Peb (Vikatgad) Trek

Date : 25th August 2007

Lo and behold ! After completing just 3 treks, which wouldn't have been possible without the help of other senior members, I was made a leader / organizer for the Peb Fort trek. And I didn't have a say in it either. But I am not someone who backs away when given the baton. This trek was special for more than one reason - Kunal, my roomie was coming with us !

So researched as much as I could, and stalked up on the ration. We were planning to make our own lunch and tea on top, and getting the ration for the same was my first assignment. Went to Magnet and shopped, mostly in excess, in hindsight. As I wasn't very sure how it would go - stuck to the tried and tested Maggi Noodles.

The plan was to take the last train to Karjat from CST, stay the night at Neral station, and then start the walk / trek early morning। Kalpess bhai honored us with his presence at the station, wearing a "I hate Morons" t-shirt; I guess it was to attract our attention! There were 26 of us for the trek in total - a total जलसा of sorts. The train was packed with people, so the girls took to the ladies compartment. We reached Neral at around 1:30. Most of us didn't want to sleep, so we started off with playing cards (I had stocked up on every possible thing that could make the trip more eventful). Nachiket and Kunal showed their skill at bluff, while I showed how bad I am at it ! Pam, Vj and others were meanwhile taking a nap on some defunct wagon.
Everyone wasn't involved in cards, so next Dumb Charades ensued. There were a couple of really memorable moments during the game. First up is Brownie's नामकरण . Here it goes:

Brownie all smiles (He was playing DumbC for the first time)
1st Clue: *Holding Pants* - We guessed pant, trousers, fabric, ... which bewildered him further.
2nd clue: *points to a stray dog* - we were clueless by this time so guessed random things, dog, animal, ...

Our opposition team was in splits, and we were flabbergasted

Finally both sides gave up. Now what exactly was he cluing - "The Bourne Identity". Which he misinterpreted as "The Brown Identity". Fortunately he was wearing brown colored pants, so he pointed to them. But being awful at cluing, he had to resort to other means. Next he noticed a dog lying nearby. Voila he thinks, from dog to dog's name "Brownie", to Brown - haven't heard of a stranger connection in the history of DumbC. So from that day onwards, he was our own Brownie :D

Now I was embarrassed about this fiasco, considering we had "Baba" (Kunal's nick) the Lit king in our ranks. Next up was Kutty. I gave him "Memento". Kutty showing his presence of mind clued "Gift" and "Mentos" to their party. Still being brain dead at around 3:30 in the morning, none of them could get the word. Then Kutty clued to them the story. Now Janaki got excited. She had seen the movie - the Tamil version of it ! So she told to the utter amusement of everyone else, and to the complete chagrin of Kutty, the entire plot of the movie. And yet they couldn't guess the name. Fortunately Kutty didn't have any hair on his head to pull out !

After dumbC, most of us took some rest। In the morning, we went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast। There Rahul Kumar and Vj grossed out Pam with names of exotic dishes made of what else "crap". Lets leave it at that. End result was Pam went without breakfast. After everyone was satiated, we started our walk. First on tar road, and gradually shifting towards the greener pastures. Rahul Barve was leading us, and I was the rear guard. He managed to make us trespass private property. It was a walk till now, so all new comers were happy. We had amongst us Nitin (a music composer), who was anxious about whether there would be a loo on the fort, and whether we would get mineral water up there ! He seemed to be happy with the walk.


A little later we could see the col in the mountain, and we started the climb. 15 minutes later, most of the new comers were panting and taking breaks. I was at the rear and was thankful as well, for I was carrying a 20+ Kg sack for the first time. The climb was no too steep initially, and we reached an electric transmission pole standing on a plateau, and took a snacks break. Those of us with prominent ancestral traits (read me, Vj, Venky and Rahul Kumar in no particular order) tried conquering the pole and were captured in the process.



After the break, the hike got tougher, as we were to come up to the col. And there was no breeze. The atmosphere was muggy and cloudy.I was sweating like a dog. So was everyone else. Pam was totally exhausted, and was cajoled by Amol and Vj to move ever so slightly. Janaki meanwhile, was busy clicking pictures and Macro shots. Kunal and Nitin realized that it wasn't that easy after all. We reached the col with some slips and minor bruises. I still had energy in me to try scaling the other side of the col. Finally sense prevailed in me, and I came back to the original path.

From the col, it was a traverse, with a couple of rock patches. I had time to rest, and I gladly put down my bag. Finally we reached the cave. I dumped the bag there, feeling so light !

Now we were supposed to ascend the fort wall using a ladder, and then explore it. Being rid of the heavy burden, I decided on taking the shortest path, where there was none. However, I realized later that I was the one on the right track, and so shouted to everyone to follow me. I was already on my way down by the time everyone reached, and was going at double speed because I had to cook lunch for all. Left the 5 others who were coming with me far behind.

The others were taking a different less steep route. But they managed to get lost and almost went halfway to Matheran. On the way they met a few bulls grazing silently. Kutty, the "bull dodger" tried to shoo them away, to which the bull replied with a nasty glare and a shake of the horns. The sight of Kutty sliding down the slopes frightened was a sight to behold - sadly I wasn't a witness to this and just heard the narrative!


By the time everyone came down, Maggi was ready ! But I had forgotten the ladle. So I used a cleaned stick for the same purpose. At this point I was to have a revelation. Uma, the silent one, who had come with Nachiket, took a liking to me. She started taking my case about how irresponsible a leader I had been. Arguments are not my forte, and with stupid girls its doubly difficult, for you can't shout at them to shut up. So I took everything hands down. She went on and on, till everyone around had had enough and came to my rescue. I made up my mind to never cross swords with that little witch again !

The climb down was ridden with many of us slipping and falling, getting their bums scratched. I was thanking my newly acquired Northwest shoes, which had avoided such mishap. We came down in rather quickly, and I was in the lead this time, scampering over boulders, as my sack was now light. Janaki was the last one to reach the electric transmission pole. She and Rahul came running to join us, slipped in the process and landed flat on their bums, their legs pointing heavenwards. At this she cheekily said - "I can see all of you between my legs". Everyone was laughing their guts out at her behest for sometime, including her. After a few "Bum Pics", we continued our downward journey. There was a rush to get the local, and everyone was thankful to their leader as he bought them tickets as they rested.


We learned a lot on this trip, least of all that carrying weight uphill isn't easy and needs extreme endurance and strength. Kunal vowed never to be fooled by me, when I told him to come along for an "easy" trek. He was battered and sapped of energy. Nitin was surprisingly upbeat despite the numerous falls, and promised to join on upcoming treks. I guess he was battle hardenend! Pam was still haunted by the Rahul syndrome, in Tikona it was Barve, now it was Kumar. Also, it dawned on me that monsoons doesn't always mean a cool trek with breeze all along.

The trip made me stronger and more determined to undertake more such endeavors in the future, as organizer of trips.

For more photos, check the following link :

Peb Fort Photos

Mahuli Masti

Mahuli Fort

Date: 15th August 2007

Trek to Mahuli was suggested by Amey and with the trekking ghost encompassing me, I spiritedly joined.

Two new entrants this week for trekking - Aditya (I had met him earlier at Cafe Seaside), and Ranjit. And they are awful but enthusiastic singers like me. So good news for the likes of Kalpesh, Rahul and bad news for others .

So we had - Sanjay, Preeti-Deepti (The twins), Aditya, Amey, Ranjit and myself, and Rahul Barve who came with us to show the route.

We started off on the first local fro Kasara from Dadar, and got down at Asangaon. From there we took auto rickshaws to get to the base of the trek. There was a temple at the base - the trek route starts from behind this temple. This board beside the temple clearly outlines the map of Mahuli Fort.

We started off crossing a stream. Amey was leading as he had been to Mahuli previously. The sun came out to our utter annoyance and being on the "leeward" (no-wind) side, we were soaked to the skin soon, without any rain. The trek is quite simple but long, as we traverse over several hills to close in on the Mahuli Fort. The route is well defined with no chance of getting lost. We reached the ladder at base of the fort in around 2 hours. Preeti and Deepti and Bertram were capturing the nature on their way up. The ladder is a bit rickety, and so we climbed one at a time.


On the fort, we explored the various tanks and Dwars, and I managed to climb up a small waterfall, and have a nice shower. After that we had snacks in a meadow with tall grasses, with Adi providing us with yummy salami and omlette. The twins didn't eat much - I guess they survive on air and nothing else ! They had some kaseli and some namkeen though, and kept offering us their food. I was hogging as usual.


Next Amey suggested that we go to Kalyan Darwaza. However, he had forgotten the route to the Darwaza, and after half an hour of futile searching, we decided to start the descent.

As we were getting down, Berty started feeling pain in his knees, and so we had to slow down to match his pace. We stopped at one point and sang the national anthem. The twins managed to pull out identical flags. I guess they carry other "one of a pair items" as well. Even their dress and bags are quite similar. For my comments on these, I had to bear their wrath all through the trip, and I realized that their mouths are sharper than whips.



While we were crossing the stream to get to the temple, an idea struck us - why not take a dip in it ? So walked a bit upstream, and found a nice cozy spot for all of us. I caught a violent cold after wards as a result of this, but am not complaining :P. After spending some time frolicking, we went to a villager's hut beside the temple, and had some yummy food - pithle, bhakri and thecha.


After the meal, we took an auto back to Asangaon, where after a slight wait, we got the local to CST - the trip back was full of singing, Ranjit showing his affinity to Indian bands like Jal. I finally got down after bidding everyone good bye.

There can be no better way to celebrate independence, than spending it in the cradle of nature. We were unable to get to Bhandargadh which is on the side of the Kalyan Darwaza, so Mahuli will be calling again sometime soon ...

For more photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/deepti.patodia/MahuliAugust152007

http://picasaweb.google.com/bertram.fonseca/Mahuli15thAugust2007

Gorakhgad

Date: 4th August 2007, Saturday

The weather forecast for the weekend was not so heart warming for many of us but I was looking forward to getting drenched (I love the rains, my affinity to catch a cold not withstanding) and blown away. Our first meeting point was Ghatkopar, and I was the first to get there. Then started the only part of the trek that was a little taxing on me - waiting for people to get there. I am terrible at waiting, with a low threshold of patience ( I am constantly trying to stretch the limit though :P). But the nice part of that was that I got to know some really great people(read Janaki's friends - Rahul, Pooja, Murali and Santosh; and Purvi), and though it was our first meeting, as is the case with all MoRonZ, we gelled really well, the Somaiya gang even threatening me showing that they had the numbers on their side :p. And Sandipan was coming ! Braving the weather and withstanding the pressures of a "Happily Married" life he finally got there, a mere one hour forty five minutes past the meeting time (sorry Sandy - had to rub it in [:p]). And I was close to my boiling point though I have learned to cleverly camouflage it now [:)]. We got on a fast local to Karjat which took us quickly to Kalyan, where Purvi kept asking whether I was sleepy, to which my reply was that I was rather bored. In the meantime, Sandy was suffering the brickbats of not being able to read his love's mind. Sandy boy, you still need to learn a lot in life!

So finally we reached, Kalyan ST depot, at 8 in the evening, the latest of the lot, and had to face the annoying grunts of the others already there. And right in the nick of time as well, for soon after, we got on an ST bus to Murbad, which was occupied majorly by our group. The journey was initially rather quite, for no one was ready to take an initiative and start a conversation. I was still trying to blow away that "Post Wait Trauma" by listening to "Boys and Girls" by Spoon and "Chan se Bole" from "Yahaan" (Listen to them and you will be revitalized in a minute - I guarantee you !). Finally Rahul started the singing with the age old "Humne wo Kya dekha" from "Satte pe Satta" and coaxed me into join him. So I began, in my really high volume "besura" pitch which I use to annoy others, and soon everything seemed absolutely perfect. It was raining and it was dark!


We changed buses at Murbad, and everyone refreshed themselves in whatever way possible in the break. Venkat was there with us this time, and we hello'd each other and shared chocolate. More of the Venkat story later :), he is an important character in this tale :P. The second part of the bus ride was much more interesting, with everyone introducing themselves to the others. We have people from varied professions in our group now - ranging from TV Directors to designers, engineers, financial experts and a weird guy like me [:P]. Ajay - the TV Director was the first one to introduce himself. I was made to sit down forcefully as usual when I tried to explain what I do :(. Sandy was still on his phone. Purvi was really buoyed and it showed in her introductory speech. Then there was Murali - the only "clerk" with us - the call center guy. Then there was Rahul II, who had already impressed us with his vocal skills, and his other half Puja, Santosh "Kuti", another Santosh, another "Ashish", Samar, Noel and some old faces whom I will keep hidden, for I am evil by nature >:). Also with was Clifford, who I was looking forward to meet for he had made some wise remarks about our Mocha meetup. With a booming voice and an uncanny wit to conjure nasty one – liners, he is one fine addition to the MoRoNz group. But the most amazing part of the trip and so of the introduction were the sisters Deepti and Preeti, for they were identical twins! I have seen twins before, identical ones as well, but you can tell one from the other! And I can't in this case, even after spending some time with them on the trek. And them dressing alike doesn't help either. Maybe they even have have the same thought process or the same brain waves! So finally we reached the Gorkahgadh base village - Dehri / Dedhi(Correction made :P). After stretching myself (which was termed a dance routine :D) while the others changed and got equipped, we started our hike. Close to 20 of us were "Lamp Posts", and we realized later how useful that turned out to be. The initial stretch was slippery but relatively flat, giving many of the first timers a false sense of ease and security. However, Rahul had forewarned us of "a rock patch" and I was still apprehensive. By this time Preeti and Deepti had been named and Thompson of Tintin fame. There was constant chattering from Rahul II, and frequent demands by Clifford to have himself captured by the camera, which were readily fulfilled by Preeti / Deepti , as they were clicking anything / everything possible. The "Thompsons" were traveling with a single torch among themselves as well, passing it along to the one in front [:P]. I hope they have better sense for the next adventure !

When we took our second halt, Rahul broke the news about the rock patch lying ahead, and that the girls had to follow him followed by the others. We reached the rock patch and thank god it was night! I think many of us would have chickened out if we looked down into the valley in broad daylight. So started our slow and tiring ascent to the supposed "top". We were to rest inside some caves there. And I had the haver sack with our food supplies etc on my back, which weighed a ton and did not help the cause. I don't know how Rahul and Manoj are able to carry it day in, day out easily. Rahul even carried Keta's bag with him when it got damaged! Hats off to these guys! Well under Rahul's guidance and under the watchful eyes of Manoj and Hemant, we all got through one patch. And lo behold! There was another one awaiting us! I think mathematics wasn't Rahul's favorite subject, or rather, I believe he always wants to scare the mickey out of us, and these memories will be with us forever. I managed to get a glimpse a perfectly ".5 chandrama" among the clouds between all this. We negotiated the other patch as well and reached the caves. Phew! I was finally free of the dead weight on my back!



We changed into dry clothes and took out all the GRUB we brought with us. All of us were hungry, and gobbled up everything that we could lay hands upon. Venky had by this time developed a special "bond" with Purvi, and started offering biscuits and stuff that I had carried all the way up. Poor me! Taken advantage of as usual. After the munching was over (Preeti – Deepti were barely caught having a bite, I think they survive on mutual covalent bonds :p), we restarted our blaring of impossible songs again. Rahul II, and myself were having a stiff competition in who would sing the "chillarest" of songs. Sandipan was joining us whenever he emerged out of his marital blues :P. Unabashed, I dished out the ultimate weapon " Chali aana to Paan ki Dukaan pe" from "Aaj ka Arjun" which I thought was the winner. But Rahul had another ace up his sleeve:


Alu ko Gobhi se Pyaar ho Gaya
...
Saare Matar Jal Bhun Gaye
.... Achaar ho Gaya.


You'll have to meet Rahul to have more of such fun. The people were in splits on hearing this.

The singing continued into the night, but people were now starting to venture into dreamland. It wasn't made easy by our sadak chhaap songs, and indications were given by shouting at us or blinking the torches (read Ashish – the "Happily Married" guy). Sandeepan lent his voice to some as well, baring out some really Dard Bhare Nagme. Finally we laid our vocal chords to rest and laid down on bare ground. All the pristine spots were already taken, so we had to lay down wherever we could. I was the last person to rise in the morning, taking some much needed rest, after a kind soul (read Keta) laid the blanket on me. Got up, had two servings of Pohe, took a leak, and was ready to the trip to the actual "pinnacle". In the process, we witnessed e's primate skills, lurching from a thin branch which extended from the cliff. He was made to fill numerous bottles of water by our leader Rahul, with vote of unanimity from others, for this misadventure. His partner in these ventures was the bubbly Purvi who didn't mind the private time they were getting through this. The view around was breathtaking and the rains and fog were adding to the beauty.

Now we were to start our climb to the top. We had Manoj to help us in this , with Rahul staying behind to cook lunch. Hemant had already left us to conquer the sister peak "Machindragadh". Pooja, who was trekking like this for the first time, decided to stay behind, which was a very wise decision. The first patch was the most difficult one, as there were no steps and holds, so Rahul demonstrated it to us, before leaving us to cook. I was the last person to start the climb with Clifford and Murali ahead of me. I thought I would manage it easily. However, as I started, I got a cramp in my left foot, and I though of ditching the ascent. Clifford was reassuring me from above. I got down, eased my leg and did it on my next try. From next time I will add the fingers exercise to my routine [:p]. We got up there, to find everyone enjoying the strong breeze, and Rahul II posing as a model with his shirt off. We took some snaps there, and enjoyed the view when the fog / clouds cleared a bit. There was a small temple there, and the more religious sort prayed for their safe descent [:p]. The climb down was not much for we were already experienced, Manoj had useful instructions and the fog prevented us from seeing the view down! On one portion in particular, Manoj said that there were no second chances – it was "One Tappa Out". But no one got "out" and we got back to the caves.



We had some time to spare before the lunch got ready, and Janaki was all for Dumb Sharat. But everyone (including me) wanted to guess rather than clue, so ultimately I was the Bakra. We had some fun with that, though its not that much without competition. Cliffords one liners peeved the Thompsons and they threatened to plant "Pug Marks" jointly on his face. We had the now customary lunch and started on our way back. Getting down in the rains is much more tougher than climbing up, for we can't see where we are going ( you have to face the rocks and get down). It was a long and slow process, with Rahul, Manoj and the others helping the girls and "Ashish – Fat Gayee" guy. Pooja in particular, was very scared and took it really easy. Better safe than sorry as they say. I was with them till the rock patch after which we parted and I joined Clifford and Keta. We attacked the flat region and went down really quickly, with and odd slip or two. We thought that the guys ahead of us had gone at least one hour early. Clifford halted midway to come with Bertram and his cousin Noel. Keta and me continued ahead, she was also now gaining confidence and we managed a decent pace. At a crossroad we took a left and thereby went by an unknown route. But at least it was going down! A heavy downpour and strong gusts of wind greeted us and we were thankful that we had already descended the rock patch. We finally reached the base temple, and to our surprise we were not very late - we had almost caught up with Ashish and Deepti / Preeti. We had a snap in the middle of the highway. Then we jumped right into water, a barge had been discovered by Ashish II and Sunil and the flowing water was more than refreshing. All of us had a dip. Then we went to the village Chaay ki dukaan, where the wise ones changed into their dry clothes, and all of us devoured Vada Paav and tea. Then we got on jeeps which would take us to Kalyan, with luxurious seating space as compared to Naneghat. Only 9 of us in a jeep ! Got to know about Raksha,Santosh (Samarth's friend) and Hemant on the way while our "Princess" dozed off. Raksha described how she was dreaming of steps and hand holds whenever she fell asleep nowadays. Came to know of a really cheap Mountaineering Course conducted by Manali Mountaineering institute. Hemant saahab's stories were particularly interesting and awe - inspiring.
We reached Kalyan, and I found out my wallet was all soggy! So much for the rains! We got on the train and I disembarked at Kurla after some nice chit chat with others and Venky's leg pulling. Back to work from Monday, body ache and sleep deprivation not withstanding!

Phew, finally finished it - a rather long one I would say! I hope it does 0.1% justice to the awesome spine chilling adventure we had. And did I tell you that I never used my raincoat! :p

More photos:

Bertram's Pics

Janaki's Pics