2. Kalsubai.

 

Hike to the Highest Peak of Maharashtra

 

An avid mountaineer once told me that on all my unsuccessful attempts to mark the summit, I tell the mountains – I will come back again as you would not grow as a mountain, but I shall certainly grow as a human.

Although I liked this line, I didn’t bother to ponder over much. I told to myself then – This is a good line for mountaineers. Not that I have turned into a mountaineer now but love to do small treks.

A friend of mine organizes treks and when his fresh proposal came in, I was excited. I was a bit unsure of my preparedness since the idea was to summit the highest peak of Maharashtra and that too in next 5 days. Per my typical habit, I read up about it and was sold to the proposition.

The trek organizer friend could form a team consisting 7 of us. After discussing about the mode of travel to the base village and back, we zeroed down on the balanced option of Train + Taxi. Thankfully, we didn’t have to discuss about the vehicle for climbing. The only wonderful choice we had was to utilize the apparatus gifted to us by the Almighty.

5 of us initiated our train journey from a central suburb of Mumbai, Ghatkopar, that is typically known as mini-Gujarat for obvious reasons. Couple of folks boarded the train from the stations close to their respective residences.

Typically, when one travels during the wee hours, trains are moderately occupied. During these times, many vendors get an opportunity to sell products and win bread for their family. For people like me, it is fun to buy these products but it’s a sheer hard work for those who have to run from pillar to post to join the ends.

After nearly 100 minutes of travel, we did alight at the North-bound destination station, Kasara. The taxi was waiting for picking us up. It was a rough but comfortable vehicle. As it goes with my habit, I checked out the odo which showed that it has clocked 500K plus kms. To my surprise, I asked the cabbie about it. He smiled and replied – It is much more than what you are seeing. The dashboard cluster has stopped functioning long ago. It was nearly 4.30 pm and not to my surprise, the clock and the wheel of time were still functioning.

At 5pm, we planned a quick tea break on the highway near the fog city Igatpuri. Since some of us were hungry, we nibbled a snack and proceeded further in the 20-year-old vehicle. At around 6.30 pm, we reached a small village Bari. The vehicle stopped near a temple in the village and we got down with our luggage.

The idea was to have dinner by 7 pm and sleep by 8 pm. Wow!

While some of the readers will get 100% surprised with this, I got only 50% due to my routine of consuming early dinners. The sleep time was surreal to me, nonetheless. I don’t think I have ever slept at that time, even in my dreams.

The dinner place nearly 30 min away on foot. Carrying our bags, we initiated the march. It was a soothing trail that ended at a villager’s abode. A serene traditional setup welcomed us warmly before the farmer family did. After hogging on the delicious home cooked meal, we felt super satisfied.

I chose to stroll a little and then lie down in the exteriors gazing the stars. I love doing it but seldom get a chance, thanks to my attachment to the maximum city.

Soon, a lovely surprise came to us when the farmer offered us to sleep in the exterior beneath a tent. 2 of us purchased the idea while the remaining 5 settled down inside his house. The wake-up alarm was set for 2.15 am.

The challenge was not to wake up early but to find sleep at 8.30 pm. Before I could think anything further, the wake-up call had happened.

With bags on our shoulders and the torches lit up to beat the darkness, we initiated the climb at 3 am. The trek organizer was leading from the font and I was asked to stay at the end. Few instructions about safety and communication were shared.

Since it was only few days post full moon, it was pretty dark. As I started walking, a thought crossed by. It’s quite dark and we got to climb for nearly 3 odd hours. How will this small torch that can barely cover few meters help? Before I could reckon anything else, the next few meters turned visible. The power of the present moment took over the thoughts.

We were advancing slow but steady. The route that we had chosen was not the regular one and hence, we didn’t encounter any other trekkers. We were fortunate to encounter one local guy on the way who was climbing to set up his breakfast stall at the top. For his fuel, he had to trek on daily basis, and I was trekking to enjoy my leisurely break!

Well, thanks to him as he showed us the path when we were at a bifurcation.

Moving ahead, out of curiosity, I would throw light here and there to observe the tranquility of the trees, the movement inside the bushes and at times, up above the world so high.

In between, we kept taking hydration breaks. At a few instances, we gathered in a circle and cheered each other. The trek lead would frequently ensure if we are in sync. Since I was at the end, my role was to copy. We would exchange chirpy chats too.

Practically, the entire ascend had to be covered in the dark so all we could see was the city & village lights below us and the starry night above. Also, most importantly, the enlightenment the eyes could relish due to the presence of torch.

It took us nearly 3 hours before we hit the junction, wherein we merged into the people traveling through the popular path. Post that, immediately we hit the last leg, which was a ladder to the summit. After climbing nearly 50 steps on the ladder, when we reached the top, we could witness some light since it was almost dawn. Suddenly, we were amid a bunch of people who were waiting to experience the sunrise on the top. We could also gauge that some of them must have reached the top last night and settled there for the entire night.

Making our way through the crowd to settle down at a place to get candid with the sunrise, we could also see a small and beautiful temple, a home to local deity Kalsubai, that is situated at the highest point of Maharashtra (one of the biggest states of India). I was aghast when I saw below and learned that we have climbed to the clouds in the dark.

Our entire effort was paid off with limitless incentives when we saw the Sun gradually uncovering itself. Arguably, it was the most spectacular Sunrise of Maharashtra. For a moment, I felt that my existence is getting merged into the beauty of the Sun. It was a true feeling of being Sun-kissed. The experience of being aloof amid the crowd was inevitable; and probably, the most desired one.

By spending nearly 40 minutes on the summit thereby earning truckloads of bliss, it was time when the stomach overruled the heart.

Few of us didn’t want to take the ladder so we got down from the backside, which was a descend through big rocks. It was not so easy, but an experience to cherish.

We moved towards an open area that had few small restaurants. After choosing one, we settled down and grabbed some stuff to eat. We were so engrossed in eating until the time our trek leader reminded us that we are still on the top and need to descend quite a bit to reach the base.

Now, we had a choice of 3 routes for descend. First, the same way we came up, which none of us wished to. Second was the traditional route that most of the others had taken to ascend. Third, an off-beat route which was very less travelled. 4 of us chose the off-beat one with the help of a local guide and the remaining 3 planned to take the second. For nearly 20 minutes, the entire team was together and at one point, the diversion to the off-beat route arrived.

The guide asked us if we needed sticks, to which we denied. We 4 of us along with him initiated our descend with our stomachs and heart heavily fueled. It was a longer path than the normal. Moreover, this route would take us to another village Panjare at the base and we were supposed to travel 18 kms from the base to the original village Bari, where our fellow trekkers would meet us.

An hour of descend was decent enough. After that, it was not technically difficult but since it must have hardly been used, there was no proper pathway in many portions. We took a lot of tiny & mid-size breaks and managed to reach the base after nearly 4 hours of ill-treating our shoes. I am sure that the entire footwear fraternity will execute a harsh vengeance.

With an assumption that the vehicle must be waiting for us, we pounced on the road. There were no signs of any vehicle, nonetheless. To add to the fun, none of us had the mobile network coverage. Also, earlier when we had tried to call him, his phone was switched off. A couple of bikes passed from the either directions. We requested the bike riders to inform the vehicle driver thereby giving them a brief description. To our relief, our eyes could see him in some while. Meanwhile, we had also tried calling the other team to check their co-ordinates, but their phones were switched off too. However, in the connected world, we were yet happy to be connected with the nature.

After covering the distance to the village, we reached our lunch destination, that was a cute dwelling of another sweet farmer family. The entire family was more than welcoming. They served us with delicious meal. The lethal combination of meal and trek showered a welcome invitation for the afternoon siesta, albeit a short one.

We had to push ourselves to get into the vehicle that was waiting for us to drop at Kasara railway station.

Carrying abundant memories and breathtaking experience with us, we hit the railway platform at 4.45 pm, where the train was waiting for us.

At 7 pm, we bid adieu to each other and concluded our marvelous, adventurous and stupendous weekend.

PS: A very special gratitude towards the trek organizer for making it so smooth and to the entire team for being so sweet, kind and sporty.