Gorgeous Dhaaak

The ache in the head is a grim reminder of the events that unfolded on this wonderful trek. Given that it’s been ages since my last post, might as well not loose this opportunity.

The monsoons have cast their spell all around. The hills behind my college act as a perfect spoil sport; enticing my mind to give them a second look. A chat with Rahil was all it took to make me realize, what I have been missing for long. So, decided to take the plunge @ the cost of bunking a lecture.

Dhaak Plateau n Bahiri caves have always been inviting; en route to Rajmachi; but never found the enthusiasm to head their way. Sometimes, you just need to wait for the opportune moment before embarking on a trip. That’s the only explanation I can think of.

Rahil, on being Oxed out, playing Sarbanes Oxley; was desperate to hit the trail. Having managed to crystallise the plans, when oxing out in Malaysia, all it needed was for him to be p resent @ CST to catch the 11.30 train. Accompanying him was Ritz, Meenaz, Sneha, Sakina & Anoush.

Being a breezy group, no hurdles were expected. That was the first misconception.. I must say. Meenaz was running a fever & was tentative, Sakina & Anoush had made plans to meet us in the morning… A very trivial proposition.

It took a wily nily old fox called Ampicilin 500 to help the lasse recover partly from her bout of fever. The good thing was she managed to present herself @ the station. Now that was some passion or rather enthusiasm…..

This was probably my first trek with Rahil & Sneha & was looking forward to knowing them better ….. as for the rest.. it was a perfect excuse to meet up.

Disaster…. In my enthusiasm of meeting these blokes, I conveniently ignored the significance of N & S on the indicator. With both trains ( Karjat n Kasara) lying side by side, my left brain was quite convinced.. N was the train to catch for Karjat. (kindly control u’r amusement)

Once, rest of the blokes took my word, we were in for a wonderful joy ride. It was only on passing Asangaon, did Ritz raise a query about our destination. It was soon clear, we had botched big time… @ 1.00am , the grey cells appear in shades of blue & green.. & thereby give even the silliest of decisions a complex appearance.

On reaching Kasara, it was time to catch the 4.10 am train lvng back for CST ..drop off @ Kalyan & catch the Karjat local. When @ Kasara, we did contemplate going to Ratangad or Kalsubai…. But hey.. they stood no chance in the game of consensus. After a record breaking 8 hr journey, we finally managed to reach Karjat by 6.45am. Met up with Sakina & Anoush, who had driven down from Mumbai.

Having found a safe heaven for the car near the ST stand, the Took Took vahans transported us to Sandshi. With absolute lack of command on Marathi, how on earth does one expect to start a trek on the right track… So we headed straight for some jolly good bushwhacking.. & good fun it was tooo…. After an hours wandering.. we finally hit the trail .

Here, I need to mention Meenaz’s penchant for hitting the vertical.. She seems to have lost all interests in anything that is horizontal. Turn u’r back, u might find her scrambling up a vertical ..

Met this bloke named Jayto @ kalakrai; who treated us to some jolly good black tea @ his modest abode. Once we started enquiring about routes to Dhak & Rajmachi, we had managed to gather an inquisitive bunch of kiddos along with some woman folk; who were keen on giving us directions. Well, spending time in a village; where ppl are keen n eager to help you .. is always a pleasant & memorable experience. It reminded me of the villager @ Amboli, who had helped us on an earlier trek.

Dhaaak is a table land or a plateau spread over 5km. It can be approached from Sandshi village ( 24km from Karjat & ahead of Kondivade), from Mangaon ( 15min walk from Sandshi) ( both in the Ulhas Valley) or from Vadap ( 8 km from Karjat) The route from Sandshi is quite straightforward, & leads to a village called KALAKRAI (in abt 1.5 hrs) . This village lies @ the base of Dhak Massif. From here, Dhak plateau is a 30 min steep climb; encountering some wet n interesting rocky patches on the way. This route is a bit diff from what most travelogues have explained, as we never approach the pinnacles near Bahiri nor the caves. So, was uncertain about the Col from which a route leads to Bahiri. Dhak plateau & Bahiri are well spread out. However, the Massif above Bahiri & Dhak is connected. So, those intending to go on this route, will have to move further into the Ulhas Valley, right up to to the base of Bahiri caves massif, before starting the trek. Anyways, since Bahiri was never on the agenda, given the risks involved in this weather, it was sidelined. The Dhak plateau is quite amazing , as it never seems to end. It is a huge expanse; which in low visibility conditions might be quite a task. A prominent track leads you to Dhak village which is surrounded on its left by paddy fields. Approach Dhak from the South & move in a north westerly direction until u hit the village of Dhak. From here, cut through the paddy fields & head west. There is a new temple under construction @ the periphery of the forest. About 100m to the left of the temple ( as u approach it), there is a prominent path leading to the outer fringes of the plateau & down to Vadap village.

Anoush was able to correctly identify the route thanks to a tree trunk which has been lying across the path since the past 8 years, when he visited last. The route which is a gentle ascent, leads you to a clearing, before the descent starts.

Had it not been for Anoush, it would have been quite an effort to figure this route out, as there were many paths leading into the periphery.

The descent is quite rapid though at a gentle gradient. It takes about 1.5 hr to reach Vadap from Dhak village. From Dhak plateau, you get to see the entire expanse of Ulhas valley, with Rajmachi diametrically opposite.

From Dhak, Rajmachi is a 6 hr trek with Kondeshwar temple 2 hrs away. This should also be an interesting & exciting route to follow. Approach Dhak from Sandshi or Vadap early in the morning, & proceed to Rajmachi; reaching there along the lonavala route by late evng & later returning back to Kondivade , the following day… Hmm.. need to wait for that.

Well as expected, this was an interesting & energising trek, as it gave me an opportunity to explore a new area without any guide to follow.

I need to mention the huge water tank or pond that exists @ Vadap village. It is the largest pond that I have encountered on any trek , which brought a perfect end to an interesting days outing. Unfortunately, it was only me & Rahil who made the most of thie aquatic interlude

The disturbance caused by SS was a dampener, but thanks to Anoush’s Zen, it managed to ferry all the 7 of us safe n sound, back to base.

Ritz I felt was more concerned about WC finals & was lost in thought, especially after investing in a brand new 29 inch TV. Meenaz ..well Ampicillin 500 had managed to elevate her to a higher state of existence.. she was also heard pondering about the prospect of heading for Rajmachi from Dhak..!!! ( though, she is bound to refute this vehemently!!) Rahil was on a high… free from the clutches of the senators -Mr. Sarbanes & Mr. Oxley..whom he intends to give the boot… @ the first opportunity. The dude’s high energy attitude is quite refreshing… Sneha apparently never missed an opportunity to get some valuable sleep all through the 8 hr journey from CST to Karjat… Before u know, she would have dozed off… I guess those power naps that she took, helped her the following day on the trek… A chill lasse, who normally prefers to speak to an Instant Messenger… though Rahil did manage to make her speak..!! Anoush & Sakina.. was good to do a trek with them.. after quite a while.. the last one being; night trek to Chanderi. With Anoush recovering from the back prblm, I guess he would be seen on the trek front more often; while Saku prepares herself for her Srinagar-Leh Odyssey.

I must say..@ various points in time, during the trek..especially while wandering on the plateau..Ritz & Sakina..did have this strange feeling of having seen these places over n over again... They had this ..We Have Been Here Before.... experience.....

All pics that were snapped are coutsey Sneha's cell phone....

That’s all about it.. Was finally happy to wander around ..both on land , on water… & eventually on 4 wheels….. without caring a damn for the BOOKS../ Profs../ Lectures / Classes …..!!!