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.

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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       Via

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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 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.

Philosopher Trekker

Asherigad trek

A word of caution to all those who read my report - Read at your own risk! You may complete a particular hike in a day, but reading my reports is going to take a lot more time than that! I am in a crazy mood right now and I don’t know what I’ll be writing in this report. I may laugh at my own reports later, but then it’s better to write something than nothing.
Its Tuesday today & we just had a very amazing hike to Asherigad on Sunday the 27^th July 2008. It was my 20^th hike with our very own – PODAR HIKERS’ CLUB!!

            Hiking for me is now a way of life. You start from the bottom…struggle to reach the top…stay there as long as life allows you to and then eventually come back again to where you started from. This is life! But there is a lot more to be learnt from hiking. The most important lesson – to be happy always! There will be ups and downs alright, agreed. But remember “hasta hua jo jayega wohi muqaddar ka sikandar kehlayega.”  I am not writing this for anyone but simply because it helps me express my feelings. One reason why hiking has become a part of my life is because it makes me feel good and happy too. Look, it has given me so many friends!

Well, there is one interesting concept in my mind right now. Let me pen it down before I forget. So here’s it: I feel there are 3 phases in the life of a Podar Hiker:

Thanale Caves

PODAR HIKERS' CLUB.

ONE DAY HIKE TO THANALE CAVES ON 22nd July 2007.

       It’s the month of July and we are in the heart of the monsoon season. A perfect month for hiking-a time when most of the Club's monsoon hikes are carried out. Rains bring freshness, greenery and joy. But an excess of it can play spoilsport. The same thing happened to the 1st college hike which was an overnight hike scheduled on 30th June-1st July to HARIHAR FORT. It rained heavily on 30th June (Saturday) disrupting normal life in the city & the hike had to be postponed!!

       The PODAR HIKERS' CLUB Committee headed by the Chairman- our Professor R.M.Phadke, followed by Anurag R (Secretary 07-08), myself and other executive members came to a conclusion, after several meetings, that the first official college hike will be a 1-day hike scheduled on 22nd July to THANALE CAVES.

Sagargad Waterfall

SAGARGAD
20th Aug 2006

On normal college days, I stop the alarm and go back to sleep. But whenever there is a trek organised by the P.H.C., I must be the earliest bird to rise.

             This year's third trek was a one day hike to SAGARGAD and the reporting time had been fixed at 5:30 am on a fine Sunday morning. After equipping myself with all things that a hiker must, I left for college. For the first time, I got to a chance to experience the lonely street with dogs barking and no sign of humans anywhere. I managed to reach the college by train at about 5:45 am thinking that I would be the only person late, but many were still to come.

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.