If I can do.... so can you !!

 I generally write on trekking experiences but this time I shall be writing my experience on cycling.The sports which I have never pursued with much interest( I think Mumbai roads must be the deterrent factor here).Last year I bought the cycle Hero Ranger with the expectation that I will become the next Lance Armstrong.( Ab sochne me toh koi tax nahi hai na so why not) but soon within a week my dreams came crashing down when I realised that cycling is not my cup of tea.One year down the line I must have rode the cycle hardly for 10 times and yet despite so much shortcomings from my side I was yet able to ride a cycle from Andheri to Churchgate. Hence the above thought that If I can do this why not you... so go out and explore yourself and Explode like never before.


My Journey:




I had read the update of this cycling event from Bandra to NCPA, Dil me ek ladu foota ki karoonga lekin dusra ladu foota toh mai daar gaya bola marega...arre nahi hoga.But still overcoming my apprehensions I called the Organizer Mahesh Ajinkya.First thing I told him ki Boss I am not into cycling but want to do it. He said" kuch soch nahi tu aaja" these inspiring words cleared one mental hurdle for me but still I was little low on confidence perhaps that is the reason I didn't clicked on going option and clicked on maybe. 










Morning Dilemmas :
Early morning the clock alarm started to blared at 4 am, I quickly got up and soon realised that today's agenda is cycling and not running Bas kya tha wapas bistar me jakar so gaya...thinking all kind of excuses, Mahesh ko bolunga sorry yaar alarm nahi suna (as though he cared whether I come or not still sharam naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai na) but then my conscience pricked and said Don't be a loser atleast go and try. On this note I got ready and left for my office(Because I keep my cycle at office...) Reaching Andheri west and waking up the poor office boy I started my ride to Bandra where we were all suppose to assemble. 

Lonely Rider
Riding the cycle on a lonely Mumbai street is an awesome experience( Only stray dogs can be a problem) As I was crossing the Indian oil junction on the link road few riders crossed me and the effortless zeal with which they crossed me left me quite demoralised for a second and I was left watching there flashing red tail light. By the time I came to The Club I again thought its OK I tried, now I can go back home, I brushed this negative thought and kept plodding and pedalling.My ride from Andheri to Bandra was the worst I could do because I was all alone and few unknown riders kept passing me which made me feel all the more lonely and sad. How will I be able to keep up with them.Turn Back Turn Back you will be the laughing Stock.

A happy and well diverse group

Bandra:Starting Point
We all assembled at Bandra Lucky Restaurant. The group consisted of people from all age groups.A happy and well diverse group.We first time riders started 15 minutes earlier and the regular ones followed.For me the ride became pleasant from here onwards. Watching riders going past me was not depressing anymore on the contrary it made me feel if they can why not me too and those who were behind me helped me to self motivate myself that atleast I am ahead of them...Beta aur zoor laga you must finish this ride.

Lost And Found

As it happens to me much often that whenever I am running or trekking I lose myself in my own thoughts similarly here too as I was riding I didn't realise that the other cyclist who were ahead of me has taken a right turn from Portugese Church while I kept riding straight. Ek pal peeche dekha koi nahi aur aage bhi koi nahi I thought I am lost and knowing the speed of the other cyclist I thought ho gaya meri ride ka THE END but fortunately I have little bit idea of roads in Dadar so managed to come out from near the Century Mill Signal and  with sigh of relief I saw few cyclist passing by. I was very happy to be on trail now.

Introspection Time

Passing through the streets of worli It dawned upon me as to how much distance I have covered today and that thought itself was enough to explode plethora of  thoughts and Images in my mind.I was overwhelmed and could feel the happiness for having done something which I thought I was not capable of doing. For a regular cyclist this total run may be a peanut but to a novice like me the experience is something out of the world.The purpose of my writing this blog was to bring in those people who are sitting on the fence to come forward and take up this Sport of cycling.Even if one person starts cycling after reading my tale I will feel that my purpose is served. Personally I feel it is only the state of mind at the end of the day.The Barrier is more Mental than Physical.

Finally At NCPA

Last lap

We had a small break at Haji Ali and from there we moved towards the Peddar Road. Riding further from the Mahalaxmi Temple the route is on incline and I was pedalling furiously to overcome the incline. Someone told me that we should lower the gears as we reach the incline now with my limited understanding on this topic I reduced the gears on the incline and was in such shambles watching all the other cyclist pass me by...Mere ko laga ki mai Tread mill per bag raha hoon...because illusion aisa hai ki you are running but you are there at the same place.Sweating and panting I could see Jaslok Hospital I felt any moment I would be in Cardiac Ward. Somehow managed this part of the ride and then the fun began for me because it was all kind of downhill and flat from there onwards.( Kas pura rasta aisa hota ) soon we were on Marine Drive and Finally at NCPA.We had a photo session and from thereon we moved to Mocha Cafe where the Organisers had fixed up superb Breakfast. The participants started getting dispersed from here as everyone has to take different route. Few of the participants decided to take train back home, However I survived  without scumbling to the temptation to take local train back home and tried my best to complete the circuit back to Andheri on the cycle,Which I did. A distance of 56 kms , not bad for a beginner.

Hence the title friends that if I without any experience can do this ...why not you. So go ahead and give your best shot.  
  

Thank You To the Team

Ankai-Tankai Trek

Pre-Trek Commotion:

A trekker always have a wish list of the treks he want to do, similarly on my wishlist Fort Ankai-Tankai was sitting right at the top. Unfortunately for some reason or the other this trek of mine constantly got postponed, that at one stage I felt that this trek is jinks and I will never be able to do it. Therefore one day I decided that I will just get someone with me and do this trek alone but then destiny has it’s own way and I found companion in Utkarsha and subsequently few others too joined me ( Rohit,Amit,Shweta.Pritesh,Nitesh)

Our Team
from Left to Right Nitesh,Shweta,Aashish,Utkarsha and Rohit)(Amit and Pritesh behind the Camera)

 Believe it or not, till the day of the trek I was not sure as to how many people will be coming with me. Matter of fact when someone asked me how many people are coming I said “ Ab jo station per aa gaya samajo woh hi jane wala hai”( whosoever is on the platform is the one who will be coming) Problem toh yeah tha ki station per wait kiska kare yeh bhi nahi maloom tha .( my trekker friends understands what I am saying here), In treks people suddenly disappear or can get added at last moment,        Therefore the final count is never final !!!

Ready for the train journey.

 Train Journey:

It was decided that we will catch late night train from Dadar. In our case it was the Dadar-Sainagar Shirdi express. The train was scheduled to start at 9.45pm therefore I requested everyone to be early at Dadar as we have to catch seat in an unreserved compartment but to my dismay no one turned up at Dadar. My panic button got activated which in turn ensured that my fingers were running all over the dial pad of my mobile “ Abbe Kider hai Tu” “Arre woh aa raha hai kya ki nahi” …etc etc. Despite so much commotion and frenzy I managed to hold the seats using whatever tools of encroachment available to me viz. Newspaper,Bag,handkerchief and a fellow passenger( Yeah I roped him too so that he can keep his bag too !!! for holding the seat of our friends who were very kind enough to inform me that they were going to board the train from Thane !! Till the time train left Dadar Station I was sweating out that these encroached seats do not get occupied.( Being a Mumbaikar we learn all these tricks by default.Thanks to our local train experiences).Once our train reached Thane station I almost craned my neck out of the window to ensure that Nitesh,Pritesh,Shweata,utkarsha don’t miss me ( I was by choice sitting at the emergency window the one which do not have grilled section ). Luckily everyone made to the seats and I heaved a sigh of relief and said to myself Mission Accomplished.

Benefits of Emergency Window of Unreserved Compartment

Such train journeys are always exciting because everyone has so many stories to tell, so many experiences to share that the 5-6 hrs journey passes away just like a wink of an eye. It was 2.15 am when we reached Manmad Station.

Night at Manmad Station:
 Abb 2.15 am ho ya per public ko photo mangta hai… so out everyone jumped and did their part of posing.

Photo session at 2 am at Manmad staion

 In the meanwhile Amit and myself we went out to check what should be the next mode of transport to reach Ankai Village. We had a talk with the TC at the platform who failed to understand as to what we will attain by climbing Ankai Fort. He advised us not to set out for Ankai at night because it may not be safe especially girls were also with us. Similarly the Guy at the Tea stall too said don't go at night take a connecting passenger train in the morning or go by auto.Me and Utkarsha we went outside the Station, where we took stroll in the streets of Manmad I cannot describe to you the pleasure of just idle walking in a sleepy town( I think the time must be 3.00am)  later we enquired regarding auto fare and were shocked to know that the auto guy were asking for 300 bucks for 3 passenger( and let me tell you that Ankai Village is hardly 8-9 kms away ). Another guy quoted 200 Rupees but Trekkers toh Trekker hote he so we decided to take early morning passenger train to Ankai which costed us just 5 Rupees.The passenger train arrived at 5.10 am and took an eternity to leave Manmad Station.This delay ensured that we all had another photo session.
Bechare Diesel engine ko bhi nahi choda , Sab Diesel per chadkar photo le rahe the aur bechara engine ka driver was looking at us as if we are a  nut case. But we Weekend Wanderers aise hi hai...Full on full masti bhare 

Diesel Engine ko bi nahi Choda

The train journey took hardly 10 mins and we were on the Ankai Station.Per yeah kya boss ..Platform kider hai..lolz the platform is so small that it a BEST bus stop can put it to shame.

Ankai Station:

I am calling it a station because I saw a station master and a Lantern guy( Horror filmwala).The daylight was yet to breakout so we were careful while crossing the railway trek.We asked the Station Master for direction but to our dismay he dropped a bomb on us Arre asli wala nahi ..I mean literally when he said aap log galat station per utar gaye ho ..you guys should have got down at Ankai Quila and not Ankai.
There was pin drop silence ,Sab ke chehre dekhne wale the, I could feel the WTF feeling because at this wee hours stranded at an unknown station...Bas sab ke maan me ek hi sawaal tha...... ab kya. But let me tell you we trekkers thrive on these kind of situation because they serve our taste(Travel) buds. We then spoke to that Lantern Guy , he said that we will have to walk atleast 4 kms to reach Ankai Village , Now this was a good news ..4 kms we said thank you chalne hi toh aaye hai and saying this we all started walking back toward the Manmad side with the Ankai Fort perched on the right hand side of the treks.

Walking along the railway line with Ankai-tankai Towering on our right side

 We kept walking along the railway treks and just before we reached a small bridge we diverted towards the right side ,towards the Ankai Village. In 15 -20 mins we were at the Base of ankai-Tankai Fort.

The Village Well and Ankai Fort on left and Tankai Fort on the right side can be see.

It’s a small village.There was shop in the village where one can buy chips etc. We filled up our bottles with water from the Village well and started our trek. One can clearly see the Jain caves from the well , a little walk further towards the right side will lead you to the steps of this Twin Fort.

Just when you start trek we can clearly see the Jain caves

The Trek Begins:
 Once taking the right  from the village well we come across stone stairs which actually is the start point of this trek. We took the steps and on our way passed a deserted dargah 

Deserted Dargah on the way

 Walking further for hardly 5 mins we were at the jain caves. These caves were two storied ( I am seeing this kind of caves for the first time). The caves had some excellent carvings , statues etc 

Two storied Jain Caves

but honestly didn’t looked like maintained.( though there was a placard of archaeological department) Villagers were washing clothes at the water tank. Inside the caves also one can see litters thrown around.

Jain Caves

 In it’s full glory these caves must be a marvel. How I wish we can save our heritage. We rested for a while here and small photo session 

Mini Photo session

 From these Caves we took further steps toward the Ankai Fort. 

The Stone steps continues from the Jain Caves to the Fort Gate

This trek is very good for a beginner because there are these stone stairs through the trek which makes climbing very easy. As we kept walking on the steps shown above we could see the Giant gate of the fort from below.

One gets the clear view of Fortification from the stairs

 There is lots of Fortification still left . There is a large Door through which we make an entry into the fort , thereafter there are series of doors ( must be 6-7 in numbers) and spiraling stairs. 

Large Fort Gate through which we enter Ankai Fort.

Upon entering the fort we come across a plateau within the Fort .we see a fort wall with shelter space.

Fort wall with the shelter space

From this place, one can either take left turn and continue walking within the Ankai fort or can take right turn and move toward the Tankai Plateau. We opted to finish with the Ankai Fort.There are rock cut steps which leads to the next level of fort

Rock cut steps which leads to the next level of fort

Series of Gates 

From here we enter through 2nd gate and then series of gates ( must be 6-7 in numbers) and spiraling stairs.On the fort there are again caves, there are 3-4 caves , again in very pathetic condition.

Large Caves on the Fort

Caves  with lots of carved deities,( How I wish they could restored)

Carved Idols in the fort's Caves

Carved Idols in the fort's Caves

Walking from here and climbing further we come across a small temple( I never understood what God it was)

A little climb further take us to the Top gate from where we reach a section which has a mosque kind of construction.

Top gate

Abandoned Mosque like Structure 

 Standing at the top we can see the Gigantic plateau of Tankai. This whole exploration hardly took 45mins and we were on our way back.

View of Tankai Plateau from Ankai Fort.

 As everyone was very hungry so we decided to have our lunch on the stairs of the fort as the Arc above it provided shade.

Lunch under the shade of this Arc

Food and Jitters on the staircase of Ankai Fort: 

Nothing can beat the trek lunch because every person who has come to the trek has something unique to offer.Cramming ourselves with parathas,bread butter and what not we were ready to get up but at just the same moment a huge Monkey descended on us. 

We were are very terrified and just stood as statues along the inner wall of fort. Pura scene me comedy bhi thi aur tragedy bhi thi , Tragedy is liye kyo ki hum ko laga ab kuch bhi ho sakta hai boss, because we were aware that monkeys here are very notorious so either he can attack us to get the food or scare us. Lekin uske baad ka scene yaad karta hut oh soch kar bhi hasi aati hai. Ek Raja ke darbar me jaise sipahi puri attention me khade hote hai waise hi hum log stairs ki dono aur bina saans liye full concentration se khade the, andhar full tension  aur udhar se monkey sahib steps se neeche ek Raje ki tarah utarte hai ,give a dirty stare to each of us and slowly step by step walks down without a care in the world. Aur stairs ki end me jakar he turns back, we all froze again in tension,( Pin drop silence) The monkey watches us all for a second and coolly walks off. Boss kuch der ke liye sab hil gaye the baad me toh we kept laughing like as if there is no tomorrow.After getting down we again reach a common section and from here there are stone cut stairs which leads to the Tankai Plateau.

 On reaching the top there was not much to explore except a small structure which turned out to be shiva temple.

Shiva Temple on the Tankai Plateau

and few water tanks. 

Dry Water Tank 

However the view from the top is mesmerizing specially the ankai top, and the mountain range behind it Goraknath Fort and Hadbi chi shendi.

Ankai fort, Goraknath and far behind Hadbi chi shendi as seen from Tankai Top

One can see lovely fields and the highway running across, even the train passing through this vast expanse of land looks very beautiful.As we had started the trek very early therefore we managed to finish it quickly and reached the base village at our targeted time of 11.30 am, because we wanted to catch afternoon train from Manmad.

We had to walk around 1 or 2 kms to reach the Highway from Ankai Village ,enroute one can see the other side of this fort along with the gorakgad fort.

Side view of Ankai enroute to highway

 The sun was hitting hard, but yet the whole group was cheerful and within no time we came across the railway line which we crossed over and reached the highway.We all squatted under the tree to catch the first available transport.

Squatted under the tree

  There are few ST buses passing from there, luckily for us an open tempo was picking villagers we too jumped into the tempo and had hawadar journey singing songs ,clicking pics and making jokes and within no time we reached Manmad.

Hawadar Journey in open Tempo

We had lunch outside the Manmad station, Boarded the first train , fighting the sea of people we managed to get into the train. We all got the place to sit at nasik till that time it was balle balle at the door.It was 7.00pm when we touched Dadar. All in all it was a fantastic trek with some great friends.

Thanks to the Team

Trekking Moments.....: Trek from Samrad -Sandhan valley-Karoli Ghat-Ratan...

Trekking Moments.....: Trek from Samrad -Sandhan valley-Karoli Ghat-Ratan...: The world was preparing for the Doomsday 2012 and here I was thinking what I should I be doing if  I survived this holocaust to liv...

Trek from Samrad -Sandhan valley-Karoli Ghat-Ratangad-Ratanwadi

The world was preparing for the Doomsday 2012 and here I was thinking what I should I be doing if  I survived this holocaust to live another day. The Doomsday passed away without ruffling any feathers and I said Buddy it’s time to celebrate As my bro once said to me “Tere ko to bas bahana chahiye , Pahado per jane ke liye” and I have realized one thing that what you think on your mind screen Toh puri qaynat lag jati hai aapke us khwaab ko pura karne ke liye aur mere sath bhi kuch aisa hi hua.

View from Karoli Ghat

I got this call from nowhere(sadhana I mean) as to can I join her for the trek to Sandhan Valley. For me it was like Christmas cake delivered to me in advance and to make this event more merrier.. Santa Claus added few more goodies in form of additional trek from Sandhan Valley to Karoli Ghat, Samrad Village to Ratangad via Trimbak Darwaja. I simply could exhalt and say Wow !!!

Trimbak Darwaja of Ratangad Fort

21^st Friday,2012

Someone has very rightly said that there can always be a Slip between a cup and the lip.This idiom almost came true on Friday night. I was informed that we were to catch 11.04pm Kasara Local and being a stickler for punctuality I was at the Dadar Staion at 10.35pm. Sunil and me kept waiting for eternity and yet there was no sign of Kasara Local. In the meanwhile I get a call from Sadhana who is waiting at Ghatkoper “Sir in which compartment are you” I said "Arre what compartment, I am at the station itself, Ghadi toh aayi hi nahi abhi taj “ she replied “sir baki sab to train me hai” now I panicked , laga ho gaya mera kaam tamam, Gayi bhais pani me I soon realized the blunder that I did, Actually no one told me it was a fast local and here like a stupid person I was waiting on Slow Platform. Dil se awaaz aayi Beta Dimag ki Bhati jala, warna Sandhan Valley Trek ka khawab, Khawab hi rah jayega.

Beta Dimag ki Bhati jala, warna gaya Sandhan Valley Trek 

My trek mate Sunil and I decided that we will take the train to Ghatkoper and meet up Sadhana and Rohan there, Embarrassed I called up Sadhana and told her I am joining them at Ghatkoper( as they gave the train a miss because of our blunder) and from there we will go to Kalyan and take outstation train to Kasara.

 Bas ab kya tha  only fulltoo action for me.... Bhag bhag DK Bose.. Jumped into the Thane local, lept out of train at Ghatkoper station,made a dash to overbridge and took the first local to Kalyan Phew !!!

Kalyan Station:

The struggle continues for us (All thanks to me !!!) to understand which train will go to Kasara. Anyways we were informed that Amritsar train will go towards Kasara. The Action continued for us , The Amritsar train arrived and we were suppose to get into a general compartment. Ab Mumbai ki local ki aadat thi,Therefore we survived another doomsday and got into the train, Inside the compartment the view was no view Kuch dikta hi nahi tha,Public bhar bhar ke thi, lagta tha Mumbai khali ho rahi hai. Mai toh kisi circus artiste se kaam nahi lag raha tha what with one hand holding the bag, balancing my whole body weight like ballad dancer on one leg because Doosri tang kaha rakhu kuch samaj me hi nahi aa raha tha. Baba Ramdev must have felt proud of me if he saw me in this yoga posture. "Ab compartment ke andar toh aa gaye the, but bahar nikal payenge ya nahi,pata nahi Lekin Sandhan Valley toh paka jana hai, jaha itna manage kiya thoda aur karlenge." So like a true Gladiator Sunil,me,Rohan,Sadhana were swishing our swords(I mean our bags) we cut across the crowd and jumped on to the platformand I let out a grasp of air and exclaimed “Phew” Made It !!

Kasara 2.15am: 

Once we reached Kasara Station rest of the gang i.e Anthony sir,Shashi,srikantji, and Karan joined us and from there we moved on to catch jeep which was to take us to Samrad village.The 2 hour jeep journey from Kasara station had its own share of discomforts. As I was sitting at the window seat so never slept Kyo ki nazar hati toh Durgatna ghati, the context here is with reference to these local jeeps whose doors are very unreliable,  there is always a fear of them opening up and you ending up on the roadside ditch or even the valley. Bhai log agli bhaar jeep me bhaito tho iska Dhayan rakna , mere personal experience se bol raha hoon”.

Samrad Village at 6.30 am

22^nd Dec 2012:Samrad Village

It was 04.15 am when we reached the village, It was pitch darkness when we touched down at Samrad Village and the moment we stepped out of the jeep the chill in the air made us shiver to no end. Here we were met by a local guide who was waiting for us like Ramsey Brother’s Horror Movie style with a lantern (Chinese wala re, don’t get excited) in his hand and some dirty muffler wrapped around his face.He took us to his house where in a jiffy everyone spread their sheets,newspaper,sleeping bag etc and manage to catch a wink for an hour.

Sadhana and Anthony sir checking ropes

5.30 am: We woked up ,quickly had our tea and started preparing for the trek. Sadhana and Anthony sir checked out the ropes, meanwhile we shifted our bags removing all unnecessary things. We were told not to carry much water as lots of water sources are there along the valley.

6.30 am: We were on the trail. Sandhan Valley trail opens up from a large field and at 360 degree view one can see mighty Alang, Kulang,Madan,Kalsubai, Ajoba,Khuta and Ratangad.

On the trail with the panoramic view of mountain range

After walking for around 20 minutes we entered  bushes

 and suddenly you are drawn into a mouth of a valley 

and next moment one find himself staring at a rock valley.A gigantic black stone wall of mountain. 

Valley of Shadow

One look and you wonder at the creation of nature. It is nothing but a water carved valley of around 150-200 feet deep. The width between the mountain keeps varying at some point it is very narrow say 3-4 feet and at some place it is wide

 eerie darkness

The best part was that one can actually feel that he is in valley of shadow especially with the eerie darkness enveloping the entire surrounding with just a gleam of sunlight like a swish of a sword cutting across this darkness . 

Upon entering the valley we moved on jumping from one stone to another because the entire valley is in a way for waterfall.Stones and Rocks littered everywhere.

1st patch of Water pool

Walking little ahead we came across a small rock patch near the 1st water pool,which can be easily crossed, In some blogs that I had referred to mentioned that water levels here could be between 2 to 3 feets in oct/nov month. Luckily for us we didn't have to negotiate deep water here.Bas pant upar chada liya aur nikal liye.

Light from the top of the Valley

If one looks upward one can see narrow daylight opening.The endless narrow valley has its own enigmatic feeling. After covering few distance we came across the second pool of water

Second Pool 

Water at this pool was deep say upto than 4.5 feet, Luckily for me i was saved another discomfort because I was prepared to encounter this  deep water here (thanks to some reading on net about this trek)  My second set of clothing came handy here.In one minute trek suit was down and shorts up.Now the big moment was coming up for me, i.e the walk through this chilled water, 7.30 am in the mornings and in half Chadi, & baniyaan I was ready to take a dip, full fatti padi thi,

Watch shashi holding his bag and you will understand the depth

and shashi is little taller than me

 I saw Sadhna, going into the water and when the water came upto her neck level  I had a shiver running down my spine, I have this phobia of deep water, (thanks to 26^th July Mumbai floods). Next was my turn, now to handle myself along with my bag was a tougher task for me Saala ek to height chota hai apna, upar se bag dala hai peeche, gila toh hoga hi na..ab bag sir per rakhu ki apne aap ko sambhalu the choice was very difficult.

Thanda thanda pani !!!

I gave up the idea of carrying the bag on my head and called out to Karan who being a taller guy among us ,He took my bag and I managed to cross this pool with goosebumps all over my body due to excessive chilled naturally refrigerated water.Ab yeh aur bat hai ki I still managed to give pose for photograph. 

One pose for this waterpool
( See karan behind me going back into the water to take Shashi bag)

 The march through the valley continued with lots of rocky section,We kept moving in & out of narrow rocks,

Large rocky section

 Passing through these rocky patches we had an unfortunate event when Anthony Sir, slipped and had a fall which resulted in a cut just above his forehead, I must say he bravely said that he want to carry on, because actually those cuts required stitches, somehow he bandaged his wound, hoping the blood to stop flowing and kept moving forward 

Wounded Anthony sir been taken care 

and now a new obstacle, 50 feet Rapelling to reach next level.  The whole experience of this trek was nothing short of a Video game, where the difficulty level keeps going up a you reach next level and the game becomes more tougher.

50 feet rappelling

50 feet rappelling

50 feet Rock patch

We were well prepared, Sadhana and other team members made a joint effort and soon we successfully negotiated this 50 feet rock patch.

After the rapelling we had a short break for our breakfast. Ab itni mehnat ki hai to rest toh banta hai na bhai. The pleasure of trekking is such that you can have Kanda poha in one hand and dangle your legs over some cliff or rock.

What a place to have your breakfast !!!

The splendors of mother nature surrounding you.... it simply can overwhelm anyone. .Kyo sahi bola na , ki koi shaque !!! 

Treacherous rocky path

The trek kept moving forward negotiating more and more treacherous rocky path and

 ultimately reached second rock patch where again rappelling is to be done. This patch was of 14-15 feet , 

Getting down the 2nd Rock Patch

the only catch was the overhang at the end which leads you to a kind of blind spot...Yeh samaj me hi nahi aata ki pair kidhar rakhoo and you end up with jumping into water pool below this rock patch. Mera toh camera hi idhar pani me gir gay tha... 

Arre pair kider rakhoo kuch dikhta hi nahi yehan se !!

Walking further for more than 40 minutes we ultimately reached the Water pond.  Where we all rested for a while, had a photo session, filled up water bottle from the pond, and prepared now for the arduous climb to Samrud Village from Karoli Ghat.

Near the base water pond

The climb from Karoli Ghat was becoming more and more tedious for us because now  we were out of the valley, the sun was heating us hard, and further the  decent part was over, and the climbing part was on. 

Climbing the Karoli Ghat

 The rest breaks became more frequent, but like brave soldiers we kept moving on.

Anthony sir and me

The climb took more than the normal time for us as 2 member shashi & shrikant were not feeling well.  Anthony sir with his head injury was moving forward bravely.

As the climb was getting on everyone's nerve we all took rest, and planned as to what we will have for dinner, Dinner ke naam sunkar sab motivate ho gaye, and unanimously decided that kisi na kisi Murgi ko shahid hoana padega, for dinner, so chicken with rice was the menu for the dinner time.  Shashi & me being veggie lovers, were given respite by Anthony Sir, Who said he will prepare fried rice, it is a different story how fried rice got converted in Veg Biryani, as they say too many cooks spoil the broth. Anyways Sab ko dinner ke, chicken ke kwaab dikakar we pulled off this climb and reached the top plateau of Samrud Village.

Getting refreshed at the Plateau

Bodies were almost on the verge of been termed an dead bodies by this time, luckily for us we found a small pond of collected rain water on the plateau where everyone had little bit of shower, splash etc.  and suddenly we felt rejuvenated. It took us hardly 10 minutes  from here to the Village at our local guide's home.

The dinner was superb, I felt sorry for the two hens who were now residing in the stomach of my co-trekker, and by 10 pm it was good night sleep time as we have to move to Ratangad next day.

Tomorrow will be another day and another trek and of course another blog. Till then wait for the next part of this blog. 

Thank you all