Stok - The trek that wasn't

Stok - The trek that wasn't 

The mountains defy easy description & deciphering , and probably that is why one is so drawn to their siren call .It is said that once you have been to the Himalayas , you are compelled to visit them time and again , an irresistible pull , a primal tug .And it was something similar with me , having visited Rohtang pass just after my SSC exams , it was the Himalayan allure which drove me back to a full-fledged expedition on Mount Rudugaira , high above the Gangotri glacier , a basic mountaineering course at Manali & again another trek at the Gangotri glacier , the latter coinciding to the day with the tragic cloudburst at Kedarnath.

In short , my last Himalayan trip was truly an adventure, but in a different, unpredictable way, without the trek being completed , hence I was restless for another crack at the mighty mountains .Around December 2014 Urvi was asking around if anyone was interested in the Chadar trek , which was basically an arduous walk over a frozen river in Ladakh. While surfing for information on the same , I happened to chance upon the Stok Kangri expedition.

Stok was 20,000 feet high , a respectable height , didn't require any technical expertise & was quite affordable .Stok it was for me , situated in the Zanskar range near Leh , it seemed to be a perfect outing to reconnect with Himalayan mountaineering .

I floated the idea on the group with almost immediate confirmation from Savitha , Guptaji & Rohit, our very own Dongardev.Initially we approached a group called India Hikes , but they had very strict inclusion criteria ,which included prior high altitude treks etc. ,hence only 2 of us were selected .We decided to ditch that particular group & were ecstatic when a group called Trek the Himalayas confirmed all four of us , it was one of the best new year present we could ask for ! Once the registrations were confirmed we set about the serious business of preparing for the expedition , none of us had any illusions of it being easy .First things first , create a Whatsapp group , and we called ourselves Leh Climbers & Bikers .That done , flight tickets were booked , almost 7 months in advance !

Next we had to work on our fitness , apart from a daily schedule , we also organised the now  famous / infamous endurance trek series , which were medium to hard grade treks at least once a month in the Sahyadris .We sweated & swore our way through such draining treks like Mahuli & Sumargad at the height of summer , always keeping the bigger picture in mind .Special equipment purchase outings were organised to Decathlon at Thane & everyone was pretty much professionally geared up now , with good shoes , hiking poles , high intensity headlights & the works .

We were now about a month away from D-day which was the 29th of July , the day we were flying to Leh , and Savitha couldn't contain her excitement & was truly frustrated at how slowly time was passing .She started a countdown from the one month mark itself .Rohit had a different problem altogether , he wasn't finding the specialised clothing in his size ! After a lot of effort , he did manage to locate some , stitch some & be basically done with it once & for all .He took expert guidance from quite a few people on how to pack the entire lot into his brand new sack . With that done he breathed a sigh of relief , in the meantime Guptaji came up with a new doubt .He said that whoever he spoke to was ridiculing his decision to directly fly to Leh & instead were suggesting driving from Srinagar / Manali to avoid mountain sickness.We agreed to his valid line of reasoning , but it was too late in the day to address them , if he so wished , he could meet us directly at Leh but time & money constraints forbade us from making last minute changes to our itinerary.Speaking of itineraries , we were reaching Leh on the 30th & our trek was starting on the 3rd , this not only gave us sufficient time for acclimatisation but also a day or two to squeeze in the local sights .Guptaji by now had resigned to the fact of flying directly to Leh , as he said that he was a team man & would go along with what everyone was doing .

It was the 24th of July , just 5 days more & each day was crawling so slowly ! Around noon that day we got a message from Rohit, which turned our cosy world upside down. He had chills and fever ,blood tests confirmed malaria. We couldn't believe ourselves , was this really happening ? 5 days to go & a diagnosis of malaria pretty much ruled out Rohit joining us . I don't know who felt more bad , Rohit or us ? The poor chap had endured all the endurance treks , invested heavily in new equipment & was truly raring to go , this being his first Himalayan experience .We were still hoping against hope that somehow , just somehow, he could still join us. This slender hope was dashed when his physician suspected dengue too .

With Rohit pretty much out of the game , we decided to meet him & present him the specially designed T2B t shirt & take Dongardev's blessings for our onward journey .29th July dawned & from Leh Climbers & Bikers we had become the 3 Idiots now .We reached Delhi airport around midnight & bought special chocolates to be opened only when we reached the summit .We nearly missed our Delhi Leh flight due to an altered state of consciousness brought about by a sleepless night at the airport .We made sure that everyone of us had window seats to soak in the imminent display of majestic beauty , and it proved to be a wise decision .Each one of us was awe struck by the sheer raw beauty of the snowcapped towering peaks & once we recovered from the initial wonder, we were merrily clicking all the sights , to try and capture a slice of the Mountain that is the Himalaya.

Day 1 at Leh was a mixture of drowsiness , slight headaches  & stunning views of the Stok range which dominated the skyline .We were booked into the Palace View guest house , situated right below the Leh Palace & next to the Polo ground .Guptaji had been instructed by Savitha to carry a pulse oximeter & it became our obsession for the next 10 days , with someone or the other poking their finger towards whoever was carrying it .Any activity / walk was followed by a mandatory SpO2 check .Savitha's was a heady 90 , Guptaji was in the 80s & I languished in 3rd place in the high 70s .Guptaji had to pick up a few trek essentials & by evening we were much more acclimatised to the reduced oxygen content , so we set out into the market .Once in the market we were ravenously hungry & gobbled down bowls of Thukpa ( a soup noodle preparation) & plates of momos .Guptaji ,true to his resourcefulness ,located an army materials supplier & managed to get Indian army grade trekking stuff like gloves , jackets & balaclavas. Tummies & shopping hampers full ,   we turned our attention towards the serious task of hiring bikes for tomorrows ride to Pangong Tso.We were delighted to get spanking new 350 cc Bullets with helmets thrown in for no extra charge .Tasks accomplished we headed back to Palace view for a good night's sleep , we had a long day ahead tomorrow.

Pangong was around 170 kms. away from Leh & the road was through what was described as the ' mighty Chang La ' , the world's third highest pass at 17,688 feet . Considering the distance we decided to do the trip in 2 days & accordingly packed our bags , filled the bikes up & also carried around 10 litres of extra fuel .The road to Pangong was Leh-Karu-Sakti-Chang La-Durbuk-Tangste-Lukung.Online portals mentioned that 'this route provides the best road conditions among all other routes'.We started off around 10 am, sufficiently satiated with bowls of Thukpa, and drove along a dream of a road , the mountains on the left & the Sindhu river on the right.On the way we saw a regal structure built atop & into the hill , as we neared it , the sign board announced that it was the Shey Palace , erstwhile residence of the Leh royal family .It also housed a 2 storey high gilded Buddha statue .Eager to experience as much as possible , we took the 2 minute short drive upto the palace parking & were rewarded by stunning landscapes all around .After visiting the temple , we made haste, mindful that we still had a long way to go. The drive upto Karu was excellent, with us clocking good time. At Karu you take the left fork towards Sakti which climbs into the mountains .Initially the gradients are pleasant and one actually starts enjoying the twisty turny nature of the mountain road .As you climb higher you can see that the Border Roads Organisation BRO has a very tough , to say the very least , job on its hands .Just maintaining a level ground , forget the tarmac & other embellishments in this harsh environment , is a harsh & life threatening endeavour. Unlike the Sahyadris which are built of solid igneous rock ,the Himalayas are a loose aggregation of rocks embedded in a fine sand , remnants of a sea dried long ago & whose bed is being progressively pushed up by tectonic plate activity .Cutting a long story short , the roads on these mountains are very unstable , because the mountains themselves are unstable .So you are riding / driving on compacted silt /sand without any real foundation .The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the melt waters from the mountain tops flow directly over these roads creating beautiful babbling brooks and raging torrents   , beautiful to look at but a real danger to ride through.

One had to consider navigating over the least slippery of stones , these stones were the kind found on river beds , round & slippery , but they were not directly visible as the water flowing over them was muddied .If you didn't slip while doing this , the next challenge was to drive fast enough to try & prevent water from entering your silencer , as the currents were quite deep at some places .Having achieved these 2 feats , the crowning achievement would be not having your shoes soaking wet , a very necessary requirement considering the upcoming attempt at 20,000 feet. And there were so many of these patches that we frankly lost count .A point to be mentioned about the 350 cc Bullet was that it lacked torque in a very disturbing way & this was manifested when you tried to climb over smaller boulders & the bike refused to budge .The only alternative was to reverse & try a different approach , this was easier said than done, as firstly that meant putting your feet into the chilling water and secondly the bike seemed to weigh a ton and reversing was easier said than done.

These patches successfully  navigated without a spill , we reached Chang La top standing mighty at 17,688 feet . Apart from an army post & a tea stall there is a temple dedicated to Changla Baba built by the army , which is said to protect visitors from mishaps during the crossing .A BRO plaque at Chang La is worth mentioning, that this road was possible due to some nameless individual who stayed with his machine in the face of immense hardship without wavering from his duty , true heroes these. A quick tea break and we were on our way again. If we thought that reaching the top would be the end of our wading woes , we were sadly mistaken , as obviously the other part of the mountain was going to be similar to the part climbed up, with the same raging currents & all .By this time we were desensitised to it all & drove at a speed bordering on reckless ,aided by the experience of climbing up & sheer luck .We just wanted to get done with the rocks and the water as fast as possible ,hence the hurry. Once we had descended we reached Durbuk , a small post of 3 - 4 huts & kept going on .On our way we passed what seemed to be a small wayside hotel colourfully decorated with various flags ,unknown to us this was going to play a major role in upcoming events .

As the ground more or less levelled off , we saw huge storm clouds around 10 minutes away. Not only could we see it pouring into the valley below ,but could also see lightning in a different way, we are accustomed to see lightning in the skies above , here it was we who were above & the lightning below .The fast approaching clouds snapped us out of our reverie & Guptaji insisted that we go back to the small wayside hotel for shelter .It was a race against the clouds but we managed, just in the nick of time .The hotel was basically a tent which was closed for business currently .We moved the make shift door & got inside to see torrential rain lashing the spot where we were, just a minute ago , talk about close calls .

The first thing we did was remove our drenched shoes & that made us feel a little better, next we realised that it was almost 4 pm & we had not eaten anything since morning ! Naagrik snacks to the rescue ! We settled into a semi comfortable state only to discover that the roof had started leaking ,unable to withstand the continuous onslaught of the sheets of rain .Had we not been cold , wet & miserable , we may even had enjoyed the scene , with tall mountains , pouring rain & intermittent lightning. The rain was showing no signs of letting up & dry areas within were getting scarce & rare , when suddenly we heard voices , human ones , we weren't hallucinating as yet , and they spoke - Gujarati ! Talk about ubiquitous , welcome to the party guys .Gujju guys & Guptaji decided to build a bonfire with the cardboard cartons lying around , small problem - the cardboard was damp .This was solved by liberally dousing the cartons with petrol from our surplus stock & voila , there you have it, a raging fire .I was in no mood to give up my dry perch for the fire , which anyways soon started spluttering & giving off more smoke than heat & light .The gujjus had a back up vehicle into which they piled & drove off shortly .The intensity of the rain had reduced, though it was far from finished .Given the impending darkness & the distance to be covered to Tangste , we decided to brave the rain & ride on.Before that we professed our eternal gratitude to the unknown owner of the hotel & left some money for him. Savitha & I were frantically trying to find our waterproof stuff ,while Guptaji was getting annoyed at our delay .He started off while we were still trying to locate our gloves .These were desolate roads in hostile conditions and the last thing we wanted was for the 2 bikes to be separated , hence we set off after him in hot pursuit , which in hindsight proved to be not such a good decision .

The landscape was divine , you had tall mountains of varied hues all around , the road was descending into a valley which you could spot through breaks in the clouds and the rain had created streams & rivulets which were running by the road .One scene which stands out was of small stones on the road , which were breaking up the water flow in such a manner so as to create very tiny waterfalls over them , the collective effect was of tiny diamonds strewn all over the road .I was brought back to a harsher reality, when I noticed that I couldn't feel my hands at all. Hypothermia which is as alien to a Mumbaikar as a Martian suddenly started making sense. My jeans was soaking wet , yes I was wearing jeans to protect against the cold , my hands were beyond numb & feet were in individual pools of their own .This was supposed to be a rain shadow region , a cold desert , so how come the torrential rain ?? I had not factored this in at all .I had felt very clever when deciding that we would go via one of the high altitude passes to the lakes , this would take us high & we would sleep low , a perfect recipe for acclimatisation .Forget acclimatisation , here was death by hypothermia staring right at me !

Fortunately for us Tangste was around 20 kms from where we were & digging deep into unknown reserves my only goal was to reach it rather than collapsing in the middle of nowhere . With this resolve , I eked out the most that the poor Bullet could muster & set out at an almost maniacal pace , the only thing which mattered was Tangste ! Our speed soon made us catch up with Guptaji & judging by the smashed petrol can , he seemed to have had some incident of his own .Later he narrated that his bike had got stuck twice in the sand & only through supreme effort , willpower & screaming his lungs out, did he manage to get his act together again.

We had descended into the valley now & the road to Tangste was much more level now , the rain too had mercifully stopped .We checked into the first hotel which we saw , the Pangong residency & it promised us a good room with hot food & even hot water to nurse our extremities back to life .I was shivering uncontrollably now & could feel the cold seep in to my very core .Reviewing our day's proceedings ,we discussed how this was one of the most difficult rides one could complete & the sense of achievement on completing this was much more than climbing the relatively easy Stok . I was so exhausted that for the life of me I couldn't get myself to go to the dining room. Dinner was simple but hot stuff & we headed back to our room & hit the bed .

Morning dawned with me being in a state of extreme exhaustion , with even the simplest task seeming Herculean .Guptaji was a little better , but there was no way in which we could drive the bikes back all the way to Leh.We managed to find a jeep which could take both us & the bikes back to Leh & since we were so close to Pangong , cover that too.

Before setting off for Pangong , we decided to find some Glucon D to ramp up my energy a bit , the medical store person told Savitha that Glucon etc. doesn't help but there was a PHC in Tangste and it would be wiser to have a consult there.Feeling that things weren't so bad as to warrant a PHC visit , we bought some juice & drove off towards Pangong .The road to Pangong is through the mountains again , a sort of road which if you are prone to motion sickness , then you would definitely throw up .And that's what I did , coupled with the acidity of having a negligible breakfast & the twisty turny road . Feeling a little better , we drove on & horror of horrors my gut couldn't even hold the pure water which I had just had & out that came .So this wasn't acidity / motion  sickness but I was too gone to trouble my brain to come up with a diagnosis which tied all the symptoms together .I do remember trying to figure out if any viral infection has respiratory plus GI symptoms but finding it too taxing, just gave up . After the last bout of throwing up, Savitha instructed the driver to turn back & drop the idea of Pangong, but since we were so agonisingly close to it , I didn't want to deny them the pleasure of seeing it ,and we went on .

Pangong is huge ; 5 kms at its widest & around 130 kms long.Its beauty lies in the varied hues of blue & aquamarine which the water reflects on clear days , we had no such luck as the sky was overcast from yesterday's rains .After the photos we drove back to Tangste , where we had the unenviable task of lifting 2 super heavy Bullets onto the Jeep, this was accomplished with the help of the hotel staff & we set off for Leh via Chang La .This journey was pretty much uneventful except for a few heart stopping moments where the bikes seemed to roll out of the jeep on the steep inclines .The lack of oxygen also led to frayed tempers between Savitha & Guptaji , but nothing which descending from Chang La couldn't sort out .I, for most part of the journey, had my head down & was drifitng in & out of sleep.

Thus we reached Palace View ,Leh around 6 pm & I immediately snuggled into bed .Going by how difficult it was for me to do routine tasks , Savitha felt it prudent to buy a portable oxygen cylinder , just in case .The oxygen supplier was just across the road , but unfortunately was shut for the day & unwillingly she had to ask the hotel manager about alternatives .I say unwillingly because once you have been hooked up to oxygen , the trek is pretty much over for you .There was still one entire day & I was confident that proper rest & food should see me through , hence we didn't want to jeopardise our trek plans . Anyways the hotel manager came to check & conferred with Guptaji that such a condition was consistent with GI upset & if oxygen was really required they had a vehicle which could be used to procure it .In the meantime Guptaji had managed to get us some food & the minute I got up from the dining hall all my gastric contents were duly deposited into the loo .There was something seriously wrong , damn that virus !

It was 2 am at night & Savitha was woken up by sounds of constant cough and distressed breathing , but it wasn't just shortness of breath , there was a distinct gurgling sound accompanying it too , no prizes for guessing , it was me .Savitha felt that we should go to the hospital , 2 am at night for a respiratory infection seemed a bit far-fetched for me.She said that in case of Pulmonary Oedema , the accumulated fluid caused such a sound , I countered with the argument that clogged mucous would also create the same effect .To end the logjam , I went to the washroom & expectorated the lung contents & was jolted to see frothy , blood tinged sputum - this was no respiratory infection ! Help ! Ok , so no infection , but whatever it was could wait till morning , why spoil everyone's sleep over it ?

Savitha had had enough of my arguments & announced firmly that we were going to the hospital & that too now .She had the presence of mind of taking down the hotel owner's phone number earlier in the day & called him up immediately .It was decided not to spoil Guptaji's sleep as he himself was very tired .SpO2 was hovering around 56 , the owner came in & said that the hospital would only admit people who couldn't even stand on their feet , & here I was merrily walking around .Savitha was firm & said that she was interested in a qualified diagnosis & would abide by whatever the doctor would say . A quick ride to the hospital & we were in the casualty , the attending Dr. was an MD physician .He hooked me to the medical grade pulse oximeter & . . . .

SpO2 was 33 %  !  He was justifiably wild & ranted at us for coming in so late , 10 more points decrease & you wouldn't have to come at all .He also mentioned in passing that we were lucky to have him attending to me , as just a few days earlier,the junior doctors had treated a similar case of vomitting with IV fluids , which in fact was pulmonary oedema & the patient had died due to fluid overdose .So it was confirmed , I had full blown HAPE or high altitude pulmonary edema & needed to be admitted stat .HAPE was life threatening with a high mortality rate & the patient could succumb within hours if appropriate treatment wasn't given .Why someone will / will not have HAPE has not yet been solved. It can occur to anyone ,irrespective of how many mountains you have climbed / courses you have done, a true leveller . With the oxygen cannula down my nose & the wonder drugs of modern medicine coursing through my veins HAPE had been denied its latest victim & I could literally breathe a sigh of relief.

The emergency had passed , the morning dawned with some difficult decisions to take .

I was lucky to have survived the night , so climbing a 20,000er was out of the question , but Guptaji & Savitha were doing good , there was still one complete day in hand & Stok seemed tantalisingly within reach for them. The last thing I would want was for them to miss out on this opportunity , considering the efforts we had put in to reach this stage.The medical aspect was taken care of by the excellent staff of the Government Hospital & the hotel owner & manager had promised to take care of the food & other stuff. I wasn't critical anymore and it was just a  matter of biding time till I recovered.

Guptaji mentioned that he had made up his mind at Tangste itself considering the rainy conditions , give him proper sunshine & he was willing to exert to the top of any mountain , but pouring rains was a no-no for him & there was no way that he could abandon me & go for the trek .He also mentioned that there were a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder & he didn't want to take undue risks . That sealed the matter , now that Guptaji was staying back ,Savitha was free to go & she really had this on her mind since the past 7 months , she was fit , had a keen desire bordering on an obsession , this was going to be her first Himalayan peak & there was no imminent danger of me sliding into the netherworld. All factors which were screaming Go Savitha Go ! You could actually see the various conflicts playing out in her mind & finally her sense of perceived duty came to the fore and she decided to stay back .We tried very hard to convince her ,but it was like 'Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di . . . '

And so you had it , Stok the trek that wasn't. But what it was , was much more than any trek could be , the preparation , the heart break , the adventure ,the arrogance ,death at close quarters ,lack of information ,heroic courage and a sense of togetherness , a feeling that together you can achieve anything .This is a tribute to the dedicated staff at Sonam Norbu Memorial hospital , Guptaji & Savitha. Sometimes we look far and wide for examples of heroism but fail to notice what is right next to us , Savitha is one such amazing individual .She not only displayed immense courage , but kept a calm mind , did all that was necessary in a pressure situation , mobilised resources & ultimately saw to it that the mission was a success , that we can read these lines today is all because of her , because if I had had my way , then there was no budging till morning and that would have been too . . .   

Rajgad – Torna

Rajgad – Torna

It was the Diwali weekend , with all my sisters in the US of A , my bhaubeej day was free .Couple that with a Saturday & Sunday & you have the perfect recipe for a "real" trek .The only hitch with this plan is that ,most if not all, T2B members do follow societal norms & are not as irresponsible as me when it comes to remaining absent from the home & the associated festivities. In spite of this ,I did find one who was equally willing to forego urban celebrations in favour of communing with the great outdoors , and it was none other than Rohit , the Dongardev !

In fact it was Rohit who initiated proceedings , with me being lukewarm to the idea , at best .Once decided that the 13th & the 14th were going to be spent out , the next logical step would beto decide on a venue . 2 names came to the fore; Rajgad & Hadsar .Rajgad for the sheer beauty & Hadsar for its off beat location & rock climbing opportunities.Once these names were tossed around  ,Rohit had Google working overtime & in a few hours was a live encyclopedia on all things Rajgad & Hadsar .The seemingly dangerous video on Hadsar tilted the scales in favour of Rajgad.

Rajgad by itself can be completed in one day , since we had two days in hand we decided to couple it with Torna & thus was born Mission Rajgad - Torna , famous among trekkers as a "real" trek,meaning, if you have done this you qualify for the ranks of serious trekkers or being seriously deranged ,depending on how you look at it .How else would you describe someone who willingly climbs up one large mountain & almost immediately sets off towards another equally large one 10 kms.away separated by roughly 20 smaller hills ?

BUT Rohit was scared of heights ,that's what he claimed, & hence was willing to brave this torture instead of the beautiful rock patch which Hadsar afforded .We left the decision making till the last moment & it was Friday evening when he landed at my home in Pune. After an agonisingly long decision making process we finally settled on Rajgad - Torna , keeping Hadsar- Shivneri for another day.Once the venue was decided we had to stock ourselves with food to last us 3 meals - lunch & dinner at Rajgad and breakfast at Torna. This was achieved with various packs of MTR & even soya milk to boot .Water was a potential problem , so hypochlorite drops & a state of the art membrane filter was packed .To allay Rohit's fears we even had a rope length .To this we added blankets & even a tent .This being a long weekend,what if all the temples were occupied ? All this luggage meant a very heavy sack to say the least, mine in the range of 15 kgs.& Rohit's around 12 .

Swargate bus stand confirmed the Gunjavane ST at 9 am & we slept, anticipating a big day tomorrow . We reached Swargate ST stand at 8 am , better early than sorry , as there was only 1 ST to Gunjavane in the entire day .

Once there , it was a familiar chaos with the holiday crowds either rushing towards or away from home .We beat several contenders to the last 2 remaining coveted seats in the overflowing waiting area and parked ourselvesfor an hour long wait .We utilised this time fruitfully by rushing to check each ST as it came , even though ours was expected only after an hour . In between this running about , we also played guess the other persons occupation , destination or whatever took our fancy . This game threw up , according to us , a group who were probably trekkers ,points for, were that they wore track pants and shoes but points against were - they had a proper school bag among their luggage !It was a group comprised of a youngish man with probably his wife , lots of kids & two teenage girls .

By & by with such interesting  efforts we reached the much anticipated time of 9 am .Our only concern was that we should get place to sit & we were primed & pumped up to rush into the bus , using our Virar local experience to unfair advantage .9 am ticked to 9.15 & there was no sign of the much anticipated red contraption , we consoled each other by saying that it was just 15 minutes & ST wasn't particularly known for its punctuality . 9.15 crawled to 9.30 & we were positively jittery ! Since buses can be cancelled without any notice or regard , we decided to ask  the friendly neighbourhood enquiry counter .

The actually helpful uncle there informed us about the Gunjavane ST not coming back from the village itself .Seeing our faces turn from disbelief to horror to almost crying , he advised us to take the Bhor ST standing there , get down at the highway & take a jeep from there .Said Bhor ST had been standing for a long time and seemed for all practical purposes, full . I ran into it & to our great luck, found 2 seats right at the back, thus assuring us a merry, bumpy ride .I didn't want to & in fact couldn't leave the seat to get our sacks on board.So i called Rohit to do the honours , poor fellow in his haste dropped his iphone , ouch ! Luckily the cover broke, leaving the precious piece of glass & metal intact.

Once inside , Rohit informed that the group which we were trying to analyse was actually a trekkers group,going to Rajgad.Hearing that the ST was cancelled they decided to take their own car .We couldn't do that since we were climbing in 1 village & descending in another somewhere far off . After an unexpectedly quick drive to the highway we took a jeep to Gunjavane paying a royal sum of 300 rupees , but then were going to Rajgad, the royal fort, weren't we .

Just before entering Gunjavane we saw the ST stand group right before us , that means we had made good time .After refreshing ourselves with twin helpings of wada pav & tea , we set off to climb Rajgad known as " Gadancha Raja , Rajancha Gad "

Anyone with an interest or knowledge of Maratha history would know the pivotal role Rajgad has played in shaping this state and indeed country of ours .It is a piece of living history , steeped in valour , oozing statecraft & a rock solid reminder of the genius of a man , a man who dared to awaken his people from hundreds of years of inertia , of broken spirits & living in humiliation . His was a mission where people were ready, nay jostling, to make the supreme sacrifice for Swarajya, for dignity, for a cause higher than themselves !

And Rajgad was a crystallisation of his military genius .Just imagine, who in his right mind , would take on the might of an empire with just a handful of soldiers , that too when that empire was where your father served , knowing full well that one wrong move could mean instant death for all involved .And to do that when you are just 16 requires a special brand of audacity & courage! Maharaj tumhala maanacha mujra !

With all these thoughts running in our minds we checked our watches & true to tradition we had started our climb at 12 pm .The winter sun & light breeze aided our efforts & we were surprisingly quick on the climb .We were joined by our ST stand group ,a cute 6 year old with a whistle, leading the lot .She was aptly named Leader .Rajgad has four entrances, the easy Pali darwaza ,the obscure Aalu darwaza , the forested Gunjavane darwaza & the tricky Chor darwaza.We were entering through the Chor darwaza .

 With an uneventful but quick climb we reached the final stretch where a very steep rock face led to the hole in the wall darwaza .The reason the entrance was so small & nondescript was because it was meant to be hidden & to provide a quick escape if the fort was compromised .The rock patch had railings attached & Rohit redeemed himself like a pro, with his large strides making it seem effortless.The Chor darwaza entered onto the Padmavati machi , a machi being a plateau like region extending from the main mountain.

Rajgad has a central elevated bale killa or citadel with 3 machis extending from it viz.Padmavati , Suvela & Sanjivani .Just as you enter onto Padmavati machi you are greeted by a large tank called as the Padmavati talav.We splashed some cold water on ourselves and were immediately refreshed .Continuing upwards from the left bank of the tank we reached a stone structure used as an ammunition store .

Currently it had a group from Mulund who were camping there for 3 days , 3 days being the minimum you require to appreciate the fort fully ,was their argument .They were gracious enough to share half the living space with us , but we had other plans , we had our very own tent , remember ?We literally tore into our MTR packets of pulao & chana masala , topped it up with energising soya milk & were all set to explore the fort .

Climbing up from the ammunition store we reached the Padmavati temple, a temple which we gave a miss, as it seemed too full of people.From here we took a left again & climbed to a flat area which had remnants of the offices & residences of statesmen & warriors gone by. One of them looked suitable to pitch our tent as it afforded some protection from the wind .Keeping that in mind we proceeded to the Bale Killa .The bale killa can be described as a fort within a fort , where, even if the main fort was overrun, you could still keep the enemy at bay due to the sheer strength of the extreme defences.Rajgad's balekilla is one of the most attractive .It is built atop steep rock rising hundreds of feet high from the machi level, with a substantial spread .The entrance is well guarded and cannot be easily seen from the main fort .The route to the Bale Killa Maha Darwaza is a vertical climb on rock ,made a bit easier & safer by contemporary railings .En route to this entrance one can see the Suvela machi stretching for a long distance to the left .The Suvela machi is a classic example of Maratha fort architecture with reinforcing walls , bastions & look outs .For once, the man made structure blends in beautifully with nature & creates a memorable scene .The Suvela machi has a huge rock formation with a large natural hole in the middle , this is called as ' nedha' or needle eye or tiger's eye .

While climbing the rock patch to the bale killa , we see a dangerously exposed rocky outcrop & Rohit cheekily mentions that had Savitha been there she would have definitely clicked a snap over there .Letting my juvenile instincts overpower the rational ones , i jump onto the rock & Rohit does the honours of clicking .

The Maha Darwaza of the bale killa is imposing , grand & humbling .One wonders at the ingenuity , skill & foresight of the men who built it .The Maha darwaza was decorated with rangoli & lanterns by a group who does that every Diwali , their logic being that these forts were vital for the survival of our earlier generations , this was just a small gesture of gratitude.A steep climb up from the gate get us to the very top of Rajgad . The panorama from the top has to be seen to be believed , you have rolling hills one behind the other , a green carpet till the eye can see , shimmering rivers wending through the valleys & the forts , so many forts , all around .You have the mighty Raigad,the steep Lingana , the vast Torna and the strategic Sinhagad, all within visual range of Rajgad , truly making it the centre of the empire.A few years ago there were pipes oriented towards these forts & you just had to place your eye to it to look at the fort of your choice .In fact a few more years ago , there was a thriving capital at this very site , Time- a truly great leveller .

After snapping out of our reverie , we decided to head towards Sanjivani machi to chalk out the route for tomorrow .The last time i had done this trek was around 12 years ago & that was at 1 am .That time we had a frustrating experience trying to find the exit & to prevent a repeat  we decided to have the locations pinpointed prior.Sanjivani machi has its own charm with a double wall fortifying it against all sorts of attacks , strategically located bastions & smaller armour or chilkhat buruj completing the defence.The only problem with our plan was that the sun was rapidly going down & Sanjivani machi was a mere 2 kms.long .We also had a tent to pitch .We went along till the light held out but couldn't reach the exit point which was named Aalu darwaza.Returning back we settled on a place for the tent & headed back to the Padmavati temple for a hot cup of tea .In the course of conversation , Rohit mentioned that we were going to Torna the next morning & would be glad to join anyone else going the same way .The tea vendor said that currently there was no one , but if someone came along he would definitely let us know.The other thing he promised was that he would give us tea at 5 am the next morning , we were practically beaming when we heard this .Having finished the tea we were just about to make our way to the tent pitching spot we had identified ,when the lady making tea asked us where we were staying , whether in the Padmavati temple or the Rameshwar temple .

We assumed for some reason that we couldn't stay in the Rameshwar temple .On observation it was a smaller ,cosier version of the Padmavati temple which could house around 4 to 6 people .There was a man inside who was praying & chanting ,he had lit several small lamps all around and the scent of incense completed the surreal atmosphere. Not wishing to disturb him , we waited till he finished and then entered .He said that he was retired now & came to the forts during festivals to provide sweets to the local people & to clean & pray in the now neglected temples. Both Rohit & I were amazed at how much i could talk with him, given my tendency towards silence.

At least, as Rohit mentioned, it ensured our very own sleeping space without the biting cold or milling crowds. By this time we had given up on the idea of pitching the tent as the temple was much more comfortable and also because we wouldn't have the additional effort of winding it up early in the morning , thus saving us valuable time .

The super-heavy unbalanced sack had taken its toll on me & all i wanted to do was sleep. Torna & the morrow was another place, another time . Rohit in the meantime dutifully finished his cold packet of pulao & ordered steaming hot kanda bhaji as an offset. Dreamland had never felt this good .I did try to imagine flitting images of strapping warriors with their swords & spears chalking out strategy but unfortunately / fortunately wasn't rewarded by an actual sighting. While i was sleeping, Rohit had made friends with a group of 6 Punekars who were trekking to Torna in the morning.Thus ended day 1 of Rajgad-Torna.

I won't say that day 2 dawned bright & clear, as, when Rohit's alarm started blaring, it was 4.45 am & consequently pitch black outside. The star spangled sky was a sight to behold though! Packing up in record time, we made our way to the tea vendor & were amazed to see a sizeable crowd already providing him brisk business .The crowd turned out to be the Sahyadri Scalers ( no relation to the one Rohit uses ) a group of cousins who in true Puneri fashion trekked , cycled & ran marathons .Their war cry rent the pre dawn sky & sent a shiver of energy running through our spines .With the warmth of the tea & the excitement of the trek coursing through us, we set off at a brisk pace.The fact that we had explored the same area & the excellent lighting provided by our head torches helped us cover a lot of ground in a short period of time .Until . . . we ran into a fork where due to the dark we couldn't find the route .We were fumbling about & the Scalers caught up with us , one of them had done this trek before & was pretty sure that right was the way to go .Getting out of indecision , even if the ultimate outcome wasn't guaranteed , was a load off the mind , and we gladly followed .The route did lead us forward but where was the exit ? There was only 1 exit but it was going back towards Rajgad . Deciding against going in a reverse way .1 of the Scalers & 1 of the T2Bers decided to explore the machi in it's entirety.At the risk of repetition , the fortification & defence were something to be marvelled at .And this same fortification became the reason for our consternation .You could see the route very clearly just beyond the wall , but where was the exit to it ?? Short of jumping of the wall, which entailed broken limbs at the very least, there was no visible connection between the interior of the fort & the tantalising,mocking route .Where was the famed Aalu darwaza ? All the other points had boards disclosing their identity but Aalu darwaza was mysteriously missing .The exploring Scaler shouted in victory , there was a hidden exit on the right side of the machi .It was decided that he would explore it & if found to be correct , we would follow .The T2Ber was a bit sceptical as the route was on the left side of the fort & the right side exit would involve creating a tunnel through a lot of solid rock to join there .There have been instances of such tunnels & secret passages hence the scepticism was wasn't voiced out aloud.False alarm , the right exit led to a labyrinth between the numerous fortification walls .

After thoroughly checking the entire left wall for any sign of a breach or doorway we concluded that the only exit on the left side was the one which led in the reverse direction .And instead of Maharaj suddenly Holmes sprung forth with his cocky attitude saying : How often have I said that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? So reverse it was .The path went reverse for sometime , descended vertically over rock ,disappeared into the forest & emerged victoriously to join the one which was visible from the walls. Was it my imagination or did I hear a faint Elementary ? Aalu darwaza 2 - trekkers 0.

All this searching meant that we were witness to a glorious sunrise on the machi itself , that was the optimistic way of saying that we had lost a lot of time & our trekking would be in the overhead sun instead of the pleasant chill of dawn. The Scalers were now fully visible & they, who, initially appeared to be a group of collegians , turned out to be around 40 ish .They offered us oranges & Rohit some encouragement over the rock patches & the ice was broken . One of them even turned out to be a dentist ! We were standing hundreds of feet above ground level & it was with profound dejection that we followed the path vertically downwards ,the grief was for losing all the height gained only to gain it again on the next hillock . After ascending & descending around 3 times we descended to a valley with a tar road running through, someone joked that this was the final chance to back out , once ahead it was the point of no return . Our first landmark & halt was a shepherd's house , he was kind enough to make us piping hot black tea and we decided to have breakfast there .The Scalers were amazed at the sheer variety of MTR we had .After polishing off one of the packets we started the journey again .

It was a constant up & down, sometimes through forest ,sometimes through plain and at others on top of the mountain.After following the trail for quite some time we came to a clearing and realised that Torna was way to the right & if we continued straight there was no way we would reach our destination .But the trail was going straight , as we pondered, there was the sound of a dog barking furiously & luckily for us the owner came out to see what the commotion was .She was kind enough to direct us to the actual trail which was indistinct & through the forest .In gratitude we purchased buttermilk from her & set off again .

By now our sacks were really weighing us down , the Scalers who had the lightest bags possible were really racing ahead .They were kind enough to wait for us at places where we could have erred .Seeing their pace Rohit named them the Dhaavpal gang .After crossing numerous hills we finally reached the base of Budhala maachi .Budhala was fortified by a massive bastion & thick walls ,not to mention a vertical rock face .The route into Torna was from the right of the bastion where we had to negotiate a tricky rock patch .The absence of railings or any other support made it a really thrilling experience .Once this patch was negotiated there was a straight wall of sheer rock which would have been impossible to climb had the ladder not been there .The swaying ladder too made for an adventurous climb .Once the ladder was crossed the path took a right turn & was just a foot wide , on its left was the rock & scree of Torna and on its right was a sheer drop to the valley floor . After traversing this for 5 minutes, the path turned to safer regions & took us to the mountain top .This was a path straight out of the movies , golden grass on either side & beautiful panoramas all around .In true movie style ,suddenly there was a twist in the tale .We were merrily chomping on our coffee bites when suddenly there was a loud buzzing noise, as if a thousand bees had been set loose. And it was in fact that , there were thousands of bees climbing up from the valley & going over to the other side. It would have been a very interesting sight had it not been for the fact that we were directly in their path ! We hit the ground post haste & covered ourselves with whatever was available, grass, rucksack, anything at all. After a heart stopping minute they were gone as suddenly as they had come .We were completely shaken if not stirred .Literally gathering ourselves up , we set off our merry way again.

The path turned rocky again & veered off towards the edge  .Our confidence had increased tremendously after living dangerously for so long , so it was just a cakewalk for us .Just to prove a point , a rocky wall suddenly manifested itself blocking our way totally . We started clambering up the rocks , a slip guaranteeing an intimate encounter with the valley floor .Our sacks being governed by gravity & the shifting contents inside, only served to heighten the thrill .In all this our concentration was suddenly disturbed by the lead climbers shrill call , WAIT ! There was no way ahead it seemed , on his left was a sheer drop , the right was where we were hanging precariously , which was a confirmed drop & ahead were very narrow rocks impossible to balance upon .If there were no mortal danger , the entire scene would have looked comical , with 1 person sitting on top of the rock & 6 hanging on various stages, the last one was sitting peacefully at the base .The top person managed to attract the attention of some people who in turn alerted a local lady selling buttermilk & lime juice .She literally ran to us & very expertly guided us off the rock first & then took us to the actual route which was only slightly less dangerous at almost a 70 degree gradient .Once we reached the top of the patch we were again confronted with drops on either side but luckily this time there was a way forward .Once we reached level ground we finished off the entire buttermilk & lime juice stock of the gallant lady, partly out of relief & partly to help her out. We thanked her profusely & considered her nothing less than a Divine intervention. With enough adventure and excitement to last for quite some while, the next part of the journey to the Mengai temple atop Torna was uneventful .The lady escorted us till there & also served delicious kande pohe with tea, priming us for the descent ahead.

The descent from Torna is usually quite irritating due its sheer unending nature. We finished this in a state of some exhaustion, taking the better part of 3 hours to complete it.

The Scalers had a tradition , that the Torna trek wasn't complete without misal pav & tea at a particular hotel at the base , respecting that, not only did we polish off misal pav & tea , we also added the T2B tradition of  Thums up to it & wound up a truly remarkable trek .A trek which had everything ; history , adventure , danger ,thrills , spills ,pushing oneself to extreme limits, watching out for your fellow, trusting strangers with your life & the uplifting realisation that selfless humanity was still alive .Rohit graduated from being jittery on rocks to confidently striding over them & I fulfilled a long pending desire of doing Rajgad Torna again.Signing off with the quintessential T2B question , what next ?

Sumargad

Sumargad

That we were excited would be an understatement .The planning had begun weeks ago , right down to the cup noodles , amount of water ,even spare rope lengths to practice knots .The original plan was to climb up to Rajmachi from the Karjat side ,meeting up with T2B membersat the top & then hitching a ride home .Somehow T2B wasn't very enthused with the idea & simultaneously Guptaji developed a craving for alphonso mangoes .Emulating the brain fever bird , he kept on going 'Ratna-giri' 'Ratna-giri' , bowing to his wishes we started scouting for a place in Ratnagiri .The narrowed down list had Jungli Jaigad & Mahipatgad on it .Seeing that Jaigad was pretty simple ,focus shifted to Mahipatgad & it was decided upon .

Once it was announced , Dr.Google came into play , with Guptaji raising a serious concern about the said trek requiring ropes & the associated gear. Not to be dissuaded by such concerns, we earnestly searched for people renting out equipment & our search led us to an organiser who charged Rs.1200 for a simple trek like Ghangad ,with no mention whatsoever of said ropes & gear.This upped the ante for us & now we were on the verge of buying a complete climbing set , but then the costing sobered us down & we decided to face the risks without any ropes & worse comes to worst to climb till where we could reach safely & then turn back .

With that sorted out we discovered that Mahipatgad was part of a trio of Mahipat , Sumar & Rasal & Sumar was the actual thriller .Without further ado ,keeping in mind our motto of 'Darr ke aage jeet hai ' (& seriously who wants to do the simple stuff ), we zeroed in on Sumargad.This meant that our night halt would be at Rasalgad , as it was relatively easy ,with good accommodation .Sumar could be tackled from Rasal .So the plan now was , reach Rasal , take charge of the accommodation ,roam , eat ,sleep , wake up by Ukrainian standard time & try forSumar early in the morning , always remembering the skin scalding experience of Mahuli just a couple of weeks ago , where we had started climbing pretty late ,with the sun taking its toll on us .

And so we set off in Rohit's freshly serviced Ritz , making good time & reached Rasalgad by 12 pm .Rasalgad is around 20 kms from Khed off the Mumbai Goa highway.Since Rohit had already visited it , the pathfinder job was entrusted to him .He mentioned that there was a short climb of around an hour or so & we would reach Rasalgad quite easily . As the drive was a long one ,Rohit & I decided that we would try for Sumargad on Saturday itself , which would give us ample time on Sunday to drive back , considering that it was the notorious Mumbai Goa highway we were talking about . If you remember Rohit had mentioned that the climb to Rasal would be easy,imagine our surprise , a pleasant one, albeit, when our Ritz drove directly upto the first gate of Rasalgad itself,talk about easy ! 

The road had been constructed recently .Keeping true to our plan of trying to finish Sumargad by Saturday itself we took only essentials i.e. water & food AND torches & asked around for directions .Some helpful workers said that Sumargad couldn't be seen from here but you have to climb this ridge, go on to the next one , cross the forest on top ,go to the hill with just 2 trees ,descend, re climb , traverse through a forest & then reach the rock patch at Sumar .It would take at least 4 hours one way .We knew this & armed with 3 torches per person were all set to rock! Hearing the description of the route Guptaji decided that discretion is the better part of valour & that it would be prudent to hire a guide .Being resourceful as always, he managed to find a guide who would take us all the way to Sumargad & back.The small hitch was, he wanted 2000 rupees for it, hearing this, economics & a sense of propriety trumped discretion & we set off on our own.

It was scorching hot & within the first 5 minutes itself we halted & feasted on huge karvanda berries & were pleasantly surprised to see mangoes too, lying around casually. During our karvanda break we heard some noises & saw a house just below where we were standing , wanting to be doubly sure we asked the house owner ( Mr.Sawant from BEST Aanik aagar ) for directions & he was kind enough to walk for some distance to show us the actual path. In parting he mentioned that it was a very difficult route & someone had died last season .Talk about motivation ! We assured him that we wouldn't be taking any undue risks & would turn back if the situation so demanded .Having bid Mr.Sawant adieu we started off on  the first steep slope & realised that we were seriously lagging , with the heat sapping our energy very rapidly .Mentally i made a note that this particular bag of mine was no good & I would have to revert back to my trusty Quechua Air system one.

Seeing the utterly drained condition of all of us, i came up with the idea of climbing up a little bit, resting & then returning to Rasalgad .Sumargad could be tackled the next morning, before the sun could drain us completely. This suggestion was accepted with surprising ease ,and an unanimous vote . Having got the exertion out of the way , we reached a forested patch , threw our bags down & experienced the literal lightness of being .We gulped down all our electrolyte preparations & decided that since we had ample time on our hands , we could defer lunch a bit .​This time was going to be constructively put to use by learning the basic climbing knots .Since boys will be boys ,only the sole girl in our group,Savitha, had sincerely got the rope length, which had been discussed about. At the end of the session , our group picked up jargon consisting of words like reef knot , bowline , clove hitch etc.Dongardev put his knot training to dubious use by demonstrating a hangman's noose .Once everyone was through the knots we decided to address more pressing matters i.e. lunch .Lunch was idlis with 1 proprietary patented by Savitha  chutney & 1 standard chutney , followed by non maida cake . All this food enthused  & energised us & Guptaji & I decided to head out a bit further to chalk out the route for tomorrow . Having said this , we heard some faint rumbling , which i put down to construction work .But then it was quite persistent & within minutes the entire sky was blanketed with heavy ,dark clouds .We could see that it was raining further off in the distance & could actually see the rain travelling towards us .Within minutes the harsh, oppressive heat was transformed into cool thundering sheets of rain.There was lightning all around the entire atmosphere was literally charged , you could experience the power & magnificence of Nature at her majestic best .

​Needless to say, our route marking plans were quickly discarded & we hurried to Mr.Sawant's home .We were completely drenched, but, boy, were we enjoying! ​​Guptaji again played the discretion card & cautioned us about the enormous electric charge in a lightning bolt & urged us on to the safety of Mr.Sawant's thatched abode. Once there we discovered that there were puddles not only all around where we standing but within our shoes too! Mr.Sawant was just locking & leaving but the rain had stopped him & we started conversing with him .He cheekily mentioned that he had seen it in our eyes that we were not very keen on climbing in the heat & he had a premonition that we would be back soon .To make amends for these blasphemous statements he offered us the liberty of taking fresh jackfruit off his trees ,which Guptaji readily availed of, since his mom makes a killer jackfruit sabzi .The results of which are awaited .The small, or in this case huge, problem was that Guptaji took not one ,not 2 but three jackfruits ! How were we going to carry this?

​Dongardev then made a plea to the rain gods, who then acquiesced ​& allowed us a dry passage back to our Ritz .All our non-essential stuff was there , remember ? That included our raincoats too! After depositing our bounty of 3 fanases & scooping up all the other stuff , we started our short trek to Rasalgad top from Rasalwadi ( Peth ) .Since Rasalgad is a fairly popular pilgrimage stop , having a yearly jatra for Waghjai devi , the government was revamping it , repairing the path , putting the steps in order etc. Since it had poured torrentially just a few minutes ago, all the workers had managed to find shelter as per their convenience, in essence leaving an empty though equipment riddled path for us. Why i mention this is to set the background for the next event. Like i said there were a lot of drums & spades & what not lying about the steps, we were tired, drenched & just wanted to reach the top & sleep. I dodged one of the huge drums & stepped onto some gravel & imagine my surprise & horror when i sank straight till my knees into what was freshly prepared cement. I immediately scampered out,only to realise that my brand new trekking pant & grand old trekking shoes were uniformly coated with a grey slime .After much laughter from the rest & frantic attempts to remove the slime ,we set off again & reached the top in around 10 minutes .On the way though, we had a photo op of Dongardev yoking Guptaji to the Lime press . Once on top , it was truly a sight to behold , the fort appears to be very small from below , but is actually spread out over a considerable expanse on top .There were lots of canon strewn all over & we made it a point to note their id number along with date of manufacture . Why? we had nothing else to do . Of course we had, we had to make haste & reach the temple, see that we could stay in it, scout for water supply, set up Guptaji's kitchen & foremost get out of the yucky, sticky clothes & shoes.

Once we reached the temple, we were simultaneously enthused & dejected .Enthused because the temple was superb, it was huge, renovated & also had a fan! Dejected because you remember the missing workers, they had made the temple their home & we were loath to share 'our' accommodation with them .Talk about judgmental! Since the temple was really huge , the presence of the workers turned out to be a non-issue , in fact they were a blessing in disguise , but that's for a later time .Accommodation sorted ,our next mission was to secure water , the villagers from Rasalwadi had told us that there were 2 huge tanks on top which served the entire village & we should have no problem as far as water was concerned .Buoyed by this, we went to search for the said tanks & we didn't have to go far , they were just next to the temple .Small problem , said tanks had fluorescent green water ! Unanimous decision conserve Mumbai water , no other way out .Next mission - chai, that heavenly nectar which can lift even the most dejected spirits ,especially when it's hot , spiced & the atmosphere is rainy ! For the cooking , Guptaji had been entrusted the responsibility of procuring the small gas cylinder , the red one which as around 2 litres of LPG with a burner on top .In true Guptaji style , he said ,consider it done , Axita would be doing the needful & that was taken care of .Imagine our horror , when the time came for making chai , Guptaji produced a 6 inch by 6 inch contraption which had 4 pods for supporting a vessel & a recessed compartment for putting in a 3 inch diameter camphor like solid fuel tablet.Guptaji narrowly escaped being beat up as he had made friends with the workers and they graciously let us use their wood fired choolah along with their vessels. And thus mission chai was accomplished , the high afforded by the lemon grass tea at that time was nothing short of heavenly. With dry clothes & energised spirits we decided to explore the beauty that was Rasalgad .It was dusk with the rain just having stopped , the storm clouds had created a huge bulwark & it felt as if we could reach up & touch them , in fact we think Dongardev just about managed too , if pictures are anything to go by .

The scenery was surreal , a multi hued dusk palette , rolling hills , a twisting river , scores of birds with the most myriad of calls & that special feeling which can only be experienced in great expanses of Nature when day slowly turns into night .

We broke this magical spell with more mundane thoughts of conjuring up dinner & headed back to our temple abode.Since by now it was established that these city slickers had no means of cooking , the workers again lent us the whole set up along with plates , pitchers full of water & ample wood , thus proving that they were indeed a blessing in disguise .Without them leave aside dinner even chai would have been impossible .Guptaji ,proving his resourcefulness yet again , deftly removed a dental gas torch & greatly augmented the heat from the wood, thus giving us a world class cooking system. He had also very smartly carried an extra canister of gas , in case a refill was required .Oh , the joy of steaming hot pulao with dal makhni & rajma masala, all thanks to MTR ready to eat packs ! Dessert was in the form of melt in the mouth puranpolis from Nagrik & we were ready to call it a day .

At our post dinner council meet, we were strategising for the next day & we decided that it would be prudent to hire a guide & start off around 6 am so as to avoid the killer heat. As can be expected there was a small hitch in this plan too, the entire village was off to the before mentioned wedding .Then one of the villagers gave us the idea of going by road to Mahipatgad's base village, climb up to Mahipatgad ,roughly an hour's climb, & from there approach Sumargad, as the route from there was simpler & faster. Our pragmatic selves liked this idea & we froze it as our plan of action for Sunday. The venue for our council meet was in the courtyard of the temple with a rich blanket of stars & a cool breeze for company, so pleasant was this that Savitha refused to go back & sleep in the 'stuffy' temple. Only when the workers told us that just last week a leopard had killed a bull in the jungles below did she relent. I forgot to mention that we were in the jungles of Javali , famous in Marathi as ‘Javaliche khore’ , a jungle once so dense that sunlight wouldn't penetrate through to its floor.

And thus ended Day 1 with us retiring to the temple & catching up with much needed sleep.   

Day 2 started off unexpectedly early with Guptaji striking a conversation with one of the workers , recounting the glories of T2B & the number of forts visited by us .We would have been really happy to hear this had it not been for the fact that it was at 4 am in the morning / night , whatever ! Talk about Ukrainian standard time, those who had been to the Padargad trek will recollect Guptaji's concept of Ukrainian time which runs around 2 hours earlier to ours, so if we decide to wake up at 5.30 Guptaji will wake us at 3.30.

​Using brute force to shut Guptaji up, we managed to squeeze in another hour of precious sleep & by the time Rohit's alarm started screaming, we were well rested.​It was a glorious morning & the only way it could be made better was with chai .We all knew the drill , so feeling quite at home using the workers' vessels , water & wood we came up with the morning edition of Girnar's lemon grass tea, to be savoured with cup noodles .By this time we had also made peace with the fact that the green water was the only one which we were going to have , so we enthusiastically filtered , chlorinated & filled it in our empty bottles and set off for Sunday's share of adventure.In spite of all our exertions , we managed to leave Rasalgad only by 7 am .

​Mahipatgad's base village was around 15 kms from Rasalgad ​& we were informed that there was a road till halfway, beyond which you walk .The road was through the earlier mentioned Javali jungles and we  were surrounded by tall mountains , narrow valleys & dense forest .The particular topography of tall mountains with deep & narrow valleys was reminiscent of the mighty Himalayas . The Ritz went up beautifully on the twisty turny roads ,aided by Rohit's expert driving & we reached a point halfway up the mountain from where we had to set off on foot .We assumed that the road being constructed was to the base village of Mahipatgad i.e. Beldarwadi & started walking on it .It was difficult to ignore the utter destruction caused by humans to the proud , majestic mountain . In an effort to carve out a road , they had blasted huge portions of the mountain , with the resultant landslides wreaking havoc on the forested slopes. Guptaji cynically though quite rightly mentioned ; Shanti geli pan Vikas aala . Along the road were young women with very small children laboriously breaking the stones to create the road, at that time you realise the privileged position you are in . Guptaji wanted to try his hand at stone breaking as that is being touted as a new exercise form in his gym , with the first hit he created so many splinters flying into everyone's eyes that not only us but the workers too were keen to get the hammer out of his hand .

​Onwards we trudged & reached the last stretch of the road where a JCB was hard at work casually flicking boulders downhill . The operator told us that this was literally the end of the road , if we wanted to go to Mahipatgad , we would have to go back down & climb up from a path which followed the electric poles . If we didn't want to go that far we could cross over to the ridge via a steep & densely forested, though nearer, patch. ​We asked him twice whether it was really possible to climb over from there and were encouraged by his casual assertion . So Savitha & I started off to see if it was possible , Guptaji & Rohit stayed back , in the absence of a route it didn't make sense all of us getting stuck .So i made a way through the brush & thorns and reached a rock patch .The incline till there was almost 60 degrees & the heat was searing .Had reached the crucial step, climbing which would get us on top of the ridge.After stabilising my feet , i pried around for hand holds & got a good grip around the top of a huge boulder .I pulled down on it and was about to hoist my legs to the top when the entire boulder just came loose , not only that it started crumbling in my hands .With great difficulty and luck i managed to replace it in its slot & decided against taking the road never travelled .

​Back to the road and downhill till we reached the spot, where they had just matter of factly blown the trail off , all in the name of development . Slipping and sliding , since it was no longer native mountain but the remnants of a blasted one , we reached some ​stable ground & decided that we needed a Tang break , we also pleaded with Dongardev to introduce the zebra candies since at Mahuli they had succeeded in bringing the clouds on .That's where Savitha decided that she was a long lost cousin of the crested serpent eagle and perched herself on a branch .From this vantage point we could see the electric poles stretching not only till the horizon but beyond it and this really frustrated us , as we were just 1/3 rd of the way up , it was ridiculously hot and our water supplies were low .Not ones to give up though, we started off again & got a second wind with all the sugar & electrolytes doing their job . Our trail wound around one mountain , climbed down and then again climbed up another mountain .Once we reached the top of the second mountain there was no stopping us , but where were we going ? Till now, no one we had asked had been able to actually point out either Mahipat or Sumargad to us .

​We surveyed the situation, we were on top of a mountain ridge with a sheer drop all the way to the valley floor on one side, the other side was a bowl like depression with paddy fields, almost half an hour across the fields were clusters of houses which we assumed to be Beldarwadi and beyond that again an assumption that there was Mahipatgad .From our position Mahipat was no less than at least 2 hours of climbing and heaven knows how many on top . Since it was already around 2 pm we decided against Mahipat & started moving in the direction of Sumar.A solitary peak captivated our attention and it seemed near enough , 45 minutes maximum .Having no clue as to where exactly Sumar was ( it was still not visible ) and with not a single soul visible to ask for any directions, we fixed the solitary peak as our destination .The peak had what is called as a 'nagfani' or cobra's hood configuration .

​There was a sheer drop all the way to the bottom on side & the other side was a steep ascent through slippery scree & overgrown brush. Even before reaching the base of the peak , we had to traverse through a pleasant forest ,​​which provided much needed shade .Since it was on top of the mountain , one could consider it to be a sort of 'Matheran' ​.During our traverse we came across a solitary hut with lots of fodder , but no living being in sight, we fixed that as one of our route markers & carried on .Now the peak was just in front of us  and seemed to be much steeper as compared to the earlier assessment. This brought a gleam to our eyes, as everyone knows  Darr ke aage . . . .Dropping our bags at the base we climbed up a grassy patch of almost 60 degrees and reached a dense  area of undergrowth .There was no question of a path being present , you just had to smash your way through & that's exactly what we did .Once this was covered, the way opened up again and we were very close to the summit . Though the path to the summit was clear of any vegetation it was scary to say the least .It was only as wide as a foothold with sheer falls on either side , having negotiated that, we were finally on the summit , a place where roughly 5 people could fit .Summit meant the mandatory ' naam to pata hoga' pics & when we realised that this particular peak had no name , we promptly planted the figurative T2B flag on it & claimed it as our own ! We had superb panoramas all round and very reluctantly decided that we had to move back down.

In mountaineering climbing is only half the job,getting down safely is mandatory for the attempt to be successful.Most accidents happen on the way down and in this particular trek we were made acutely aware of this fact .Climbing a razor thin ridge is one thing but descending it is another ball game altogether. As has been seen, most of us when given the choice like to descend tricky patches by sitting down and then sliding forward .There are 2 ways this is dangerous , one - your haversack may just snag on some rock & push you forward , leading to a loss of balance & probably life too , two - your centre of gravity & entire weight is facing towards the valley  , so any misstep is sure to send you hurtling towards the valley .The correct way to descend the tricky patches is by facing the rock , not only is the sack out of the way but even if you fall you only fall on the rock in front rather than deep into the valley , moral of the story - always face the rock !

​Having drilled this into our group, we managed the tricky rock patch with great teamwork & reached the slippery scree of the scrub. All lessons learnt were quickly forgotten & it was quite a sight to see everyone slipping & sliding & ultimately resorting to tried & tested methods of gluteal descent .Thus ended the exciting climb , which was followed by a quick lunch , where we had a very colourful & exotic guest viz. the blue & pink beetle seen in the pic.Since it was almost 4 pm,we started our descent ​& decided to stay back in Khed to avoid becoming a victim of the Mumbai Goa highway ​.We passed the solitary ​ ​hut route marker & were surprised to find an old man there. With genuine affection, he asked us to rest in the shade a while and then proceed .He also offered us water, which we gratefully partook and were even more thankful when we learned that he had got it all the way from Beldarwadi .The burning question had to be resolved, we had been climbing for nearly a day but had no clue where we were ! Our joy knew no bounds when he said that Sumargad starts from here & the main peak was beyond the one which we had just climbed, so technically we had completed Sumargad . The insistence on naming things !

​Descent was quite uneventful except for the final slippery blasted off trail ​​​, where a group of villagers had just been dropped off & one of the small girls was merrily climbing up & down the trail blissfully unaware of ​dangers if any .She was in sharp contrast to us with our specialised trekking shoes , retractable aluminium poles and unsure footing. Since the vehicle which had dropped them was anyways going empty , he offered to drop us till our car .Savitha had a gala time standing up in the tempo , feeling the breeze in her face .The unexpected tempo ride saved us almost an hour of walking & we were free to achieve our main objective of the past two days i.e. buy mangoes ! Thus ended one of T2B's longest treks, the events at Khed & the wild popularity of Rohit there could form matter for another story, but that's another day, another time!