My Exploritales: April 2014

After the tedious climb up I am still smiling.

K othaligad trek or sailing event...that was the debate running in my mind before I made up my mind to join the trek.I opted for the trek as it was described as an easy one and I thought this was apt as I had to distribute profiles in school the next day and did not want to tire myself too much.End result was that I had a tough time climbing the stairs and had an aching body for a couple of days.....so much for the easy trek!

O h,the scorching heat of that summer was unbearable!The climb up was not too difficult but the heat made us sweat and pant.I had too many short breaks on the way up which is not what I do regularly at treks.In fact at one point I even wanted to give up......just stop walking and lie in the cool shade.But my fellow trekker Manish encouraged me and saw that I completed the ascend.And finally when we reached the top I realised that it was worth it.There was a long winding stone stairway leading to the top of the fort where there was a little temple.The view from the top was awesome.

T he trek began with a local train journey to Karjat where I met up with the Vibes Outdoors group leader Tushar Patil and the other trekkers.No one familiar was there but I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the trekkers Ranjeet had read my blog posts and he admitted to be a fan of my write-ups! It did feel good to be appreciated.Life does have its little rewards for us!

H ailstones!!!! I had only heard about them and this was the first time I ever experienced a shower of hailstones and that too in mid-summer! What an experience it was! After the climb up the fort in the hot afternoon we had lunch and heard thunder.Soon there was heavy rainfall but before that we heard the hailstones hitting the tinned roofs.They looked like little naphthalene balls only cuter and cold to touch.We all had a great time getting drenched and being hit by hailstones.What a superb end to a tiring trek!All my fatigue was washed away by the rains and I felt rejuvenated.Even on our way back we saw these white pellets strewn all along the way......truly wonderful!

A ny trek or journey is more pleasurable with the right company.Our group was small and I am glad I made a few new trekker friends at this trek.Our leader Tushar was very quiet and reserved but there was a boisterous Parsi group of five that more than made up for his silence.Manish was a great help during my ascend while Ranjeet was a pleasant companion during my descent .Jigar,Akshay ,Brijesh were also good company.I must also mention the local canine,Tuffy who followed us on our way to the top of the fort.Surprisingly,there were hardly any photo enthusiasts at this particular trek....probably they believed more in capturing the moments in their hearts rather than in their cameras.

L unch was a typical village lunch.....simple,tasty and hot.I would have also preferred a non-vegetarian fare but that was not possible as there was some function of the village deity that particular day so we all had to settle for vegetarian fare.Locally grown thick rice,dal,potato and pulses bhaji,papad,mango pickle,raw onion and rice bhakaris were served with love by the hosts.We also had cool kairi panha and pepsicolas there to beat the extreme heat.

I t was election time back home and we kept hearing so much about progress and development reaching the interiors,at the grass-root level in the villages.But here in the base village we saw a different picture.It looked like development was an unheard of word in these interiors.We saw women walking for miles to fetch water from the wells.The roads were kutcha roads and the living conditions of the villagers was dismal.There was electricity but with frequent power cuts.The little kids we saw seemed to be malnourished and were so scared and reclusive.Really wish these villages too are developed as they should be as most of the population resides in villages......if these prosper,the country prospers.We cannot and should not neglect them.

G oing to the base village from Karjat station was memorable as all twelve of us managed to cramp ourselves into one dug-duggi along with the driver.Poor Jigar had a tough time on the way to the base village as he sat in the most uncomfortable position with maybe only a fraction of his butt on the window ledge and half his torso outside the dug-duggi. Poor Akshay and Tushar took turns at sitting on each others laps throughout the journey.Even on the way back Akshay and Jigar took turns sitting at the entrance with their legs dangling outside.This state of affairs could not be avoided as there were no other vehicles available as most were on election duty or busy in rallies.The ride to and fro was very noisy thanks to the non-stop chatter of the young Parsi folks,and no I am not complaining,just stating a fact.

A fter completing any trek there is a feeling of accomplishment.I am glad I took this trek though it turned out to be a bit too strenuous for me as there was a long gap between my earlier trek and this one.This summer trek really tested my stamina and I realised that I still had a long way to go.It felt nice to keep challenging myself with new treks.There is no stopping me.I am raring to go.

D il Maange More !So for the record, I have been on summer,winter and monsoon treks.My trekking journey which began in the month of June last year is on the right track and I am loving it.I have already registered for my next trek to Ramshej fort and Sula Vineyard at Nasik during my summer vacations.Here's looking forward to many more treks in the future and challenging myself a bit more each time.