The impregnable Pathra Ghat, Ajoba summit and the ferocious Guhericha Daar!!

Jai Shri Ram

    

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary

Conquering or reaching the summit of a mountain is about the inner battles we conquer along the way to setting newer benchmarks. Ultimately, it’s not about setting out to conquer something else, but the internal journey, challenges, and conquering our own self limiting beliefs.

 

 Sahyankan 2017..Descending Guheriche Daar.P.C:Prashant Kothawade

My tryst with the ghats in the winter of 2017 was about to reach an all new level. I had enrolled for Sahyankan 2017 batch 1 and was now going to take on the biggest trekking challenge in the Sahyadri's. 

"Sahyankan" is a bi annual event and a dream for any trekker. The event is organized by Chakram Hikers from Mulund and every 2 years, they come up with delightful concoctions of some spectacular trans sahyadri trek routes for mountain lovers.

The 2017 event was perhaps the toughest and most testing Sahyankan ever hosted. It was filled with the toughest and most endurance testing hikes.Thus when we all assembled at the remote village of Gunde in Murbad taluka in the wee hours of the night, I could barely sleep out of excitement. I had traveled straight from office and changed from a suit to my trekking clothes in a jiffy.

  The Dawn..brought with it the stunning landscape of The Grand Father of the Ghats, the majestic

  "Ajoba Mountain" jutting out of the ghats prominently and welcoming us! Nafta Pinnacle and

   Harishchandragad were further right.It was a stunning morning frame illuminating slowly.

  The blackness of the night being replaced with the orange glow and hope of a new Day!

  My dream trek was about to begin. The much hyped and talked about challenges of the Pathra

  Ghat and the ferocious Guhericha Daar Ghats had to be met and over come. However, I was     

  soon going to realize that when you take on the mightiest of the ghat routes, you better be fully  

  prepared. 

 

This is where we stayed for the night at Gunde.

And by preparation, I mean all aspects "your mental and physical conditioning, which means regular exercise, mental strength and reserves, right diet, basics like the weight of your sack, the way you pack your sack, the checklist for the trek, to be a minimalist yet carry the essentials"....in short the qualities required for becoming a pro trekker need to be fully imbibed.

I was soon going to discover that I was not fully equipped from all the above aspects and had some 

distance to cover before I reach the level required for a pro trekker.However what I lacked in preparation, I made up for through my sheer love and passion for the mountains. The below quote aptly described my struggle to reach greater heights.

"Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.”

– Andy Andrews 

Getting ready for Pathra..who knew what lay ahead..

We all got up at 5.30 am sharp and post completing our morning chores, assembled for the introduction, group snap and some much needed loosening up of our muscles.

Sahyankan Batch 1

We were escorted by a jeep for 1 km and from there, a forest path turned right and started going towards the ghats.

Right at the start we got mesmerizing views of the Kalsubai and AMK range from Konkan and then we started coming closer to the Sahyadri main range.The mountain range here is much taller than the average elevation of the Sahyadri's and both Pathra and Guheri are at least 3000 to 3500 ft in height.

Ajoba and Sitecha Palna..South view

The main Sahyadri Mountain range..Pathra Ghat beckons..

 En route we crossed two gorges and thus had to descend about 100 feet and again ascend 100 feet. We made rapid progress as the early morning winter breeze and pleasant weather made the initial hike quite comfortable.

    The first batch comprised primarily of trekkers from Nashik, Pune and Mumbai.

 

 The trek took us through one of the most picturesque country sides that I have come across in the Sahyadri's. The early morning light led to some stunning shades of orange and yellow hues dotting the flora around us. There was not a soul in sight and we were finally away from the hustle of the city life and into absolute wilderness.

After about 1.30 hour of walk from Gunde, we got our first glimpse of the col which we had to ascend to reach the mid point of the ghat.We soon started our ascent and climbed the first plateau.I was already huffing and puffing and it was very uncharacteristic. I have a decently strong stamina and more importantly, I prefer climbing a mountain over descending it any day. Then what was going wrong today?

And this is where I realized my folly. I had overloaded my sack with multiple sets of clothes, extra food etc and thus, no wonder I was struggling and had started falling behind right from the start.To compound my troubles the sack was improperly packed and this led to the weight becoming uneven.The heavier stuff which has to be kept on top was placed at the bottom,thus pulling the sack down.

While all my trek mates were wisely carrying only about 8 to 9 kg of weight on their backs, my sack weighed some 14 kgs..Jai ho. Thankfully, Kaustubhji came to my rescue and guided me and I soon got the sack packed correctly.

The initial climb of about 1500 feet is through a lot of thorny bushes, uneven ground, scree, loose gravel and rocks. We entered a nali after about 2.5 hours of climb and reached the col or khind of the Pathra ghat. From this col, one has to turn left. There is a small temple of the Goddess of the ghats here.The people passing through this ghat route offer coins and mud pots to the Goddess.

The Pathra rock patch..exposed!

 After we turned left, Pathra started showing its true colours. We were now faced with the daunting challenge of negotiating a 1000 feet rock patch, about 70% incline and near vertical in some places.

It was good that we were unable to fathom and see the complete rock patch and initially it appeared about 300 feet in height.But as we started climbing, the upper portions started emerging. I remembered the famous quote of Andrew Garfield here :-)

“I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.” – Andrew Garfield

To make matters more difficult, there is absolutely nothing to hold, no karvi , no smaller bushes, just mud and scree and extreme inclines.To add to the challenge, throughout this climb, you get near total exposed views of the valley below and thus people with vertigo are in for a real challenge here.

 .

No holds barred!!

 

This snap is a tribute to my friend and a true mountain lover , Late Deepak Rokade(in set)!..We miss you buddy..

Pathra..one mistake and you are history.

 En route we climbed a 30 feet vertical rock wall.Chakram Hikers had taken adequate precautions by fixing ropes and also their volunteers were present to give moral and physical support, if any :-).         

It took us about 1.30 hours to negotiate the 1000 feet climb.We were doing fine and just when we felt that we have reached the top, comes the final weapon that Pathra keeps in its arsenal for trekkers. A traverse with a slanting foothold :-)..yes..there is a 10 feet patch where you have to literally push yourself against the sheer cliff, place your feet on the near vertical cliff and take 3 - 4 large steps and cross this tricky part. 

This traverse comes just when you feel you have reached the summit.. a final test of your mental strength and reserves..!

The patch is not very difficult actually, but comes at the absolute fag end of the climb and one can get stuck here if you are unable to summon your mental strength. The key is to just focus on your next step and not look down as Konkan stares at you some 3500 feet below :-)

We reached the top by 1pm, i.e exactly in 5 hours. In another hour, we reached our beautiful campsite near Kumshet.

We all relaxed for some time and then in the evening all went for a much needed dip in the river behind our camp site. The water was ice cold and the water therapy really worked as we all freshened up.

Our campsite at Kumshet

   As night engulfed the landscape, the cold really picked up. Chakram hikers pampered us with a delicious Dinner and topped it with hot drinking chocolate later in the night. The night was starry and the sky crystal clear. We were awake late in the night with the cold wind beating against our faces, identifying several constellations, satellites circling the earth. After some phenomenal sky watching time, we all retired for the night as the next day was going to be a long and arduous one.

   We got up early the next morning at 5 am. It was the most beautiful morning that I have witnessed in the Sahyadri's. There was something magical about that day. 

   The Kumshet plateau was lit up in Gold, literally..The venerable Ajoba mountain appeared straight 
   out of Meccana's Gold and I could see Gregary Peck on his horse riding towards it.

 

  

Prashant Kothawade, my best buddy admiring the view.

   We started at 6.00 am sharp and within 45 minutes, reached the base of Ajoba.

Figuring out the route to the top

  The eastern end of the mountain has got washed away due to a land slide caused by heavy rain. Due to the same, one has to climb through the gravel to reach the rock patches which take you to the upper traverse.

Sidoba

Pathra ghat top view from Ajoba traverse

The opening leading to Guheri, we can see Karonda, Ratangad and Katrabai in back ground.

   The rock patches enroute tested us, but were not very difficult and as we had left our bags below, we climbed rapidly.Enroute one comes across a clean and sparkling water hole, where we drank to our hearts content and also chilled out for 10 minutes.

 
As we started ascending the upper part of the mountain, I started connecting with the mountain. I felt as if I am actually once again being reunited with my late Grand father, Ajoba.We shared a special relationship and I was very close to him. He had great influence on me and my cousin during our childhood. I felt as if he was blessing us and encouraging us and giving us the message, that 'do not fear,take on newer challenges because you will grow only by doing difficult things, display impeccable integrity, always be humble and give your best without expecting anything in return'.

Our batch leader Aniket.

 Those 10 minutes when we were doing the final ascent, I was lost in these thoughts. And lo and behold, the mountain blessed us as we reached the summit with the most spectacular views in the entire Sahyadris.We could get a 360 degree view from here. The AMK and Kalsubai range to the north, Ratangad, Katrabai, Ghanchakkar to the east, Naphtha, Harishchandragad, Kaladgad to the south east, Malshej Ghat to the south and the sheer drop of the 4000 feet to the west into the Konkan plains.

A pic to cherish..with my "younger" and amazing brother..Shrikant Dada.

The lands end at Ajoba top..awe inspiring!

We spent some 30 minutes on the summit taking in the views.While we were 25 of us on the top, each one was alone having his own inner dialogue on this majestic mountain.

We started our descent from Ajoba at 10.30 am sharp.It took about 1 hour to descend and we soon reached to the edge of the ghats and took a break for lunch just below Guhericha Daar.



 We started our descent via Guhericha Daar at 1.30 pm sharp. We first ascended through a forest patch and in about 15 minutes reached the opening of the Ghat route.The first glimpse of Guhericha Daar got our heart beat racing for sure as we could see Konkan atleast 3000 feet below. 

The initial ascent was through lot of loose gravel and boulders. One had to be particularly careful while negotiating the descent as inevitably the boulders would slide, leading to most of us falling on our back sides.The sack would save us and cushion our fall to some extent. 


After descending for about 500 feet we had to negotiate a vertical rock patch of about 50 feet which was slightly difficult and also a bit dangerous as a fall here could have resulted in certain injury or even grimmer results. Chakram had fixed a rope on this traverse and also one of their technical team members was present to help every member cross the patch safely.



  There were two more rock patches which we negotiated. After descending for about 3 hours through the gorge, one needs to take a left and leave the main Nali.The continuous and arduous descent was taking its toll on our knees. There is a forest patch which we crossed for about 20 mins. The patch soon opens into a clearing with a 500 feet fall to the left. This is when Guheri makes things difficult for you as there are two 40 and 120 feet scree descents which need to be negotiated carefully. The descent here is quite steep, and has a lot of scree and there is a valley to your left. Thus, the best thing to do here is to sit down and descend. Your back side pays the price due to the friction though, but its better to be safe than sorry on this patch.

We finally reached the base of the ghat route at around 6 pm. The Chakram team had come all the way from Dehene to offer us kokam sarbat and some refreshments.We all drank the energy drinks as we were quite exhausted at this point. I just relaxed my body against a boulder and closed my eyes for 10 minutes.


   We walked for another 2 hours from this point and finally reached Dehene village at 8 pm. We had trekked for 14 hours from 6 am to 8 pm with hardly any breaks in between.

As we sat reminiscing our last 2 days, the images of Pathra, Ajoba, Sidoba, Kumshet campsite, Guheriche daar flashed across our eyes like a slide show bringing with it special moments which only a chosen few of us were blessed with.

They were 2 of the toughest but most magical days of my life. These 2 days had challenged me, tested my courage and resolve to the fullest, brought me closer to my inner self. Despite the aches and the body pain, my mind and spirit was fully revitalized and refreshed.

A typical quaint house at Dehene village..very clean and well maintained.

We had covered 2 of the toughest ghat routes, ascended my most favorite mountain in the Sahyadri's, encountered rock patches which really tested our grit and inner strength, crossed exposed traverses and through this, had enjoyed ourselves to the hilt. 

The smells and sounds of the forest , the colors of the morning sky, the most picturesque final ascent of Ajoba, the connect with my Grandfather still resonate in my mind and heart ....

Hope all of you enjoyed reading the blog and that it encourages you to step out of your comfort zones and into the ghats!

Thanks to the Chakram Team. Pic credit: Amit Marathe, Kaustubh Palekar,PK and my other trek mates.

Some important points to be noted:

1). Please ensure that you exercise regularly before you take up this or any other arduous trek.
2). Please do not litter and and carry all your waste back with you after the trek.
3). Stay close with the group and do not wander alone in the forest.
4). At all times carry at least 3 litres of water per day. Very important to stay hydrated.
5). Respect the guides you hire and make them a part of your trekking team, share your food with them and do not give your sacks to them to carry.
6). Try and gather information about the geography and historical importance of the places you visit.
7). Please respect the time given to your fellow trek mates and always be on time.