I am back from Sandan Valley weekend trek and my legs still ache a bit. ooh maa ... :-) It is probably because of the heavy bag that I carried. Sandan is different because of its repeatitive ponds, streams, rappells, boulders, rocks and narrow passages. There were a few times, we had to move like a snake through one to two feet opening between rocks to get to the other side.
We were led by experienced team of Nilesh Patil, Harsh Bharati, Rahul Barve and Jayesh. We were in all 22 people and it was a fun group. I especially loved Saajan Dhiver. He was so spontaneous with his comic timing that it reminded me of Kapil Sharma from Comedy Nights. Some of his dialogues in the midst of the junglee mountain were "Hi. Ab idar mile. Ab udhar mat milnaa .. (you met me here. now don't meet me there .. ) .. "Hum aaye hain. Swagat nahin karoge .. (I have come. Will you not welcome me?)".. He has a collection of songs, shayaris and jokes.. He would invariably call Koyel Ghosh, "Gabbar" and keep asking me "Hi James Bond. Where is your Bond girl?" I had a good laughthon since ages.
What I liked most about the trek was, it had elements of leadership, fun and adventure. When the task at hand gets difficult for the team, good leadership and endless fun makes all the difference between fear and success. Within 15 minutes of trek initiation, we came across a narrow passage between two cliffs filled with water as high as my chest. I was very worried about my camera and my bag was around 8 kilos. We were suppose to carry the bag above the head and walk through the water body. Nilesh Patil, the trek lead, realized that I would probably drop my bag in the water. So he immediately carried it for me till the depth of the water reduced until waist length. I was very touched by his gesture as I was literally down by the load. Nilesh keeps ensuring that no one suffers on the trek and fun is constantly on. That is what TrekMates India are good at.
The experience of carrying a heavy load on my head shook me a bit though. What happens in reality, is that the pressure of the heavy load hits right on the neck portion. The pressure that I felt on my neck made me feel a little dizzy and I remembered all the poor labourers who carry heavy weight on their head. Going forward, I can never see these labourers in any other way but with much greater emphathy and respect.
Though I managed saving my bag this time from getting wet, it would never be the case. We crossed multiple ponds, streams, boulders and rappelled at multiple locations. But it was the last short rappell that shook me. I was held with the help of a rope by Rahul Barve on top and had to trust that he will hold me tight and believe that the rope will never break. There was a big stream of water flowing during my rappell and I had to get through it, holding the rock crevices (if I find), with a heavy bag on my back. Can you imagine that.. a gush of water is flowing over you with a force, while you are trying to get down the big boulder with no idea where or how you should grip this boulder which is as huge as a tusker elephant. You can grip a stick, a rock but boulders are a little different. At one point, I almost slipped my grip and Rahul held me like a puppeteer holds a puppet. When my grip was loosening, I remembered death and I was yelling 'I am falling..I am falling..." . I wonder if anyone heard me amidst the pouring gushy water. But the leads had ensured that even though we lose our grip, they would hold us with the 1200 kilo bearing rope. It is scary but safety measures are always in place. It was an adventurous experience of nearly 4 minutes over a 12 feet rappel. My bag and me, both were drenched at the end. I was worried about my camera.. :-) But I had fortunately wrapped the camera in the plastic within the bag and my bag prevented a lot of water from sipping in. My camera and me, both were fine.
We spent the evening in the open jungle. This time around I had a proper sleeping bag and mat to sleep in the open night under the million star. I woke up a few times in the night. As I opened my eyes, I saw stars welcoming me. What a sight! The next day, we walked a few hours and later we were dropped by jeep to Asangaon.
I returned safe and felt great that my dream once again came true. Everytime I think of these experiences, I feel blessed and tell myself that this is bonus life that I am living. I never thought of doing these stuff. The only dream that I had when I was small was to see snow. Many of you know that I got much more than that. God has been good to me. Life has been cruelly exciting and beautiful.
I have learnt something. Problems will always be there. But there will always be something to be happy about. India is in good times where various sports are available now since last decade or so. TrekMates India are making India proud by making all these dreams possible. Thanks to the experienced leaders who are doing real excellent work.
We were led by experienced team of Nilesh Patil, Harsh Bharati, Rahul Barve and Jayesh. We were in all 22 people and it was a fun group. I especially loved Saajan Dhiver. He was so spontaneous with his comic timing that it reminded me of Kapil Sharma from Comedy Nights. Some of his dialogues in the midst of the junglee mountain were "Hi. Ab idar mile. Ab udhar mat milnaa .. (you met me here. now don't meet me there .. ) .. "Hum aaye hain. Swagat nahin karoge .. (I have come. Will you not welcome me?)".. He has a collection of songs, shayaris and jokes.. He would invariably call Koyel Ghosh, "Gabbar" and keep asking me "Hi James Bond. Where is your Bond girl?" I had a good laughthon since ages.
What I liked most about the trek was, it had elements of leadership, fun and adventure. When the task at hand gets difficult for the team, good leadership and endless fun makes all the difference between fear and success. Within 15 minutes of trek initiation, we came across a narrow passage between two cliffs filled with water as high as my chest. I was very worried about my camera and my bag was around 8 kilos. We were suppose to carry the bag above the head and walk through the water body. Nilesh Patil, the trek lead, realized that I would probably drop my bag in the water. So he immediately carried it for me till the depth of the water reduced until waist length. I was very touched by his gesture as I was literally down by the load. Nilesh keeps ensuring that no one suffers on the trek and fun is constantly on. That is what TrekMates India are good at.
The experience of carrying a heavy load on my head shook me a bit though. What happens in reality, is that the pressure of the heavy load hits right on the neck portion. The pressure that I felt on my neck made me feel a little dizzy and I remembered all the poor labourers who carry heavy weight on their head. Going forward, I can never see these labourers in any other way but with much greater emphathy and respect.
Though I managed saving my bag this time from getting wet, it would never be the case. We crossed multiple ponds, streams, boulders and rappelled at multiple locations. But it was the last short rappell that shook me. I was held with the help of a rope by Rahul Barve on top and had to trust that he will hold me tight and believe that the rope will never break. There was a big stream of water flowing during my rappell and I had to get through it, holding the rock crevices (if I find), with a heavy bag on my back. Can you imagine that.. a gush of water is flowing over you with a force, while you are trying to get down the big boulder with no idea where or how you should grip this boulder which is as huge as a tusker elephant. You can grip a stick, a rock but boulders are a little different. At one point, I almost slipped my grip and Rahul held me like a puppeteer holds a puppet. When my grip was loosening, I remembered death and I was yelling 'I am falling..I am falling..." . I wonder if anyone heard me amidst the pouring gushy water. But the leads had ensured that even though we lose our grip, they would hold us with the 1200 kilo bearing rope. It is scary but safety measures are always in place. It was an adventurous experience of nearly 4 minutes over a 12 feet rappel. My bag and me, both were drenched at the end. I was worried about my camera.. :-) But I had fortunately wrapped the camera in the plastic within the bag and my bag prevented a lot of water from sipping in. My camera and me, both were fine.
We spent the evening in the open jungle. This time around I had a proper sleeping bag and mat to sleep in the open night under the million star. I woke up a few times in the night. As I opened my eyes, I saw stars welcoming me. What a sight! The next day, we walked a few hours and later we were dropped by jeep to Asangaon.
I returned safe and felt great that my dream once again came true. Everytime I think of these experiences, I feel blessed and tell myself that this is bonus life that I am living. I never thought of doing these stuff. The only dream that I had when I was small was to see snow. Many of you know that I got much more than that. God has been good to me. Life has been cruelly exciting and beautiful.
I have learnt something. Problems will always be there. But there will always be something to be happy about. India is in good times where various sports are available now since last decade or so. TrekMates India are making India proud by making all these dreams possible. Thanks to the experienced leaders who are doing real excellent work.
