a jolly good time we spent singing those Dash songs along with the ‘ya ya ya’ & ‘baghtoy rikshawala’J. We laughed and laughed as we took each step down the mountain. I’d never forget that descent. Thanks to Vinayak & Kaustubh for adding to the compositions with the Marathi songs (remixed our styleJ). It took us around 3 hours to reach more than a halfway down the mountain, added with the breaks. The songs, jokes and the chatting is the one thing that remains continuous throughout the trekJ.

Surprise surprise: As we reached the base, we were walking this patch of land which was all covered with dried up grass up to a foot high. When suddenly someone among us screams, ‘saap, saap’, and there it was, a beautifully designed brown ‘Russell's Viper’ popping out ahead from Nilesh’s feet, and all ran in panic (just as the snake didJ). We somehow managed to stay away from it in the panicky moment, though safe, the snake wasn’t far away. It just entered into a thick plantation. While the others moved away safely, I and Nilesh tried to venture in for the snake. But the snake had already camouflaged. But for surprise, due to my fast photography skills, I some how managed to shoot the viper through my camera. Although not clear, it’s a proof that we came across one of the deadliest things on earth. But for that panicky moment, I felt of the snake to be a very beautiful creation. After searching for a while for the snake, we decided to move on. And that was the place where we’d taken the other route towards Ambewadi. Out on the open tarmac, we knew we had missed a turn, and now we were wandering for directions (things like these happen, its called adventureJ). After inquiring with a few villagers, we set a foot on the right path. Another hour or so and we come across Vikram & Manoj, who’d come searching for us. A walking discussion about our adventure and we reached Ambewadi 3 hours behind scheduleL. But the adventure was totally worth experiencing. We reached Ambewadi at around 5:30 in the evening. All freshened up, we had some good rice & ‘pithle’ with pleasure at Lakhan’s place. Thus the trek came to a lovely end as we all barged into the bus back home.

This trek to Kulang is the most memorable trek I’d ever done. All the words, and all the joy and just be felt by experiencing it. All the things that happened over the night just gel up so beautifully, that would leave nothing to be wished for. Do trek this route once.

Nimish S Patil

(livin up the Divine Moments of Truth)

life's beautiful...

2011-12-03T09:11:00.001-08:00

Alang-Madan trek, 26-27 November 2011.

Alang- 4500Ft; Madan- 4900ft
District: Nashik
Region: Kalsubai
Base Village: Ambewadi, (route: Thane-Kasara- Ambewadi)

I also by pleasant streams have wandered all night in the Land of Dreams, but though calm and warm the waters wide, I could not get to the other side.

I wandered through unknown lands

With a pack on my back

A third eye in my hands

And some friends I was surrounded by

I walked through rough terrain

Towards the two peaks ahead

To see for my self what it was

To be on the top of Alang-Madan after all

Once again, my live life to its limits attitude took me to one of the most difficult treks in Maharashtra as said by many, to Alang-Madan.

The decision: It was all of a sudden when I came to know about this trek, I read it on the TMI blog & buzzed Nilesh that I was surely accompanying him for this trek. Not knowing what company I was going to be with, I called up some of my TMI friends to see whether they were joining in for this one, but it turned out to be a negative response from all. That didn’t bother me and I was ready for the trek.

I packed my sack and left my place to join the rest of the group in the 1:10am Kasara local. Reached Kalwa and was surprised to find a long lost friend Neeraj. As usual Nilesh & the rest of the group came by after I’d reached. The usual chatting session started just as we boarded the train. The gang members for the trek were Nilesh & Sis, Neeraj, Lawrence, Mahen bhai, Nitin (I love NokiaJ), Shweta, Anuja, Parikshit, Suniel & Shashi.

The journey: As usual Nilesh asked all to take a small nap, but I guess nobody budged to his wordsJ. All of us continued to talk through the journey. Some managed to shut their system off, but I guess those who chit-chatted through had a good time as trekking helps you communicate to a lot of people. Our friend Shweta who tried real hard to rest and sleep was continuously being disturbed by two notorious guys named Nimish & Nitin, I wondered about the anger in her mindJ. We reached Kasara somewhere around 3 am. Nilesh had made arrangements for a jeep to take us to the base village Ambewadi. We along with our big backpacks & two ropes barged into the jeep somehow and a few minutes later stopped at a Dhaba in the Kasara ghat to have a cup of tea. It’s a real good experience to stop at a road side Dhaba in the late night hours to have a hot cup of tea with some cool breeze in the air. The next stop was the base village Ambewadi where we reached around an hour or so.

The village, Ambewadi: The beauty of the night there was just mindboggling. Cool wind, small houses & the star lit dark blue sky was just a photographer’s paradise. Never ever in our daily life do we find such innumerable stars! An astronomer could spot all his constellations. We headed towards the place of our guide, Lakhan, who was sleeping in the veranda of his house. We released our bodies from the weight of our bags & settled down for rest in our sleeping bags. It was around 4am and still the chat continued, I can say the chatting never stops on a trek, but still a few caught a napJ. As for me, I could never miss a chance to shoot vistas from my third eye (my D-SLR), and as all chatted I continued with my creativity to get some real good shots.

The beauty and freshness in the environment is just too beautiful in such villages away from civilization, you get to know really how beautiful life is! For my readers, I really advice you all to trek this route, at least once.

Day 1, the beginning: Waking up at around 6am, we packed our bags and started on with a small introductory session. A few rules & knowledge about the trek & we were on our feet heading towards the mountain at around 7am. The route went trough the vast expanses of farm lands which had dried up. The locals say that Ambewadi is the place where it rains first during the monsoon. The view of the three peaks was amazing. Long miles away stood the three peaks Alang – Madan – Kulang. The crest & trough of the mountain range was a picture perfect photograph. The routine chores of the village were just starting off, shepherds taking their belongings to the graze lands, birds attending their school lectures & women leaving their homes to fetch water.

As we left the village, a surprise view caught my eye.

It took us around half an hour to reach to the actual base of the mountain. It was a quite walk through the farm lands, though the farms had dried up giving a hue of yellow, it was cold out there. The sun had just risen above the mountain top lighting up the farmlands. The route took us through dense plantation and uneven terrain, mostly the plantation was of thorny shrubs which pierced through our clothing. It hurts, but that’s the challenge. Thankfully we were not blessed by the presence of mosquitoes and insects leeching our bodies. The basic trek is a nice walk through the forest with a few rock patches here and there. But I think this simple walk would be very tough during the monsoon season. As we gained height we stopped to drench our bodies with water at regular pit stops. Trekking for nearly two hours or so took us to the first cave somewhere halfway from both the peaks. We dropped our bags and rested for a while as we had to resume our trek to Madangad. A small break & some safety directions from Nilesh & we marched towards Madangad. The view of Madangad was really different from all that I’d seen before. It stood like a huge straight piece of rock waiting for us to conquer it. But the image below of the same peak seems to be something different.

Madan-gad: The walk towards the peak itself was quiet tough as there were small edges here & there dropping straight into the valley. A half hour walk led us to the rock patch at the top of the peak. Our guides Lakhan & Hiraman along with Nilesh had already reached the rock patch to anchor & set up the ropes for the rest of us to ascend upon. It was nearly a 40 feet rock patch inclined at an angle of around 80˚. The patch was a tough one without a rope but an easy one with it. Many of our members hadn’t ascended before, so it turned out to be a bit tough affair for them, but now they wish of doing it againJ.

It took nearly an hour to lift the 12 members of ours to the top. This patch must be very difficult in the monsoon, I guess so! The view from the top of Madangad was just amazing. A 360˚ view stretching up to some 10 -15kms was just beautiful. The clear blue sky just added to the hue of the surrounding. The top of the peak is a big patch of land with a small cave & two watering holes to quench our thirst. I wonder how the tanks & the cave were carved out at such a high altitude. A salute to the ‘Mavale’ of Mahrashtra. Things like these just increase my respect for Shivaji Maharaj & his vision. A brief photo session of all our members & we were done with it (everybody just loves to pose for the photos, dunno why!J). We were lucky enough to see an eagle in flight with a wide wing span spread into the air. Although I had a stock 55mm lens, I managed to capture the eagle somehow.

Returning down the same route had to go through a rappelling session. Most of us had to be briefed about how to rappel, what’s a belay & how to hold self between the ropes. Thanks to Nilesh, he explained everybody about it patiently. I being trekking for nearly 10years now need not be explained with rappelling & ascendingJ. A wish for all those who go for a trek to at least watch some rappelling & ascending videos over YouTube, it could make all the activities a bit easier. Another hour or so & all our fellow mates headed back to the cave where we had made base earlier leaving me & Nilesh at the ropes. After Nilesh’s safe descend we returned to the cave.

Surprise! Surprise!

The rest of the gang had already opened their lunch box & started feeding upon. Although on a trek, all of us were well equipped with a variety of delicacies in the middle of the mountain. Right from theplas to jam & bread, from cheese to ‘aachaar’, we had it all. That’s more than what one could wish for in the middle of nowhere. Oh! What a feast it was! Our plan was to reach the top of Alang-gad before night fall, so wasting no time we resumed our trek. Just a small walk & a climb through a wrecked crevice & we reached the spot from where we had to ascend through ropes to get to the top. Our guides Lakhan & Hiraman were the men of daring courage. Lakhan climbed the nearly 40 feet high rock patch just like a monkey without any harness or support. It seemed like they just didn’t fear anything worse. Anchoring & tying the ropes perfectly for the rest of the group they had to be ready to pull others up. This patch of rock had very few crevices to hold hands on & set foot, so it was difficult to just climb. Hence for the rest of us had to be pulled up. Like a two way pull, people had to be pulled from above as well as they had to pull themselves over the rope. It took nearly an hour for us to get there.

Best part of the trek, the staircase: Now was the most difficult part of the whole trek. I guess this is the part why this peak if so difficult for. It was a stair just besides the patch of rock that we had just ascended falling straight into the valley till its depth. The only place to set foot was a rock staircase with a width of just below 2 feet. On the left hand was a straight piece of rock so our sacks had to face the valley while our hands gripped on to the crevices on the rock stair. Every step had to be taken carefully with our hands properly holding the stair. I guess most of us wobbled a bit at that patch, but there was no other option than to do it. The view from that patch was just awesome. It was like standing on the edge with a straight drop into the deep valley & nothing neither for your safety nor for support. But the feeling that went through my body after safely crossing the patch was complete mental satisfaction of doing something different most of the people don’t get an opportunity to do so. This was the most difficult thing in the entire trek.

On top of the mountain: The night had fallen & the entire mountain top had darkened out. A lot of cool wind blowing in the air, stars just coming out of their hiding, lights just abuzz in the villages far away was just a beautiful view you don’t get to see in routine life. The top of the mountain was an expanse of land covered in dried up grass & rocks. Two watering holes besides a ‘Shiv Mandir’ & two big caves some distance away. The caves were really big from the inside, bigger than those at Harishchandragad. Filling up our bottles with water from the tanks we finally dropped down ourselves in the caves. It was sheer peace! It had already darkened up around us. A new life at the caves, hands on our torches & efforts to prepare dinner. What an adventureJ!! After a lot of efforts in preparing the food & the spotting of a ‘viper’ near the water tank it was time for dinner. Thanks to Nilesh to take the risk to take the viper far away from the caves as for it to not return back. We all feasted upon the biryani. With the night came the beauty. Stars brightly twinkling to light the sky, the old city lights shining from miles away, the peaceful sound of the wind, the emptiness fulfilled. The feeling of being at such a place makes you realize how beautiful life really is.

The night: we continued the regular chores after dinner, “Bhutan chya goshti, aani trekking che kisse”. All gathered around the campfire & listened to Nilesh’s lullaby stories J (as usual) while I was off with my camera to complete my chores. Now it was me, Lawrence & Mahen chilling outside the cave & chit chatting all the way. Time for bed and another different experience to sleep on the ground floor in a cave. As the rest of us chatted towards glory, I and a few others managed to get some sleep.

Day 2: woke up with “baba lagin”!! Mahen had set an alarm to ring with “baba lagin”J. It just buzzed out all of us. Most of us set foot to the top of the mountain to experience the sunrise. A 20 minute walk took us to the top. The entire place had ruins of the fortification here & there. A pond big enough to fill up a small army, and few ruins of houses dimmed down by the rising sun, hue in the sky dropping down from blue to orange & the grass waving with the wind. The feeling at a height of above 4400ft on one of the toughest peaks to trail upon is simply extravagant. All the environmental factors calm you down in such a way that you tend to forget all your worries from daily life. It’s like a ‘LIFE’ beyond life! One should really experience such things regularly.

The descend: After a good breakfast of all that we had, right from Maggie noodles, parathas (or theplas for my fellow Gujarat friendsJ), biscuits & some black tea (kora chaha) as Nilesh had forgotten to bring milk powder, it was time to leave. Strapped our bags once again for the descend bidding a bye to the mountain top, we resumed our journey back to the base. Filling our bottles with the water from the tanks we stood on the same threatening patch of rock stars. Anyways, slowly & steadily once again at turtle speeds all of us managed to cross it & reach till the rock patch to rappel down. Another hour or so, the rappelling session continued as we chatted our way to glory. We came upon another group of three trekkers who’d come along with another villager as a guide. They stumbled upon the patch and watched upon us as we carried our activities with good ropes & harness whilst they’d come without any harness but with a hand made rope. When you see others equipped with proper things, you tend to doubt about your own things, & that’s what happened with the other group. They decided not to reach the top of the peak & rappel down with us. Completing the last rock patch for the trek we resumed our descend. The later trek was a simple walk through the dense plantation of thorny shrubs & rocks (once again we had to fight the thorns). Then started the singing session & the rest of us started correcting their vocal notes with every song they sang. Although they sang all together on different scales & notes, I and a few decided to stay back & follow in peace (I don’t like to disturb the peace of the jungleJ). Another two hours & we were crossing the farm lands on the base. Farmers dusted & sorted their crop produce while the goats grazed on the rest of the plantation. The sun was still shining bright in the sky & birds flying up high. We went through many farms to reach our village base.

Back to base village, evening glory: The surroundings in the village had dusked up. Different hues of blue & orange colored the sky beautifully & unfortunately my camera battery had finished out. The cool wind was still flowing in the air.

The ‘mumma hen’ had been out with her chicks (I guess she took her kids to show them the villageJ) had returned back home. The baby goats were surprised by our visit & they were ready to pose with us for some good photographs. My trek mates weren’t far enough from sporting themselves as villagers (see the photosJ). We returned to the place that we’d stayed before, Lakhan’s place. He had a very good house with a clean courtyard (sarawlele angan) where we chatted up on all our things. He served us good black tea (kora chaha) & ‘kande pohe’. Although our stomach had filled up, we didn’t leave out any of the ‘kande pohe’. A final photo shoot & some chit chat jokes followed by a long wait for the tempo to take us back to Kasara. The night crept into the surroundings & the diya’s had started glowing outside all the houses. What a beautiful life it was! Late in the evening we barged into the tempo & bid the place a goodbye. No tears dropped, just some smiles exchanged with myself, the place & the pretty young kids around, I felt happy for being able to experience this life, beyond life!

Continued with the singing session we reached Kasara around 9pm to board the local train back home. What a surprise, back to reality! And I just don’t like it so much! L

Traveller notes: Doing the Alang-Madan trek was a great experience as a whole leaving me with Kulang, yet to be scaled. The toughest part of the trek is definitely at the stairs on the top of Alang. The rock patches are tough for those who need to get to the top to anchor the ropes, for the rest, they are simple patches. The terrain being mostly thorny it is advisable to wear full clothing. Watching the sun rise & set is an overall beautiful experience along with the star gazing in the night. Use your water carefully. Do carry a camera. The little kids in the village excited by our presence shows you a different view point of difference between city life & this...

Do trek this route at least a time in LIFE.

Work it Make it Do it Makes us Harder Better Faster Stronger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPq1_9DsLKk

रत्नागिरी भटकंती : भाग 3 अंतिम

2011-11-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

आजचा दिवस शेवटचा होता. सकाळी जरा उशीराच उठालो.

२ दिवस खुप धावपळ जाली होती. आज जास्त काही फिरायचा बेत नव्हता. हेदवीतील शंकर व गणेश मंदिर बघून परतीचा प्रवास करायचा. साधारणपणे रात्रि ९ पर्यंत मुंबई गाठायाची होती. मागचे २ दिवस एवढे समुद्र किनार्याने फिरत होतो पण मी आणि प्रशांतने गणपतीपुळेला केलेले समुद्रस्नान सोडले तर कोणी पाण्यामधे उतरले नव्हते. आज सर्वजन पाण्यात उतरतील असे ठरले. त्याप्रमाणे ज्यांच्याकडे उतरलो होतो, त्यांच्याकडे पोह्याची ऑर्डर देऊन निघालो.

हेदविचा किनारा स्वच्छ होता. पान्यामधे सर्वाचीच मस्ती चालू जाली, तरीपण निम्म्याहून अधिक जणांना पोहता येत नसल्याने कमरेच्यावर पाण्यामधे कोणी गेले नाहि. जवळपास २ तासानंतर पाण्याच्या बाहेर आलो. तसेच किनारयाच्या बाजूला असलेल्या शंकराच्या देवळात गेलो. पाया पडल्यावर बाजुलाच असलेल्या खड़कावर फिरायला गेलो. तेथे असलेल्या १ कोळ्याच्या माहितीप्रमाने तेथे असलेली घळ बघन्यास गेलो. भरतीमधे यातून पानी उडताना बघून मज़ा येते. पण आम्ही गेलो तेव्हा भरती नव्हती. फ़क्त घळ बघून समाधान मानले, आणि परत फिरलो.

पोहे खावून गणेश मंदिर बघायला गेलो तर १२ वाजून गेल्याने मंदिर बंद झाले होते. ते आता ३ च्या नंतर उघडेल असे सांगण्यात आले. एवढा वेळ आम्ही थांबू शकत नव्हतो म्हणून परत यायला फिरलो. गुहागर पासून पुढे खाडी पार करायला बोट होती. तेथे पोहोचेपर्यंत बोट निघाली होती त्यामुळे पाऊन-एक तास फुरसत होती. किनाऱ्यावर तासभर वेळ काढला. बोट आल्यावर त्यात बाईक चढून प्रवास चालू केला. पलीकडे दाभोळला उतरलो. घड्याळात वेळ ३ दाघवत होती, भूक तर लागलीच होती. विन्या लगेच तिथल्या एका हॉटेलमध्ये शिरला.

सर्वांचे जेवण होईपर्यंत ४:३०/४:४५ झाले. मनसोक्त मासे खाल्लाने सर्वांनाच आळस भरला होता. बाकी कोणाला प्रश्न नव्हता पण मला दुसर्या दिवशी मला कामावर हजर होवायाचे होते. माझ्या एकासाठी सर्वांनी परत फिरणे मला पटत नव्हते. त्यामुळे मी एकट्याने परत यायचे ठरवले. मला दापोलीला सोडून बाकी सर्व केळशीला राहणार होते. सर्वाना पुढील प्रवासाच्या शुभेच्छा देऊन परतीच्या बस मध्ये बसलो.

३ दिवसाच्या या ट्रेकमध्ये खूप धमाल आली होती. 4 नवे भटके मिळाले होते, त्यांच्या बरोबर फिरताना असे वाटलेच नाही कि आम्ही पहिल्यांदा भेटत होतो. नव्या जागा पालथ्या घातल्या होत्या. ट्रेकर सारखे राहिलो होतो देवळात / उघड्या आकाशाखाली.

अवांतर : ऑफिसला हजर राहण्यासाठी परतलो होतो, तर तेथे नवीनच किस्सा माझ्यासाठी तयार होता. जागतिक मंदीचा परिणाम माझ्या कंपनीवर झाला होता. आणि मला त्यादिवशी टर्मिनेशन लेटर मिळाले.
लेटर हातात घेतल्यावर पुढच्या नोकरीची चिंता मनात आली नाही. मनात आले, आईला! उगाच परत यायची घाई केली. अजून एक दिवस थांबलो असतो आणि ट्रेक पूर्ण केला असता तर झाले असते. असेही लेटर मिळणारच होते. निलेश बरोबर बोलणे झाले तर तो नालायक पण खो-खो हसायला लागला. अजूनही यावरून माझी टर उडवत असतो.

Sandhan Valley – Ratangad – Kaladgad – Harishchandragad trek

2011-10-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

This was a long weekend… and I just wanted to be out for a long trek. So I planned for this cross country trek.

After I had done Ratangad, ones in the rains and Harishchandragad many times via a few of its many routes, and heard a lot of things about the cross country trek between these two (from Prasad), I was very eager to do this trek.

Accordingly, the plannings were done, and the publicity was done on Orkut hardly 3-4 days before the plan execution. I expected 10 ppl including the coordinators for this trek… and received 12 names for the plan… whereas only 9 turned up at the last moment.

It was me, Prasad(Pashi), Vikram(Langdya) and Priti, Saurabh Thakrey, Parag, Amit, Pragat, and Saurabh Vishwas… all starting on 23^rdmorning from my place at Thane.

Day 1, 23^rd Jan ’09:

We met in the very first Kasara local.

Prasad had other plans too… he wanted to explore the other route till Samrad valley as well.

So he got down at Asangaon with Vikram, and heeded towards Dolkhamb to extend his trek from Dehne to Samrad via Karoli ghat.

Meanwhile the other 6 carried forward their journey till Kasara (by local), then Shendi (by ST bus) and finally till Samrad village (by private jeep). We reached here by 10 am and rested till 12. Further we descended the Sandhan valley till its mid and climbed back to Samrad village for our stay.

This was my first visit to Samrad valley. I had heard many things about this valley from Priti. But whatever I had heard about its beauty was too less. I liked the valley more than any other trekking spot that I had ever visited. The valley is a beauty. And one needs to cross a patch through the chilling water, around 4-5 ft deep to explore the valley. No escaping the waters over here.

We visited the valley, explored it, had our lunch in the valley itself, and climbed back the valley.

Meanwhile Prasad and Vikram completed their trek through Karoli ghat and reached Samrad village by 3. Vikram was a bit disappointed to see only 4 feet water and that too only in 6 feet wide area. He had plans to swim, but couldn’t.

Later, we stayed in a school at Samrad village and had our dinner at Yashwant’s place. Had campfire, star gazing and songs and fun till 11.30 pm, our bed time.

Day 2, 24^th Jan ’09:

This was the day when we made blunders. The actual plans were to climb Ratangad, explore it, get down by the other route, cross the Katrabai jungles, and reach Kumshet village. This was very hectic to execute, and therefore we had to start early. We started our day with the morning tea at 6.30 am, and then started for Ratangad. The route was unknown and still we decided to trek without a guide. This was the greatest mistake that we did on the day; rather the greatest one in the whole trek. We lost the way in the very beginning and instead of taking the way to Ratangad; we headed towards the BAAN pinnacle. We found that we were on a wrong track and so decided to climb the col between the Khutta pinnacle and Ratangad. This col later on got divided into two. Here we had to split our team- me and Vikram in the right, while Prasad and Priti went towards the left to find out the way. Meantime, the group rested at the tree shade. After searching the way for three long hrs, we decided to get back to the group and again descend a bit till the water source, where we can have our lunch which we had carried from Samrad village.

We had our lunch and were about to start our journey back to Samrad and start to Ratangad with a guide. As we were starting for the same, there came a lady from the village and directed us to the correct road. We laughed at ourselves, as the correct route was the one from where we had descended till here.

We gave ourselves one more start to the same route and ascended to Ratangad in next three hrs. We met a group from Sinnar who stared at us with their mouths wide open to see us climb through such a difficult route. We were on the top by 4pm. We entered the fort via the Trimbak Darwaja. Here onwards we explored the fort for 2 more hrs, and started preparation of our dinner. We had our dinner by 9pm and again decided to descend the Ratangad through the chimney and Shidi vaat and started for the junction where the road gets divided, one towards Ratanwadi and the other till Harishchandragad. We carried on in the Katrabai jungles till 12.15 am and decided to halt in the jungle itself. This jungle is a great habitat for leopards and other wild animals. So we had two campfires, one at each side, and decided to stay awake turn by turn… I heard many sounds of wild boars while I was awake in my allotted time of two hrs (0200-0400).

Day 3, 25^th Jan ‘09

Today we had to reach Pethe-chi- Wadi and visit Kaladgad. We started at 7.30 am and moved towards the Katrabai pass. I had heard many things about this jungle from experienced trekkers. “This is very difficult route, very confusing, etc., etc…” But found it very easy and well marked. However it had some patches where one can get lost. But not many. We walked for an hr or so and then halted for tea at a place where we can get water, enough for drinking, preparation of tea and washing utensils. We were having tea when we heard a call from two trekkers who had lost their way in the Katrabai jungle. Helped them to the right way and started with our trek further.

We crossed the Katrabai patch by 12 and descended the pass by 1 pm. Here we met a villager “Patil mama”, where we had hurda, while Prasad had a short nap and missed the fun. We started from here and reached the Kumshet village in next one hour. Here we tasted some honey from the villagers. Myself and Priti bought one bottle each. And then we started our journey further to Pethe-chi-Wadi.

While walking till Pethe-chi –Wadi, we came across the Mula River, and wasted 2-3 hrs in swimming and playing in the water. This was the most enjoyable time for me in the whole trek. We started from here and reached Pethe-chi-Wadi by 5.30 pm. It was late to start for Kaladgad. But still we started from the Wadi and visited the fort… we reached the top right for the sunset scene. This fort provides an awesome view of the surrounding area. The sunset from here was one of the best ones that I had ever seen. We descended back to the Wadi by 7 pm. Decided to stay in a mandir for the night. The menu was Maggie and Pohe. And again the campfire was the way to fun and songs. And went to sleep by 11.

Day 4, 26^th Jan ’09:

This was the worst day of my life.

We had enquired about the first bus from Pethe-chi-Wadi to Pachnai a day before and came to know that there is a bus which starts at 6.00 am. We got up at 5.15 to get a hold on the same. But the driver amazed us by saying that the bus would be off by 5.30 as it is Republic day and therefore the day starts half an hour earlier. We were therefore forced to pack our bags in 15 mins and rush towards the bus. This made me and the other coordinators sleep in the bus. I had asked the conductor to let us know when we reach Pachnai.

The conductor forgot to do so and we realised this after we had crossed 12 kms after Pachnai, in some other village named ‘Lavhale’. We then got down at Lavhale and enquired about the route till Pachnai or towards Harishchandragad. Here we came to know about this new route till the top of Harishchandragad. This route is called as ‘Tata’ chi vaat (way from the border). I had never even heard about this route from Lavhale village and so we decided not to go back to Pachnai and discover this new route. We had our tea in the Lavhale village, attended the republic day function and the flag hoisting event, and then started for Harishchandragad.

The reason I said this was the worst day in my trekking life lies further… I had severe back pain from a month before this trek, and was asked to rest and no treks for 2 month. And still I was on a trek; and that too for a 4-day long cross-country trek, with a bag weighing around 18-20 kg. I was a bit exhausted and also was in no mood to climb Harishchandragad, as I was aware of what would be the conditions on the fort after a long weekend. So I, with Priti and Saurabh decided to trek till Tolar Khind and further till Khireshwar to arrange for food. Whereas Prasad and Vikram led the group till the top of the fort, and then till Kokan Kada and back to Khireshwar.

We waited at Aishwarya hotel at Khireshwar and also arranged for our lunch over there. The time I spent at the hotel till the remaining group joined us, I came across a few people who climbed down from Harishchandragad. Being an MBA student for marketing, I was taught to keenly observe your customers before dealing with them. And I keep on practising this every now and then. I observed these people and was listening to their conversation… and I found many of them had been to the fort just for the sake of enjoyment. Some didn’t reach the top and had quit the trek. Some went till the caves, some were unaware of Taramati, and I was amazed when I met a group who was unaware about Kokan Kada, and even more when I found a person hadn’t been to Ganesh Guha. The nearby villages were renamed by these people as Panchai and Rujar, and so on. A group saw the map of the fort at the hotel and discovered that the Nali chi Vaat route starts right next to the Ganesh Guha. I felt bad to hear these experiences but then wasn’t in a mood to tell them the originality, as they were in tonnes, and rather they weren’t trekkers but picnickers, who were there for enjoyment and not for knowing the fort.

At 3.15pm Prasad and the team came back. They told us about what they had experienced on the fort. According to the info from Tukaram and Badrinath (these are the people who stay on the fort during the weekends); the fort was visited by more than 1000 people this weekend, and only nali chi vaat had seen 113 people on sat itself. There was garbage lying all over on the fort, mainly plastic, papers and empty liquor bottles. I felt very bad to hear all this but then was happy that I didn’t go and experience the fort in this condition.

We had lunch at the hotel and then started our journey back to home. The half an hour journey on the top of the jeep from Khireshwar to Khubi Phata was like a strawberry on the cake (as I like strawberries more than cherries.).

The jeep went to Mhad (not the Ganesh mandir wala Mhad). This is hardly 7-8 kms from Khubi Phata towards Junnar. And then we realised that Amit has left his back in the jeep itself. After thinking what to do now, we decided to move on without the back. We started walking towards Kalyan side till the hotel where the buses normally halt. We walked for 15-20 min, and saw the jeep returning to Khireshwar. A few choruses from us were all that was needed to stop the jeep. Amit and Prasad ran till the jeep and collected the bag.

We now were waiting at the hotel for last 30 minutes. But no bus or truck till Kalyan halted for us. At last a truck came and we were very delighted to know that it is going till Ulhasnagar.

We got into the truck and were our journey towards home. This was more spacious and comfortable journey than by any bus. Again the songs and trekking experiences accompanied us till Ulhasnagar. We took 9.05pm local to CST and I was at home by 10.15 pm Sunday…

Monday se again the boring routine.

रत्नागिरी भटकंती : भाग 2

2011-09-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

रोहित पाटिल ---------

सकाळी पूजेला आलेल्या आजोबांच्या घंटेच्या गजराने जाग आली। घड्याळ बघितले तर ७ वाजले होते. पटापट उठलो आणि फडकेच्या मागीलघरी जाऊन फ्रेश होऊन आलो. त्यांच्याकडेच सकाळचा चहा घेतला. मागच्यादारी असताना पोह्यांचा सुगंध आला होता आणि "फडकेंचे पोहे" हा जोक आम्हाला ट्रेक संपेपर्यंत पुरला.(काहीही ओळख नसताना रहायची, फ्रेश होण्यासाठी तसेच चहाची मदत केली याबद्दल आम्हाला त्यांचा आदर आहे.)

देवळाच्या मागील बाजूने पूर्णगडला जायची वाट आहे. १०-१५ मिनिटामध्ये गडाच्या दरवाज्यामध्ये पोहोचलो. दोन बुरुज समोर ठेऊन लपलेला दरवाजा.
या बुरुजासामोरच हनुमानाचे मंदिर आहे. दरवाज्य बाजूलाच पहारेकर्यासाठी देवड्या आहेत.

जालावर मिळालेल्या माहितीनुसार मुचकुंदी काडीवर लक्ष ठेवण्यासाठी किल्ल्याचा उपयोग होत होता. गडाचा पसारा जास्त मोठा नाही आहे. गडाच्या आत पदके अवशेष आहेत, ज्याबद्दल कोणाला फारशी माहिती नव्हती. तटबंदी मजबूत आहे. तटबंदीवरून फेरी मारता येते. बुरुजांवरून तोफांचा मारा करण्यासाठी बरीच जागा आहे.
खाडीच्या बाजूला गडाचा दुसरा दरवाजा आहे. मुख्य दरवाज्याच्या आतील बाजूस तटबंदीमधून हे झाड उगवले आहे. याचा आकार युनिकॉर्न(मराठी शब्द माहिती नाही.) सारखा आहे.

तास-दीड तास फिरून बाहेर पडलो. आणि रत्नागिरीच्या वाटेला लागलो. रत्नदुर्ग पाहून दुपारी जेवायला गणपतीपुळेला जायचा विचार होता. १०:३० झाले होते आणि सकाळपासून काहीही खाल्लेले नव्हते. आमचा विचार रत्नागिरी शहरात जाऊन खाण्याचा होता. पण वाटेमध्ये कोहिनूर समुद्र हॉटेल लागले. विन्याने असहकार पुकारला. नाश्ता केल्याशिवाय पुढे जायला नकार दिला. हॉटेल बघून जाणवले होते कि हे ट्रेकला परवडणारे हॉटेल नाही आहे. इतर वेळी आलो तर जायला हरकत नव्हती. शेवटी विन्याच्या इच्छेला मान देऊन आत प्रवेश केला. बिलपण शेवटी त्यानेच भरले, ट्रेकमध्ये टाकले नाही.
पूर्णगड ते रत्नागिरी प्रवासात आमची मस्ती चालू झाली.

पोटोबा शांत झाल्यावर पुढचा प्रवास चालू केला.
रत्नागिरी शहराच्या जवळच हा किल्ला आहे. किल्ल्याची तटबंदी ठिकठिकाणी फोडून रस्ता बनवला आहे. पूर्वी किल्ल्याचा परिसर बराच मोठा असल्याचे लक्षात येते पण आता तेवढा मोठा राहिला नाही. खाली अल्ट्राटेक कंपनीची जेटी दिसत होती. गाडीरस्ता थेट बालेकिल्ल्याच्या दरवाज्यापर्यंत जातो. बालेकिल्ल्यावर भगवती देवीचे सुरेख मंदिर आहे. एक भुयार आहे जे खाली समुद्रकिनाऱ्यापर्यंत जाते. सध्या हे भुयार बंद केले आहे. तटावरून समुद्राचा तसेच आतमध्ये शिरलेल्या जेटीचा सुरेख देखावा दिसतो. किल्ल्यावर भटकंती करून परत फिरलो.

रत्नदुर्ग वरून परताना रत्नागिरीतील समुद्रजीव म्युझियमला भेट दिली. बरेचसे मासे आणि जीव होते, आता नावे आठवत नाहीत. फक्त काही जीव बघून तोंडाला पाणी सुटले होते.

आरेवारेचा पूल झाल्याने परत फिरून महामार्गावरून गणपतीपुळेला जायची गरज नव्हती. सागरी मार्गाने आम्ही गणपतीपुळेला निघालो. अजून एक हा ट्रेक मार्च मध्ये केला होता. नंतर परत मे मध्ये मित्रांबरोबर कारने आलो तेव्हा या रस्तावर बऱ्याच आमराई आहेत. एका आमराई मधून आम्ही देखील ४ पेट्या घेतल्या होत्या. असो विषयांतर झाले. निसर्गाचा आनंद घेत-घेत जरा उशीरच गणपतीपुळेला पोहोचलो. इथे संकेत आणि अंबिका कधीपासून आमची वाट पाहत होते. समुद्रस्नान करून देवळात दर्शनाला गेलो. प्रदक्षिणा पूर्ण करून पुढचा रस्ता पकडला.

जयगडला जाणारा रस्ता समुद्राच्या कडेकडेने जातो. इथून दिसणारे निसर्गाचे रूप वर्णाच्या पलीकडे आहे. एकाबाजूला झाडे , दुसऱ्या बाजूला समुद्र आणि मध्ये डांबरी रस्ता.
जयगड पोहोचलो तेव्हा 5 वाजत आले होते. आणि विन्याच्या ओरड्यानंतर आमच्या लक्षात आले कि आज भटकंतीच्या नादात कुणीच जेवले नाही आहे. किल्ल्याला जायच्या रस्तावर नाव सार्थ करणारे हॉटेल विसावा होते. विन्याने गाडी दारात थांबवली आणि आपला इरादा स्पष्ट केला. किल्ला समोर असताना जेवायचे मन होत नव्हते आणि थोड्याच वेळात सूर्यास्त देखील होणार म्हणून आमची ओर्डर तिथे विन्याजवळ देऊन किल्ल्यावर निघालो.

हा किल्ला देखील खाडीच्या मुखावर आहे. गाडी किल्ल्याच्या प्रवेशद्वारापर्यंत जाते. ३ बाजूला जमीन आणि १ बाजूला समुद्र. किल्ल्याला १०/१५ फुट खोल खंदक आहे. आतमध्ये बऱ्यापैकी शाबूत असलेले बांधकाम आहे. दरवाज्याच्या बुरुजावर सिमेंटचे बांधकाम देखील आहे, फार पूर्वीचे वाटत नाही. जालावरून मिळालेल्या माहितीनुसार शासकीय विश्रामगृह असल्याचे कळते.
बाहेरून तटबंदी फारशी उंच नसली तरी आतमध्ये मोठी जागा आहे. आतमध्ये एक लाईट-हाउस तसेच हनुमानाचे मंदिर आहे.

आता पोटातले कावळे स्वस्थ बघायला देत नव्हते. परत फिरलो आणि हॉटेल मध्ये आलो. तिथे येऊन बघतो तर विन्याने हॉटेल मध्ये शिल्लक असलेले ७/८ पैकी ५ मासे एकट्यानेच फस्त केले होते. फक्त चिकन बाकी राहले होते. जे काही शिल्लक मिळाले त्यावर तुटून पडलो. जेवणाची चव बाकी मस्त होती. भरपेट खाणे झाल्यावर बिल मागितले तर ते ८०० च्या खाली आले. आम्हाला नवल वाटले कारण आमचा अंदाज बाराशे दीड हजार होता. (याच आमच्या ग्रुप ने मी सोडून बाकी ७ जणांनी मुरुड च्या पाटील खानावळीमध्ये २५०० चे बिल केले होते.)

बिल भागवल्यावर त्यांनाच हेदवीचा रस्ता विचारला. त्यांनी फिरून रस्त्याने जाण्यापेक्ष्या पुढे गावात जाऊन नावेची चौकशी करण्यास सांगितले. त्याप्रमाणे पुढे गावात जाऊन विचारले तर एक जण तयार झाला यायला. खाडी पार करून पलीकडे आलो आणि हेदवी कडे निघालो. किनाऱ्याच्या एका हॉटेलमध्ये चहाची तल्लफ भागवायला थांबलो. हेदवीला समुद्रकिनारी राहण्याचा आमचा विचार होता पण नुकतेच २६/११ झाल्याने पोलीस आणि कोस्टगार्ड राहायला देणार नाहीत असे कळले.

गावामध्ये परतून गावातील एका घराच्या अंगणात रहायची परवानगी मागितली आणि ती मिळाली देखील, पण अंबिका असे उघड्यावर राहायला तयार नव्हती. शेवटी ज्यांच्या अंगणात झोपायची सोय झाली होती त्यांच्याच ओळखीने एक रूम घेतली त्यात संकेत-अंबिका जोडप्याला ढकलले. आमचा मुक्काम आम्ही गच्चीवर हलवला. झोपायचा बंदोबस्त तर झाला होता पण झोप येत नव्हती म्हणून परत किनाऱ्यावर निघालो. तिथे कॅम्प-फायर पेटवून गप्पा मारत बसलो.

खूप उशिरा परतलो आणि घोरण्याच्या आवाजात झोपायचा प्रयन्त करू लागलो. आजचा दिवस मस्तच गेला होता. मनासारखी भटकंती आणि खादाडी केली होती. उद्याचा दिवस शेवटचा असणार होता. हेदवी बघून दुपारी परतीचा प्रवास चालू करायचा होता. त्याबद्दल विचार करत कधी झोप लागली ते कळलेच नाही.

रत्नागिरी भटकंती : भाग 1

2011-09-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

रोहित पाटिल ---------

ढाक-बहिरी ट्रेक च्या वेळीच निलेश बरोबर बोलणे झाले होते कि एखादा बाईक ट्रेक/टूर करुया.
फोनाफोनी करून आणि बरेच जागा नाकारून शेवटी जायचे ठिकाण ठरले. रत्नागिरी जिल्हा
मार्लेश्वर - पूर्णगड - रत्नागिरी - रत्नदुर्ग - गणपतीपुळे - जयगड - हेदवी
यासाठी सलग ३ दिवस पाहिजे होते. सोमवारी सुट्टी टाकून जायचे नक्की केले. हि बाईक ट्रेक/टूर ट्रेक-मेटसच्या नावाखाली प्रसिद्ध केली. विचार हा होता कि जास्त जण असले तर मजा येईल. २७ मार्च २००९ ला ऑफिसमधून परत आलो आणी झोळी बांधून पनवेलला निलेशच्या रूमवर निघालो. रात्री रूमवर पोहोचेपर्यंत ११.३० वाजले. तिथे प्रीती, प्रीतम आणि प्रशांत हजारच होते. जास्त वेळ झोप मिळणार नव्हती म्हणून गप्पांना फाटा देऊन झोपायची तयारी केली.

सकाळी ५.३० ला उठून फ्रेश होऊन कळंबोली MacD निघालो.

तिथे पोहोच्यावर कळले पुण्यावरून येणारे पब्लिकने कल्टी मारली आहे फक्त ८ जण आहेत या टुरसाठी.मनात आले ठीक आहे जेवढे जण आहेत तेवढे खूप आहेत. बाईक ट्रेकला जास्तजण असले तर प्रत्येक थांब्याला खूप वेळ लागतो असा अनुभव होताच.
मी निलेश, प्रीती, प्रशांत, प्रीतम, विनायक, संकेत - अंबिका हे नवरा-बायको एवडेच होतो. आमच्यामधील प्रशांत हा सर्वाधिक हौशी होता. सकाळी नाशिक वरून निघाला बाईक वरून आणि ठाण्याला पोहोचला मामाकडे आणी तिथून संध्याकाळी निलेशच्या घरी.

माणसे ८ आणि बाईक ५ होत्या म्हणून प्रीतमने त्याची बाईक परत जाऊन निलेशच्या घरी पार्क केली, आणि विनायकच्या बाईकवर मागे बसला. निलेश-प्रीती आणी संकेत - अंबिका पल्सर१८० वर, प्रीतम-विनायक बजाज अवेन्जेर वर, मी आणी प्रशांत Spendar वर. हाहा" alt="हाहा" class="smiley-content"> अश्या जोड्या जमल्या.MacD वरून निघालो आणी पेट्रोलपंपावर गाड्या घुसवल्या. एकदाच काय तो सुरुवातीला वेळ जाऊंदे. नंतर सारखे थांबायला नको. टाक्या फुल करून NH17 वरून सुसाट निघालो.

मी नेहमी प्रवास करताना १ लक्षात ठेवतो कि कितीही लांब फिरायला जायचे असले तरी शेवटच्या दिवशी कमीत कमी प्रवास करावा लागेल. त्यामुळे पहिल्यांदा रत्नागिरी-पूर्णगड गाठायचे आणि तिथून उलट मुंबईकडे येताना फिरायचे ठरले.

सकाळची वेळ असल्याने रहदारी फारशी नव्हती. हवेत गारवा होतो, जो कर्नाळा परिसरात जास्तच जाणवू लागला. तासाभरात वडखळ नाक्याला पोहोचलो. बाईक्स पोट तर पनवेललाच भरले होते आता आमच्या पोटोबाची वेळ झाली होती. हॉटेल मध्ये शिरल्याबरोबर एकेकाची फरमाईश चालू झाली. पोहे, उपमा, मिसळ-पाव, कोथिंबीर वडी, इडली-वडा वर उभा-आडवा हात मारल्यावर चहा मागवला. यथेच्छ पोट भरल्यावर पुढे निघालो.

निघताना पुढच्या ब्रेकचे ठिकाण निश्शीत केले, पोलादपूर . कशेडी घाटाच्या पायथ्याचे गाव. मधेच उन्हेरे हे गाव लागले. हे ठिकाण गरम पाण्याच्या कुंडासाठी नाव राखून आहे. आमच्या गाड्या तिकडे वळल्या. तिथे जाऊन बघितले तर काही विद्वानांनी त्या कुंडामध्ये साबणाने स्नान केले होते. बाहेर मोकळ्या जागेत एका सुंदर पक्ष्याने दर्शन दिले, बहुतेक तो खंड्या होता ( मला पक्षीनिरीक्षण करता येते, पण त्यांचे नाव लक्षात ठेवणाच्या भानगडीमध्ये मी पडत नाही. हे सर्वांनाच लागू , मनुष्यगणातील पण ).

मुंबई ते महाड हा बर्यापैकी सरळ रस्ता आहे. कोंकणाची ओळख असलेले नागमोडी रस्ते आणी घाट हे पोलादपूर पासून पुढे चालू होतात ते पार सावंतवाडी उतरून बांदा पर्यंत असेच आहेत.(गोवाच्या पुढे मी गेलो नाही आहे म्हणून मला माहिती नाही) सकाळची वेळ आणि मस्तपैकी थंड हवा यामुळे प्रवासाची मजा येत होती.

या बाईक टूर साठी हेल्मेट कम्पल्सरी होते, पण इथे तर जसा हायवे लागला तसे हेल्मेट डोक्याऐवजी साइड मिररला लटकले.(सुरवात निलेश पासून झाली.) सर्व बाईक ८०-९० च्या वेगाने धावत होत्या. बाकी ३ बाईक ताकदवान असल्याने जोरात पुढे पळत होत्या. आमच्या बाईकचा जीव १०० CC आणि त्यावर माझे ८५ किलोचे धूड, कसा वेग घेणार. तरी पण प्रशांतने भन्नाट रायडींगने आमच्या व बाकी बाईक मध्ये जास्त अंतर पडू दिले नाही. २- २.३० तासामध्ये पोलादपूरला पोहोचलो. घाट चालू होण्याच्याआधी थोडे फ्रेश होण्यासाठी हा ब्रेक होता. बाकी सर्वांनी चहा सांगितला, पण मला Thumps-Up ची हुक्की आली , निलेशला पण चहा नको Thumps-Up बोलल्यावर त्याला पण तेच पाहिजे होते.

मग काय या हॉटेलमधून त्या हॉटेल-दुकानात विचारात फिरत होतो. शेवटी एक ठिकाणी मिळाले नि आमचा गळा थंड पडला.

घाट चढायला सुरवात केली. घाटामध्ये एक ठिकाणी प्रतापगड दर्शनचा फलक दिसला आणि बाईक लगेच रस्त्याच्या कडेला लागल्या. त्यावेळी प्रतापगडला गेलो नसल्याने ओळखता आला नाही. अंदाजानेच एक डोंगराला प्रतापगड मानून पुढे वाटचाल चालू केली.

आता कुठेहि न थांबता पुढे निघालो. तासा-दीड तासात परशुराम घाटात पोहोचलो. घाट चढून गेल्यावर माथ्यावर छोटे पठार आहे. तिथे एक टपरी होती. उन बरेच चढल्यामुळे तहान हि लागली होती. ड्रिंक ब्रेक लगेच ठरवला गेला. तिथेच सावलीत ठेवलेल्या खुर्च्यावर सर्वजन टेकले. पाणी आणी चहाच्या ऐवजी कोकम सरबत, आवळा सरबत ची फरमाईश आली. वशिष्ठी नदीच्या नजारा बघत आराम करत होतो. इथेच संकेत - अंबिका आमच्या बरोबर पुढे न येता चिपळूणला त्यांच्या एका मित्राकडे राहण्याचा निर्णय घेतला.

चिपळूण पासून पुढे आम्ही ६ जण होतो. १७ किमी पुढे बोर्ड दिसला , शिवतीर्थगड-डेरवण. हाती असलेल्या वेळेचा आणी पोटाचा विचार करून आम्ही आतमध्ये वळलो. हि जागा उत्तम रित्या राखलेली आहे. तसेच शिवाजी महाराजांच्या काळातील बरेच प्रसंग शिल्परुपात चितारले आहेत. त्या शिल्पांचा तसेच श्री शिव समर्थ मंदिराचे दर्शन घेऊन बाहेर पडलो. गडाबाहेरच कॅन्टीन होते दुपारच्या जेवणाचा बेत इथेच केला, परत एकदा पोटोबा थंड करून आम्ही पुढे निघालो.

इथून पुढे निवळी फाट्याला जाऊन डावीकडे वळायचे होते मार्लेश्वर साठी. भरभर पुढे निघालो. दुपार उतरायला सुरवात झाली होती आणि अजून बराच पल्ला बाकी होता. ५-५:३० च्या आसपास मार्लेश्वरला पोहोचलो. पायथ्याची ३/४ दुकाने चालू होती. भरभर वरती चढून गेलो. मला मार्लेश्वरचा प्रसिद्ध धबधबा बघायचा होता.

मंदिराच्या अलीकडे डावीकडे वळून धबधब्या चे पहिले दर्शन झाले. बऱ्यापैकी धार होती. विन्याने तर तिथपर्यंत यायला देखील नकार दिला, पण बाकीचे सर्व जात असताना एकता बसून काय करणार म्हणून तो देखील आम्हाला सामील झाला. पाण्यामध्ये शिरताच दिवसभराचा थकवा आणी बुडाचा त्रास (सवय नाहीना बाईक वरून एवढे फिरायची ) गायब झाला. हा बारमाही(??) धबधबा आहे.

मार्लेश्वरचे जंगल बर्यापैकी दाट आहे. इथे पट्टेरी वाघ देखील दिसल्याचा उल्लेख खाली पायथ्याच्या दुकानामध्ये झाला होता. थंड पाण्यामध्ये एवढे बरे वाटत होते कि बाहेर पडायला कंटाळा आला होता. पण ५ मिनिट अजून अजून करत तासाभराने बाहेर आलो.

अंधारून यायला सुरवात झाली होती. लवकर लवकर गुहेजवळ आलो. गुहेमध्ये शिरताना वाकून जावे लागते. तसेच आतमध्ये फक्त समईचा प्रकाश असतो. मार्लेश्वरची गुहा हि त्यामधील सापांसाठी ओळखली जाते. या गुहेमध्ये जिवंत साप(नाग) राहतात. पण ते दंश करत नाहीत असे बोलले जाते. तेथील पुजारयाना विचारले असता ते बोलले कि २/३ दिवस झाले त्यांना देखील काही दर्शन झाले नाही आहे. पण त्यांनी राहत असलेले बिळ दाखवले. इथे विन्याच्या कृपेने आम्हाला शिवलिंगावर माथा टेकायला मिळाला. यावेळेला दर्शनासाठी १/२ भक्त सोडले तर आम्हीच ६ जण होतो. दर्शन घेऊन बाहेर सज्ज्यामध्ये थोडी क्लीककलाट केला. संधिप्रकाश पसरला होता.

खाली उतरलो आणी छोट्या हॉटेलमध्ये खायला बसलो. हॉटेलवाला आम्हाला लवकरात लवकर पुढे निघायला सांगत होता. पण निघता निघता आम्हाला ८:१५ वाजलेच. टांग टाकून पुढे रत्नागिरीला जायला निघालो. जाताना आता परत निवळी फाट्या ऐवजी देवरुखमार्गे रत्नागिरी-गणपतीपुळे फाट्याला आलो. हातखांब्याच्या अलीकडे हा आहे. इथे येता-येता ९:१५ झाले होते. अजून रत्नागिरी २०किमि आणी रत्नागिरी-पूर्णगड अंतर किती आहे, जायचे कसे ते माहिती नव्हते. विचारात विचारात जावे लागणार होते, म्हणून समोर असणाऱ्या हॉटेलात जेवायचे ठरले.(हा सर्व युक्तिवाद विन्याने केलेला.) जेवणाची चव बरी होती. १०:३० ला तिथून निघालो आणी हातखांब्यावरून उजवीकडे आत वळलो. रत्नागिरीच्या वेशिवरूनच पावसच्या रस्त्याने १ रस्ता पूर्णगडला जात होता. पूर्णगडला पोहोचताना जवळपास १२ वाजत आले. राहायचे कुठे हा प्रश्न नवता तर गावामधून किल्ल्यावर जाणारी वाट कोण सांगेल हा होता. शेवटपर्यंत जिथवर रस्ता आहे तिथवर गाड्या चढवल्या. वाट एका देवळाच्या बाजूला जुन्या वाड्यापर्यंत जाऊन संपली. सुदैवाने देवळामध्ये काहीतरी चर्चा चालू असल्याने माणसे होती.

हा वाडा फडके म्हणून गृहस्त होते त्यांचा होता, यांचे पूर्वज पेशवेकालीन सरदार होते. वाड्याबाहेर बरीच मोठी पडवी होती. रात्री झोपायला उत्तम जागा होती. वाड्याच्या आतमध्ये जाऊन विचारणा केली तर त्यांनी आमची चांगली सोय केली, ते म्हणाले कशाला इथे पडवीमध्ये झोपता. देवळामध्ये जाऊन झोपा. तिथे सतरंजी आहे, वीज आहे, तसेच देऊळ बंदिस्त आहे त्यामुळे कुत्रे देखील सतावणार नाहीत. मनातल्या मनात खुश झालो. असेही आम्हाला मोबाईल व कॅमेरा सेल चार्ज करायचे होते. मोर्चा देवळाकडे वळवला. पथाऱ्या अंथरल्या आणी झोपायची तयारी केली. तरीही गप्पा मारत झोपायला २ वाजलेच.

आज जवळपास ४००किमि चा प्रवास बाईकवरून झाला होता. सिमेंटच्या जंगलातून निघून खऱ्याखुऱ्या जंगलामध्ये निसर्गाच्या सानिध्यामध्ये आलो होतो. आज २ जागीच भेट दिलेली असली तरी उद्यापासून खरी भटकंती चालू होणार होती.

Chanderi Trek - 7 Aug 2011

2011-08-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

It had been just a day short for the completion of a week since I’d trekked Harishchandragad, and there I was, ready again with a backpack full of excitement (after all the scolding from my parents, “ghar parivar aahet ki nahi?, nehmi trekking trekking, pudhchya weli ajibaaat jaun nahi denar” J & all the parenting stuff). But that doesn’t bother me. I was ready for the trek, accompanied by my friend Austin & some new trek mates who Nilesh was to join us with.

La Route: The route starts from Vangani, a railway station between Badlapur & Karjat on the central railway line. Form here one has to take a rickshaw up to a village called ‘Chichawli’ for some 6-7kms (make sure to take the phone number of the rickshaw wala for your return journey as there are no autos plying from the village back to the station). The trek starts from this village.

spot the rainbow in the above pic:-)

The plan was to meet together at Vangani station at 7:30am, but I and Austin had some other plan. We decided to get going a day earlier & enjoy the night life, touring here and there (a different thing from your day to day lifeJ). We left our place at 10pm & reached Karjat around 2am. I was surprised to see a group of some 30 youngsters (guys & girls) playing on the station platform. It seemed they were there for a trek (most probably a picnic J looking at their tiny backpacks). After having some kadak chai & kurkureJ, we rested on the platform itself. While Austin slept with some psychedelic music playing in his ears, I managed to shoot some night at the railway platform. We had to return to Vangani to join the rest of the group at around 7am, so we left Karjat with the 6:15am local. I hadn’t had any sleep & was already wondering how I was going to complete the trek. We met the rest of the group comprising of Nupur, Ambika, Bincy, Prasad, Alok, Mahendra, Abhijeet, & my friend Nilesh. We had breakfast of “Gujarati Thepla’s” & tea before heading towards Chichawli.

Reaching Chichawli, Nilesh had contact with a local named Ananda, who was going to prepare some kandepohe after we return back. The morning life in a village is a beautiful thing to see. The hens surrounded with all their cute little babies (the chicks are just TOO cuteJ) having some food, the cows & bulls heading towards the fields for grazing, the local dogs barking at us foreigners, the dung cakes welcoming us to break them apartJ and the cute little kids looking at us & smiling innocently as we returned some smiles. That’s what a simple life is.

It was around 9am when we left the village towards Chanderi. Alarming the rest of the surroundings with the Shivaji Maharaj Vandana, we started the trek. For the first few miles the trek goes through some small hills, up & down, straight for some 2-3kms. This is a simple walk through the plantation. But there were not many flowering plants as I’d thought earlier that disappointed me. But walking though the foliage & dirt was funJ. As we halted on the top of a small hill, we got a chance to see a beautiful Rainbow that had formed amidst the drizzle & sunlight. It was a beautiful sight & I successfully clicked some fast snaps. Moving on we had a new comer on her first trek ever, who was stuck in the basic no no’s of trekking (having a good shoe). Her shoe split open into two, so I and Nilesh tried to wind a piece of thread to it. She somehow managed it for a few miles & then took off both her shoe soles (wise decision thoughJ). We’d walked for some 4 miles where we reached the water streams (which are the actual routeJ). Many a trekkers say of getting lost, but the road is all the way through the water, keep climbing upstream and you reach a v shaped junction that descends into another valley. A left from here goes up to the Chanderi pinnacle.

It hadn’t rained for the past night & we were thankful to the nature gods. If it rained heavily, it was definitely going to hamper the ascend ahead. The huge rocks were wholly covered with moss, and there were just a few places where we could anchor our claws to get some grip. The girls slipped at some patches & continued to do soJ. We had our new comer mate Ambika who slipped of on a huge slippery rock along with another mate. It was a confusing situation for me. At times like these, I get confused, whether to laugh or look into the matterJ. I had a laugh with myself J & tried to reach her. Not a serious fall though, it had all of us worried. Most of the times, incidences like these hamper the group confidence, but thankfully it didn’t happen to us. We continued to climb the rock patches that were pouring in water with force. The rock patch is a much demanding affair in the rainy season as it gets too slippery. But we all managed to make it. Climbing for an hour or so, we had made it through the rocks & into the thick plantation. There are a lot of insects that keep you bothering all the time (be prepared with some repellants). They stick to your body & bite you (not like mosquitoes that fly away when wiped off). These insects troubled me a lot, so I’ve made a decision to carry a forge with me the next time I come here for a trek & watch these insects burn to death in my forge & laugh at themJ.

Now we’d reached the point of diversion, the one which exits into another valley & the left that takes you towards the Chanderi pinnacle. While Austin & Ambika (who were really tired as seen on their facesJ) decided not to come up to the summit & lay down, the rest of the crew continued after a short break. The climb from here is more demanding than what we did before. Firstly, the route is a very narrow piece of land, just enough to place your feet, with valley on both your sides, and secondly, the wind blows here at high speeds that could blow you of in an open windcheater like a parachuteJ. It is preferable for people with less experience to do this part carefully.

It takes around 20mins to reach the cave. The view from the region around the cave is just beautiful. The grass, waving with the wind, the fog that covers the surroundings, the fresh air that comes in & the feeling of being at on the top of a summit is always an awesome experience. The pinnacle can be reached with rope and harness. It is a technical job that has to be done with greater care.

Spending some time at this place, we decided to return. Catching up with the rest of the gang, we descended down the same route. It took some 3hrs for us to descend. Reaching the village, we headed to have some good kandepohe & chai prepared for us at Ananda’s place. We changed into some good clothing (out of the dirty, mud covered ones that would prevent us from entering any mode of transportationJ). We returned to Vangani to catch up with the next local to CST.

Not a ‘so exciting’ trek though, but I still had a good time as I like to trek a lot. Trekking is always a good experience, it helps you to know team work more, it helps you to reach your limits, make knew friends, learn more from life. It’s a feeling of freedom, standing on the edge at the top of the mountain & spreading your hands and screaming out loudly as possible is one of the best things to do. Trekking helps you know how beautiful life is and shows you different shades of nature each time you visit a different location. It’s a beautiful feeling ‘that does matter in the end’.

Harishchandragad Trek amidst the heavy monsoon...

2011-08-03T11:36:00.001-07:00

Harishchandragad, Maharashtra

After a long long time, almost after a gap of one n a half year, this was my first trek to one of the best mountains to trek in the whole of Maharashtra. Harishchandragad trek is one of the most favorite treks amongst all the fellow trekkers who trek the same mountain, time and time again, even in the harshest weather, just for the love of trekking. As planned, we gathered at kalyan junction. This time I had a friend of mine (Austin) who was a new comer as far as trekking is concerned. I knew there were very few chances of him completing the trek (for a guy who is more than 85kg, this is the first question that arisesJ). We met Nilesh (my fellow friend from the senior college) at the kalyan railway station. I hadn’t seen him for past time, but just as I expected him to look like, he looked the same. A double sized rucksack on his back and thin branches called as feet to support the heavy backpack aboveJ. Greeting & introduction to my friend followed the meet. We then proceeded to the bus station to meet the rest of the gang. Slowly and steadily, the rest of the members arrived. They are classified as J Shraddha, Jhanvi, Pooja, and Nakul & VishalJ. As usual, trekkers tend to make friends very easily & so were I. we had a nice friendly talk that made us ready for the following trek so that we could maintain peace & harmonyJ. It was raining, raining hard, we all were partially wet, packed with heavy weights, and had to do one of the most thrilling & hard feats, it was ‘boarding the Nagar bound ST bus’J. Nilesh managed to grab hold of the whole last seat (even then, he and I were standing for the whole time, u know ‘dildaar aadmi n allJ’ we let the girls rest on the seats, such chivalry of oursJ. After a long bus journey, we reached ‘Khubi fata’ which is a small village some miles ahead of Malshej Ghat. It was somewhere around 2-3am when we dropped off at this place.

The walk starts now. It was completely dark, even the twinkling stars we hidden behind the thick cluster of the monsoon clouds. The only place lit was the patch of road (I doubt whether it was road or not) that came under the light of two torches, yes; you heard it right, two torches lighting up the so called rubble road for eight peopleJ. We were walking on the road that was built on the boundary of a huge dam for some 3-4kms. After walking for nearly half an hour, or so, we reached the village at the famous Tejas hotelJ. We decided toe take some rest there, not inside but in the ‘veranda’. Spreading some plastic sheets we placed our bedding. All others slept the whole night, except for me. Reason; firstly I did not carry any bedding & I wont sleep amidst the hay & insects hovering around the place, oh! So sophisticated of meJ. I remained awake the whole time like a chaukidaar. Another reason for me being awake was to see the morning glory of the surrounding which I don’t usually get a chance to see. The early morning atmosphere was just too pristine. The freshest shade of green on the farm lands, surrounded with thick fog and the noises of different birds just made the surrounding oh! so beautiful. While all my fellow mates were sleeping tight, I managed to shoot some nature through my camera lens. But of course, there always are factors that hamper your task, and this time it was the rain & the mist that limited my camera. Even though, I managed to click some good photos. So cool of meJ. Later on, everybody woke up, one by one, taking their bodies out of the boredom of sleepJ. The girls, as usual, can’t just see a boy resting, in their presenceJ. After having a good Indian breakfast of kandepohe, we packed our bags, ready for the trek. After getting ready, we alarmed everybody else about our presence with the ‘Shivaji Maharaj Vandana’, that’s what most of the true trekkers do before starting a trek to pay their respect to the king of Maharashtra, the king of the mountains, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

We started our trek somewhere around 9am. Walking through the rubble road for a mile or so, we reach the point of sudden ascend. Until then, my friend Austin was already breathing above his capacity while the girls leaded the way. In the lead was Jhanvi ben followed by Nilesh & others. Jhanvi ben scaled the mountain just effortlessly, as if she was born to do it, hats off to this young lady. I don’t mean to create a condescending image of her on other girls thoughJ, Shraddha & Pooja were awesome on their feet too J (aaj kal chya pori pan na, poranna maage sodtatJ). We continued to move on through the cuts & curves of the jungle, through the dense plantation & the rubble beneath. I thought the route we scaled through must have been called ‘naali chi vaat’ as it passed on through a past which had water gushing, all the way down, like a ‘nullah’. Walking our way up & down we reached a waterfall (kekdaJ) as my friends called it. It was a nice waterfall with a view of the main waterfall which was across the valley. The main waterfall seemed to look as if it was pouring milk, doodhfallJ. It was the freshest shade of white I’d ever seen & it was pouring out of bounds. All my friends HAD to take a bath under the small waterfall, so did they. My friend Austin, after coming out of the waterfall said, ‘kya fatte massage hua yaar peeth ka’, & it really was much relaxing to feel the pouring water on our back. The force of the falling water freshened up all our senses & nerves, it’s a must try. Whilst all were enjoying the fall, Nilesh managed to bring out his camera out in the rain to click some good photos. We captured some good poses. Moving on, we hadn’t even scaled half the mountain, & there was I, who was searching for mobile phone network. The reason being, I hadn’t informed my family about the extension in the program for another day, so silly of meJ.

In almost one and a half hour, we had scaled half the mountain when we reached the rock patch, which was a steep ascend at an angle of nearly 70 degrees, covered with light moss & water, it was the best part of the trek. Rock patches like these is what I really like while trekking. It gives an adrenalin rush through me, that’s worth the attempt & what makes me happy. As an amateur & a first timer, my friend Austin was scared a bit to cover this patch, but slowly and steadily, acquiring all of his courage, he managed to scale this patch, but then got stuck just when he had to take a few steps. He jacked himself at a place which scared me off as I was the only one behind him, to support him. This could have turned a nasty affair if I moved a bit & took him out of his safety, I had to call for more support, so I called out Vishal to support Austin & direct him while I provided him support. Huh! Finally, he made it through the rock patch. That was one of the most adventurous he did, he saidJ. Moving on, we again had to walk through the ups & downs through the thick plantation. Walking for a sum total of nearly 3 and half hours, we reached the top of the mountain at the caves. While trekking the entire way up, we couldn’t see any more than some 10 to 20 feet of land, the thick cover of fog around us decreased our visibility. So we decided to head straight away to the caves for shelter.

It was the starting of the month of Shravan (gatari day), and the place was already crowded with different people (I doubt to call them trekkers), all of them moving in their underwear, I wonder whyJ?? Anyways, Nilesh acquired a corner for our gang to rest upon. Making all the necessary arrangements, we decided to head towards ‘Konkan Kada’. So we proceeded towards it. To our surprise, all of it was covered in thick fog, top to bottom I guessJ, but we waited for some time to see if the nature gods show pity on us & show us glimpses of the deep valley beneath us. We didn’t get any view of it though, but still managed to get some good photos. After some mazak masti we returned to base (the cavesJ)

It was eve time and we were having some hot tea as we settled inside the cave. As the darkness creeped in, we started to get our bedding ready after having dinner. The later was followed by the sooooo scary stories by Nilesh. We chit chatted for nearly an hour or more sharing our experiences (disturbing all others J) & slept with the night on the hard rock surface. Everybody had wrapped themselves in their bedding except me. I didn’t have any, so I decided to enjoy the chilling cold surroundingJ. Waking up early in the morning, I unpacked my camera & went on exploring the surroundings amidst the heavy rain. I reached up to the temple area which was already covered with thick fog. The place was so beautiful, everything just matched perfectly, the ruins, the temple, the greenery & the fog. All of it was just perfectly picturesque. Returning base, I wasn’t surprised to see everyone sleeping tight. Everyone else woke up as they wished. Huh! Such boredom till thenJ. It was wake up time, and there was Shraddha waking the rest of the mates out of sleepJ (these girls I tell you, just cant be happy looking at a boy having some restJ). It was good morning for all and we had hot tea ready for us along with some garama garam kandepohe . The smart girls in our group got some maggi noodles with them & got them prepared from Badri, the person who cooks food for fellow trekkers there. We feasted up on all that we had. Getting ready for the descent, we explored the surrounding temple complex.

A brief history about this mountain as told to me by Nilesh is that, this place was ruled by a king named Harishchandra (not the one we usually hear of). He built this temple dedicated to the lord Shiva followed by a ShivLing near a small waterfall beside the temple. A small citadel at the top of the mountain was named after his wife Taramati. Another mountain in the same range, a few miles away was named after his son Rohidas. Never ever in the history of this mountain did any battle take place here. The reason being the mountain itself situated at a height tough to scale for a battle.

We then resumed our journey back, the same way. It took us some 3 and a half hour. We had to stop at each and every waterfall for our friend Pooja who never missed a chance to get herself drenched in the water. It seemed as if she came for the trek just for the joy of getting herself wet, this girl I tell youJ. But that’s the point, what is the meaning of trekking at such a beautiful place if you don’t enjoy it, hats of to this young lady. She always made a point to take a dip in each & every stream flowing with chilling waterJ.

Small or big, we enjoyed all of it, climbing the rock surface, singing songs with the chorus, time & time again, getting ourselves massaged under the heavily pouring waterfall, getting drenched in the chilling streams of water & cracking jokes on each other right from the start till the end. What a wonderful experience. We returned to the place where we had earlier stayed (the famous hotel Tejas) to have food. Having some good veg food (just because of unavailability of chickenL) we continued our jokes & chatting. Giving a goodbye to the place we started our journey back towards the highway with a plan to return back, again, just for the joy of trekking one of the best places in Maharashtra, ‘Harishchandragad’.

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