सालाबाद प्रमाणे यंदाच्या मौसामातला पहिला ट्रेक म्हटला की जे नाव माझ्या आपसूक मनात येत ते म्हणजे पारसिक. या वेळी म्हटलं थोडं काहीतरी वेगळं करू. यंदाचा बेत ठरला पर्सिक्वर असणाऱ्या " nursery rock " वर जाण्याचा. पण मुहूर्त काही मिळेना. मग एकदम अचानक ९ तारखेला रात्री ९ वाजता आमचे प्रिय मित्र श्री प्रसादराजे डिगणकर यांचा फोने आला . आता तुम्ही विचाराल की हे प्रसादराजे कोण ? कधी आले ? कुठून आले ? तर. हे राजे अश्यासाठी की वेळ, काळ, हे असं काही यांना माहीतच नाही. असो. याबद्दल नंतर बोलू. तर प्रसादचा फोने आल्यावर त्याने मला विचारला की " अर्रे उद्या काय करतो आहेस ? nursery ला जायचा का ?". पार्सिकला जायला कारण लागत नाही. आपोआपच उत्तर हो असं आलं माझ्याकडून. मग काही फोने इथे काही फोने तिथे. काही message इथे काही तिथे. हा ट्रेकिंगचा नेहेमीचा सोपास्कार पूर्ण झाला. काही हो आले तर काही नाही आले. मित्र अनेक त्यांची कारणं अनेक. काही तर थेट जाऊन बसले होते दिल्लमध्ये. मग शेवटी उरले फक्त ३. मी, प्रसाद आणि चिन्मय रासकर.
सकाळी ६:३० वाजता १० तारखेला झोपेतून उठलो ते फोनेची रिंग ऐकून. फोनेवर होते प्रसाद्राजे. त्यांनी विचारणा केली की " अरे तिथे पाऊस पडतोय का ? ". अर्ध मिटलेल्या डोळ्यांनी खिडकी बाहेर पाहिला आणि म्हणालो " जरा ही नाही पडत आहे." राजे म्हणाले ठीक आहे मग मी निघतो इकडून. घरातून निघालो की तुला फोने करीन. ठीक आहे म्हणून मी पुन्हा झोपी गेलो! ६:४६ ला परत फोने वाजला. मी हैराण होऊन उठलो की एवढ्या लगेच राजे निघाले कसे ? बघतोय तर फोने चीन्मयचा होता. दचकून उठलो आणि फोने उचलला. चीनमय म्हणतो " मी घरातून निघालो आहे. बस स्टोप वर भेटू." आता माझी धाव पळ सुरु झाली. प्रातःकालीन विधी आटपून मी BAG शोधायला सुरुवात केली ! बघतो तर काय BAG गायब ! अजून वेळ न दवडता कॉलेजची sack घेतली आणि त्यामध्ये कॅमेरा, पाण्याच्या बाटल्या आणि एक नशिबाने हाताला जवळच मिळालेला raincoat भरला आणि धाव घेतली. घरातून निघालो ते मेथीचा लाडू तोंडात कोंबून आणि एका हातात पाण्याची बाटली घेऊन. बस स्टोप वर घड्याळ बघितला तर ते सांगत होता ७:०५.
बस स्टोप वर आल्यावर प्रसादला फोने केला. त्याने सांगितला की तो घरातून निघतोय म्हणून. एवढ्यात बस आली. आम्ही बस मध्ये चढलो आणि काही जुन्या ट्रेकच्या आठवणीत रमलो. ७:२५ च्या आसपास आम्ही मुंब्रा देवीच्या पायथ्याशी होतो. इथे मी सांगतो की मी प्रसाद " राजे " का म्हणतो आहे ते. इथे आल्यावर राज्यांना फोने केल्यावर आम्हास असे आढळून आले की राजे त्यांच्या इमारतीच्या पायऱ्या उतरत आहेत ! राजे आम्हास म्हणतात कसे, " अरे बघ फक्त ७ मिनिटं लागतात तिथपर्यंत यायला". पण ७ मिनिटं लागतात ठाणा स्टेशन वरून मुंब्रा स्टेशन ला आणि हे अजून पायऱ्या उतरत आहेत. IST अर्थात INDIAN STANDARD TIME या गोष्टीचा खरा वापर याचं अजून चांगला उदाहरण नाही देता येणार. मग काहीवेळ तिथे वाट पहिली. मग काही वेळ पायऱ्या चढून गेल्यावर छोटं मंदिर लागतं तिथे वाट पहिली. मग जी जायची वाट होती त्या वाटेच्या तोंडाशी जाऊन राज्यांची वाट पाहिली. पण राजे काही येत नाहीत. इतक्यात पाउस सुरु झाला. ही आली पंचाईत. या पावसात प्रस्तरआरोहण करायचं म्हणजे चांगलीच दमछाक होणार हे ठरलेलं. मग काय फोने करा. पण राजे फोने उचलतील तर शप्पथ. मग कुठे एक आशेचा किरण ऐकू येऊ लागला. राजे फोनेवर म्हणतात की आम्ही मुंब्रा देवीच्या पायऱ्या चढतो आहोत ! आणखी ५ मिनिटांनी एक छोटेखानी आकृती पायऱ्या चढताना दिसू लागली. पाऊस पडत असूनही डोक्यावर न छत्री होती न शरीरावर raincoat. पाठीवर sack अडकवलेली. हे आले आमचे राजे ! राज्यांना शिव्यांची लाखोली वाहिल्यावर आम्ही आमच्या रस्त्याला लागलो.
nursery मध्ये पोहोचलो. sack बाजूला ठेऊन पहिला try केला मग दुसरा मग तिसरा . काही झाले पण हाताला काही ग्रीप मिळत नव्हतं. थोडे कठीण करणे अजिबात शक्य होत नव्हतं. एवढ्यात पावसानेही जोर पकडला. काळे ढग ओसरण्याची काही चिंन्हे दिसत नव्हती. मग एका OVERHANG खाली बसलो आणि पूस जाण्याची वाट पाहू लागलो. इतक्यात राज्यांचा सल्ला आला. पारसिकच्या डोंगर माथ्यावर जाऊ. मी अगोदर तय्यार नव्हतो. चीन्मायही तय्यार नव्हता. ९ वाजून गेले होते. १२:३० पर्यंत खाली उतरायचा होता. हे शक्यच नाही असं वाटत होतं. पण राज्यांना नाही अकायची सवय नाही. मग काय ९:२० ला निघालो आणि परतीची वाट पकडली. रिक्षाने कळव्याला परत आलो आणि झोपडपट्टीतून चादायला सुरुवात केली.
पार्सिक्ची अजून एक खासियत आहे. कुठ्च्याची दिशेने चढलात तरी सुरुवातीला हागणदारी लागायलाच हवी. मग आम्ही कसे वाचू शकू. नेहमीच्या घळीत आलो आणि श्वास घेतला. इतका सुवास सहन होत नव्हता. मग काही वेळात चढायला सुरुवात केली. मी पुढे होतो चीनमय मध्ये आणि राजे शेवटी.पाऊस रिमझिमत होता. माती ओली झाली होती. पाय स्थिरावत नव्हते. पण सोपा असेल तर तो पारसिक कसला. वाट काढत, खाच खळग्यात अडखळत, पडत झडत, हसत आणि हसवत, मध्ये मध्ये शिव्या ओव्या पुटपुटत आम्ही वर पोहोचलो. वरून जे दृश्य दिसतं ते नेहमीच वेगळं असतं. कधी उन्हाचा रख रखीतपणा तर कधी अंगावर येणारे ढग. कधी गार गार वारा तर कधी बोचणारा पाउस. तिथे त्या बोर्डांच्या खाली थोडं स्थिरावलो आणि मग परत चालू लागलो दुसर्या डोंगरांकडे. तो डोंगर काहीसा उतरून ओढ्याच्या दिशेने चालू लागलो. ओढ्याजवळ बरेच खेकडे दिसत होते. पण ओढ्यात पाणी अजिबात नव्हतं. ओढा पार केला आणि त्या बाजूला गेलो. वाट चांगली होती. एक बाजूला दरी दिसत होती तर दुसर्या बाजूला पाउसात न्हाऊन निघालेला कातळ. पाऊसही कमी झाला होता पण अजून पूर्ण पणे गेला नव्हता. आम्ही तिघे गप्पा मारत चालत होतो. पुद्धे गेल्यावर रस्ता चढणीला लागत होता. १०:५२ झाले होते. ११ च्या आता सुळक्या खाली नसतो पोहोचलो तर उशीर झाला असता. पण घाई करण्यात अर्थ नव्हता. माती सुटी होती आणि पाय घसरत होता. SANDAL घालून चढणं जमत नव्हतं. पाय मुरगळण्याची भीती होती. SANDAL हातात घेऊन चालू लागलो.आश्चर्याने सुळक्याच्या पायथ्याला पोहोचलो तेव्हा वेळ झाली होती १०:५९. बरोबर वेळेत पोहोचून आम्ही आमच्या BAGS एका दगडा खाली ठेवल्या. TIGER बिस्कीट खाल्ली आणि वर निघालो. पाऊस थांबला होता. थोडं उन पडू लागलं होतं. आम्ही वर चाढलो तिकडून दृश्य अप्रतिम होता. लांबवर पाउस पडत होता ते दिसत होतं. दुसर्या बाजूला थोडं फार उन होतं. तिथे ११:३० पर्यंत थांबलो आणि परतीची वाट धरली.
घळीतून येणारी वाट ही वर येताना सगळ्यात सोयीस्कर आणि सोपी आहे. पण याच वाटेने मी आज्तागत कधी खाली उतरलो नव्हतो. प्रसादच्या जबरदस्तीने ती वाट उतरू लागलो. पहिले १५-२० फुट हे पूर्ण पणे ओल्या चिकट मातीचे आहेत. त्यामुळे तिथून उतरणं फार अवघड जात होतं. मातीतून बाहेर आलेलं कुठल्यातरी झाडाचं मूळ पकडून आम्ही खाली उतरत होतो. हात मातीने माकले होते. कपड्यांवर चिखल होता. अश्या अवस्थेत आम्ही उतरत होतो. प्रसादने कुठची तरी वेगळीच वाट शोधली होती. आम्ही हा मातीचा भाग उतरलो तरी सुद्धा राजे वेगळाच रस्ता शोधात होते. राजे उतरेपर्यंत मी आणि चीनमय पायला लागलेली माती काढत होतो. मग रजेच पुढे झाले आणि रस्ता काढू लागले. चांगलंच कडकडीत उन पडलं होतं. ४५-५० मिनिटात आम्ही खाली उतरलो. १:३० वाजून गेले होते. कॉलोनिमध्ये येऊन एक बर्फाची पेप्सी प्यायलो ( नेहमीप्रमाणे ) आणि घरी गेलो. तसाच. चेहरा माखलेला पण मन सुखावलेला.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
माथेरानचा साक्खा शेजारी - बिकटगड
माथेरानला बऱ्याचवेळा जाऊन सुद्धा जवळच्या पेबला जायचा काही योग येत नव्हता. बाबा २ वेळा जाऊन आले होते आणि मी काही फोटोही पाहिले होते. त्यावरून गड सर करायला चांगलीच मजा येईल (आणि घामसुद्धा) हे जाणून होतो. मग एका गुरुवारी संध्याकाळी पेबचा "plan" ऐकला आणि डोक्यात नवीन ट्रेकचे वारे वाहू लागले. हळू हळू शनिवार पर्यंत १० भिडू गोळा केले आणि बाबांच्या "community" बरोबर जायचे ठरवले.
दुसर्यादिवशी ट्रेक असला की आदल्या रात्री काही डोळ्याला डोळा लागत नाही. साडे चारचा गजर लाउनही ३ ला एकदा आणि परत ३:३० ला उठलोच. शेवटी झोप काही लागत नाही म्हणून उठलो. सगळी तयारी केली आणि ५:४५ ला घरातून कूच केली.कळव्याला जाऊन सकाळी ६:१८ ची ट्रेन पकडली आणि ट्रेन मध्ये एकाच गोंधळ चालू असल्याचे समजले.ट्रेनमध्ये दरवाज्यात उभं राहून पहाटेच्या गारव्याचा आनद घेतला. तेज, निनाद, राहुल मिळून गप्पा हाकत होतो. नेरळला पोहोचलो आणि कळला की एकूण २१ जण आहोत!
नेरळ वरून चालत पायथ्याला पोहोचलो आणि "introduction" आटपून घेतलं. उन्हं येत होती आणि स्वेंटर,शाली, कानटोप्या अंगावरून निघत होत्या. समोर पेबचा कडा दिसत होता तर दावीकडे माथेरान. समोर रस्त्यात बरीच गाव होती.चालत असताना मी राहुल आणि निनाद थोडं पुढे निघालो. रस्ता चुकलो!! पण जे होतं ते चांग्ल्य्साठी होतं.चालत असताना समोरून एक मध्यम आकाराचा पक्षी उडत गेला.त्याचा मागोसा घेतला तेव्हा कळलं की तो भारद्वाज होतं ! माझा मित्र प्रसाद डिंगणकर जो नेहमी हा पक्षी बघण्यासाठी उत्सुक असतो,कावळ्याचा आवाजही त्याला भारद्वाजचा वाटतो! पण नेमका या वेळी तोः आमच्या सोबत नव्हता.तो होता राजमाचीला.त्याची कमी जाणवली म्हणूनच कदाचित हा भारद्वाज आम्हास भेट देऊन गेला.असो,रस्त्याचा अंदाजे काढत आम्ही गडाच्या उजव्या बाजूला जात राहिलो. गडाला चिकटून असलेला डोंगर चढलो आणि त्याच्या दुसर्या बाजूने उतरून गडावर चढायचे होते.ही चढण चांगलीच दमछाक करणारी होती.
सुकलेलं गावात आणि सुकलेली माती चढणं कठीण करत होती.पडत लोळत सगळे एकदाचे पोहोचले त्या टेकाडावर. समोर एक भलामोठा विद्युतखांब होता. चढल्यावर त्याशेजारी डाव्याबाजूला गर्द झाडी होती. त्या झादीच्या उंबरठ्यावर असलेल्या सावलीत आम्ही विसावलो. चिवडा फरसाण खाल्लं आणि परत वात पकडली. आता ठरवला की थांबायचं ते सरळ गडावर पोहोचूनच.
उन्हं तापू लागली होती पण हवेत गारवा होता न डोक्यावर सावली. वात सुखद होती जास्त चढही नव्हता. गप्पा मारत जंगलाची मजा लुटत आमचं टोळकं चालत होतं. जसजसं जंगल वाढत होतं तसाच पाया खालचा गावातही वाढत होतं. पायाला खूप खाज येत होती. याची सोय तर पुढे होती. काहीवेळाने आम्ही त्या झाडीतून बाहेर आलो आणि गडावर चढणं सुरु झालं.वाटेत एक मोठा झाड दिसला. त्याच्या डोहात ३-४ जण आरामात राहतील इतकी जागा होती.
या गडाला बिकटगड का म्हणतात ते आम्हाला चांगलंच कळत होतं.पहिलाच चढ छातीवर घेऊन आम्ही कुठे थोडा वर पोहोचतोय तोवर एक सुकलेला ओढा खाली आलेला दिसत होतं. त्या ओढ्याबरोबरच वर चढायचे ठरले. हि वात मगासच्या वाटेच्या बरोब्बर उलट होती. चढण होतं आणि डोक्यावर सावलीही नव्हती.ओढ्यातील दगडांवर चालणं फार कठीण जात होतं. पाय सटकला तर मुरगळण्याची शक्यता खूप असते. प्रत्येक पाउल जपून ठेवावा लागत होतं.हे सगळा असा चालू असताना पहिल्यांदा ट्रेकवर आलेल्या रश्मीला एक "चांगलाच" अनुभव आला. नेमकी इथे तिचे दोन्ही बूट फाटायला लागले. जवळ जवळ फाटलेच. मग ते बांधायला सगळे धागे-दोरे शोधात होते. मग ते बूट त्याने बांधले गेले. हे सगळा सावरत सावरत ती चढत होती. आमचा वेग बराच थंडावला होतं. याला पूर्णतः कारणीभूत होते ते सूर्यदेव. घामाच्या धारा वाहत होत्या. पाण्याच्या बाटल्या रिकाम्या होत होत्या. लिमलेटच्या गोळ्या फस्त होत होत्या.वाटेच्या दोन्हीबाजूने काटेरी झुडुपं होती.पोट्रीची सगळी चामडी उर्ख्द्याने निघत होती. पण काही करता येत नव्हता. आता पाय डोक्यावरतर नाही घेऊ शकतना आणि जरी घेतले तरी तीच दशा हातांची होणार हे नक्की.थकून भागून ओरखडे झेलून नाखीण आणि पेबच्या बेचक्यात पोहोचलो.
इथे सोसाट्याचा वारा वाहत होता. वारा खाऊन फोटो काढून आम्ही पुढच्या प्रवासाला लागलो.चढ कमी झाला होता. ही वाट कडेकडेने जात असल्यामुळे सावधतेने आम्ही जात होतो. बाबा एकटेच पुढे जाऊन उंच गवतात दिसेनाशे झाले होते. काही वेळाने एका वळणावर जुनी गाणी ऐकू येत होती. वळून बघितला तर तिथे एक भल्यामोठ्या दगडावर बाबा शांत गाणी ऐकत आमची वाट बघत बसले होते! त्यांनी आम्हाला न थांबता पुढे जायला सांगितला.पुढे लागणार होता एक छोटुसा "rockpatch".
इथपर्यंत पोहोचलो तेव्हा माझ्याबरोबर तेज आणि अभिषेक होते.समोर एक चांगला १५-२० फुटांचा "rockpatch" होता.गळ्यातला camera आत टाकला आणि पाहणी करायला निघालो. पारसिकवर केलेल्या "rockpatch" ची आठवण येत होती.हा भाग सर करून वर पहिली sack ठेवली. पाठोपाट लगेच तेजही आला. त्याला वर बसउन मी परत खाली आलो. मानली, निनाद, राहुल, संकेत, रश्मी, अंकिता, बाबा, बने काका सगळे आले होते. जेवढी लोक होती सगळ्यांच्या bags अगोदर वर पोहोचवल्या. मग हळू हळू एक एक करून सगळे वर पोहोचले. पण अजूनही पाठी बरीच लोक राहिली होती. ते सगळे येईपर्यंत आम्ह्चा photosession चालू होता.त्या लोकांना यायला अजून २० मिनिटे गेली. मग बाकीचेही वर पोहोचले. इथे एक छोटासा problem झाला. इथे दगडांमध्ये एक बारीकशी जागा आहे. इथून वर जावे लागत होते.आमच्यातल्या अनिरुद्धची इथे थोडी पंचाईत झाली झाली. भरभक्कम देहयष्टीचा असल्याकारणे त्याला हा भाग थोडा कठीण जात होता. जागा कमी असल्याने त्याला वर खेचून घेणंही कठीण जात होतं.त्याला भीती होती ती परत खाली येताना कसा येणार याची. अश्यावेळी जेव्हा त्याला सगळ्यांची गरज होती तेव्हा सगळे एका मोठ्या कुटुंबासारखे त्याच्या पाठीशी उभे होते.तेज आणि नितीन बने काका वर बसून त्याला कुठे पकडायचे, कसे पकडायचे ते सांगत होते. खालून मी व त्याचे वडील त्याला दिलासा देत होतो."घाबरू नकोस रे", "अर्रे दोन पावला टाक आणि वर आलास म्हणून समाज", "common dude you can do it" असे आवाज येत होते. हीच खरी जादु असते ट्रेकची. याला मी आणि माझ्यासारखे बरीच लोकं आज पहिल्यांदाच भेटलो होतो.फार काही बोलणही झालं नव्हता. तरी पण त्याच्या पाठीशी सगळे उभे उभे. एका दिवसात जन्मा जम्नाची नाती असल्यासारखे वागणारे लोकं म्हणजे "trekkers". कुल, जात, धार्म, प्रतिष्ठा, मान, नाव, गाव अश्या सगळ्या गोष्टी विसरून एका तटावर जेवायला बसणारे म्हणजे "trekkers". तर असाच सगळा "moral support" देऊन त्यालाही वर घेतलं आणि टाळ्यांच्या कडकडाटात त्याचा वर सावागत झालं. उरलेले एक दोन जनही वर आले आणि आम्ही वर गुहेच्या दिशेने निघालो.
अजून ५-१० मिनिटांमध्ये गुहेत पोहोचलो.
इथून समोर म्हसमाळ डोंगर दिसत होतं.लांब धुक्यात मालान्गड आणि चंदेरी सुद्धा साद घालत होते. हे दृश्य मनोमन पाहून थोडे विसावलो. काही फोटो काढले आणि डबे उघडले. पुलाव, इडली, पोहे, ठेपले, चपात्या, ब्रेंड, मसाले भात,अंडी, लसून चटणी, "garlic rice",आणि विविध प्रकारची लोणची अशी मेजवानी मांडली होती.हे जेवण स्वाहा केलं.गडाची माहितीचे "printouts" तेजने सगळ्यांना वाचून दाखवले.
शांतपणे ऐकलं आणि आम्ही पुढे गड पाहायला निघालो.
वाटेत एक छोटासा भुयार दिसलं.आत जायला गुड्घ्य्वर बसून एकावेळी एकाच माणूस आत जाऊ शकेल इतकी जागा होती. mobile मधला torch घेऊन काही वीर अगोदर आत शिरले.आत काही ण दिसल्याने परत बाहेर आले. आता पर्यंत दुसऱ्यान मध्येही उत्सुकता निर्माण झाली होती आत जायची. या वेल्स दुसरे काही लोक आत गेले. हे सगळा चालू असलेला पाहून मी ही जायचा ठरवला. थोडा आत गेलो. श्वास कोंडल्या सारखा वाटत होतं.म्हणून परत बाहेर आलो. पण अंगातली मस्ती काही कमी होई ना.म्हणून परत गेलो. या वेळेस मी साल्यात पुढे होतो हातात torch घेऊन.माझ्यापाठी मानली व टोच्या पाठी तेज असे ३ जन आत गेलो. १० -१५ फूट रांगत गेल्यावर खाली एक चौकोनी खड्डा आहे. torch नसेल तर आत नाकी पडणार. torch च्या उजेडात खाली उडी मारली. पुढे अजून ४-५ फूट रंगत गेलो आणि पाहिलं तर एक छोटीशी खोली होती. आतून चुना मारल्याचे काळात होते.लोखंडी पिंजर्याला असतो तसा दरवाजा होतां. आत torch मारला काही दिसेना मग पाठी फिरलो. आता मानली आत उतरली होती. ती देखील torch घेऊन पुढे बघून आली. मग तिला अगोदर वर चढायला मदत केली. आणि मग स्वतः "chimney climbing" करत बाहेर आलो.
पुढे शिडी वापरून थोडा वर चढायचा होत.वर चढून गेलो आणि एक कोपर्यात हनुमानाची कोरलेली प्रतिमा होती.त्याला वंदन केले आणि पुढे सरकलो. वात थोडी कठीण होती. सावधपणे चढून डोंगराच्या कडेशी पोहोचलो.इथे रस्ता कुठे जातोय हे काही कळेना.हेमंत काकांनी काही पायर्या दाखवल्या आणि त्यावरून आम्ही वर चढलो. काटेरी झुडुपं अंग सोलून काढत होती. त्यामधून चालत-चालत चढत-चढत वर मंदिरा पर्यंत पोहोचलो. मंदिराचा सुशोभीकरण चालू होता. इथे थोडावेळ विसावलो आणि गडाच्या टोकाच्या दिशेने चालू लागलो. रस्त्यात रानफुलांची रास लागली होती. टोकाला अतिशय वाईट परिस्थितीत असलेली एक भिंत होती. त्यावर चढून बघितला. समोर माथेरान दिसत होते. आश्चर्य असं की आम्हाला माथेरानची "mini train" सुद्धा दिसली. समोर उंच "panorama" पोइन्त्च टोक होता. त्यापाठी प्रबळगडाची आकृती दिसत होती. एक बारीकशी पायवाट आम्ही जिथे बसलो होतो तिथून निघून पुढे माथेरानच्या कड्या पर्यंत जात होती. ती वाट पाहून अंगावर काटा येत होता.इथे काही फोटो काढले आणि माघारी फिरलो. परतीच्या वाटेत अजून काही लोक तिथे जात होते. आम्ही विचार करत होतो की आलेल्या वाटेने परत जाणे कठीण होते. या माथेरानच्या वाटेने गेलो तर ? असे विईचार चालू होते.ही वाट अत्यंत भयानक वाटत होती. एवढा ओझा घेऊन जाण फार फार कठीण झाला असत. शेवटी ठरलं की आलेल्या वाटेने गेलेलं बऱ. वरच्या मंदिरात पाणी प्यायलो आणि गुहेची वाट धरली. गुहे कडे पोहोचलो तेव्हा सगळ्यांची आवर आवर चालू होती. बरीच माकडं आली होती. त्यांचे काही फोटो लढले आणि आलेल्या वाटेने परत फिरलो.
"rockpatch" या वेळेस आरामात उतरलो. इथे तेजला युक्ती सुचली. रश्मी तिच्या तुटलेल्या "woodland" मुळे हैराण झाली होती. तिचे "socks" बाहेर आणि "woodland" आत अशी शक्कल लढून तिला ते बूट घालण्यात आले. बाकीचा ट्रेक तिने "तसाच" पार केला.पायथ्याला पोहोचल्यावर एक छोटे खाणी सत्कार सोहोळा करण्यात आला.
नवे "trekkers" आणि अत्यंत जिद्दीने चढलेल्या सूर्यवंशी परिवारचा सत्कार करण्यात आला.
माझ्या आयुशात्ला १९ वा ट्रेक अश्या रीतीने पार पडला.
Monday, December 27, 2010
शिवभक्तांची वारी शिवतीर्थावर
काही दिवस अगोदर कळसुबाई व रतनगड करायचा मनसुबा होता. पण काही कारणास्तव तो डाव फिस्कटला. बाहेर चांगल्यापैकी थंडी पडलेली असताना घरी उब खाणं थोडा कठीण जात होतं. अश्या वातावरणात गीरीयारोहाकांना एक निराळच स्फुर्ण चढतं. ते आवरणा फार कठीण. हे सगळा चालू असताना "राजेंद्र सावंत" यांचा "e " लखोटा आला. बेत होता शिवतीर्थ रायगडचा. आता साक्षात महाराजांचं आज्ञापत्र आलं म्हणजे नाही बोलून कसं चालायचं. तर मग बेत आखला काही साह्याप्रेमी जवळ घेतले आणि २४ december ला रात्री १० वाजता घरातून निघालो.
दादरला प्रथम तेज भेटला (ज्याने येण्या अगोदर खूप टांग दिली होती). त्यानंतर मानलीला घरातून घेतलं आणि तिघेहि परेलला पोहोचलो. मयूरला वाडियाजवळ भेटलो. तिथे रायगड संवर्धन प्रतीष्ठांची गाडी तयार होती. राजू दादाला भेटलो आणि गाडीत चढलो. गाडी १२:३० ला निघाली आणि मी लगेच टकमक टोकाची स्वप्ना बघत गुडूप झालो.
पहाटे जाग आली तेव्हा खिडकी बाहेर फक्त धुकं आणि अंधार एवढच दिसत होतं. गाडीत अंधार होता आणि सगळे झोपले होते. ५:३० ला गाडीतून पायउतार झालो ते हिरकणी वाडीत. इथून काही लोक जेवणाचं सामान घेऊन "ropeway" ने गडावर जाणार होते. त्यांना सोडलं आणि आम्ही नानेदरवाज्याच्या वाटेला लागलो. हिरकणी बुरुजाखालून गेलो तेव्हा त्या कड्यावरून ती हिरा गवळण कशी उतरली असेल याचा विचार करूनच अंगावर काटा आला. तिच्या शौर्याला वंदन करून आम्ही पुढे निघालो. डांबरी रस्त्यावरून काही वेळ चालून आड वाटेत शिरलो. वात दाट झाडीतून जात होती. आणखी १५ मिनिटांनी नानेदारवाज्याचे अवशेष दिसू लागले.एक मोठा बुरुज त्या दाट झाडीतून डोकावत होता.आता पहिला टप्पा लांब नाही हे कळले.बघता बघता दरवाजा आमच्यासमोर होता. हा दरवाजा म्हणजे त्याकाळातील गडावर जाण्याचा महामार्ग. टिळकांनी चित्त दरवाजा व पायऱ्या नंतर बांधल्या. या दरवाजाचा इतिहास राजू दादाने सांगितला. संभाजी महाराजांनी इथे कापून काढलेल्या उंटाची गोष्ट ऐकली आणि परत चढायला लागलो. हा रस्ता वापरात नसल्याने फार खराब झाला आहे. आमच्यासारखे काही भट्के सोडले तर या रस्त्याने कोणीएक जात नाही.
"जंगलाची झाडी होती दाट. काढत होतो आम्ही त्या मधून वाट." अशीच वाट काढत काढत जवळ पास ४५ मिनिटं चालून आम्ही मदार मोर्च्यावर पोहोचलो. हा मोर्चा गडाच्या मध्य भागी असल्यामुळे याला "मदार" मोर्चा असे म्हटले जाते. इथेच जन्जीराच्या शिद्दीचादेखील वाडा आहे. त्या काळी तो इथे नमाज पडायचा. काही लोकांचं असं म्हणणं आहे की इथे त्याने एक मशीदही बांधली होती म्हणून. पण त्याचे ना पुरावे मिळतात न अवशेष. त्यामुळे ती फक्त काही लोकांची "creative" कलपना आहे. ही लोक या मुळे या भागाला "मशीद" मोर्चा असेही म्हणतात. पण ही गोष्ट देखील इतिहासकारांनी चुकीची ठरूनदिली आहे. सकाळचं कोवळं ऊन जाऊन आता चांगले चटके लागत होते. जंगलाची वाट सोडून आम्ही पायऱ्या चढत होतो. खालची खोल दरी भयाण वाटत होती. हिवाळ्याची सुरुवात झाल्याने दरीत हिरवळ होती. दूरवर सह्याद्रीची मुख्य रांगेचे कडे उन्हात तलवारीच्या पात्यासारखी तळपत होती. काही फोटो काढून मी पुढे निघालो.
पायवाटेने चालण्यापेक्षा पायऱ्यांनी चढणं फार फार कठीण असतं. मांड्या भरून येतात. हळू हळू वर चढत होतो. या वाटेवर लोकांची वर्दळ खूप असते. रस्त्यातच लिंबू सरबत, पाणी, बोरं आणि अश्याच गोष्टी विकणारी बरीच लोक असतात. हे गावकरी चवथी पाचवीतल्या मुला पासून ऐंशी वर्षांची आजी बाई सुद्धा असुशक्ते. दोन ताक विकणाऱ्या बायका तर पूर्ण वेळ - चढायला सुरुवात केल्या पासून ते गडावर पोहोचे पर्यंत - आमच्या सोबतच होत्या. जवळ पास २ तासांनी उंचावर दोन महाकाय बुरूज दिसायला लागली होती. या बुरुजान्माध्येच दडलेला आहे रायगडाचा महादरवाजा.
महादरवाज्याअगोदर काही १००-२०० पायऱ्या चढताना चांगलीच दमछाक होते. सरळसोट असलेल्या पायऱ्या चढून आम्ही त्या महाकाय महादरवाज्यात पोहोचलो. इथे आमच्या सोबत असणारे काही लोकं अगोदर पासूनच बसलेली होती. दरवाज्यात फार कमी लोक होती त्यामुळे काही चांगले फोटो काढता आले. या गडाचा उंबरठा मराठ्यांच्या चारही छत्रपतींनी ओलांडलेला आहे. तर या पावन उंबरठ्याला पाय न लावता आम्ही गडात शिरलो. गडात टाकलेलं पाहिलं पुलाच वेगळा असतं. या गडाचा इथिहास आपल्या समोर उल्गाद्तोय असा वाटू लागते. त्यामध्ये राजू दादाची वर्णनं ऐकून कधी उंबरठा ओलांडणारे महाराज दिसू लागतात तर कधी शिद्द्याची पावले आत पडण्याची दुखद घटना दिसते. अश्याच घटनांना बघत बघत आम्ही गंगासागराकडे पोहोचलो. काही वेळ थांबलो, सावलीत विसावलो आणि होळीच्या माळाच्या दिशेने चालू लागलो. महाराजांना मुजरा केला आणि बाजारपेठेजवळ पोहोचलो.इथे रमा ताईने गरम गरम उपमा दिला. पोटभरून खाल्ला आणि MTDC च्या dormitory च्या दिशेने निघालो. तिथे sack ठेवल्या आणि फक्त camera आणि पाण्याची बाटली घेऊन गाड्फेरीला निघालो.
सर्व प्रथम गडावरच्या पावन कुशावर्त तलावाच्या दिशेने निघालो. वाडेश्वराच्या मंदिरात बसलो. कुशावर्ताचा आणि विक्रम दळवी याच्या तीरांदागीची गोष्ट ऐकली. वाडेश्वराला वंदन केलं आणि वाघ दरवाजा पाहायला कुशावार्ताबाजून निघालो. राजू दादा म्हणाला होतं की इथे एक गोमुख आहे कुठेतरी. ते गेल्या दोन्ही खेपेला पाहिचे राहून गेले होते. यां वेळेस मात्र ते नक्की शोधायचे आणि हा निश्चय करूनच उतरलो. कुशावर्त पाठी राहिला होता पण गोमुख काही दिसेना. परत वर येताना बघू असे म्हणालो आणि वाघ दरवाज्याच्या दिशेने उतरलो. २० मिनिटं उतरून झाल्यावर काश्याचेतरी अवशेष दिसू लागले होते.
पण थोडा पुढे गेल्यावर ते झाडीत लपून दिसेनाशे झाले. याला रायगडाचा चोर दरवाजा का म्हणतात ते व्यवस्तीत काळात होतं आता. झाडातून लपंडाव खेळत एकदाचे पोहोचलो इथे. राजू दादाने इथून राजाराम महाराज कशे पाळले त्याची गोष्ट सांगितली होती. कसा तो वीर उतरला असेल. कारण इथून खाली उतरणे केवळ अशक्यच आहे. इथे न पायर्या आहेत न पायवाट. इथे आहे तर फक्त खोल दरी. सरळ कडा जो उतरतो खोल दरीमध्ये.
इथूनच राजाराम महाराजांना दोरखंडाने खाली उतरवण्यात आलं होतं. आता इथे थंड गार वाऱ्याची झुळूक येत होती. हा वाराच भिंतो रक्तात आणि तयार होतात तानाजी येसाजी सारखे खंदे वीर गडी. इथेच काही वेळ काढला आणि माघारी फिरलो. वर जात होतो कुशावार्ताच्या दिशेने. तेव्हाच लक्ष थोडा उजव्या बाजूला गेलं. आम्हाला हवी असलेली वाट डाव्याहातला होती. इथेच कसले तरी छोटेशे दगड रचल्या सारखे वाटले.जवळ जाऊन बघितला तर इथेच होतं ते गोमुख.
कुशावार्तने स्वतःहून गोमूखाच दर्शन घडवलं होतं आम्हाला.त्याचे photo काढले आणि पुढे जातना ते आमच्यापैकी कोणी शोधले या गोष्टीवरून भांडत भांडत परत वाडेश्वर मंदिरापर्यंत जाऊन पोहोचलो. इथून आलेली वाट न घेता दुसरी उजवी वाट घेतली.या वाटेने जाताना हंबीरराव मोहिते या मातब्बर सेनापतीचा वाडा बघितला. इथेच सावकाराचा वाडा, मोरोपंत पिंगळे तसाच सोनोपंत डबीर यांचे वाडे आहेत. एवढे वाडे जवळपास असल्याकारणाने या मंदिराला वाडेश्वर असे नाव ठेवण्यात आले आहे.
ऊन चटके देत होतं. परत वर बाजारपेठेपर्यंत येऊन पोहोचलो. जवळच्या एका गाव्काराच्या घरी आमची जेवणाची सोय केली होती. तिथे जाऊन जेवण वगैरे आटपून पुन्हा गडफेरी आरंभली. आता टकमक टोकाच्या दिशेने निघालो. वाटेत लिंबू सरबत प्यायलो.टकमकला जाण्याआधी २ दारू कोठारं बघितली. टकमकवर काही लोक rappeling करत होते. त्यामुळे इथे एक वेगळाच गोंधळ चालू होता. त्यामुळे त्यांना जास्त त्रास न देता आम्ही २-३ फोटो काढून माघारी फिरलो. आता पोहोचलो कोळीम तलावाकडे. हा गडावरचा एक मोठा तलाव आहे. कोळीमच्या काठावर बसून छत्री निजामपुरची गोष्ट ऐकली. साडे पाच वाजले होते.आता जाग्देश्वराच्या दिशेने निघालो. तिथे काही शाळकरी मुलांची सहल आली होती.
त्या गोंधळात काही फोटो काढले आणि मनोमन जाग्देश्वाराला वंदन करून महाराजंच्या समाधी पाशी गेलो.महाराजांच्या पद्स्प्रशाने पावन झालेली पायरी उतरलो आणि चिरनिद्रेत निजलेल्या महाराजांपाशी नतमस्तक झालो.
हिरोजी इंदुल्कारांच्या नावाची पायरी बघितली व तिथलाच शिलालेख ही वाचला. पुढे वाघ्याची समाधी पहिली. समोर असलेलं भवानी टोक साद घालत होता.गेल्या दोन वेळी इतवार येऊन परत फिरव लागलं होत. या वेळेस भवानी टोक बघायचच असं ठरवलं आणि सांगितल तसा राजू दादाला. तो म्हणाला अगोदर बारा टाकी पाहू मग जाऊ भवानी टोकाला. तसेच भराभर बारा टाकी पर्यंत पोहोचलो. या भागात देखील मी अगोदर कधी आलो नव्हतो. इथून दरी थोडी जासतच खोल वाटत होती. दरी मध्ये पूर्ण हिरवळ होती. जवळच एक दारू कोठार होत. या इथे बरीच पाण्याची टाकी आहेत. काही छोटी तर काही मोठी. बारा आहेत की नाही ते मोजले नाहीत. पण असतीलही.
सूर्य मावळतीला झुकत होता आणि नाही म्हटला तरी भवानी टोक कमीत कमी २ किलोमीटर तरी नक्कीच असेल. पण आता नाही गेलो तर अजून बरेच दिवस थांबव लागेल हे ठाऊक होत. त्यामुळे भिडलो त्या दिशेला.वाट सुक्या गवतातून होती. इथवर फार कमी लोक येतात. त्यामुळे इथे पायवाट नाही आहे. आहेत तर फक्त ढोरवाटा. ही वाट काढत काढत कधी कधी तर धावत पळत पोहोचलो एकदाचे त्या टोकाला. आता इथे थोडावेळ बसून परत फिरायचं असं ठरवलं. इतक्यात एक गावकरी लांबून शीळ वाजवत चालला होता. आम्ही त्या शिळेला साद दिली आणि त्याने विचारला " पाहुन , भवानी मंदिरात यता काय ? " मी कोणाकडे न बघता त्याच्या पाठी निघालो. जर दुसर्यांना विचारल असत तर कोणी तयार नसतं झालं. मी पुढे गेल्यावर त्यांना पाठून येण भाग होतं.आता तर खाली उतरायच होतं. बराच वेळ खाली उतरत उतरत गेलो. जवळ पास १५ मिनिटांनी एका छोट्याश्या दगडाच्या खोबणीत ते मंदिर होतं. तिथे नतमस्तक होऊन इथवर यायची सोय केल्या बद्दल आभार मानले व माघारी फिरलो. आता लक्ष्य होतं ते जगदेश्वर मंदिराच आणि ते सुद्धा सूर्यास्त होण्या अगोदर.
वर येणारी वाट एकदम निमुळती होती. एका वेळेस एकच व्यक्ती चालू शकेल अशी ती वाट आहे. तिथून थोड जपून वर आलो आणि नंतर सुटलो जाग्देश्वराच्या दिशेने. डाव्या हाताला सूर्य मावळत होता.भगवा रंग आकाशात चाहु बाजूने पसरला.
दूरवर नागर्खान्याची आकृती त्या भगव्या रंगात दिसत होती. तो भगवा रंग जणू मराठ्यांचा आपला भगवा असल्यासारखा भासत होता. त्या रंगाच्या पार्श्वभूमीत जाग्देश्वाराचा फोटो काढला आणि धावत सुटलो परत. कसे-बसे पोहोचलो जगदेश्वर पर्यंत. तिथून आणखी १५ मिनिटात पोहोचलो आमच्या वसतिगृहाकडे.
हात पाय धुतले आणि थोडा आराम केला. कपडे बदलले आणि चक्क आम्ही पत्ते खेळत बसलो. त्या नंतर थोड्यावेळाने आमचं जेवण आलं. पिठलं भाकरी खाऊन बाहेर अंगणात गेलो. मस्तपैकी चांदण्या चमकत होत्या आकाशात. त्या चांदण्यात गप्पा मारत बसलो. काही वेळाने मला झोप अनावर झाली आणि मी परत जाऊन माझ्या थकलेल्या शरीराला हवा असलेला आराम दिला.
सकाळी ५ वाजता उठलो ते कुठल्याश्या पोवाड्याच्या सुरांनी. उठल्या उठल्या मयूरला उठवल. सर्व प्रातःकालीन विधी पूर्ण केल्या आणि होळीच्या मालावर जायला निघालो. वाड्य्तातून बाहेर पडलो आणि होळीच्या माळावर जाऊन पोहोचलो. महाराजांना सुप्रभात बोलून फोटो काढले आणि परत मेघ्दाम्बारीच्या दिशेने निघालो. सिंहासनाकडे सगळे हजर होते.शिवाप्रर्थाना आटपून आम्ही वाडा पाहायला निघालो. राजू दादा प्रत्येक जागा व त्याच महत्व समजाऊन सांगत होता. मनोरे पहिले, अष्टप्रधान मंडळाचे कार्यालय पहिले, टाकसाळ, राणीवसा आणि अशे बरेच वास्तूंचे अवशेष पाहून बाजारपेठेत पोहोचलो. परत त्या गावकरच्या घरी जेऊन गड उतरू लागलो. वेळ कमी असल्याकारणाने आम्ही नानेदारवाज्याने न जाता पायरया उतरून गेलो.
महादरवाज्याला परत यायचे वचन देऊन बाहेर पडलो. नन्तर परतीच्या वाटेने जाताना पाचाडला जिजाऊसाहेबांचा आशीर्वाद घेतला.तर अशी माझी रायगड वारी समाप्त झाली. गेल्या ३ वर्षात हि माझी ३री वेळ रायगडला यायची. हा गड आपलासा करून सोडतो. परत पावलं या दिशेने वळल्यावाचून राहत नाहीत.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Duke's Nose
After wrapping up the prelims it was time to take some breather from studies and let our feet do the talking for a change. So we Duke’s nose was decided.
We reached lonavala at 8 o clock in the morning. Soon the rest of the group gathered. When a head count was done it said 25! That was a good score. We were excited about this one. I had heard a lot about this trek. Duke’s nose can be seen easily while travelling on Mumbai-Pune expressway. They are actually two hills side by side. The taller one is called the Dukes Nose and the shorter one Duchess. From lonavala we hired a mini bus to take us to the base village. Songs were sung in the bus and among all this merry making we didn’t know when the time flew by and we reached our destination. We could see the nose from a far away distance. There was a huge plain land full of muck to cross before the beginning of the actual climb (if u could really call it a climb!).
We wrapped up with the introductions right here itself. Once it was done we had the green flag to get the machine running in its top gear. We were rushing towards the peak. The walk was calm hardly some climb and we were at the base of dukes nose. We were pretty much confused as to which one is the Duke’s nose! It appeared very small from here. Nevertheless we started our climb. It was fine one.
The sun was shinning brightly and it was nice for indulging in some photography. As the height didn’t seem much we were walking at a pace comfortable to everyone. While climbing up we met a group who were climbing down. They said that visit the duchess first then proceed to dukes. We agreed. The way going up to there was through dense tall grass rather bushes. They were as high as 5 feet in some places. Making our way through them we reached a small ridge protruding into the valley below us. When we first reached there we could see the Duke’s nose peeping out of clouds. It appeared divine. Everyone had their photos snapped out here. It was a nice scene. There were clouds all over behind and we could hardly make out the depth from here. The dukes standing tall now due to passing of clouds seemed beautiful. After spending a nice half an hour here we proceeded towards the Duke’s.
The climb was very easy. We reached the Duke’s top in next 15 minutes. We could see the duchess from here. There were a couple of our fellow trekkers still on duchess. We clicked their pictures while they clicked ours. In next half an hour we all were huddled together on the top of Duke’s nose for a group photo. We reached there by 10:30 am. Here is a small temple of Lord Shiva. We offered our prayers here and retreated. We had lot of time now. After having a sumptuous lunch in the shade we proceeded towards Khandala. But before that we had a nice entertainment show. We sang songs, danced and cracked jokes. It was just like a bonfire but without a bon fire.
When we got down we saw some small rock walls. As a “trekkerly” instinct we decided to give it a try and have some “adventurous” photos clicked. One by one most of us tried varied routes and various methods on these walls. It was nice fun out here. Fooling around this place for around 45 minutes we moved on. Now we had our sights trained towards Khandala. We were moving through grasslands and huge trees. It was nice and cool. There were small streams flowing. The fields were lush green. We had limited water resources with us. So we decided to give this water a try. The water from the stream was extremely tasty. It had a tinge of sweetness to it. After quenching our thirsts and filling our water bottles we moved on. The route was through nice fields and grasslands. We had ample opportunity to shoot pictures. I clicked pictures till the time I had no battery left in my camera. It paid off as my pictures won the best photograph and also the second runner up photograph in the competition later organized by our group.
On our way to Khandala we met torrential rains. It was raining heavily. Now the place appeared more serene and beautiful. We reached the dam by 5 pm. Out here we had some breakfast from what was left with us. Here we met a dog. He was a young dog and ate nothing but sweets! He ate SONPAPDI but didn’t touch IDLI CHUTNEY. We had a nice time with him. We reached highway in another 20 minutes and then took a ST Ride to Panvel. From here we took a train to Thane and then this was the end of trek!
The trek finished as soon as it had began. It was the shortest and the smallest trek I had ever done. Nevertheless it was a fine trek. Enjoyed to the fullest.
We reached lonavala at 8 o clock in the morning. Soon the rest of the group gathered. When a head count was done it said 25! That was a good score. We were excited about this one. I had heard a lot about this trek. Duke’s nose can be seen easily while travelling on Mumbai-Pune expressway. They are actually two hills side by side. The taller one is called the Dukes Nose and the shorter one Duchess. From lonavala we hired a mini bus to take us to the base village. Songs were sung in the bus and among all this merry making we didn’t know when the time flew by and we reached our destination. We could see the nose from a far away distance. There was a huge plain land full of muck to cross before the beginning of the actual climb (if u could really call it a climb!).
We wrapped up with the introductions right here itself. Once it was done we had the green flag to get the machine running in its top gear. We were rushing towards the peak. The walk was calm hardly some climb and we were at the base of dukes nose. We were pretty much confused as to which one is the Duke’s nose! It appeared very small from here. Nevertheless we started our climb. It was fine one.
The sun was shinning brightly and it was nice for indulging in some photography. As the height didn’t seem much we were walking at a pace comfortable to everyone. While climbing up we met a group who were climbing down. They said that visit the duchess first then proceed to dukes. We agreed. The way going up to there was through dense tall grass rather bushes. They were as high as 5 feet in some places. Making our way through them we reached a small ridge protruding into the valley below us. When we first reached there we could see the Duke’s nose peeping out of clouds. It appeared divine. Everyone had their photos snapped out here. It was a nice scene. There were clouds all over behind and we could hardly make out the depth from here. The dukes standing tall now due to passing of clouds seemed beautiful. After spending a nice half an hour here we proceeded towards the Duke’s.
The climb was very easy. We reached the Duke’s top in next 15 minutes. We could see the duchess from here. There were a couple of our fellow trekkers still on duchess. We clicked their pictures while they clicked ours. In next half an hour we all were huddled together on the top of Duke’s nose for a group photo. We reached there by 10:30 am. Here is a small temple of Lord Shiva. We offered our prayers here and retreated. We had lot of time now. After having a sumptuous lunch in the shade we proceeded towards Khandala. But before that we had a nice entertainment show. We sang songs, danced and cracked jokes. It was just like a bonfire but without a bon fire.
When we got down we saw some small rock walls. As a “trekkerly” instinct we decided to give it a try and have some “adventurous” photos clicked. One by one most of us tried varied routes and various methods on these walls. It was nice fun out here. Fooling around this place for around 45 minutes we moved on. Now we had our sights trained towards Khandala. We were moving through grasslands and huge trees. It was nice and cool. There were small streams flowing. The fields were lush green. We had limited water resources with us. So we decided to give this water a try. The water from the stream was extremely tasty. It had a tinge of sweetness to it. After quenching our thirsts and filling our water bottles we moved on. The route was through nice fields and grasslands. We had ample opportunity to shoot pictures. I clicked pictures till the time I had no battery left in my camera. It paid off as my pictures won the best photograph and also the second runner up photograph in the competition later organized by our group.
On our way to Khandala we met torrential rains. It was raining heavily. Now the place appeared more serene and beautiful. We reached the dam by 5 pm. Out here we had some breakfast from what was left with us. Here we met a dog. He was a young dog and ate nothing but sweets! He ate SONPAPDI but didn’t touch IDLI CHUTNEY. We had a nice time with him. We reached highway in another 20 minutes and then took a ST Ride to Panvel. From here we took a train to Thane and then this was the end of trek!
The trek finished as soon as it had began. It was the shortest and the smallest trek I had ever done. Nevertheless it was a fine trek. Enjoyed to the fullest.
Monday, November 22, 2010
11 FRIENDS 17 HOURS AND AN AWFULL TREK TO LOHGAD
Missed a trek to Lohgad a week before and to make up for that decided to do it this time. We were 11 people together coming from various different places do fulfill a collective task.
Day began at 4:15am with call from Manali-trekker companion on this trek. She told me that Tej-another trekker buddy on this is not attending his wake up calls. So I was trying to call him till the time I left my home. My first step outside the door frame of my house was at 5 am. I walked all the way to the rickshaw stand and got one which ferried me to Kalwa railway station. Now my woes began !!!!!!!!!!
I was waiting at Kalwa station in the hope of getting a train which could take to the next station-Thane- from which we were to board train to Lonavala. After waiting for twenty minutes at Kalwa station which appeared as a mosquito feeding centre the train arrived. I reached thane station at 5:30am. When I went to the ticket counter there was a huge queue. With just 45 minutes to go I had very less hopes. Prasad-lonavala specialist-arrived soon to give me company. He had his woes. He did not get any rickshaw and had to walk half the way around one and half kilometer. Soon his friend named Yuvraj arrived. We were waiting in the line to get a ticket. But our hopes shattered when the train arrived and we were still no were near to get a ticket.
We left the queue and left the idea of going by a train. We decided to take a ST ride to lonavala. So we went to the nearest ST stand. Out here we were told that the ST bus to Lonavala starts from another ST stand! We were searching for a rickshaw. After around 10 minutes we got one. We went to that bus stand and LUCKILY got a ST quickly. Next two and half hours were all cozy and fine. We had two seats among three of us. We reached lonavala by 8:45am.
Rest of our team was already waiting for us to arrive. They had made an enquiry and told us that the bus would be coming at 9am. We spent some time in enjoying and teasing and cracking joke at one another. But our worries began to mount when there wasn’t any bus till 9:45am. The people at enquiry counter said the bus was caught up in its way. ACCORDING TO THE GOD DAMN TRAIN SCHEDULE ON INTERNET, there was a local train plying between Lonavala and Malavli at 10:15am. So as there was no bus we decided to go by train. On reaching Lonavala train station we came to know that the train is at 10:05am and had just left !!!!!!! uttering as many bad words as we could manage we left the station in hope that the bus had still not left the bus stand. on our arrival there thankfully the bus was still standing but awfully crowded. Some way or the other we entered the bus and could barely stand. There was a foul stench of vomit in the bus. Adding to it the locals were continuously climbing up and down the bus for one reason or the other. After waiting for 45 minutes in this bus the conductor said that there was some problem and this bus will not be leaving any time soon!!!!!! So we got down from this bus and LUCKILY got another bus in which we had place to sit and went comfortably to Karla fata in next 20 minutes. From Karla fata we took rickshaws to Malavli village and then started to trek- FINALLY.
As we had a time crunch we decided to drop Bhaje caves. We were slowly and steadily climbing the road to Gaimukhkhind. This is the area between fort Visapur and Fort Lohgad. I was indulging in some photography. The climate was bright and sunny. When we were half the way there were sudden torrential rains. We ran to a place selling lemon juice for some cover. Half of us had raincoats and umbrellas but half wee without anything. So we were waiting for rains to stop. But as there was no sign of any decrease we damned the rains and started of again. In another half an hour we were in Gaimukhkhind. The rains had stopped but still the dark clouds loomed overhead. There was also some mist and lightning around. We quickly climbed the stairs and were roaming around on the fort. Our aim was vinchu kata. We were soon gunning for it. While on the route there, there is a place called Laxmi kothar. It’s a cave even older than the fort itself. We had planned to visit it but we saw that there were some guys there. The thing which disgusted us that about them was that they were having a hookah session in there. Is this the place where many of our brave men died to save glory? Isn’t this the same place which protected us from invaders? Is this the way we should treat those brave souls which made an example of bravery and courage? Those brave men must be turning around in their graves on such behavior of these people.
By now the dark clouds had began to come together. We were moving quickly so that we could reach the tip of vinchu kata before the rains. But that was not to be. We were halfway through when rains came. They came almost in a downpour. We had nowhere to hide but were still determined enough to reach the tip. There was nobody else there. We could see the tip of vinchu kata now. It was covered by mist half way. It appeared a divine land. When we were up there the huge gusts of wind were threatening to take us away with them. Holding our ground we retraced our footprints and went back. It was 4:00pm by now. We quickly descended had lunch in Lohgadvadi.
Then it was a long walk ahead to Malavli. After reaching Malavli at around 5:30 we were searching for a rickshaw to take us to Lonavala. Over here the rickshaw drivers were quite smart and were looking ahead to make a good lot of money. They said they would charge us 50 bucks per person for a 10minute ride. After bargaining they came down to 35. Amidst all this we came to know that there was a train at 6:53pm. It was past 6:30pm already, so we left the rickshaws to rot and took rail tickets costing us 4 bucks each. Reached Lonavala station in another 5 minutes and boarded a ST heading to Panvel. The ST was not crowded but still there was no place to sit and we were standing again. After travelling in standing position we reached Panvel by 9:00pm.
After reaching the Panvel train station there were again huge queues and no coupons available. So we had to stand in those queues. We boarded a 9:30pm local train and reached Sanpada station by 10:00pm. From here we had to break journey to Thane. Once here we came to know that the train was at 10:38pm. As there was no other option we waited there. Then at 10:40pm there was an announcement that the train would be late by 20-30 minutes. This was a nightmare coming true. The train arrived at 11:05pm and we left for thane. We reached thane by 11:40pm. Then I boarded train to Kalwa by 11:45pm. After reaching Kalwa I stood in another queue for rickshaw. Another 5 minutes and no rickshaw around with considerable people ahead of me I decided to walk my way to home. I was moving as fast as I could. But the usual 10 minutes walk took me 20 minutes. After reaching my house at 12:15am I had almost no energy. Had a nice warm water bath and was tucked away.
A difficult trek came to an end. this trek will be remembered by all 11 of us for a pretty long time.
The trekkers involved in this trek by Girishishya Hikers are :-
1.Prasad Dingankar
2.Vinit Tavate
3.Tej Khadka
4.Manali Patke
5.Natasha Karkhanis
6.Tejaswi Karkhanis
7.Rushabh Dharod
8.Mayur Dorkar
9.Sanket Kale
10.Ajinkya Chavan
11.Yuvraaj
Day began at 4:15am with call from Manali-trekker companion on this trek. She told me that Tej-another trekker buddy on this is not attending his wake up calls. So I was trying to call him till the time I left my home. My first step outside the door frame of my house was at 5 am. I walked all the way to the rickshaw stand and got one which ferried me to Kalwa railway station. Now my woes began !!!!!!!!!!
I was waiting at Kalwa station in the hope of getting a train which could take to the next station-Thane- from which we were to board train to Lonavala. After waiting for twenty minutes at Kalwa station which appeared as a mosquito feeding centre the train arrived. I reached thane station at 5:30am. When I went to the ticket counter there was a huge queue. With just 45 minutes to go I had very less hopes. Prasad-lonavala specialist-arrived soon to give me company. He had his woes. He did not get any rickshaw and had to walk half the way around one and half kilometer. Soon his friend named Yuvraj arrived. We were waiting in the line to get a ticket. But our hopes shattered when the train arrived and we were still no were near to get a ticket.
We left the queue and left the idea of going by a train. We decided to take a ST ride to lonavala. So we went to the nearest ST stand. Out here we were told that the ST bus to Lonavala starts from another ST stand! We were searching for a rickshaw. After around 10 minutes we got one. We went to that bus stand and LUCKILY got a ST quickly. Next two and half hours were all cozy and fine. We had two seats among three of us. We reached lonavala by 8:45am.
Rest of our team was already waiting for us to arrive. They had made an enquiry and told us that the bus would be coming at 9am. We spent some time in enjoying and teasing and cracking joke at one another. But our worries began to mount when there wasn’t any bus till 9:45am. The people at enquiry counter said the bus was caught up in its way. ACCORDING TO THE GOD DAMN TRAIN SCHEDULE ON INTERNET, there was a local train plying between Lonavala and Malavli at 10:15am. So as there was no bus we decided to go by train. On reaching Lonavala train station we came to know that the train is at 10:05am and had just left !!!!!!! uttering as many bad words as we could manage we left the station in hope that the bus had still not left the bus stand. on our arrival there thankfully the bus was still standing but awfully crowded. Some way or the other we entered the bus and could barely stand. There was a foul stench of vomit in the bus. Adding to it the locals were continuously climbing up and down the bus for one reason or the other. After waiting for 45 minutes in this bus the conductor said that there was some problem and this bus will not be leaving any time soon!!!!!! So we got down from this bus and LUCKILY got another bus in which we had place to sit and went comfortably to Karla fata in next 20 minutes. From Karla fata we took rickshaws to Malavli village and then started to trek- FINALLY.
As we had a time crunch we decided to drop Bhaje caves. We were slowly and steadily climbing the road to Gaimukhkhind. This is the area between fort Visapur and Fort Lohgad. I was indulging in some photography. The climate was bright and sunny. When we were half the way there were sudden torrential rains. We ran to a place selling lemon juice for some cover. Half of us had raincoats and umbrellas but half wee without anything. So we were waiting for rains to stop. But as there was no sign of any decrease we damned the rains and started of again. In another half an hour we were in Gaimukhkhind. The rains had stopped but still the dark clouds loomed overhead. There was also some mist and lightning around. We quickly climbed the stairs and were roaming around on the fort. Our aim was vinchu kata. We were soon gunning for it. While on the route there, there is a place called Laxmi kothar. It’s a cave even older than the fort itself. We had planned to visit it but we saw that there were some guys there. The thing which disgusted us that about them was that they were having a hookah session in there. Is this the place where many of our brave men died to save glory? Isn’t this the same place which protected us from invaders? Is this the way we should treat those brave souls which made an example of bravery and courage? Those brave men must be turning around in their graves on such behavior of these people.
By now the dark clouds had began to come together. We were moving quickly so that we could reach the tip of vinchu kata before the rains. But that was not to be. We were halfway through when rains came. They came almost in a downpour. We had nowhere to hide but were still determined enough to reach the tip. There was nobody else there. We could see the tip of vinchu kata now. It was covered by mist half way. It appeared a divine land. When we were up there the huge gusts of wind were threatening to take us away with them. Holding our ground we retraced our footprints and went back. It was 4:00pm by now. We quickly descended had lunch in Lohgadvadi.
Then it was a long walk ahead to Malavli. After reaching Malavli at around 5:30 we were searching for a rickshaw to take us to Lonavala. Over here the rickshaw drivers were quite smart and were looking ahead to make a good lot of money. They said they would charge us 50 bucks per person for a 10minute ride. After bargaining they came down to 35. Amidst all this we came to know that there was a train at 6:53pm. It was past 6:30pm already, so we left the rickshaws to rot and took rail tickets costing us 4 bucks each. Reached Lonavala station in another 5 minutes and boarded a ST heading to Panvel. The ST was not crowded but still there was no place to sit and we were standing again. After travelling in standing position we reached Panvel by 9:00pm.
After reaching the Panvel train station there were again huge queues and no coupons available. So we had to stand in those queues. We boarded a 9:30pm local train and reached Sanpada station by 10:00pm. From here we had to break journey to Thane. Once here we came to know that the train was at 10:38pm. As there was no other option we waited there. Then at 10:40pm there was an announcement that the train would be late by 20-30 minutes. This was a nightmare coming true. The train arrived at 11:05pm and we left for thane. We reached thane by 11:40pm. Then I boarded train to Kalwa by 11:45pm. After reaching Kalwa I stood in another queue for rickshaw. Another 5 minutes and no rickshaw around with considerable people ahead of me I decided to walk my way to home. I was moving as fast as I could. But the usual 10 minutes walk took me 20 minutes. After reaching my house at 12:15am I had almost no energy. Had a nice warm water bath and was tucked away.
A difficult trek came to an end. this trek will be remembered by all 11 of us for a pretty long time.
The trekkers involved in this trek by Girishishya Hikers are :-
1.Prasad Dingankar
2.Vinit Tavate
3.Tej Khadka
4.Manali Patke
5.Natasha Karkhanis
6.Tejaswi Karkhanis
7.Rushabh Dharod
8.Mayur Dorkar
9.Sanket Kale
10.Ajinkya Chavan
11.Yuvraaj
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Parsik – Rocking Around
After a long hiatus from trekking- a month, the Parsik range was teasing me from my window. Every time I sat on my sofa I could see the raw masculine ranges in front of me. So just couldn’t bear to stay away for long and so planned for a trek to Parsik-new route. In the early stages of planning had around 10 people, but as usual with Giri Shishya Hikers the number came down to – 7.
Early morning another Parsik ritual-waiting!!!!! Met Tej, Manali, Mayur, Akshay and Surya at the bus stop. Prasad was yet to come and he came a good hour late. So the trek began at 9am. We walked to the base of the Parsik hills and then cleared the hutment area.
Once we cleared that area the first challenge was to climb through a small patch which was full of loose soil. Tej and Prasad cleared the area without first. I followed them but my first step was recorded with the soil lump giving away! So carefully I climbed up. Akshay also tried but wasn’t successful so he came by another route. Now Manali and Surya were left to clear this area. Due to Manali’s shortcomings she wasn’t able to do it. So yet another route was found. With a bit of helping hand even she was standing with us. Now the route was through thick vegetation. We had to make way through dense tall grass. All the dried leaves were scratching our skins out. It was difficult to move around. We were doing the best to our levels. We were trying to make a proper route for rest of the team to follow. I and Prasad were at the beginning leveling the route. After climbing through this sort of terrain we reached a semi flat region. It was clear of the tall grass but still our ankles were in grass. After resting here for sometime and refreshing ourselves with a water break. Once done with it we moved towards the base of the pinnacle. The route was still grassy and more difficult as we were climbing on a ridge and the thick grass was hampering our ability to guess the edges of the ridge. I had did this route for a couple of times now so was pretty much used to it. In about next 20 minutes we were at the base of the patch that we were supposed to do. Half of the team was at the top and the other half below. This was the first time that we were climbing and recording on a video camera!
I had tried this patch earlier but had returned after doing halfway. This time I was determined to go all the way. So it was mayur, Akshay and Manali at the top of the rock patch and tej, surya and prasad at the base. Gave Tej and surya some instructions on how to record in a camera and I began the climb.
The patch could be divided into three regions. The first region was a proper big crack in the feature. Using it we could easily complete the first region. This was the part I had done earlier. It didn’t pose any problem at all. The second region was a bit tricky. There were quite a bit of grass growing it the small crevices in the feature. Due to it some of the good strong holds had been weakened. In here, there were two routes by which we could approach the third region. The route going by the right side had a few strong holds but we had to traverse to the left side eventually as there was a bit of overhang situation on the right side. So keeping the holds in mind I preferred going by the right side route. There were some undercuts and slobs in this route. After moving through them I reached the overhang. At this point I had to traverse to the left side. I was a bit nervous but was confident enough that I can do it-guts and glory all the way. So steadily I made my move. Making sure that every hold was strong and could take my complete body I slowly started shifting towards the left side. Once I was clear of the overhang using my shoulders I got on top of the rock forming the overhang. This was the end of second region. Out here there was considerable place for me to stand comfortably. I was just one step away from the summit. The problem over here was there was just a very small crack. There was hardly any other hold available. It was just like a plain wall. Over here I jammed my right feet somehow into this crack and jammed left hand in between two rocks overlapping each other. Using my right hand on a slob hold I pulled myself up and here I was! It was done.
I had dreamt of doing this rock patch for quite sometime. I had been here numerous times but this was an altogether different way and route. It was a different kind of high. It was like a “nasha”. I had to do it. The rush of adrenaline was incomparable to anything. For the last 15 minutes I was negotiating a route through rocks and I had finally succeded. I was on top among nature with my friends what else could a guy like me want to have! This was heaven. After spending sometime and looking back at what I had done felt amazing. Soon I was down doing the camera work for Tej, Prasad and Surya who also did the rock patch successfully. Once everyone was together it was celebration! We had some eatables and then retreated.
Thus came to an end one of the most endearing treks of my life.
Early morning another Parsik ritual-waiting!!!!! Met Tej, Manali, Mayur, Akshay and Surya at the bus stop. Prasad was yet to come and he came a good hour late. So the trek began at 9am. We walked to the base of the Parsik hills and then cleared the hutment area.
Once we cleared that area the first challenge was to climb through a small patch which was full of loose soil. Tej and Prasad cleared the area without first. I followed them but my first step was recorded with the soil lump giving away! So carefully I climbed up. Akshay also tried but wasn’t successful so he came by another route. Now Manali and Surya were left to clear this area. Due to Manali’s shortcomings she wasn’t able to do it. So yet another route was found. With a bit of helping hand even she was standing with us. Now the route was through thick vegetation. We had to make way through dense tall grass. All the dried leaves were scratching our skins out. It was difficult to move around. We were doing the best to our levels. We were trying to make a proper route for rest of the team to follow. I and Prasad were at the beginning leveling the route. After climbing through this sort of terrain we reached a semi flat region. It was clear of the tall grass but still our ankles were in grass. After resting here for sometime and refreshing ourselves with a water break. Once done with it we moved towards the base of the pinnacle. The route was still grassy and more difficult as we were climbing on a ridge and the thick grass was hampering our ability to guess the edges of the ridge. I had did this route for a couple of times now so was pretty much used to it. In about next 20 minutes we were at the base of the patch that we were supposed to do. Half of the team was at the top and the other half below. This was the first time that we were climbing and recording on a video camera!
I had tried this patch earlier but had returned after doing halfway. This time I was determined to go all the way. So it was mayur, Akshay and Manali at the top of the rock patch and tej, surya and prasad at the base. Gave Tej and surya some instructions on how to record in a camera and I began the climb.
The patch could be divided into three regions. The first region was a proper big crack in the feature. Using it we could easily complete the first region. This was the part I had done earlier. It didn’t pose any problem at all. The second region was a bit tricky. There were quite a bit of grass growing it the small crevices in the feature. Due to it some of the good strong holds had been weakened. In here, there were two routes by which we could approach the third region. The route going by the right side had a few strong holds but we had to traverse to the left side eventually as there was a bit of overhang situation on the right side. So keeping the holds in mind I preferred going by the right side route. There were some undercuts and slobs in this route. After moving through them I reached the overhang. At this point I had to traverse to the left side. I was a bit nervous but was confident enough that I can do it-guts and glory all the way. So steadily I made my move. Making sure that every hold was strong and could take my complete body I slowly started shifting towards the left side. Once I was clear of the overhang using my shoulders I got on top of the rock forming the overhang. This was the end of second region. Out here there was considerable place for me to stand comfortably. I was just one step away from the summit. The problem over here was there was just a very small crack. There was hardly any other hold available. It was just like a plain wall. Over here I jammed my right feet somehow into this crack and jammed left hand in between two rocks overlapping each other. Using my right hand on a slob hold I pulled myself up and here I was! It was done.
I had dreamt of doing this rock patch for quite sometime. I had been here numerous times but this was an altogether different way and route. It was a different kind of high. It was like a “nasha”. I had to do it. The rush of adrenaline was incomparable to anything. For the last 15 minutes I was negotiating a route through rocks and I had finally succeded. I was on top among nature with my friends what else could a guy like me want to have! This was heaven. After spending sometime and looking back at what I had done felt amazing. Soon I was down doing the camera work for Tej, Prasad and Surya who also did the rock patch successfully. Once everyone was together it was celebration! We had some eatables and then retreated.
Thus came to an end one of the most endearing treks of my life.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Parsik ...........Let The Rains Come
Thanks to my dear younger cousin sister Aasawari. No planning at all was done. Circumstances came together and I got a nice team of 14 people.
Saturday night was a pretty hectic one. I was being bombarded with calls from anyone and everyone. Some where interested in knowing if the trek was on, what was the reporting time and all such questions. The imminent rains were casting a bad shadow on the trek but we were imminent about rocking around.
So in the morning we met at Kalwa station. From there we proceeded towards base of the hills we were going to trek. I was pleased as most of the time the number of members in the team doesn’t exceed 10 so having 14 people with me was a nice experience. We had quite a few amateurs with us. We started the trek at around 9am. I had decided to take the regular route due the presence of amateurs. But I had no idea that this regular route would not be so “regular” anymore. The way was through huge grass and due to it the route was not so visible. We were moving ahead by trial and error method. Once we reached the groove well known to us we moved confidently. The route was nothing as I had expected it to be. It was very slippery and a small stream of water was flowing from here. We had all the muck on our feet. Tej was opening the route for around 30 minutes. But later I had to call him back to support the newcomers. So it was aniket another newcomer opening the route now! He was pretty excited and Prasad was encouraging him and guiding him in the way. I was helping Aasawari climb. She was an amateur and was really having a very hard time. She once pulled Tej down when he was supporting her! The rocks were pretty unstable and getting a grip was very difficult. Our feet were almost buried in the muck at every step. We were climbing the groove for over an hour now and still had done 70% of it. This patch is usually done in around 45 minutes by us. Having a very bad time we were moving up and ahead but at snails pace. Soon Prasad was called back too. He had almost gone the complete distance and came back just to help others. So after struggling through this patch for around an hour and half we reached the top! Once here, everyone was checking the bruises or the damage their body had taken.
Over here the weather was awesome. A strong wind was blowing and a light drizzle had started. We first of all cleaned the muck of our soles for a better grip from here on. Then it was time for photo session. Clicked some nice photographs here. Then we climbed the antenna over here. These are the reflectors atop the hill. Atop them it was still a nice feeling. Soon other guys joined us and then it was howling going up there. After spending some time here we moved towards the main destination- the Parsik Pinnacle. Now for sometime there was no climb at all. We were moving on huge carpets of green. A stroll of around 20 minutes took us to the waterfall which we were going to enjoy later on in the trek. After spending a couple of minutes here we started our move towards the base of the pinnacle. The way over here was a bit difficult. The way was slippery and we had to be extra careful. Slow and steadily we reached the base in another half an hour.
Now the huge pinnacle rock was ahead in front of us. As if it was balanced on the edge. It gave us a nice stiff challenge. The wind was pretty strong now. Half of us didn’t believe that we were going to climb this. Tej was asking us that should we really do it. I was hell bent on doing this. So a small group was formed who would take the pinnacle. It was I, Tej, Prasad, Mayur, AJ, Rohan, Manali, Harshada and Sukhada.
So we nine people kept our bags with others and moved towards the pinnacle. We had small photo session here too. Then we divided ourselves into groups of two and one group of three. Tej wanted to lead with Rohan. I would be covering them with AJ. Once Rohan and AJ are done we would bring the other guys up. So making this rough strategy we made the move. Tej quickly negotiated the first and second patch. From here the going got difficult and Rohan who was backing Tej nicely had some difficulties. I was covering him up and so with some suggestions from he went up fine. Now it was the dreaded patch. There is just one hold in here and it was difficult with the air and rains. Tej made his way steadily up this patch. Once he was up he helped Rohan through that patch. Mean while I helped AJ reach this point and then went back to bring Mayur and Manali. When I reached back to the third patch with Mayur and Manali AJ was already besides Rohan and Tej. Now it was time for Mayur to go. He too crossed over and reached the base of the dreaded patch. Out here the velocity of wind had increased. My t shirt had fluffed up like a hot air balloon. Mayur had some problems and decided to call it a day. After that conditions worsened. Rain gods were attacking us water bullets. In these conditions Mayur, Manali, Harshada and Sukhada decided to go back. So it was me and Prasad who were left. Mayur was round the corner providing moral support. Now it was me who was on the rocks. The raindrops were hitting my face like small pebbles. The wind wasn’t letting me open an eye. It was horrific conditions up there. So I stayed as it for sometime-waiting for the rains to drain a bit and winds to reduce. After some moments I had conditions near about to what I wanted but not exact. So I took my chance and moved. I had two under holds on the rock above and one hold near my feet. This meant my one leg had no hold to hold on to. The hold that Tej and others had used while climbing up was now filled with water due to the rain. So it was out of question. So keeping a strong hold on the three points which I had I pulled up on the upper holds and made some way for the free leg to get in the previous hold and other leg in a higher hold. In this manner I crossed the dreaded patch. Following me Prasad too tired but again the rains lashed him. In next ten minutes he was through and we were on the pinnacle! We were screaming our throats off. Wind was pushing us down the valley. It had great force. We sat down and clicked some pictures. Listened to songs like “Shoor amhi sardar amhala kaay kunachi bhiti” and started our move down. If climbing up was bad then climbing down was worse. This was the ultimate test of what I call “calm and composure”. After carefully and safely making our way back to were everyone was waiting we heaved a sigh of relief. There were mixed reactions coming up. Some were thank full that they were alive while some people who hadn’t been there wanted to have a go. Ad mist all this we started moving towards our next place to visit-the “Shiv mandir”.
The way was through dense forest and it was raining very heavily. We were having fun in this situation. There was no climb just plain walking now. Jokes were being cracked and comments passed on them. During all this we missed the turn we were supposed to take and ended up at a dead end. So now it was time for some customized road making. Tej as usual the expert in this job was opening. The plantation was so thick that we couldn’t see the guy moving in front of us. We were mocking Tej that we were playing hide and seek due to him. This patch lasted for some 15 minutes. Then we were on the right road. From here, we made it to the temple in 15 minutes. It was serene over here. We said our prayers and moved on towards the spot were we were supposed to have our lunch. After reaching this spot and having lunch we moved towards the next spot.
This is the spot everyone was waiting to see as I had an awesome photograph as my display picture in various networking sites. That photo was clicked on this spot. During this part everyone was dead tired. But still we were soldering on-never back down. So when we reached the spot it was photos galore. Everyone was having pictures and Tej was the official photographer. Having done with a huge photo session here we started descending towards the waterfall.
Waterfall was the place which everyone was waiting for. While climbing down the route was pretty steep and slippery due to the rains. Using some “ideas” we safely reached down in about 45 minutes. This was the road we had traveled while going towards the pinnacle. But alas our luck ran out. When we reached this spot there were a huge group already present out there. So it was decided to call it quits as we had some girls in our group. We showed our backs to the waterfall and moved towards our descending route. Still as I said our luck had run out for the day. We again headed into a spot which we thought was a dead end. Out here we faced a small but strong stream surrounded by dense trees. We could not see the path it was going by. The route seemed impossible. But going back to the route by which we had climbed would cost us an extra hour. I wanted to get the group back to ground zero before sunset. And again the route which we had climbed up gave us a hard time while climbing up so climbing down it would have been a nightmare. So I decided to take a chance and try this route. Tej joined me and we checked the route going down for around 200 meters. It seemed feasible. The only problem was the dense trees around. So while coming back we tried leveling out some trees so that the route could be made more “walk able”. I was drawing flak from all sides for taking this route but still with support from Tej I decided to stick to my decision. Soon we were climbing down a damn waterfall. This trek had thrown some awesome surprises and this was one of it. I was helping Aasawari who was having a hard time going through the paces. AJ was leading now with Abhishek and Aniket. He was making way by flattening some grass. This was one of the most exciting feelings I have had during various treks. After moving down steadily through this waterfall we reached ground by 4:30pm. It took us an amazing 1 and half hour to negotiate this part.
Thus our Parsik sojourn came to an end. I had some of the most beautiful experiences during this trek. We faced many difficulties and barriers but still came out stronger than those barriers. The team spirit rocked and was a major factor helping us in successful completion of this trek.
Saturday night was a pretty hectic one. I was being bombarded with calls from anyone and everyone. Some where interested in knowing if the trek was on, what was the reporting time and all such questions. The imminent rains were casting a bad shadow on the trek but we were imminent about rocking around.
So in the morning we met at Kalwa station. From there we proceeded towards base of the hills we were going to trek. I was pleased as most of the time the number of members in the team doesn’t exceed 10 so having 14 people with me was a nice experience. We had quite a few amateurs with us. We started the trek at around 9am. I had decided to take the regular route due the presence of amateurs. But I had no idea that this regular route would not be so “regular” anymore. The way was through huge grass and due to it the route was not so visible. We were moving ahead by trial and error method. Once we reached the groove well known to us we moved confidently. The route was nothing as I had expected it to be. It was very slippery and a small stream of water was flowing from here. We had all the muck on our feet. Tej was opening the route for around 30 minutes. But later I had to call him back to support the newcomers. So it was aniket another newcomer opening the route now! He was pretty excited and Prasad was encouraging him and guiding him in the way. I was helping Aasawari climb. She was an amateur and was really having a very hard time. She once pulled Tej down when he was supporting her! The rocks were pretty unstable and getting a grip was very difficult. Our feet were almost buried in the muck at every step. We were climbing the groove for over an hour now and still had done 70% of it. This patch is usually done in around 45 minutes by us. Having a very bad time we were moving up and ahead but at snails pace. Soon Prasad was called back too. He had almost gone the complete distance and came back just to help others. So after struggling through this patch for around an hour and half we reached the top! Once here, everyone was checking the bruises or the damage their body had taken.
Over here the weather was awesome. A strong wind was blowing and a light drizzle had started. We first of all cleaned the muck of our soles for a better grip from here on. Then it was time for photo session. Clicked some nice photographs here. Then we climbed the antenna over here. These are the reflectors atop the hill. Atop them it was still a nice feeling. Soon other guys joined us and then it was howling going up there. After spending some time here we moved towards the main destination- the Parsik Pinnacle. Now for sometime there was no climb at all. We were moving on huge carpets of green. A stroll of around 20 minutes took us to the waterfall which we were going to enjoy later on in the trek. After spending a couple of minutes here we started our move towards the base of the pinnacle. The way over here was a bit difficult. The way was slippery and we had to be extra careful. Slow and steadily we reached the base in another half an hour.
Now the huge pinnacle rock was ahead in front of us. As if it was balanced on the edge. It gave us a nice stiff challenge. The wind was pretty strong now. Half of us didn’t believe that we were going to climb this. Tej was asking us that should we really do it. I was hell bent on doing this. So a small group was formed who would take the pinnacle. It was I, Tej, Prasad, Mayur, AJ, Rohan, Manali, Harshada and Sukhada.
So we nine people kept our bags with others and moved towards the pinnacle. We had small photo session here too. Then we divided ourselves into groups of two and one group of three. Tej wanted to lead with Rohan. I would be covering them with AJ. Once Rohan and AJ are done we would bring the other guys up. So making this rough strategy we made the move. Tej quickly negotiated the first and second patch. From here the going got difficult and Rohan who was backing Tej nicely had some difficulties. I was covering him up and so with some suggestions from he went up fine. Now it was the dreaded patch. There is just one hold in here and it was difficult with the air and rains. Tej made his way steadily up this patch. Once he was up he helped Rohan through that patch. Mean while I helped AJ reach this point and then went back to bring Mayur and Manali. When I reached back to the third patch with Mayur and Manali AJ was already besides Rohan and Tej. Now it was time for Mayur to go. He too crossed over and reached the base of the dreaded patch. Out here the velocity of wind had increased. My t shirt had fluffed up like a hot air balloon. Mayur had some problems and decided to call it a day. After that conditions worsened. Rain gods were attacking us water bullets. In these conditions Mayur, Manali, Harshada and Sukhada decided to go back. So it was me and Prasad who were left. Mayur was round the corner providing moral support. Now it was me who was on the rocks. The raindrops were hitting my face like small pebbles. The wind wasn’t letting me open an eye. It was horrific conditions up there. So I stayed as it for sometime-waiting for the rains to drain a bit and winds to reduce. After some moments I had conditions near about to what I wanted but not exact. So I took my chance and moved. I had two under holds on the rock above and one hold near my feet. This meant my one leg had no hold to hold on to. The hold that Tej and others had used while climbing up was now filled with water due to the rain. So it was out of question. So keeping a strong hold on the three points which I had I pulled up on the upper holds and made some way for the free leg to get in the previous hold and other leg in a higher hold. In this manner I crossed the dreaded patch. Following me Prasad too tired but again the rains lashed him. In next ten minutes he was through and we were on the pinnacle! We were screaming our throats off. Wind was pushing us down the valley. It had great force. We sat down and clicked some pictures. Listened to songs like “Shoor amhi sardar amhala kaay kunachi bhiti” and started our move down. If climbing up was bad then climbing down was worse. This was the ultimate test of what I call “calm and composure”. After carefully and safely making our way back to were everyone was waiting we heaved a sigh of relief. There were mixed reactions coming up. Some were thank full that they were alive while some people who hadn’t been there wanted to have a go. Ad mist all this we started moving towards our next place to visit-the “Shiv mandir”.
The way was through dense forest and it was raining very heavily. We were having fun in this situation. There was no climb just plain walking now. Jokes were being cracked and comments passed on them. During all this we missed the turn we were supposed to take and ended up at a dead end. So now it was time for some customized road making. Tej as usual the expert in this job was opening. The plantation was so thick that we couldn’t see the guy moving in front of us. We were mocking Tej that we were playing hide and seek due to him. This patch lasted for some 15 minutes. Then we were on the right road. From here, we made it to the temple in 15 minutes. It was serene over here. We said our prayers and moved on towards the spot were we were supposed to have our lunch. After reaching this spot and having lunch we moved towards the next spot.
This is the spot everyone was waiting to see as I had an awesome photograph as my display picture in various networking sites. That photo was clicked on this spot. During this part everyone was dead tired. But still we were soldering on-never back down. So when we reached the spot it was photos galore. Everyone was having pictures and Tej was the official photographer. Having done with a huge photo session here we started descending towards the waterfall.
Waterfall was the place which everyone was waiting for. While climbing down the route was pretty steep and slippery due to the rains. Using some “ideas” we safely reached down in about 45 minutes. This was the road we had traveled while going towards the pinnacle. But alas our luck ran out. When we reached this spot there were a huge group already present out there. So it was decided to call it quits as we had some girls in our group. We showed our backs to the waterfall and moved towards our descending route. Still as I said our luck had run out for the day. We again headed into a spot which we thought was a dead end. Out here we faced a small but strong stream surrounded by dense trees. We could not see the path it was going by. The route seemed impossible. But going back to the route by which we had climbed would cost us an extra hour. I wanted to get the group back to ground zero before sunset. And again the route which we had climbed up gave us a hard time while climbing up so climbing down it would have been a nightmare. So I decided to take a chance and try this route. Tej joined me and we checked the route going down for around 200 meters. It seemed feasible. The only problem was the dense trees around. So while coming back we tried leveling out some trees so that the route could be made more “walk able”. I was drawing flak from all sides for taking this route but still with support from Tej I decided to stick to my decision. Soon we were climbing down a damn waterfall. This trek had thrown some awesome surprises and this was one of it. I was helping Aasawari who was having a hard time going through the paces. AJ was leading now with Abhishek and Aniket. He was making way by flattening some grass. This was one of the most exciting feelings I have had during various treks. After moving down steadily through this waterfall we reached ground by 4:30pm. It took us an amazing 1 and half hour to negotiate this part.
Thus our Parsik sojourn came to an end. I had some of the most beautiful experiences during this trek. We faced many difficulties and barriers but still came out stronger than those barriers. The team spirit rocked and was a major factor helping us in successful completion of this trek.
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