GORAKHGAD TREK with PHC
Night of 10th March 2012.
~Parin
H Shah
It is more than a week since the
trek got over and the Master Blaster has finally silenced his critics yet
again, this time with his 100th hundred. The reason why I am mentioning this is
that I myself have completed a half-century of adventures with the completion
of the latest trek to Gorakhgad. Though not all have been successful, this is
just the beginning. And I strive to improve further.
Night hikes were the flavour of this
season, I guess. Just a quarter ago, PHC completed a wonderful night hike to
Naneghat-Jivdhan, in December 2011. We rarely hike in March, but this year the
winter extended itself till early March. It was not a bad idea to do a night
trek. The "poll results" were out and Gorakh was finalised as the
venue.
After half a dozen years of
trekking, venues do get repeated. But as a trekker your hunger for exploration
never dies. I had done Gorakh previously in winter of December 2006 and again
in monsoon of July 2010 and so a night hike in summer was a tempting offer.
It’s so nice to be a part of PHC. One always feels welcomed and at home.
It was relaxing to sit in the
'college garden' and wait for the group to arrive. We were around 18-20 people.
I think this was a trek specially arranged for the JC people. Majority of them
were current students with the womanpower outnumbering the men -- A sort of
record esp. for an overnight hike. Among the seniors, I had company of my
friend Bhavik Shah, Abhijit 'Laaman' Ghaisas, Bipin Pevekar and our beloved
Phadke Sir.
The vehicle hired for the trek
reminded me of the fabulous Salher-Mulher trek we did in October 2006. The
memories of that hike still bring me enjoyment and I am grateful to PHC for the
wonderful opportunity. Those were the days!
A brief halt was taken at Kalyan
where I had an ice cream. (For me: a first time occurrence on a trek!) Thanks
to Laaman. I still owe him one back. I'd wished for some sleep in the bus, but
practically it was not possible as I was seated next to the driver. I've heard
it’s dangerous to fall asleep if you are on the front seat next to the driver!
And anyways the vibrant youthful environment in the bus ensured that I stayed
awake! The view of the empty country roads ahead, surrounded by trees was a
beautiful sight indeed. The silhouette of the mountain ranges against the
bright night sky got me excited. We inched closer to the Sahyadris as the time
passed by.
After a short journey we reached the
base village Daheri. It was silent. The first view was of the twin peaks of
Gorakhgad-Machhindra, separated from the main mountain wall, albeit standing
still, directly under the Chandni of the Chandaa Mama. That was mesmerising. I
was already missing my digicam. The one on the left (& north) is Machhindra
(which often looks like Gorakh from a different angle). The one on the right
hand (& south) side was our destination, Gorakh. Macchindra is the smaller
of the peaks, but being a sharp pinnacle, is a difficult technical climb.
Gorakhgad on the other hand is more easily accessible and higher of the two
peaks. It is also closer to the main mountain range.
This
main range runs from Malshej Ghat in the north to Bhimashankar in the south. It
boasts of some very prominent mountains. As far as I can recollect, it goes
like this: (from North to south)
Harishchandragad-Malshejghat-Naneghat-Jivdhan-Dhakoba-Durga
killa-Ahupeghat-Damdamia-Siddhgad-Bhimashankar-Padar killa-Kothligad and so
on...). For now, let me come back to Gorakhgad. These Sahyadri Mountains really
give me winggsss...
At Daheri, the only visible light,
apart from the moonlight of course, was from a small bulb lit outside a
familiar house. The house belongs to Mr. Patel, who is now a Congress
person/corporator** and heads the 'Cleanliness department' of the area under
his jurisdiction. It is usual for trekking groups to visit his place after a
trek for tea/cold drinks/snacks.
Not all members were carrying a
carry-mat/sleeping bag. This was solved by tying the 'extra' carry mats to a
few rucksacks by means of a 'Naada'. Thankfully, I was carrying my own
carry-mat, which has stayed with me since the Salher-Mulher days. I remember
purchasing it from Avi Industries near Ramashray, Matunga. We started off with
Sir and Bipin in the lead. Laaman and me were entrusted with the responsibility
of the rear end. The climb reminded me that I had a Heart and that it was still
working!!! PHC gives you a chance to hear your own Heartbeat in case you don't
get to hear it in the city.
I wasn't carrying a torch.
Fortunately, the visibility provided by the moon sufficed. The panoramic view
of the tiny flickering lights emerging from the villages below was too good to
be missed. One could even notice the lights coming from Siddhagadwadi situated
on the plateau atop Siddhagad. In between, there was a very beautiful sweet
smell coming from the forests. I wonder what flower it could be. It was similar
to Mogra or Chameli, which are there in the 'Gajra'. Occasionally a 'whoop'
could be heard out of the blue. I kept my fingers crossed as we neared the
Hanuman temple situated just before the final climb up to the caves. Thankfully
all monkeys were asleep, or so I liked to believe!
The climb in Gorakhgad is steep
enough to justify some rest. At 2am we were at the temple where we had a short
halt for some midnight snack of apples, sandwich and 'Pooran-poli'. The last of
the 'Jyots' of a 'Diya' placed in the temple was still flickering. As I was
having a look around, my eyes caught fancy of the shape of Damdamia. In no time
I was imagining a chart of the Sensex. It happens with me sometimes: At office
I see Mountain shapes in a Sensex graph and here I was on a trek; in the middle
of the night, seeing a graph in the contours & slopes of the mountain!
The climb to the caves had begun and
the dog that was proving to be a hindrance in the rock climb thankfully gave up
the climb. By the time we reached the caves, it was 3am. Getting up early for
the sunrise seemed increasingly difficult now. In spite of the presence of two
other groups, the cave had enough room for PHC. Within 5 minutes I had my 'bed'
ready and don't remember when I fell asleep.
The sleep was sweet and deep, but
didn't last long. The murmur among the other groups had started. It was 6:20am
and dawn break already. The feeling of experiencing the Sun, rise from among
the mountains is a very beautiful sight indeed. The sunrise that I'd witnessed
during the Naneghat-Jivdhan hike still lingers in my mind. This time, however,
I missed bringing my Digicam along. What an opportunity missed!
 |
| Sunrise |
 |
| Morning Glory |
It was decided that the group would
first visit the temple atop. Thankfully, one of the two groups offered to keep
a general vigil on our rucksacks. That gave us the freedom to enjoy the steep
rock climb, hands free. I leave it to the current students to describe the
experience of climbing this final staircase. For me it has always been special
and lovely.
 |
| The Cave Of Gorakhgad |
 |
| Mandir atop Gorakhgad |
 |
| Podar Hikers |
 |
| Siddhgad |
Laaman was in demand as he was the
only one to carry a bag. Nothing amusing in it except that he was the only one
who had all the water. And almost everybody was thirsty after the wonderful
adventure. And now it was my turn to fetch some much-needed water.
For the first time in my 3 visits, I
ventured further ahead and almost did a full circle around Gorakh. You get to
see something new every time you visit the Sahyadris. The room for exploration
never comes to an end. After much tp, we returned to the caves where the
'Brunch' session had already begun. It was about 10am. This was indeed going to
be a very short-lived trek for me since I had to rush back for some work.
Furthermore, any more delay meant bearing the brunt of the summer sun. So,
after having light food, I prepared for returning down. But that was after
sharing the treasure with everyone: The Glucon-D disguised in a pack of Real
Apple juice!
Thankfully, I had Bhavik's company
and we left at 10:40am after bidding a Good-Bye to all! The weather was indeed
hot and the route was exposed. It was devoid of much needed tree cover, but we
kept moving at a decent pace. The water reserves turned out to be just enough!
The downward journey was accomplished in an hour and at 11:45 we were at the
Ashram, sitting under the shade of a tall tree, with our faces looking like red
tomatoes (well, somewhat).
At Patel's, some cool water to wash
the face provided some relief. We even had coconut water (the last one
remaining) from the shop on the other side. We were told that an ST bus for
Murbad is expected around 12:30pm. We waited in vain. Just then, the
mountaineering couple; CA Divyesh Muni and his wife Mrs. Vinita Muni returned
from the trek. I hadn't met them on the top when they met our group, as I was
busy exploring the other side of Gorakh. It was only after Sir told me about
them during the brunch in the cave, that I happened to recognize them. We had a
small chat with them.
With no sign of the ST bus
approaching, we decided to ask the Munis for a lift till Murbad, from where we
had planned to get a taxi upto Kalyan railway station. The Munis agreed. In
their car, we had a general discussion about trekking and career. It was nice
to interact with such experienced trekkers. They came across as being very
adventure loving, with their latest addiction being cycling. At their age, they
seemed to be fitter and younger than their counterparts. At Murbad, it was time
for us to say Thanks and Good-bye.
After the cool journey upto Murbad,
we queued up at the taxi stand. We hopped into one, which was slowly stuffed
with more and more passengers till we were final tally of 15 (excluding the
driver!) At Kalyan, we had a cool glass of 'Nimbu paani' and reached the
station just in time to catch the 2:33pm fast local. I was home by 3:15pm. So,
the trek has finally come to an end and thanks to Mr. Divyesh Muni, I have
booked a seat for myself in the upcoming Banff Film Festival.
My traveling was more than my
trekking and as usual my report is the longest of ém all. However, any comments
and feedback would be appreciated.
3
CHEERS TO PHC !!!
Thank
You.
HAPPY
TREKKING.
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