Kohoj Trek

Ah yes. I do know I'v been coming up with some crazy titles, but hell!

To start with this was supposed to be a perfect week. 2 back to back long weekends. And great trekking plans for each of them. Monday, 15th August 2011,  Independence Day, and we were up for a trek to Kohoj, near Palghar. And the week was supposed to end with a HARISHCHANDRAGAD trek. I was totally psyched about Harishchandra. To give some more background, it is one of the best, a dream trek in Maharashtra.  To top that up, one of my college mates had been there just a few weeks back. All the pictures and stories about the place meant I had gone all crazy, just couldn't wait for Saturday. I had even decided to give some important college duties a skip (worth the risk, I thought). More on this later.

Trek to Kohoj, 15th August, 2011 :

I got up at 4, left home by 4.30 since I had an half hour to walk to Andheri station from where we were to take the 1st fast train to Virar which departed 5.04am from Dadar. It was a small group for Sahyadri Rangers this time. Just the 4 of us Maulik, Me, Vaibhav & Vishwesh, in alphabetical order. :P

View from Vaghote (Base Village)

The train was a little late and reached Virar at 6.15, we knew the connecting shuttle was also at 6.15. So we got off the train and started running with the crowd to take the shuttle, we just ran, no idea where we were heading. We did get the 6.15 shuttle and reached Palghar in about 40 minutes. From there an ST Bus to Mastan Naka (Near Manor) and a 6-seater tum tum(packed with a dozen of people) from there to Vaghote. We had Bhaji-Pav enroute at Mastan naka(big mistake, avoid). Vaghote is the base village, on the Manor-Wada road, hardly noticeable except for a few heavy construction vehicles parked in the village. Kohoj would be to your right throught the ride from Manor to Vaghote. Although what was visible right in front us wasn't Kohoj. Kohoj was behind this hill which we had to go around.

Shelta Lake & the small dam

After some directions from locals we started moving at about 9.30am. Within 5 minutes we realized the trail was full of marshy soil and with every step our feet were going deeper into the soil. The trail initially passes through paddy fields. We then passed a small pond on our right. A little later we had to take a sharp right turn that would took us into thick bushes. There are ample arrows thought the route. There is a small hut on the opposite side of this turn which can be used as a landmark. After walking a while, still on plain land we reached a big heart shaped lake, called Shelta Lake by the locals. It is used for irrigation as well as fish culture we learnt from them.

A colourful spider

Once we passed the lake,there was a small dam we had to cross. The actual ascent begun here. We had to first go around this hill and the trail went on Kohoj. What looked like a simple straightforward climb up a small fort was turning out to be quite tasking. It was about now that the Bhaji Pav started taking its toll on Vishwesh. He was struggling with severe acidity, as we weren't even half way up. He still decided to go on with it. The route now was geting quite steep. Constant sound of waterfalls, birds, butterflies all around were soothing. Crabs were here a plenty, all kinds of them, brown, black, white. There are many waterfalls enroute where we refilled our bottles. The forest is considerably dense throught until the top is reached. 

By about 12 we reached a large plateau on the top. It has a small temple(1/3), few tanks with not so potable water and a small lake as well. The wind here felt amazing. The grass felt like a velvet bed sheet spread all over. Slight drizzle, gusty winds & dense clouds meant perfect weather. Was not helping photography though, nothing could be seen beyond the clouds. The only spoiler here was the marshy soil again. From this plateau it is a steep & slightly exposed yet simple climb up to the infamous pinnacle that looks like a king seated on a throne or as Vaibhav pointed out, a scare crow! Once the fort entrance is passed we reached another set of cave like tanks filled with water, again not potable. A little distance from this these tanks is another small temple(2/3), this time of Lord Hanuman.

Temples atop Kohoj

By about 12.35pm we reached the absolute top, a small ridge between the man-like pinnacle on the right and another one on the left. Took us close to 3hrs to reach here from base. The wind here was so gusty, at a point we had to kneel down so that we don't get thrown off the hill. Since it had stopped raining we sat down there to eat first, explore later. As I started to take my first bite of the sheera I had got that day, I realized most of it had got blown right off my spoon by the wind. Amazing! Totally worth all the pains taken to reach there I thought at that moment. Breathtaking views of the plains on one side and an opaque white screen of clouds on the other. Breathtaking! This is what we trek for. 

As we explored, towards the right behind the man-like pinnacle there is a way to reach the third and final temple on the fort. It was a Ganpati Temple there. By then the other side had cleared up and we could see the heart shaped lake as well as the Manor-Wada road from the top. We could also see the back side of the hill/rock visible from Vaghote.

Man-like pinnacle from 2 different angles

By 1.30pm we started the descent. It was now that the slippery loose rocks, lack of grips to hold and slippery mud  was making it difficult. Unlike other treks, a speedy descent was impossible here. It was turning out to be a little frustrating. By about 3.50pm we reached the heart shaped lake where we decided to rest in a small shade. By now Me and Maulik had registered a fall each, he got a little bruised & I was doing just fine with a few soiled clothes. A few villagers we met there gave valuable info about Kohoj. We gave them banana chips. :P

Tanks at Kohoj

As we continued we got lost in the fields which wasted some time but eventually we found our way. This walk  on plain marshy soil is the single most irritating part of the trek. We then took an ST from Vaghote to Manor, and another from Manor to Palghar, standing all the way. Reaching Palghar at about 7pm we had sandwiches while waiting for the 7.25pm shuttle. Again no seats, 40 more minutes of pain. 

We at the top :)

Moments of the day were the wind at the top and a crazy baby crying in the tum tum(that got us ROFLing). With fresh air in my breath and sweet pain in my feet, I was back home by 9.40pm. This trek was different, it was frustrating, yet so fulfilling. This is the thing about Sahyadris. They never run out of variety. Every experience is different.So until next time, Ciao! :)

AwesoMahuli (Kille Mahuli trek)

If trekking gives you pleasure, a monsoon trek would give you orgasms. That's exactly how awesome this trek was. To start with, the plan was to go to Tandulwadi, Saphale which changed last minute to Mahuli.  The attendees with Sahyadri Rangers this time were Akshay, Anoop,Mangesh, Me, Maulik, Shailesh, Vaibhav and Vishwesh.

Mahuli Range

The trek started on the morning of Tuesday, 28th June, 2011. We took the 6.29am local at Dadar to Asangaon from where the base village Mahuli was 6-8km. We could leave Asangaon station only at 8.45 inspite of reachin at 8.20 since a few members had missed the local train and had taken the next one. This meant we missed the 8.30 ST Bus from Asangaon to Mahuli and had to wait till 10 for the next one.

Truck Ride

Cursing Mangesh for turning up late, a little disappointed we had a few VPs each (Get used to me calling Vada Pav's that by now) for breakfast waiting for a bus. Just about then we saw a truck approaching and out of sheer mischief we all tried to stop the truck, waving at him and ask for a lift, half expecting them to even agree. Turns out he was more than willing to give us a lift and that gave a perfect adventurous start to the trek, a never before experience, travelling in a truck. the truck ride gave breathtaking views of the cloud-clad Mahuli Range, the highlight of which were the pinnacles resembling a navri(bride), navra(groom) and a bhadji(minister). This was enough to pump everyone up and get them all excited and in a jolly mood for the trek. The sunshine and rain were taking turns to make the weather even more blissful. We reached the base village of Mahuli by about 10.15am and started the trek by 10.30 after referring a map at temple in the village. The route up to the fort starts from there.There is 10-15 minutes of paved road until you reach a small river which you are to cross from where the actual ascent begins.

It was here that we realised the amount of garbage, plastic, beer bottles, broken glass left all over the place by so called nature lovers was mind boggling. It is disgraceful that people who come here to experience nature at its best litter the place in such a manner and threaten wildlife as well as flora in doing that. It is my humble request that whenever you visit any nature sensitive place, take utmost care to not damage the ecosystems there. As far as possible avoid carrying plastic. And take back all the garbage to dispose it off at the village. And if you see anyone littering please go and talk to them and dissuade them from doing so. Unless we do this, all the natural treasure we have is set to be destroyed. 

A Beautiful Rock Structure

The climb was quite steep but relatively easy. The only challenge here are the mosquitoes and flies. They are everywhere in plenty and wreck havoc . You just cannot stop moving here or else you get stung. Full pants and full sleeves is absolutely necessery for this trek. There are only 2-3 spots that need a little care. It took us about 2 hours to reach a spot called Ghodyachi maan (Horse's neck). From here the wind picks up and flies  are lesser. From this spot for a little distance the trail is narrow with a fall into a valley on both sides. After moving ahead and looking back at the Horse's neck, you realise it actually looks like a Horse's neck from up above. From here the trail goes up steeply and reaches tiny plateau that offers a fantastic view of the village below, the river and surroundings. A little above this plateau is the only ladder on the Mahuli Fort. The ladder appears to be hanging dangerously on just one bolt but is indeed steady enough. That ladder would take you to the top of the Range where surprisingly the fort isn't located.

The wind by now felt awesome. Cold and speedy..! There was small water tank there. It was here that we met a group of dickheads who were from the same college (juniors) as most of the Sahyadri Rangers' members and the Rangers seemed to hate them with a vengeance. From the top it is a descent of about 50feet on extremely slippery mud that would lead you to the fort. We reached here by about 2.15pm. Took us about 3 hrs for the ascent from the base. You first see a Shivling (Temple of Lord Shiva). A level below the temple is the fort entrance. It has a 2-3 caves and another water tank here. Can house about 10 people in the dry season. Again this was littered relentlessly by brainless people.

Shivling, Ancient Carvings, Entrance and caves in the background at the Mahuli Fort

Throughout the ascent we saw flora and fauna in its full glory in the monsoons. We got some amazing pictures of butterfly larvae that are spotted in the breeding season of butterflies. There were also many different species of snails around. The one constant thing throughout the trek was a beautiful call of a bird we were neither able to spot, nor identify. There were also a lot of sunbirds around. Vishwesh had collected a few seeds back home to plant in the forest, but forgot to get them. :P So we went ahead collecting a few seeds from the base and planted them in the forests above. Do our bit against Global warming.

Top Of Mahuli

The descent was double as exciting as the ascent. So much so, we didn't even feel the mosquitoes that had tortured us on the way up. A few people had already started challenging each other for a race to descent first.  While the rest started running like crazy, Akash, Me, Shailesh & Vishwesh were at the back end when we we walked into a dense cloud on the top after climbing up from the fort. It was heavenly to say the least. We continued. While I was shit scared at a few rock patches that had deadly views of the valleys, the runners seemed to have no problem at all. Maybe due to my relative inexperience I took about 2hrs to descent while the ones that had started running like there's no end smash-thrashed our old record and completed the descent in an eye popping 55minutes. :O

Dense clouds at the top

The 2 hours on the way down also included some time of cleaning up near the river. There was so much plastic, glass bottles that we decided to clean it up as much as we could. We ended up filling the only 2 bag that we had with garbage and took it down to the village to dispose. Still the place looked hardly cleaner but we had to move on since it was getting late to take the last 7pm bus to asangaon. By 6 we reached the base village and dived straight into the small dam there on a river to cleanse and relax. Just then it started raining heavily and it all felt perfect.

Funniest part of the day was when our umbrellas were blown away into the river and all chased like crazy to get them back. ;)

By 10.30pm I was back home, again with sweet pain in my feet and fresh monsoon air in my breath. All in all a perfect trek, and a wonderful experience. Way to Go Sahyadri Rangers.

My First Trek - Siddhagad

,I have always liked walking. Long walks within the city, just exploring. But trekking as I found out was a completely different experience. Its more about working together and making it to the top. It was something I wanted to try since a while now. So as soon as my cousin Vish asked whether I would like to join his troupe "The Sahyadri Rangers" for a  trek to Siddhagad in the Malshej Region of the Sahyadris I took no time to reply in the affirmative.

Siddhagad panorama.

The trek was scheduled on 20th March, 2011. The day the country celebrated Holi, of which I was not very fond of, blame the colours. We had to catch the first train to Kalyan from Dadar. This we failed to do as we missed the train that could get us to Dadar on time from Vile Parle, where me and Vish stayed that night at a fellow trekker Sus's place. So we caught up with 7 other guys, Mand, Maul, Ram, Vai, Ami, Mang, Tush at various stations while on the 2nd train. Sorry if I forgot any names here. :P

Midland Walkie Talkie

By about 7.30 we were at Murbad, waiting for the ST Bus to Narivali, the base village to Siddhagad. The ST bus ride from Kalyan to Murbad felt amazing with the cold breeze blowing across our faces, and a picturesque sunrise pleasing our eyes once in a while from behind the hills. And with a Schumacheresque driver we had nothing more to ask for. By 8.45 we reached the base village Narivali and found our way through the village. Now could easily spot the W formation of Siddhagad. To the left were Gorakhgad and Machindragad. Somebody had brought a walkie talkie which I suppose the Rangers were using for the first time. No one then knew that would turn out to be a life saver later.

About half an hour into the trek. We had separated into 2 groups. One of them were moving slowly taking pictures and exploring. We had been moving faster, led by a half-drunk Mand who seemed confident about the route we had taken. That was a concern since we had reached many junctions where two roads met. Hardly 40 minutes into the trek we reached a dried up river, and yes, we were lost. What more, we connected with the other group behind only to realize they had taken a different route. That meant trouble since all experienced guys were on the other group and most of us were first timers. I vowed never to trust a drunk man in my life again. All confused we just sat shouting "Ayo ayo ayo" for the other group to track us down.

It took another hour of going upstream on the river to meet the other group. The river had got narrower and the forest denser. Enough to be sure we were all lost now. Since there was no other option we kept moving, wading through bushes, grass, thorns, hoping to find a Payvat (trail) somewhere. This was the toughest part of the trek, it was very difficult making way through the dry soil, loose rocks and dense vegetation and I just couldn't stop slipping and falling every two minutes. After another hour or so we saw hut at a distance. Rejoice..!!

The hut enroute

An old shepherd there showed us the way that led to the top of Siddhagad. In all new spirit we started moving confident of making it to the top soon. Albeit, that wasn't the end of adventure for us. There were two trails meeting all over the place. There were so many wrong trails to take, the right one seemed invisible. After hours of ending up on dead ends, trying 'the other route' and 'lets try this ones' all but Vish and Maul sat disappointed. We all head back to the hut and tried to take an altogether different trail. In a few minutes of walking I realized it was only me and Vish. The others had taken some other trail, yet again..!!

Cave with fresh water

Alas, this time I was on the correct trail. That meant the rest of the guys had to track us through the walkie and "ayo ayo's" , making way through another patch of thick vegetation, thorny bushes and loose rocks. Half way through this trail, half of us were too tired and decided to return and rest at the hut. While six of us continued. Suddenly we had gained a lot of height in not much time. At a point we reached a small disguised cave that had a freshwater spring. Refreshing ourselves and filling our bottles we continued.

Ami, with 2 other guys rested there for a while, while me Vish and Mang continued on the same trail. Eventually to reach a the Pravesh Dwara (Main entrance) to the Siddhagad fort. After a brief rest & photo time we moved on, now to reach an Orange walled Temple. The Temple had a Verandah where few members of another group were resting. We asked the about the way up the fort only to realize that we were far from the top. It would take at least 2 more hours to reach the top. And that the terrain was tough with scree and steep slopes. It was already past 2.30pm and we had to return the same day, so that was it. We met the end of our trek halfway. A semi-successful trek. We were happy to eventually find the way to the top but disappointed that we couldn't make it all the way.

After a brief period of rest, snacks and snaps we started the descent, Rested at the hut for some time and made our way back to Narivali. En route we discovered Siddhagadwadi, the village we were supposed to go through while ascending, which we never found. And we also found the spot where we took one wrong turn, near a bridge on the river. By 10.30pm I was back home, with sweet pain in my feet and a fresh air in my breath.

Everyone staring at a Chameleon.

Moment of the day was when Vish leaped like a frog, trying to catch a Chameleon and epically failed. :P

Although not successful, the trek was a great experience for me. And I'd like to see more of Sahyadris in the future. गिर्यारोहण रोक्क्स..!! :-) 

Family Tree

An intresting find. Yesterday while going through some old stuff I stumbled across an old book that my family tree. Thought it would be a good idea to digitize it. Click to zoom.

2010

All that comes to my mind about the past year:

1] College became a lot more fun than it was in 2009, I eventually found a group of friends who made life at Chunnabhatti bearable.

2] I started reading, and was enjoying it. Did Chetan Bhagat [all of them, just 1 made sense], The Godfather, The Kite Runner [the best of em all], Love, Rosie, etc

3] I got a new phone one that im still in love with.

4] I got a deadly shock from the water tap. Our pipelines were leaking current.[strange but true]

5] I lost a few people I would loved to have for a few more years, but thats how life is I hear.

6] I started my "A stranger a day" plan to improve my communication skills, since i wasn't that good at talkiing to people. I failed epically realising no one in buses or trains really cares so I better STFU..!

7] For the first time in my life, I saw an examination marksheet that had my name and said "FAILED". Yeah, KT lagi, Revaluation mein cleared, happy ending so no issues.

8] We had Ganpati at our place. For the first time that I was in my senses [last time we had, I was a baby]. Having so many happy Vaidyas have a good time together was fun.

9] I got my passport and pan made without bribing anyone. About this, I felt particularly proud.. :P

10] I don't remember any ugly spat/fight/brawl or any of those things. As always I had been good this year.

11] I started this blog.

The downside of technology

I was on the way home from Sion at about 7pm. I was supposed to attend a marriage that night, not that I wanted to, but sometimes you have to. And I was late by almost 3 hours, enough reason for a good pasting from everyone back home.  So i needed an excuse. "I had to get notes xerox'd from Bandra", easy as ever..!

I usually travel by bus, but that day I had to go fast, and bus would mean another three hours to reach home. So I took the train. Somewhere In between Matunga and Dadar, Home called.

"Hello"

"Where are you"

"At Bandra. This is going to take some time."

" How much "

" 1 hour may be"

" Don't you understand blah blah blah.."

" Agla station Dadar, Pudhil station Dadar, Next station Dadar."

I vividly remember the first time I heard the announcement in the train. I was more than just excited. That small technological progress got me dreaming about bullet trains and more. But never did I imagine it could work against me. It could happen to anyone. So many of us are used to doing this. Saying you are somewhere when you are far from there. But who is on guard for the random sweet lady telling the world what the next station is. Needless to say, I no more take calls in trains and now buses, nearing stations..!!
And Yes! Wish you a Happy New Year. Hope 2011 turns out to be the best year of all. Cheers..!!