Last trek of 2013 - Rajgad

So far, 2013 was the best year with regards to Mountaineering. But December seemed slow and uneventful. Me and my bestie- Parag had been out of touch for a long time until recent.

One fine morning, we just bumped together. Besties are the best people in your life... They come handy when you need a push. So there he was ready to push me again. 

Then one cold December evening, when I was trying to focus on my new painting, bestie's bestie - KV called me and put into conference with my bestie. 

All in all the conference call was a chaos and the two chattered incessantly. I could gather was that they were planning for some night hike somewhere close and a few options were explored. It was taken for granted that I was going. Although, I was fighting bad health, since me and bestie had got back to each other after a long time, there was no chance of backing out.

Couple of days later, early evening, both of them gathered at my place. We reassembled the backpacks and left. Since we had left much before dinner time, we decided to have dinner on our way.

The drive continued with lots of chats of catching up with each other. And… I realized I had forgotten to get a jacket for myself. I had a shawl but with winter solstice just round the corner it felt inadequate. PO told me not to worry and take his jacket.

We explored a few options for dinner and found one roadside shack at Ambawane village. The food had good taste and felt hygienic. The restaurant owner said the hike would take 2 & half hours. The drive continued and soon we reached our destination - Pal Village. I had been through this way in July, but change of weather also changes equations.

I was hiking after long time and that too in night. I recollected, it was almost 19 years ago, in December 1994, I had been to Rajgad for a night trek & stay. So, I was inspired again to repeat the history.

The exercise didn’t give me a reason to miss my jacket. We had 2 bags across 3 people. Me and KV kept exchanging my backpack. Both PO & KV are passionate & skilled photographers, they had packed the entire photography gear in backpack. The cold air of a December night supported the stamina and soon we were near steps.

For no reason, we sat on the first step, gossiped and wasted 20 minutes. KV tried to push us but we were too reluctant to take the advice. It was a refreshing experiencing of climbing steps in moonlight.

We approached the first gate and the photographers were provoked to take out their gear and start clicking. The guys set up the tripod and kept clicking. Besties will do anything to push you. I too was told to take out my digicam and practice my skills. I chose to rest my body and put my grey cells at work to decipher photography jargons. Sometime later, they realized that the girl had frozen they need to wind up the business. Another break of 30 minutes before ultimate destination was done. 

Soon, we were near the ruins of Sadar –offices of the Great King. Just behind this is a plain surface. We decided to set up the camp there. Pitching the tent was a quick task. I and PO were hungry, so we decided to make some soup. PO very proudly showed off his new stove and cooking soup was fun. Having soup on that moonlit cold winter night seemed felt heavenly.

By the time, I cleaned the bowls, KV had started snoring. Me and bestie chatted for almost an hour before sleeping. Realizing that a gap of long time hadn’t changed a thing between us gave me peace of mind after a long time and I slept like a baby. All I remember of the night is some snoring, and some alarms snoozed. 

When I woke up, the photographers already had been clicking all over the place. A bed tea served to wake you up just sets the perfect mood for the day. I sipped tea looking at the Fort Torna, like proud Captain Smith of RMS Titanic.

A peaceful sleep had also corrected my appetite and I was hungry. So we decided to have breakfast. Finally, at 11 AM we wound up the camp, cleaned the place and started walking towards Suvela Machi. This branch of mountain has good fortification, couple of bastions and a gate. 

The only 2 problems of being with 2 passionate photographers are you never know when you will be shot or where they will stop to click something that was absolutely unnoticed. Therefore, a route which ideally should have taken less than an hour for hike, took us around 2 hours to complete.

By the time we reached Nedhe – the natural whole in mountain, it was almost 1:30 PM. Since, this was my fourth visit in this Calendar year, there wasn’t anything new about this place, the view had changed according to the weather. The skyline was foggy yet definitive.

Soon we were near bastion at the end of Suvela Machi, and then we decided to return. The photographers suddenly realized that there wasn’t a good group photo. So at the bastion, Chilakhati Buruj, a studio was set up. After a long photo shoot of 15 / 20 minutes, we had snacks and left.

We descended fast. The tea at base was so refreshing that I almost demanded the car key. Bestie was more than happy to handover the key. It was a smooth drive back home.

A whole new life filled me and lifted my spirits high. The renewed bonds gave me the strength to believe that best is yet to come. Life feels like a blessing now.