Footprints on the Mountainside

The whole Karjat, Neral area is so lush green and totally enchanting this time. I just spent a weekend there. I’d gone to Dr. Modi’s Health Resort to attend the ISABS Umang Party and generally get in touch with the community, and then Raka and I took off to a friend’s bungalow in Neral.

Driving around the place, I realized how far it has come from the time I had begun trekking in this region. New resorts in Karjat seem to have sprung up every where and this area and Neral and Matheran seem to have become the most popular picnic spot near Mumbai. Crowds of tourists that look like friends, families and even corporate groups can be seen in the waterfalls around Karjat, generally having a great time.

Its a loooong way from how we guys were considered odd because we wanted to head out to this region in the monsoons. Of course, our world was mostly roughing it out, hikes, staying in caves….. Photography in particular used to be considered an expensive hobby. None of us had really thought of photographs beyond memories of our trip.

As “Mumbai picnic spots” go, it is a whole new world. Nature resorts near Mumbai are a growing trend, both in availability as well as demand. Quick, clean service, lovely ambiance and a whole new attitude of “back to nature” is a far cry from the rural mentality of pride in simplicity and basic accommodation with few facilities. While I miss the good old days and the charm of life in the mountains, I see this as an evolution in the mindsets of the Mumbai crowd, where pleasure in the outdoors is becoming more and more accessible, inviting and desired for the less adventurous.

Once more, it was Raka, me and our trusted bike, out in the mountains wandering to our hearts content, remembering the good old days and welcoming the change.

This is the monsoon - the best time of the year to head into the outdoors near Mumbai! Before you lose that temptation striking your mind, let me give you ideas to put into action!

1. Go to Kanheri Caves (a couple of hours): No, I don’t mean to visit the ancient Buddhist Caves, though that can be a side interest. What you are to do is really look at the road as you drive through the National Park, keep an eye out for the numerous streams on the way and find a fun spot for a picnic. Get into the stream, splash all you like, and then go on to Kanheri Caves. Post links to your pics in the comments for all to see. Or tey any of the many picnic spots near Mumbai, like Manori beach, Aarey Milk colony, Elephanta Caves… the rain is not enough to stop boats yet. THIS is the time!
2. Go to Kondana Caves (full day): Drive to Kondivde village in Karjat, do the short hike to the caves, and have a bath in the curtain of a waterfall across the mouth of the Cave. Hike back and tell us about it.
3. Go White Water Rafting (one day, or overnight): While you can do this round the year, the water levels in the monsoon make the rapids on the Kundalika a specially thrilling experience.
4. Go to Matheran (weekend): The monsoon being the off-season, you are never going to find Matheran like this, misty, cool, dreamy and utterly charming. Travel around on horses, stay in a fancy resort an dget drunk….. do all the whimsical things your sanity doesn’t allow in the city and in dry weather.
5. Go and stay on a historical fort in some caves (overnight or more): Try Lohagad, Rajmachi, Naneghat……. Pack clothes and food in plastic bags, and just go ahead!

At least go out, splash in some puddles, drink hot tea on a roadside stall and have steaming pakodas with it!

Ram and Kishore, who work with the authorized dealer for Petzel in India had invited me to join them for this programme on the 14th July. I was working officially with them for the first time, and hence excited. The plan was for canyoning, which is basically “waterfall rappelling” when done at Kondana.

I’d been doing corporate training programs for a long time by now, and I was extremely energized by this opportunity - change in work being rest and all. Really, it doesn’t take much to be tempted to the outdoors in this weather. The beginning of the monsoon, and being paid to get wet and do what I enjoy. What more did I want? Work is a fun way of life in any case.

Plan was to leave Mumbai late in the evening and stay near the location, but traffic, rain and other events conspired to delay us till we reached the location at 2:30am.

7 instructors and a driver, a trunk full of equipment was the staff load. We were expecting about 80 participants. We slept immediately, and woke up almost immediately (it seemed) at 7am.

A quick breakfast later, we had distributed the equipment load for the hour long haul to the top of the Caves. We were expecting the group to reach at the rappelling location by 10am, so we had taken along some biscuits to keep us going through the day (it was going to be long) till a late lunch.

Our plan was to rappel from the top of the Kondana Caves, and we were standing facing the valley.

Seen the rain many times, got wet many times, but this time, we stood at the edge of the valley and could see the rain in the valley, while we stood clear. And then, the wind shifted, and the sheet of rain raced to us, and we raced for cover. Half the day was spent in fun like that, as you can’t see from the photos. I had to put the camera in - there was no way to protect it. Pit. The pics would have been fantastic.

Sam (another instructor - not a typo for Ram) and I were working together after 4-5 years, so it was a superb time for us. Talking, flashbacks, catching up with what was current in each other’s lives… and he was leaving to the US in a few weeks.

It had been raining in torrents since noon. The drizzle had been there all day, but really, after noon, it poured with a vengeance right until evening.

Of course, the group came late. By then we were wishing that we’d had lunch and come….. The group reached the rappelling location by 2:30pm, we began the activity late, and we ended the day late. The activity itself was much enjoyed, though we instructors were literally running against time to get the group completed. For the participants, the view of the valley spread at their feet, the dramatic weather, and the experience of rappelling right through the water was incredible. “Absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime experience” as a participant put it.

60 participants of the 80 had done rappelling. Whoever wanted to do the rappel, got their moment of glory. In spite of starting late, we had somehow managed to work hard and fast enough to not refuse anyone out of a lack of time. And thus, this rappelling session was finally concluded and we hurried the group back to the road head as fast as we could.

In my experience, the group comes for adventure, but they take the whole experience lightly, and have no concern for the reality of the situation. In their excitement, they had no concern for the delay and danger in the dark. The stream was swollen from the days rain, and the group was unused to the terrain. This was when they realized that it was no longer the trickle they had jumped across on their way in the afternoon and finally realized why we had been asking them to hurry.

Our human caravan slipped and stumbled through the thigh deep water and shivered across to the other side. The road from here on is muddy, but pretty straightforward.

In the beginning, I had been considered the villain when I tried to rush them along, and this is the point where they realized that I had been talking out of concern for them, and not myself, and I found myself happy to suddenly be the much appreciated hero.

On the way down, one of the newer instructors said, “Sir, I’ve got a dilemma”. I asked him what he meant. “Do we go down and have lunch or dinner?” he asked with a laugh.

I pondered for a bit and shared what I was certain of, “No matter what we call it, I’m going to eat like a starving elephant.”

What should have been done in daylight by 4pm ended at 8pm as the group stumbled and groped their way back in the dark.

On reaching down, we decided to pack up the equipment and wind up the logistics of the programme before freshening up and eating, knowing that it would be twice as hard once the adrenaline levels went down and our bodies figured out that we were tired. Finally…… we sat down to eat misal paav. It was a long time before anyone wondered if the traditional snack was lunch or dinner.

I’m turning into a poet. After the scorching, humid summer months, I have heavy rain outside my window as I sit to write this. The wind is strong and brings in a spray of refreshing droplets of this celebration. I can smell the wet earth and see hardly anything outside the window beyond my jamun tree that literally touches the window, the rain is that strong.

The tree seems to be very happy though. Its leaves are fresh and green and wet. It sways in the strong wind. Blurry beyond it is the road and the people and vehicles on it, getting a thorough washing after months of dirt and pollution. As the rain stops, I see a fresh world becoming visible. Gone is the weary drag of everything. The air is crisp, everything looks fresh. Its time to welcome the monsoon again.

Many people attend programmes with shoes that slip, are tight, are too fancy to wreck in the mud…….

I thought a quick post to point people to would help me by removing the necessity of repeating this information all the time.

1. NEVER wear shoes for trekking for the first time when you are walking for hours at a time and can’t change them if they get uncomfortable. Break your shoes in gently (for your feet - shoes don’t feel). Use them for shorter trips before heading out for that week long extreme trek.
2. ALWAYS walk on a variety of surfaces - rough, smooth, marble, stony, wet, etc. to check for slipping.
3. Buy shoes in the evening when your feet are slightly bigger than in the morning from standing all day.
4. The shoes should fit comfortably. By this, I mean a soft cushioning around your feet so that they are neither gripped by the shoe, nor rattling from the extra space.
5. For treks and situations where you expect to do a lot of walking, thick soles work well.
6. Some people prefer hard soles, others don’t. You will need to find out from experience.
7. COTTON SOCKS and plenty of them, please! You don’t want to get those nice shoes smelly, and your companions unconscious.
8. Floaters or slippers to wear on the campsite. I mention these and the socks in this list, because they are an important part of a comfortable experience with trekking shoes.
9. Expensive or cheap is not always the most comfortable. Experiment with different brands and types of shoes to experience what makes you happiest.
10. Care for your shoes as you would care for a car. Checking condition, waterproofing, cleaning and other small bits of attention ensure that your shoes don’t end up surprising you in a way you don’t like when in action.

If you think this list is silly, try being in my shoes where every programme has a percentage of participants not happy about their footwear (or me not happy with theirs - in the case of high heeled sandals - because the climbing site was near a beach), or try getting embarrassed participants to talk about fungal infections on feet when they want first aid.