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| En-route Garjaiwadi |
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| Route Map to reach Ghol |
We reach Nal Stop at 4.15
am. The bus arrives with 6 other people from Sahakar Nagar. 13 of us join them
at Nal Stop. We head to Sinhagad Road
now to pick up Ajit on the way. Ajit jumps into the bus near Dhayari Phata and
we head to Panshet. As we reach SinhagadPayatha, the bus driver declares that
he needs to fill the petrol. We are
clueless. It appears, there is some
communication gap between the driver and the tour operator. He thinks there are
petrol pumps all over and he can fuel the bus any time he feels like. But he is
totally unaware of our trekking routes. Finally we wait for about one hour at
SinhagadPayatha for the petrol pump to open so that we can fuel our journey. We
finally fill the fuel at 6.15 and make our way to the destination.The messages start pouring
in on the previous day. We have decided to start our journey at 4.00 am on 19th
April 2015. All of us are too excited about the trek since there are not many
people who have been there.
The bus travels through the
back waters and passes via hilly area. Finally we take around 2.5 hours to
reach GholVillage. We are told there is a road to go the Garjaiwadi which is at
the foot of Kokan Diva. The bus takes a U turn and halts at the beginning of a
kaccha road. We examine the road condition and decide that we will walk our way
instead of taking the bus. The bus might reach us to Garjaiwadi somehow or the
other. But if it breaks down due to the rudimentary road we will be stuck here
for the night.
All of us gather our back
packs and start walking. There are hills along the route. Not much of shade
however we don’t feel the heat yet. We take almost 30 minutes to reach
Garjaiwadi. As usual we finish giving away solar lamps and enquire about the route.
There is a small forest ahead of us. We need to pass through this forest and
then start climbing. Sachin as usual leads us through the route. The Devrai is a small forest surrounding the
village. As the name signifies this forest is protected by gods hence no one
cuts trees from this forest.
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| Malabar Hornbill |
We are now walking though
the jungles. Kaustubh and Sachin are
making way for us. We follow them while picking berries and filling our
stomachs. Chandan Radio station never rests it entertains us and makes sure
that we are following him too. Ajit is engrossed in berry picking. We today
have three children with us. ShardulDrumil and Sharvari. The three sum is
enjoying the trek more than us. Kalyani is Nishabda as always. Rather she is
more nishabda than ever since she is accompanied by her sister and three
friends.
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| Red Whiskered Bulbul |
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| The Special 20 Kaustubh is behind the click |
We start climbing the hill
now. It is steap and sun is bestowing his love on us. It is heating up. We sip
the water after every climbing and keep looking up. 3-4 people head towards the top. I am
following them. I become breathless by the time I climb the most difficult
patch. The soil has become loose and hence it makes it more difficult to climb.
As we are nearer the destination we start guessing the angle of the climb. I
cannot resist exhibiting my poor knowledge of geometry and say it must be 100
degrees. All burst out laughing and we make it to the top.
Some of the group members
are still behind us. We take the shelter of a cave which can accommodate about
25 people. Ajit goes around and sees a water cistern. However the water is not
potable. The cave is considerably cool and comfortable. It is already 12 noon.
We take rest till everyone arrives. They settle down for some time and we
decide to climb up on the peak to get the view. It is a climb of 5 minutes and
you reach the peak of mountain. A marvelous view of Konkan region is in front
of us. It is an amazing experience to go on the top of the mountain and get the
glimpse of more gigantic mountains in front of you.
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| On The Top Of The Mountain ( Zende with Zenda) |
Sun is blazing over our
heads. But cool breeze comes to our rescue. There is hardly any place at the
top as usual. All twenty of us have just enough place to stand. We finish our
photography session. Omkar is all set to
shoot the budding adventurous models with his SLR.
After we have had enough
company of the Sun and wind, we decide to return to the cave. We open our lunch
boxes and finish our lunch. Chandan,
Sachin and Kaustubh do all the talking for the entire group. Mr. Bramhe
joins them with his expert comments. Chandan hilariously tells others that they
are talking too much. He has a competition.
The chattering stops only when the mouths are busy munching.
After much chaos and huge effort we are able to set the camera
on auto click for a group photo. We gather our bags and head back to begin the
return journey. It is mid noon. The sun
has begun his return journey too, leaving behind scorching heat.
The descend is much more
difficult due to the loose soil. The legs are trembling and I am not sure of my
steps. Sachin takes the charge and passes us through the difficult patches.
There are dangerous slops. SharvariBramhe is behind me. This girl has
tremendous stamina indeed. Drumil and
Sharvari also slide down effortlessly. Shardul is with his parents and climbs
down with no difficulty.
As we finish half way
through we realize that the water is getting exhausted. Each one of us had
carried three liters of water. We still
have to walk down for another 30 minutes and we do not have enough water. The
weather is really hot and humid. We take steps very carefully and try to
conserve energy. Some of us go ahead. Sachin, Kaustubh and Rege family are left
behind. Drumil finds a water bottle in his bag when we are 80% through. This is
a great solace indeed. All of us take a sip and head to Garjaiwadi. We now
enter the thick forest. The shade is a great relief. We walk through the jungle
for some more time and are able to see the houses far from us. With faster pace
we approach one house and ask the lady where we will be able to find some
water. The lady gives us some water and points at a hand pump. We hurriedly
walk back to the hand pump. With the cooperation of each other we wash our feet
and faces and drink water as if we are returning from the desert. I now realize
the importance of water. जीवन (life ) as it is called in Marathi.
We are waiting for rest of
the people to arrive. We wait for some more time and Sachin and Kaustubh emerge
from the Jungle. We understand that SangeetaRege has dehydrated and is unable
to walk. Somebody has to carry a water bottle and some energizer. Hemant and
Ajit volunteer to carry the water for her. They find their way back into the
jungle without a word. An hour ago we were wet with perspiration. We are now
volunteering to get wet with water.
As the time passes, Ajit and
Hemant come back jubilantly with Rege
family. All is well. They take some rest while the early birds gather their
belongings to walk the final leg. After filling the water bottles and splashing
water on our faces we proceed to Ghol village where our bus is waiting.
The road seems never ending
and our feet seem heavy. It is 5 pm already. We walk for another 45 minutes and
we see a tractor coming from behind. Some of us turn and wait. The tractor
stops and takes us in. The road is horrible. The tractor swings in to the pot holes
making us jump. We enjoy this bumpy ride to the fullest. The tractor makes the
last few minutes of journey very exciting.
We reach Ghol and see our
bus. We feel the same way like a child seeing his mother after returning home
after a long day. We toss our bags
inside the bus and see another hand pump. The water is irresistible. We again
splash the water on our faces. The villagers are returning home now. Hemant is
Tea totter. He convinces a villager to make tea for us. We go to the village
and sit in the courtyard. As we sit there sipping our tea, rest of the people
also join us. After we finish the tea we
settle down in the bus and begin our return journey.
Our feet is heavy but our
hearts are light. All of us are speechless now. This experience is enchanting.
It elevates our morale and makes us realize there is nothing such as winning or
losing. There is only a single most important thing in life and that is finishing.
All of us are now on the same page.
This large group was a major
challenge for our admin. As usual his meticulous planning and cool temperament
sailed us through. We were a team a big team with lot of understanding and
excellent coordination. Many of us met each other for the first time. But we
are great friends now. And our greatest
friends are those gigantic mountains.
The mountains, they will never move, they are their all the time to
welcome us with open arms. We just need large heart and mighty will to embrace
them.
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