Lohgad Trek.. Contd....

We started the climb sharp at 11.01 am according to Pranay’s watch…Initially, we began climbing the stairs we saw..but as we reached some height, we realized that it was the way to Bhaje caves, and not the fort. So we asked a local villager there the way to the fort, and he suggested a route through the dense greenery. We trekked along it for about half an hour, and then again realized that we wee lost. However, during this little detour, we were joined by a dog from the area, and she kept following us everywhere till the end.

However, our task was to get on the right trail and reach the top asap. We managed to find a route, and began trotting towards the fort. The scenery was magnificent, and we were having a great time. We kept going on for about 45 mins, when we came upon some civilization… A hotel ‘Baba’… It was really some sight… We stopped at that spot and clicked some photos of the golf course-like, picturesque land.

After that, it was another half an hr. walk to the base of the fort, and from there we took about 20 mins to reach the top. The view from the top was ravishing. I am literally short of words to describe the resplendent sight. You have to look at the pictures to believe what I am saying. Or better still, go there….You will find the photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/pranayjoshi/LohagadTrekWithSchoolFriendsJune262007

We then took a break and helped ourselves to some snacks. Rutam had brought yummy Puran-poli while Kalps had some jam-sandwiches. We munched on those and also emptied whatever packets of biscuits we had. We also fed the dog plenty of them.

Break over, we decided to look around a little. That’s when Tejas (Goho) noticed a weird phenomenon. At one spot, the water that was going over the mountain seemed to be flowing upwards like a fountain. It was a totally amazing sight. The strong winds seemingly defying Mr. Isaac Newton. We enjoyed the shower there, and were totally drenched and shivering as we started to proceed. Now as some of the guys were getting exhausted, Pranay suggested we go and see Vinchu Kaata. We located the spot, very far for where we were, and hesitantly, we started towards it. Upon getting somewhat closer, we noticed that the way towards the Kaata was a little tricky, and needed some rock climbing and risk taking. So, every1 decided to rest it out, while Me, Pranay and Kalps decided to take our shot at it. As guessed, the route was a bit treacherous, but we managed it with minimum difficulty, and reached Vinchu Kaata. The view form there was breathtaking. We could see the entire Mumbai-Pune Expressway from there. All three of us wanted to stay there and appreciate the beauty, but were forced to return back, as it started to rain again, and none of us wanted to do the rock climbing part while it was wet. So we hurried back to the others, and we all started back at exactly 3.30 pm.

While going down, we made good time, even though there was a heavy shower. On the way, our eyes fell upon a gorgeous waterfall. Mousami, Goho, and Kalps were under d fall in a flash, Rutam followed after sumime. Pranay n Sawant decided they had had enough and disappeared in the direction of our car. I stopped and clicked snaps of the bathing quartet, while constantly fighting the urge to go in myself. About 20 mins under the fall, the folks got out and we returned to our car. We asked a villager to find a spot for us to change clothes. He managed to get the girls in a house, where they changed n freshened up. Pranay n Sawant had already changed in the car, while Goho had done so near the waterfall. Me and Rutam managed to find an empty room (classroom converted to a stable, thankfully unoccupied).

It was around 5.30 when we finally got going again. We were all famished, since we had had little to eat. So we decided to have a nice supper. We went into a decent looking hotel, and ordered lotsa non-veg stuff. Everyone ate their hearts out, and then we started back to Mumbai. In the car, it was about to get dull, but then I started talking crap (rambling) about all biological shit I knew. We then had some baseless and senseless discussions on a myriad of topics. Surprisingly, we had very little, in fact, virtually no traffic en-route. We reached Parle by 8.45 pm, settled the vehicle bills, and then said goodbye to each other. As we were parting, we all felt a little sad, as it had been a great day for all of us.

We all decided that we should soon meet-up and have a Laughathon, watching Andaz Apna Apna, at someone’s house.... However, for the time being, the excitement for the day was over. I returned home and realized how exhausted I was. Nonetheless, I found myself logging onto the internet very soon, and was least surprised to find almost every1 already signed in. I downloaded the photos, chatted a while, and then decided to retire for the day….

I spent whole of the next day cooling my heels, relaxing at home. Now, we all r waiting to get together and watch that movie. The plan has to be implemented very soon, as Pranay is gonna start with his professional career from Monday, July 2.

I’ll update you about the happenings in my future posts. Feel free to leave your comments….Adios…