Gorakh No. 4

13-14^th Dec 2014

Gorakhgad No. 4

One would question as to why do I go to the mountains? And more so, repeatedly to the same venues? Does he have no other work in life? Well, I definitely do! But once you connect to the Mountains, you sort of befriend them and when they call you, you have to go! As simple as that, isn’t it? It surely is, especially after grinding your self down at the workplace for the entire week, this ‘urge’ to attend the call of the mountains strengthens even more. Go to the Mountains and they will tell you your true worth. To me, The Mountains help me discover myself, they let me feel the freedom which I so yearn for.

Being Sir Phadke

Tandulwadi Fort

27^th July, 2014

We had a Super Duper Trek Yesterday! We kept up the PHC tradition of increasing the difficulty level of simple treks (4 hrs of ascend & 4 hrs of descend). By no means can Tandulwadi be considered an easy grade trek. It was a Palasdhari (Part-II). None of us knew the proper routes here and our selection of the guide was incorrect too. But on a positive note, we got to traverse longer routes and that added to the excitement & sweet agony. It rained from the very beginning and that made the terrain all the more slippery, but the climate was awesome! It was a thrilling experience to lead the students at the rock patches and slippery paths.

Heavenly Hills Of Bhimashankar

Mystical Bhimashankar

19-20^th July, 2014

With just 4 odd hours of sleep the previous night, I was glad I found an empty seat to take a nap for some part of the local train journey. I reached Karjat at 7:45 am of Saturday (19th July), where the entire group assembled and then left for the base village. We reached base at 10 am after having breakfast at Khandas village.

After a round of introduction & instructions, we started the trek amidst a light drizzle at 10:30 am from Kathewadi village which is a little ahead of Khandas village. Seeing half the mountain range hidden in the clouds, I already knew what to expect! It was a good sight to witness a dozen waterfalls bisecting the huge wall of Bhimashankar. And just above the jungle in the front, one could spot a distinct line, slanting to the left – that was the ladder we were soon going to ascend.

1 Tree Hill With 1 Best Friend

MATHERAN via One Tree Hill

It was beautiful to witness the silhouette of Irshalgad and Matheran against the night sky, with the entire area drenched in the soothing light of the moon. The roads had good tree cover on either side and later bordered the huge dam of Morbe. We passed by several hamlets, with a few villas nestled cozily in the area, on our way to Borgaon. The bumpy ride from Karjat took us approx. 30 minutes in his tum-tum.

In The Footsteps Of Shivaji

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            M       A       T       H       E       R       A       N

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       Via

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 -|--S---L--|-

 -|--H--A--|-

 -|--I---D--|-

 -|--V--D--|-

 -|--A--E--|-

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As they say in Hindi, “Waqt se pehle aur Kismat se zyada, kisiko kuch nahi milta.” I got to know from Vikas Kavle Sir that Girivihar was planning a hike to Matheran via Shivaji Ladder on 22^nd July 2012. He invited me and I replied in the positive. My good friend Jay also decided to join me. I was very happy that I’d be undertaking this challenging trek. I was relaxed as I was going to do it under the leadership of experienced climbers/trekkers from Girivihar. This was to be my first trek with GIRIVIHAR!

Le Pradakshina De Mountains

Prabalgad via Poinje
July 2012

After last month’s successful trek to Matheran via Garbut, I had planned to explore Matheran from the Shivaji Ladder route. I gathered information about the route and the plan was in place. We were all set to do this trek in the first week of July but I later learned that it is risky in the monsoon, so we opted for Prabalgad via Poinje village instead. Initially, we had thought of combining Prabalgad with Irshalwadi or Thakurwadi but considering the limited time, we decided to return back via Poinje village only.

Prabalgad is a good trekking spot mostly visited from Shedung Phata

The Feeling Of Accomplishment

Mathe-ran

(Via Garbut) 17^th June 2012.

Matheran, literally meaning “Forest at the top” is one of the most frequented peaks of the Sahyadris. It is one of India’s loveliest and well-preserved hill stations with entry of vehicles restricted inside. For us Mumbaikars, it’s a quick weekend getaway and a gateway to heaven esp. during monsoon. Apart from its various sightseeing points that offer scenic views, it boasts of a heritage narrow gauge toy train!

The "All Season" Spot

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.

Dream Come True

NANEGHAT – JIVDHAN 11th Dec 2011

Denewala jab bhi deta, deta Chhappar phaad ke!

Yes, Absolutely this has to be the theme of the hike, at least for me! It was a Dream Come True as we were keen on Jivdhan since our college days. And Esp. more so because we missed reaching Naneghat cave during our earlier attempt just a week ago.

***

The hike plan was superb! I'd say it was a success. We could've improved a lot as far as punctuality and individual preparations were concerned.

The Return Of The Peb

PEB FORT: 2011 JULY 10^th.

Hello Hikers,
I had a beautiful hike to Peb fort yesterday. Narrating you my experience of the same:

THE PLAN:

On receiving Phadke Sir’s mail about Peb fort hike, I was excited and immediately booked my seat in the college bus. Several friends of mine also wanted to come for the hike, but since the ex-students quota was full, my friends and I decided to go by train. I had initially planned to trek Nakhind and then do a traverse to Peb fort. I have previously searched for the route on Google & saw photos of trekkers on this route but couldn't understand how they climbed the ridge above the "Nedhe of Nakhind". I even consulted Vikas Sir for this & I knew there is a route that starts from above the “Nedhe of Nakhind” and we need to follow the ridge till we reach Peb, but finding the correct route would've taken a lot of time and hence this plan seemed difficult to implement in a day's time.

Mystery Mountain Songiri

ONE DAY TREK. 19th June 2011 TO SONGIRI FORT NEAR KARJAT.

We took the 6am Karjat local and reached at 8am.
Two amongst us hurried for darshan at the Jain Derasar, Karjat.
Returned back just in time to board the 8:15 khopoli local.
We reached Palasdhari station within 5 minutes.

A Mount With A Hole

NAKHIND 28-Nov-2010

ThE “3 iDiOTs” TReK

It’s the Month of November. The start of winter season in India, one can say. But surprisingly just like 2009, it rained again in November. Someone asked why it is raining in November. I feel the reason for November rains is this: “Most people were celebrating and enjoying the festive season, the Diwali vacations, the boom in the stock market etc. But there is a breed of persons who stayed away from all these celebrations to concentrate on Life’s most important examinations: the CA exams! Sensing their pains, even God himself may have started crying.” Give me Some Sunshine; Give me some Rain……

            Jokes apart, I had set my eyes upon the immediate Sunday after the CA exams as an ideal day for trekking. Initially, I decided to go to Naneghat on 28^th Nov, but then it required detailed planning for which I had very little time. Also, I had never been there before and there was absence of experienced seniors too! So I settled for a place that was easily accessible by train. The Matheran mountain range was a suitable place for a day’s adventure. So I randomly selected Chanderi for trekking.

The Son Rises

Why write reports?

The main aim of writing a report/experience is to enable you to express yourself and your thoughts. Whenever you pen down something, do it primarily for yourself. The next equally important aim is to share your written experiences with others (i.e. fellow hiking friends). Do not try to compare yourself with any one else.

Writing requires recollecting memories. Hiking has given me so many joyful experiences. Whenever I write a report, the memories are replayed in my mind and it’s just like visualizing the whole hike again. After a few weeks or months or even years, when I’d read my reports again, my memories would get refreshed and I’d feel happy once again.

PURANDAR 2009 SEPTEMBER 20
The Birthplace Of Sambhaji Raje

I had been to Purandar with the Podar Hikers’ Club on 20/09/09. We were some 30 members comprising of current committee members (Ameya Mahajan, Satsheel, Shrenik, Disha, Omkar etc.), past students (Vikas Kavle, Gautam Chury, Archana Ajgaonkar 2008, Vikrant Keer 2008, Chetan Nakte 2009 and myself), new comers from FYJC and FYBCOM and several other college students. We missed the presence of Phadke Sir, though.

Rajmachi, An Adventure In The Night

RAJMACHI – An Adventure Re-lived!!

Part-1

I don’t know from where to start and where to end! It is almost a week since the trek to RAJMACHI got over.

Well, the college reopened on 17^th Nov.2007 and we were desperately in need for a trek. We decided to have a trek as early as possible. Our aim was to have at least 3-4 hikes from the last week of November to the first week of January.

And so we decided to have an overnight trek on 24^th-25^th November. Thankfully, the committee members of the PODAR HIKERS' CLUB succeeded in convincing Prof. Rajendra Phadke (the Chairman of the Club) to plan a trek to RAJMACHI. It was sir’s idea that we go for a night hike and yes, that was a very good idea indeed because the night of 24^th was a full moon (poornima).

History Repeats Itself

LOST: in The Adventures Of TAK MAK

TakMak was my second hike, also during the monsoon of 2005. It was a one day hike organized by the Podar Hikers' Club. There was greenery everywhere and that was pleasant for the eyes. The climate was cool. At the start of the trek, Phadke sir narrated a couple of incidents that had taken place here in the past. It was during this trek that I got to know some seniors, mostly from the 2005-06 batch.

A Lovely Debut

PEB – A LOVELY DEBUT!

I had never heard about hikes before. I knew nothing about hiking. I just assumed it to be a kind of picnic. I had registered for the hike just to enjoy & have fun with friends.

The first hike of my life was an overnight hike organized by the Podar Hikers’ Club to Peb fort which is situated in the Matheran range. This was in 2005 when I was in FYBCOM. We spent the night at a playground in Neral where we reached by bus. We played a lot of games throughout the night. I remember we even played a few games of cards under a street light, right in the middle of the street! Sir even taught us some management games. I hardly knew any seniors then.