KALSUBAI CONQUERED....WELL ALMOST !

After the trek to Siddhagad had been done in the sweltering heat of March, it was unanimously decided that the next trek that we would undertake would have to be in the rains. So, as soon as the monsoons hit mumbai, everyone started discussing the next location that we should go to but...... the rains had other plans. As is the case with the monsoons here....when it rains it pours ! The rain went on and on and made the whole thought of getting out of home itself an ordeal ! Finally, after having waited for over a month wondering if a trek was ever gonna be possible in this weather, the rain Gods decided to show some mercy and bring normalcy to the proceedings ! Google became our best friend again as we searched for locations and spots. The general idea was clear about having a night stay this time and making it more of a picnic than a punishing trek. Accordingly, Bhandardara became the spot to go to. With Kalsubai (Maharashtras highest peak), Ratangad and a few lakes and waterfalls nearby, this location seemed like the one stop place for trekkers and nature lovers. Further searching revealed a few budget hotels in the vicinity of Igatpuri as the ones in Bhandardara were already booked. We zeroed in on Hotel Ashwin which seemed like an inexpensive option with reasonable facilities and a proximity to all the above mentioned locations. After Pranays successful haggling over the price, we managed to book 4 double occupancy rooms which seemed a fair bet to accommodate the 9 of us who had shown interest for the trip.
So, yet again, the 9 of us(Pankaj,Oscar,Goldie,Shantanu,Pranay,Prashant,Alind,Shalendra and me) converged at Thane(the starting point) from our respective locations.

A breakfast of hot vada pav and cutting chai later, we were on our way to Igatpuri.

The Journey...and the hotel

A lot of brainstorming(we are IT folks after all...that term had to be used) had gone into deciding the mode of transport.The budget conscious ones felt going by train would be the best option while the comfort conscious ones were adamant that hiring a 10 seater was the way to go. No prizes for guessing which group won as we all sat cramped inside a Qualis and took in the beautiful scenery outside.

Having conversed for quite a bit, we all got into the mood for a picnic atmosphere and asked Alind(sitting in the front) to play some songs on the car stereo. Alas, big mistake !! We were subjected to about an hour of lavni music and Nadeem Shravan songs(apparently the only kind of musical stuff available to us in the qualis).

The trip was punctuated by the mandatory loo breaks. Taking a leak out in the open countryside is ofcourse one of the most liberating things to do but not when others are hellbent on taking snaps of you and that unfortunately was the case with Shantanu and Pranay who got hounded by the groups cameramen while in the act.

Needless to say, by the time we had reached the hotel, our ears could bear no more. Even Himesh Reshammiyas songs would seem like masterpieces !

The hotel turned out to be a pleasant surprise with neat rooms and plenty of indoor game arrangements. The TT professionals(read Shalendra and Alind) started their matches almost as soon as we had finished with changing into our trekking attire while the rest of us targetted the football that Pankaj brought along very thoughtfully.

The hotel staff told us that trekking to Ratangadh was out of the question unless we intended to stay in the caves there. Kalsubai, however, was pretty close and apparently had a moderate level of difficulty. A quick lunch consisting of idli-sambhar(took the restaurant at the hotel almost an hour to prepare) and pohe done, we were all set for Kalsubai !

Highest point of Maharashtra...here we come !

We reached the base village to go to Kalsubai and left our Qualis there. Again, getting a guide here wasn't too difficult as we offered a villager 50 bucks to take us to the top and back.

As we began walking, we kept tallying the difficulties we were facing in this one to the Siddhagad trek that we had done a couple of months back . We did the Siddhagad trek in the most trying of conditions as it was extremely hot(not the most ideal conditions to trek really !) and the lack of drinking water hurt us later. Here, we were faced with a more pleasant weather but trying conditions for walking because of the rain. The mud was slippery and the climb was comparatively steeper.

As was the case then, Shantanu charged ahead with the guide and surprisingly Goldie(probably stung by us teasing him for almost collapsing on the Siddhagad trek !) kept up with him. I fell back with cramps in both feet and the idli vada that had just been consumed before the trek wasn't helping ! The groups leader cum physio Shantanu came in to help me on my way.

The walking continued with the guide pointing to some temple at the very top as our destination. The distance between the temple and us did not seem to change even after an hour of huffing and puffing through the vegetation on the way. The guide ofcourse embarassed us by running along barefoot and making us look rather foolish !

Having walked a fair distance, we finally came to the first of the three ladders to reach the top. To be honest, calling it a ladder would be an overstatement as the thing was basically rusted steel held together by strings while hanging precariously on one side of the cliff. The rain made it very slippery thus making our situation very similar to someone skating on thin ice. The regular photo sessions with everyone smiling in front of the ladder was followed by a session of gingerly climbing the ladder while holding on to whatever we could !

The trek after this got even tougher and Pankaj continued his wisecracks along the way to keep everyone in good spirits.

The second ladder was worse than the first and by this time it was getting dark and chilly . Half the group had enough and decided this was as far as they would go. The remaining went along a few more meters and came across a plateau and thats when the place seemed heavenly. We had absolutely no idea of where we had reached as we were surrounded by clouds on all sides. Slight glimpses of the valley below actually showed us the height at which we had reached. To our surprise, we found a few monkeys jumping around at the place. We had our snacks here and having rested for a bit, we started on our downward trail.

Going down was easy but slippery so people losing their balance was a c0mmon though hilarious sight. Having reached back, the fact that we never actually made it the peak hurt us. Accordingly, it was decided that a few more trips be made while we had the time. So, off we went to Bhandardara where we had been told that we could see a beautiful lake and Wilson Dam.