Rajmachi - Dhaak

Weekend Alpha Maniac.. who??

When one talks about human endurance; events like Tour de France, Ironman (Triathlon), the Full Marathon, NatGeo Eco- Challenge, strike a distinct chord. The very idea of humans endeavoring to break the Thought Barrier; relentlessly stretching the human mind & body at its hems to explore new vistas is reason enough for us to sit back & take notice of these Alpha Maniacs. In retrospect, these freaks of civilization have helped define the weekend wandering of a sizeable population who otherwise are stuck in the ritual rigmarole of 9-7 existence.

9-7 has never worked for me; but has had the displeasure of enduring it all these years. Freddie’s ‘I want 2 Break Free ‘is screaming with all its might; but is yet to hit the right nerve except over the weekend; when the Escapist within me awakens J

As the weekend enters its final lap, there is a sudden resurgence of Hope, Excitement & Passion. The otherwise fossilized fragments of an Alpha Maniac gene conjures up visions of Grist, Valor & Glory; all to be achieved in a day (Ain’t we asking for 2 much). Now isn’t that everybody is aspiring to achieve.. a certain level of Excitement to sustain energy levels for another grueling week… J

I guess, I have made a fair case of the reason why people look for eventful ways to roundup an otherwise uneventful week; though the knives are definitely out to split this theory apart.

To Hell with that …. !!

The following mishmash is about 5 blokes with dormant Alpha Maniac traits; who decided to push their luck on a dripping Sunday along the Rajmachi – Dhaak traverse!

a Left and a Right that (just about) made Rajmachi – Dhaak

Despite an erratic monsoon, hikes to Nakhind & Prabal over the previous weekends had exposed us to the hills adorned in effervescent Monsoon Couture. But these were small jaunts lasting no more than 3-4 hours; & thus came the thought of doing a full day trek. Rajmachi – Dhaak, Ahupe-Bhimashankar, Alang were the obvious ones. Rajmachi –Dhaak scored above the rest as the base village of Kondivade was easily approachable.

Rahil & Janaki were first to hit the trail.

Starting from Lonavala on Saturday night, they managed to beach themselves for the night @ Valvan (aka Olewande) village. Armed with tents & GPS, their positions were tracked by a constellation of satellites. Rahil was on a training binge to desperately shed the excess baggage a 9-7 existence had piled on him; courtesy ESP [read -Employee Stock (Saturated FAT) Options]. After a year spent in contemplation; finally mustered the courage to dump 9-7 for achieving self Preservation & Soul-lightenment (Lighting up the Soul… possible I guess!!). As for the graphic designer – Janaki, was meeting her for the first time. The MCP gene had usual apprehensions about her ability to keep pace with the group…

Piran, Mallikarjun & Self started from Kondivade on Sunday morning

Snored our way to glory at Karjat ST stand, only to wake up in nick of time for the bus to Sandshi. We hit the trail from Kondivade by 7.30am after a few rounds of Chai. Going up Rajmachi was uneventful, as we reached the top by 10.00 am.

Piran, back from his 2 month stint with an NGO in Sikkim was adjusting to the reduced altitude & abundance of O2 ; ). Since me & Piran had done Rajmachi-Dhaak route last year, we were relaxed about finding our way (case of misplaced confidence).

Mallickarjun – sounded like a mythological character; when we first met on the Nariman Point cycling trip. The nervous energy, enthusiasm & high testosterone exuberance of this IITian was reason enough to invite him for the trek. There are some blokes with whom you can instantly connect without having to blink an eyelid. As the trek progressed, the New Kid On the Block with navigation skills of a Homing Pigeon, endeared to all of us.

Rajmachi (10.00 am)

The crowd on top drove home the message; weekends are definitely a big no for coming to this charming little hamlet. Met Suresh & his family for a while; where we tanked ourselves with Poha, Bhurji & Chai. Did manage to take a dip in the gorgeous pond; Mallik & Piran though decided to stay away from it.

It was 11.00am when we set off from Rajmachi) for the scheduled rendezvous with Rahil & Janaki. Fact that we were 2 hrs behind schedule was inconsequential; as we were anyways headed for Dhaak. 45 min into eth trek, we met up with Rahil & Janaki. From here on, it was push towards Kondeshwar Temple (our first halt). While Rajmachi – Valvan is a rather straightforward route; from there on to Kondeshwar is one of the prettiest walks that one can do in the Sahyadris. Last year with the Karvi in full bloom, there was a carpet of pink all over.

Kondeshwar Temple (2.00pm)

The temple is neatly tucked in the valley amidst waterfalls & thick foliage. In cloudy weather, identifying the temple becomes difficult. Thanks to Mallik’s homing instincts, we managed to locate the place. The place lies at the cusp of 2 mighty waterfalls. The temple was occupied by a bunch of trekkers / locals snuffing from their Chellam’s . Took a brief break before heading for base of Bahiri Caves. From Kondeshwar, one can walk towards Jambivili & take a bus for Kamshet . ST bus leaves Jambivili for Kamshet @ 5.30pm

Kondeshwar - Bahiri

Leaving Kondeshwar, we were lost for a while navigating the route for Bahiri. There is a small plateau where all the water drains. Here the route tends to get confusing; especially when the massif leading to Bahiri is not visible. We had to take help of a local family to guide us along the right path. The route leads in a N-W direction with the waterfall coming from Bahiri side on your left. After a brief climb, we cross over the waterfall & head towards Bahiri.

As we were approaching Bahiri, in my infinite wisdom I advised Mallik to move ahead & wait for us at the junction for Sandshi-Bahiri-Dhaak. As Mallik was putting up a fairy fast pace, I probably felt it would be better off, if he set the pace thereby allowing all of us to catch up with him.

base of Bahiri (4.30pm)

The above mentioned junction is tucked well inside the forest & is not easily identifiable. 20 min after Mallik had disappeared, Piran who was behind Mallik, looses track of him & takes a wrong turn. The drama begins….!!

For the next 1 hour, we are left blowing our vocal chords to smothers trying to trace Mallik. This scary incident gave us the jitters. Mallik on his part was waiting for us at the destine place. Though after a while we were able to hear each other’s faint voices, it was not clear from which direction it came. After some time spent retracing the steps, we finally managed to team up with Mallik to everybody’s relief. We had inadvertently missed the route & gone straight into the bushes; when we were supposed to take a LEFT..!!

Phew.. this incident let all of us drained.

It was 4.30 pm when we left the base of Bahiri for Dhaak

Bahiri base to Dhaak Village

We were now on the last leg which we had opined was also to be the most difficult to negotiate, if the cloud cover & low visibility persisted. True to our fears, the weather remained cloudy. It is important to get the orientations right while doing the Dhaak traverse. The massif of Dhaak fort on the left is a good reference. However, after semi circumnavigating along the plateau, the massif moves behind. From here, it would make sense to move along the tree line in a Westerly direction with the bushes to the left, until you hit a broad path going Right to the first village on the plateau.

At one point, we almost lost hope of negotiating this right. So much so, we did contemplate alternate options of camping for the night. It was nearing 6.00 & with another 45 min of daylight left, it was a stroke of good fortune that we found ourselves on the correct route leading to the village.

We finally managed to reach the first Dhaak village @ 6.30 pm

With no time to waste, it was decided to hire the services of a local to guide us to the exit for Vadap. He & his wife sensing an opportunity for making a fast buck, decided to charge 50 bucks for the 20 min jaunt + 50 bucks premium. The premium was at the insistence of the wife. The fellow was definitely high on spirits to ward off the chill; but kept us entertained with his breezy & deceptive talk.

After a brief break for refreshments, we headed for the irritating decent along rocky terrain to reach Vadap @ 8.30 pm.

To conclude, this was a brilliant & exhilarating trek which brought about a dose of varied emotions through the day. Pleased to have completed the route; with everybody in high spirits.

Next on the Agenda :

Aug14-17: Kulang – Ratangad / Ratangad-Ajoba-Kumshet-Harishchandragad