River Rafting at Kundalika (20th Aug '07)

Wonder why the same starting comes to my mind while writing... this time too the trip was finalised after a number of retakes, may be its just bad luck or may be its His way of teaching us "try n try till u succeed". Whatever it be the outcome was nothing less than perrrrfect.

With the reporting time being 0745 and the place being 140kms from Mumbai, the day started pretty early. The team for this trip - Aniruddha, Mohit, Pathak, Ninad, Bhupi, Varun, Vijay, Nikhil and me.

Our trip organizer Varun Jain had arranged for a cosy Toyata qualis as our transportation. We were off by 0500 hours. Mission Kundalika had just begun. For people wondering what Kundalika is -
its a river ;) . The water released by the Mulshi and Bhira dams built across Kundalika , have sufficient force and punch to generate upto Grade 3 rapids.

The journey took exactly 2.5 hrs and we reached on time for reporting. 7kms from the Sutarwadi office of the adventure camp organisers we reached the starting point.

Once at the starting point we were all pumped up and ready to go, but we had to wait for the water two be released from the dam. The first of the three sirens from the control office brought relief to our anxious souls. Our instructor/guide started off by explaining the basics of rafting, safety procedures and the gear.

Second siren found us getting padded up and pushing the raft into the river. Though we looked like a bunch of hockey players cum jokers the safety gear was and is a quintessential for rafting.

Getting into the raft we paddled our way through the rocks to the main stream rafting point.

The Journey:
The 14km run down the river was marked with sections with names like Morning Headache, John Carrey, Double F$%(*@# etc each having its own peculiarity. The morning headache proved to be a nice wake up call to all of us who expected a pleasant start. Bumping over it with reached a couple of consecutive (thats why the name "double #$(*@#" ) wet points. One was a down fall while the other one was a uplift. The experience was nothing less than a ride on a roller coaster, albeit a wet and a natural one. The water splashing on your face, the energy put into steering the raft, and the thrilling scheme of things to come really gets your adrenaline pumping.
The rapids really got us working hard on the paddles and finally taking us out. After the rapids ended we were in for a surprise when our guide informed us that we could swim in the river if we wanted to.
Not to pass on such an opportunity all of us lukkhas jumped in...and oh man...that was it...from swimming pool to a river the difference wasn't much (thanks to the life jackets), but the chance to get a taste of nature was exhilarating.
We were swimming in maximally clothed conditions for the first time, right from t-shirts to shoes.

Getting into the raft we paddled and reached the end our run. Now there was one task remaining - getting the raft up a small incline till the transport vehicle. And this proved to be the toughest of them all :D .
Exhausted, we climbed a bit more and got a rick to the Sutarwadi office where our qualis was waiting.
And the end seems familiar again, we dug into a meal of vada pav and bhajiyas with garam masala chai. All is well, that ends well :)

Whatever be the reasons for signing up on a adventure trip - bored from work pressure, to explore nature, spending time with loved ones etc, at the end of the day you feel satiated, you feel victorious, you get a break and a chance to start the next day afresh.
It takes only little to reclaim your life........

Look for more photos in my album on the right side

Mahuli Trek (15 Aug '07)

After n number of discussions, canceled plans, reschedulings etc we finally decided the day and venue for the trek. 15th Aug, freedom not only from britishers, but also from mundane activities of a typical office going guy, and the venue chosen Mahuli fort.
The group consisted of 8 people -
Vijay, Swati, Michelle, Priyanka, Naveen, Tarun, Shirish and me.

After rendezvousing at Thane station, a slow local to Kasara got us to the first step of our destination - Asangaon station. A typical rainy day in Mumbai, the day was freckled with rain showers and sunny moments.

Coming out of the station the question whether to take a rickshaw till Mahuli or walk the distance loomed over us. Thinking of the answer wasted enough time, such that all available rickshaws got depleted one by one.
Finally the distance (10kms to base of the hill) and the time required to reach there made us hire a rickshaw. A hefty fare of around Rs.100 got us to the base of the hill.

The scene which flashed in front of us when we got out of the rick left us city slickers awe struck

Feeling closer to nature than ever before we decided to start our trek.
At the base there is a temple of Lord Shiva. A map in the temple showed the directions to the top of the fort. The temple doubles up as an emergency shelter as well for tired trekkers.

Armed with the map and a will to conquer we started off.

Treading over a path formed by trekkers and villagers, we soon reached a stream. The map wanted us to follow the stream directed us to follow the stream. A quick confirmation from a villager, and we set off walking through the stream. After lots of initial slippings ( the rainy season really had us here) we started gaining pace.

After some time we reached a clearing branching to two paths, one going downwards and the other upwards. The map couldn't seem to help us here. Not the ones to start moving down Vijay and me suggested the path leading up. Heated discussions, and arguments later ;) we managed to move up :D . Some minutes later all we could see were two cows grazing and lots of cow dung (why the hell did the cows climb on the hill for a meal?? Surely they would have seen the grass at the ground level). Exchanging remarks, sarcasms and we retraced our steps and started moving towards the path leading downwards, from where we positively heard sounds of inhabitation.

Moving further we reached a beautiful waterfall. We had just reached it when again the slippery rocks did us in. One our trekkers slipped and suffered a toe nail breakage. (Tip: Never wear floaters for a Trek. Shoes protect your feet.) Vijay who aspired to be a doctor once, took charge and attended to the patient. Once settled, we enjoyed the waterfall and had lunch.

The unfortunate turn of events called for a change of plans. After doing some desi dressing on the toe, we started our journey back to base.

The journey back was uneventful. Back to the base we called for a rickshaw again, yes the rickshaw guy Pramod was smart enough to hand over his cell no. to us for a return journey.

Back in Asangaon we crossed over and had a sumptuous snack of the omnipresent vada pav and chai.

The journey back always is a drab, and this one wasn't too different either.
Reaching home, my office guy alter ego took over and life was back to normal.

" Darn those mosquitoes:
Tip : Use a mosquito repellent cream on your body before proceeding for a trek.
Yes the mosquitoes we quite a pain in the a$$ throughout the trek. "

Look for more photos in my album on the right side