Bhimashankar(26thJune2010&27thJune2010):

TeamMembers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. MahaveerJain(contact:+919833538591mail:msjster@gmail.com) MangeshMore ManojInamdar DineshGadekar AtishJain Saurabh Abhishek

Baggage: Mandatory: 1. WaterBottles(1litreofwateronly.) 2. Torchwithbatteries 3. Raincoat/equivalent 4. Rainprotectionforhaversack 5. Personalcarekit(toothbrush,paste,oil,towel,innerwears,etc) 6. Bed&chadar(Optional) 7. Shorts 8. FirstAidKit 9. TurmericPower&Tobacco(togetridoflich) 10. ChalkPiece(waterproofwillbemoresuitable) 11. Rope(ifyoushouldknowhowtouseitalso) 12. WasteNewsPapers Optional: 1. Kneecaps 2. Camerawithextrabatteries 3. Trekkersshoes 4. Extrapairofsocks 5. KneeCaps 6. Dryfruit 7. Energizer 8. Onion(incaseofsummertrek) 9. Knife&stick(forselfdefence&support) 10. Sungoggles(incaseofsummertrek) 11. Matchbox/lighter

Plan: ReachtoKarjatby18:24hrsCSTKarjatTrain GotoKhandasbyalreadybookedauto GotoGaneshTemple HaveDinner&sleep NextdaymorningstarttrekkingviaGaneshGhat

HereWeBegins: (26thJune2010) Weleftoffice(atChurniroad)by17:30HrsasMangeshneededtopurchasefreshpieceofwindcheater.Dinesh&Atish weresupposedtoboardfromDombivali.Atishmanagedtopackupfoodforus(dinneraswellasbreakfastforthenext day).

We boarded in 18:24 CSTKarjat local train. Aniket was feeling hungry (nothing new!). We had a starter breakfast of Samosas.Eventhoughtrainwasemptyatthestart,bythetimeitreachedDadar,itwasovercrowded.Iwasworrying whetherDinesh&AtishcanmanagetoboardthetrainatDombivaliwithheavyluggage.ThankGodtheycould! MostofthefellowswereworriedmoreaboutAtishsboarding(Hewascarryingourfood!) Weboughtrainprotectioncoversforourmobilesfromavendorinthetrain. KARJAT: AswewereabouttoreachKarjat,Mangeshgaveusashock.TherewasamiscommunicationbetweenAutowalaand him.AutowalaassumedourarrivalonFriday.SohedidnotbothertoreachtoKarjatstationtopickupus.Wereached Karjataround20:25Hrs.Saurabh&AbhishekwerearrivingfromLonavala.Theirtrainwaslate&wastoarriveatKarjat by20:30Hrs.SoAniket&Manojwerewaitingforthem&restofuswenttowestsideofstationtoenquireaboutauto. WegotinformationthatsixseaterautowouldbeavailablefromShreeRamBridgeattheeastsideofKarjat.

Wewentbacktoplatform.BythetimeSaurabh&Abhishekwerereached.SowewalkeddowntoShreeRambridge. (Around15minuteswalk).Iwasleading&Iwasmoreworriedaboutavailability. AsIreachedthere,IsawaS.T.Busleaving.Itriedtorushwithmyluggagebutcouldnotmanage.Isawasixseaterauto rickshawpartiallyoccupied.IaskedabouthimforKhandaswhichheplainlydenied.Bythetime,allgroupreachedto thespot. Tooursurprise,wesawasixseaterarriving.Wejustrushedtoit&hadadealofRs.600/fordroppingusatKhandas.

Journeywastiresome&everyonewasfeelingsleepy.WereachedKhandasby22:30Hrs. KHANDAS: Wesawashoplikehouse(Mr.TukaramAhinkar).Wehadblacktea.Hegaveusoptiontosleepthere&starttrekinthe morning.HealsoagreedtojoinusasaGuide.Everybodyreadilyagreed.WehadourdinnerofChapatis,Ladysfingers Potatomixvegetable&MangoPickle.WemissedOnionswhichTukaramgaveus&fulfilledourwish.

Wepreparedforourbed.EverybodywarepreferringtosleepnearDinesh(ashewashavingchadar&bedsheet).ButI couldsucceed.Someofthesmokershadtheirround.

Itriedtosleepearlybutcouldnotdoitthroughoutthenight.ThankstoJugalbandisnoringofAniket&others. Igotupearlyinthemorningaround04:00Hrs&disturbedeverybodyfromtheirpleasantsleep.IaskedTukaramto prepareKandaPohaimmediately.Hecouldmanageonlyby05:00Hrs.(Hewasnothavingpohaathome&hadtowait tilltheshopopens).

Afterhavingbreakfast&tea,westartedourjourneybyAutouptofootofBhimashankar.AutowalatookRs.60/for that.Howeveritsavedourtimewalkingdown1to2kmtarroad. AsTukaramwasclaimingRs.300/forservingasGuideandAniketwasconfidentabouttheway,wedroppedtheidea ofhavingguide.Verysoonafterreachingalocationwherewehaddiversion,Aniketsconfidencewasshaken.Luckily wegotaboywhoofferedusservicesofguideatthecostofRs.250/&afternegotiationwesettledhimforRs.150/. GANESHGHAT: It was pleasant & cool morning. However everybody was expecting showers. Very soon we had glimpse of crabs. At around06:10Hrs,wereachedGaneshTemple.Afterhavingrestof5minutes,werestarted.Thispatchwasquitesteep &everybodywasbreathingheavily.

After seeing lots of crabs, Mangesh decided to collect them for next day lunch. So we started collecting it. I got opportunity&trainingfromguide(Ganapat)aboutcatchingcrab.Verysooninastream,Ganpatfoundahugecrab& managetograbit.

WhenAniket&Mangeshsawthecatch,Aniketcouldnotresisthavingtasteofit!Raw! DeadlyinspiredpersonfromManVs.Wild!AniketateonetentacleofitrawwhereasMangeshroasteditonlighter& ate. Afterwalkofhalfanhour,wefoundateashopinjungle.Weagainhadabreak.Wehadtea&breadjam.Mangesh decidedtoleavethecrabscollectedwithshopownersothathecanleavesomeweighthere.

Afterwalkthroughdensejungle,wereachedtabletopfromwhereonecanseethepathofShidiGhat.Wehadphoto session&restartedthejourney.

ThistimeAtish&Manoj(surprisingly)leadthelastpatchoftrek.Wereachedattopataround10:30Hrs.Wehadto waitforothers(almost2025minutes). WedecidedtotakebathnearaborewellnearBhimashankarTemple.However,oneofthedevoteesinformedusabout clean&coldwaterintemple.Sowedroppedtheplan. ThistimeAniketagainfelthungry&managedonJamuns. BHIMASHANKARTEMPLE: WehadbathinKundoftemple.Initiallywehesitatedasitwasfulloffrogs&insects.However,ourWildMan(Aniekt) leadthefront&everybodyfollowedhim.WehadDarshanofBhimashankarwhichisoneofthe12Jyotirlinga.There wasnotmuchrushsowecanspendampleoftimethere.

 ThistimealsoMangeshhadglimpseofasnakeintheMandir.Wehadagreat&pleasantsurprisetoseeahugemetallic bellwhichwasbroughttherebyChimajiAppa(brotherofBajiravPeshwa)fromVasaiFort. WesaworiginofBhimaRiverjustattheentranceofthetemple.

Afterhavingtea&buyingPrasad,hadgoodlunchandleftforHanumanLake. HANUMANLAKE: Wereachedtherewithin30minutes.Asnamesuggests,therewerelotsofmonkeys&probablythismaybethereason foritsname.Thesemonkeystoreseatofbikeswhichwereparkedthere. WhilereachingHanumanLake,Dineshobservedthatsoleofhisshoesiscompletelyopenedup.Hewashavingtough timetowalkwithdamagedshoes.Hemanagedtotieupitwithshoelace.Thiswasgoodlessonthatforeverytrek, checkyourshoesbeforeyoustart.

 NAGFANI: WeleftforNagfaniMangesh,Atish&Saurabhchosenshortcuttoreachthere.Restofuswentwithnormalway.This wasthebestlocationofBhimashankar.Onecanseethehugerangeofpeaks.TherecouldbethefortslikeRajmachi, Padargad,butwecouldnotidentify.

Afterspendingampleoftimethere,westarteddescending.Wereachedaspot(whosenameisnotknowntous).We had break there & requested Rain God to shower on us. To our surprise, very soon it was showering. Although, not heavily,butsomethingwasbetterthannothing.

 DESCENDING: Very soon, we reached to our hotel in Jungle where we left our crabs. We had tea break & finished our remaining snacks.Aswerestarted,Ganpatsaidthatwehavemissedourway.Everybodygotangrythathowaguidecanchose thewrongway?EventhoughAniket&Mangeshweredamnsurethatwewereontherightpath,Ganpatwasnot.So wetrustedonGanpat&afterwalkof5minuteshegotcorrectpath.

While descending, Manoj, Dinesh & I were faster than others. We found lot of people trekking up at this time. Very soon,wereachedthepointofShidighat&Ganeshghatjunction.Wehadbreakthere&waitedforotherstoarrive. Aftertheirarrivalwehadsomephotosession&restarted.Weagainwereleadingthetrek&verysoonreachedGanesh Temple.Aftergapofaround20minutes,ourremaininggroupreached,buttooursurprisewithagroupofbunchof gals!!!!!!!!!!NowIrealizedthereasonfortheirslowestmovement! Theywerearoundgroupof40s.Astheyrestedintemple,westartedthejourney&reachedatthefoot. IsawaOmnidroppingsometrekkers.Irushedtoit&hadadealtodropusuptoKarjatStation(Rs.600/). Ganpat had told us about Mahua. So I asked driver & had bought one litre of it at Rs.100/. We also bought dried flowersofMahua.

AftercollectingourleftoutswithTukaram,werushedtoKarjat.WehadgoodbreakfastofVadapav,Bhajipav&tea. We waited for our return train from Karjat till 20:40 Hrs. Here, Mangesh noted that his bag of crabs was opened & crabswererushingout.Fortunatelyhenoticedinrighttime&couldrecollectit.Otherwiseitwouldhavebeenagreat sceneontheplatformthatcrabsarecrawling&peoplearerunninginpanic. InitiallybyconsideringstaminaofAniket&ManojandfirsttimetrekkerslikeDinesh&Abhishek,wehadoptedroute via Ganeshkhind instead of Shidi Ghat. But after seeing successfully & enthusiastic performance of newcomers, we regrettedthatwecouldhaveoptedforShidiGhat.Sonowitisduetous.Butonlyafterwecomplete25treksto uniquelocations! Wehadagood&safetrekonemoretimebutwemissedonethingThatisTheRain