Wagging Trek...
Pavan said he wanted to trek before he headed back to Bangalore, and Sheetal was way too insistant on a trek, Ajay was ever ready to accompany me for a trek, Avik-I knew would be in for the ordeal.
After a flop show last weekend, we decided to trek LohaGad this weekend. But as fortune had it -we found ourselves at the base village of Gunzawne ,when I decided to change the treking destination to RajGad since we were just 5 of us and no one suffered from any health hazards as such.
The drive for Nasrapur phata started at around 6:30am. After some light breakfast and packing in some food from Natraj hotel we were at the base village, past all the commotion and in the open -now not so green- Gunzawne.
For the initial patch, yes Sheetal,Avik and Pavan were showing symptoms of fatigue - so thats when I decided to turn around and take a longer gradual path up than the usual shortcuts. So with jokes and having played a lot with puppies at the village we were at a table top.
From here we walked on into the jungle where the path took a gradual incline. 2 breaks were mandated in this patch since we did not want to push ourselves. In not less than about 1 hr we were on the second flat patch after which the steep climb for the Choor Darwaza starts. I must say I was very impressed with this group- No one showed any signs of spoil sportmanship, and yes were were geting up at a pretty decent speed!
The best part of the trek was that, the weather was clear and sunny and had an almost continuous cool breeze flowing through. This definately acted as the right ambrosia necessary for the new trekking members.
The inclined patch was over in about 20 mins, Avik said he suffered slight giddyness but was all ok once he had some glucose-Thanks D (Ajay)!.
Post this came a rock patch , Sheetal was like all "abbe kya hai re yeh.. pagal ho gaya kya..." , Avik did not say anything, just was pushing forth and was terrified at the same time! But still since D and me were around, they surely had nothing to fear!
In about 15 mins and some photography, we were in through the Choor Darwaza- Pavan Avil Sheetal Ajay then me , that how were got in :). Rested at the Padmavati Mandir for sometime. The most surprising thing was that except for a group of six there was no one atop Rajgad (apart from the regulat taak wallas dogs and monkeys). Had enough taak, post which Sheetal D and me went strolling around while Pavan and Avik decided to take some rest inside the cool interiors of the Mandir.
In about 45 mins we decided to start trekking on up to BAlekilla. We had Mastani -the white canine along with us. The path went on up and we were walking along the edge of the mountain with rock walls on one side and the valley at the other before we came to the rock steps that went upoto Ballekilla.
In no time, the ascent got technical and D and me had to assist the other 3 with their ascent, which they managed very well! Pavan was all smiles and dimples "Arrey Vindy bhaaii.. mastt trek hai re yeh too... sahi hai tu Uncle!!" in his typical southie ascent. We were at the mahadarwaza in about 15 mins with Sheetal trailing the lot.
Everytime Sheetal said "Arrey let me enjoy the sourroundings man..." it simply ment he was tired and wanted to take a break before geting up :).
Spent some quality time at the Darwaza admiring the surroundings and YES Suvela Machi! The path upwads was a pretty straightforward one. There was a little water pond at one side, where I decided to get fresh. Atop we loitered a little and finally sat down at one broken fort wall which had 2 huge holes(windows) - one overlooking Suvela Machi while the other overlooked Sanjeevani Machi.
Did a lot of guppa shuppa here, after which we headed down to the MahaDarwaza for lunch -Mastani followed us everwhere! Before geting in to the lunch saga- we all decided to get fresh at the little pond- played a lot here before geting on with Pet Puja.
Lunch was excellent -roti, sabji, usal, curd rice, idlis, upma, sheera, snacks, oranges, mosambis . It was relishing and refreshing! The decent was what everyone was afraid of... but to everyones surprise, they all did it pretty comfortably. Avik decided to sit and move forth at places so did Sheetal. Pavan did it slow and steady, while D andme were there to assist them along.
Back down , we were at Padmavati -it was 2:30pm. No one wanted to goto any of the Machis. Byn now the crowd had picked up atop Rajgad, the mandir was full of a group having lunch- So we decided to relax outside. The clock ticked about 3:15 when we decided to depart. Relaxing at Padmavati we engaged ourselves in various topics for discussion.. it was soo refreshing and cool to just laze and talk of any nonsense! :).
Choor Darwaza descent was somthing Avik/Sheetal feared but now were confident past the BaleKilla descent. So, though slow and steady, we were down the patch in an easy 15 mins. The rest of the part was simply being careful as u get down the steep loose soil path. Ajay faced some giddyness here -so his own refreshing GluconD helped him! We were at the first pit stop in the jungle in about 30 mins.
Everyone was smiles and content and talking about how they got down , what they thought and all. Tell you something- its really so touching when you can sucessfully lead(in a way ) a group and complete the task in style with no bad-blunders what so ever, and see smiles on all faces!!
Had taak and had a nice long talk with one Aji BAi enroute, she told us lots of stories about wild animals in the area and about the farming stuff down here. Had a good time before we bid our goodbyes to get back to the base village.
Here I decided to get a little adventerous with the now confident group and took a short cut. It was pretty steep but everyone, despite their nono's, got down at good pace. Here we came to a road block where the slope ended suddenly and we had to jump off nearly 8-9 feet to the dusty road below. It was fun!:). Still we continued on the short cut trail.
In no less that 10 mins post this we were at the village. Here we refreshed ourselves, had some amazing pohe tea and played a lot with a little mischievous pooch who was just too cute to ignore. In about 1.5 hours we decided to call it a day and headed out of the village.
Just took a couple of breaks mid-way. Once to capture the amazing sunset, where the sky went goldent red whre Rajgad and Torna stood out like dark shadows on either sides- it was majestic, and the other time for tea at Joshi Waddewale on Satara Road.
It was about 9pm when we reached MayFair. Here we bid our farewells before heading back home!.
It was one amaizng day that just zipped off our lifes down to the pages of history.
Njoy the photos here.
After a flop show last weekend, we decided to trek LohaGad this weekend. But as fortune had it -we found ourselves at the base village of Gunzawne ,when I decided to change the treking destination to RajGad since we were just 5 of us and no one suffered from any health hazards as such.
The drive for Nasrapur phata started at around 6:30am. After some light breakfast and packing in some food from Natraj hotel we were at the base village, past all the commotion and in the open -now not so green- Gunzawne.
For the initial patch, yes Sheetal,Avik and Pavan were showing symptoms of fatigue - so thats when I decided to turn around and take a longer gradual path up than the usual shortcuts. So with jokes and having played a lot with puppies at the village we were at a table top.
From here we walked on into the jungle where the path took a gradual incline. 2 breaks were mandated in this patch since we did not want to push ourselves. In not less than about 1 hr we were on the second flat patch after which the steep climb for the Choor Darwaza starts. I must say I was very impressed with this group- No one showed any signs of spoil sportmanship, and yes were were geting up at a pretty decent speed!
The best part of the trek was that, the weather was clear and sunny and had an almost continuous cool breeze flowing through. This definately acted as the right ambrosia necessary for the new trekking members.
The inclined patch was over in about 20 mins, Avik said he suffered slight giddyness but was all ok once he had some glucose-Thanks D (Ajay)!.
Post this came a rock patch , Sheetal was like all "abbe kya hai re yeh.. pagal ho gaya kya..." , Avik did not say anything, just was pushing forth and was terrified at the same time! But still since D and me were around, they surely had nothing to fear!
In about 15 mins and some photography, we were in through the Choor Darwaza- Pavan Avil Sheetal Ajay then me , that how were got in :). Rested at the Padmavati Mandir for sometime. The most surprising thing was that except for a group of six there was no one atop Rajgad (apart from the regulat taak wallas dogs and monkeys). Had enough taak, post which Sheetal D and me went strolling around while Pavan and Avik decided to take some rest inside the cool interiors of the Mandir.
In about 45 mins we decided to start trekking on up to BAlekilla. We had Mastani -the white canine along with us. The path went on up and we were walking along the edge of the mountain with rock walls on one side and the valley at the other before we came to the rock steps that went upoto Ballekilla.
In no time, the ascent got technical and D and me had to assist the other 3 with their ascent, which they managed very well! Pavan was all smiles and dimples "Arrey Vindy bhaaii.. mastt trek hai re yeh too... sahi hai tu Uncle!!" in his typical southie ascent. We were at the mahadarwaza in about 15 mins with Sheetal trailing the lot.
Everytime Sheetal said "Arrey let me enjoy the sourroundings man..." it simply ment he was tired and wanted to take a break before geting up :).
Spent some quality time at the Darwaza admiring the surroundings and YES Suvela Machi! The path upwads was a pretty straightforward one. There was a little water pond at one side, where I decided to get fresh. Atop we loitered a little and finally sat down at one broken fort wall which had 2 huge holes(windows) - one overlooking Suvela Machi while the other overlooked Sanjeevani Machi.
Did a lot of guppa shuppa here, after which we headed down to the MahaDarwaza for lunch -Mastani followed us everwhere! Before geting in to the lunch saga- we all decided to get fresh at the little pond- played a lot here before geting on with Pet Puja.
Lunch was excellent -roti, sabji, usal, curd rice, idlis, upma, sheera, snacks, oranges, mosambis . It was relishing and refreshing! The decent was what everyone was afraid of... but to everyones surprise, they all did it pretty comfortably. Avik decided to sit and move forth at places so did Sheetal. Pavan did it slow and steady, while D andme were there to assist them along.
Back down , we were at Padmavati -it was 2:30pm. No one wanted to goto any of the Machis. Byn now the crowd had picked up atop Rajgad, the mandir was full of a group having lunch- So we decided to relax outside. The clock ticked about 3:15 when we decided to depart. Relaxing at Padmavati we engaged ourselves in various topics for discussion.. it was soo refreshing and cool to just laze and talk of any nonsense! :).
Choor Darwaza descent was somthing Avik/Sheetal feared but now were confident past the BaleKilla descent. So, though slow and steady, we were down the patch in an easy 15 mins. The rest of the part was simply being careful as u get down the steep loose soil path. Ajay faced some giddyness here -so his own refreshing GluconD helped him! We were at the first pit stop in the jungle in about 30 mins.
Everyone was smiles and content and talking about how they got down , what they thought and all. Tell you something- its really so touching when you can sucessfully lead(in a way ) a group and complete the task in style with no bad-blunders what so ever, and see smiles on all faces!!
Had taak and had a nice long talk with one Aji BAi enroute, she told us lots of stories about wild animals in the area and about the farming stuff down here. Had a good time before we bid our goodbyes to get back to the base village.
Here I decided to get a little adventerous with the now confident group and took a short cut. It was pretty steep but everyone, despite their nono's, got down at good pace. Here we came to a road block where the slope ended suddenly and we had to jump off nearly 8-9 feet to the dusty road below. It was fun!:). Still we continued on the short cut trail.
In no less that 10 mins post this we were at the village. Here we refreshed ourselves, had some amazing pohe tea and played a lot with a little mischievous pooch who was just too cute to ignore. In about 1.5 hours we decided to call it a day and headed out of the village.
Just took a couple of breaks mid-way. Once to capture the amazing sunset, where the sky went goldent red whre Rajgad and Torna stood out like dark shadows on either sides- it was majestic, and the other time for tea at Joshi Waddewale on Satara Road.
It was about 9pm when we reached MayFair. Here we bid our farewells before heading back home!.
It was one amaizng day that just zipped off our lifes down to the pages of history.
Njoy the photos here.
Labels: Trek
posted by vindy | 3:42 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Vindy,
That was an amazing write-up and some great snaps. I could visualize myself walking the arduous path and through the majestic doors of this great fort (although I haven't been there yet). I am sure u guys had the time of ur lives cos I sure enjoyed reading it.
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