घाटघर ते डोनी?, सिंहगड #४७५ @ ७५

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

सीधी बात, no बकवास.. घाटघर ते डोनी?

disclaimer: this article is going to be harsh / filled with criticism and I am sure, you have many better things at hand.. so, if you do not wish to continue further, can close the tab right away.. 

now that you have decided to continue, further disclaimer: I will not be mentioning any names, but feel free to take it personal, if you can relate yourself to any of the statements.. if you want to give it back, feel free to do so in the comments section below..

ever since, I have taken up "trekking" as a hobby / passion / kick (name it, whatever you like), I have had many bitter experiences.. some for good (yes, bitter, but for good - there is such a thing, please don't ask 'म्हणजे काय?'), some for bad, some legitimate (understandable) and some really frustrating.. I mean, even after finishing the trekking part by 5:15 p.m. at दुर्गादेवी कोकणकडा (GMaps location), can you think of any possible reason, to reach पुणे, only after 6.5 hours? if we observe the sequence of events as we progress in the article, you may find it reasonable, but !?..

just a couple of days before the schedule, I received a message about a TTMM trek being organized.. realizing it to be some of the first part of NaBhi (नाणेघाट ते भीमाशंकर), I joined for घाटघर to डोनी..

14 August 2022, आज़ादी का अमृत महोत्सव 🇵🇰

midway, even before reaching the starting point, the end point of the trek schedule was changed.. where does this thought come from? who does that?.. if you think / judge it, "to end early is in our interests", to save some driving kms, for economical reasons, you should think about it before planning, and not during execution.. the schedule said घाटघर to डोनी, but we started the trek from घाटघर जळवंडी to end at डोनी दुर्गवाडी / दुर्गादेवी temple..

for 1-2 hrs of nap and breakfast, we went to नाणेघाट, farther than the starting point.. do you not find this weird?.. there can be genuine reasons to deny the possibilities of arrangements at the starting point, but then, would you not prefer to stop before, rather than after?

we slept like hell.. nobody gave a fuck regarding the schedule.. yes, I can type all these four letters, instead of 'f' followed by asterisks.. it is obvious when the area is full of fog, one can lose track of time ⌛, but everybody does have a smartphone 📱 at least, that flashes a clock in its digital form (unless you change the setting to analog) as the first thing when it's awakened.. and that also has a provision to set / snooze alarms, before one sleeps.. if you are in a group / team, it's your moral responsibility to respect others' time..

btw, in some other context, 'alarm ⏰ वाजलाच नाही' - how lame an excuse is that?.. smartphone is just a machine, which will do anything it is capable of doing, the way it is instructed to.. if the alarm does not go off, it's either the battery 🔋 / volume 🔉 problem, or your घोडे बेचकर सोने वाली sleep 😴 का problem.. can, never, ever, be, anything else.. "alarm नाही वाजला" म्हणे? c'mon, give me yourself a break..

enjoying a reverse waterfall for a while, we started towards the फागूल गव्हाण col.. while ascending, we had to cross many small-small streams.. in one of the very first ones, I tried to small jump on a rock and slipped to injure left leg (shank region), also with an immediate swelling.. 'should I go back?' was an instant अंदर से reaction.. then sparing a moment and another thought, decided to let's wait and watch for some time / distance, for sufficient evidences to confirm the doubt.. fortunately, it didn't bleed much and swelling also went off after some (more) time..

having reached top of the col, we waited for more than 20 minutes, for everybody to reach, so that we can continue further, all together.. I would request you to please learn to use any Maps based application in terrain mode, to understand the involved steepness as well as elevation gain needed to complete the planned activity.. it will help you to assess the needed endurance against your stamina.. समझने वाले समझ गये हैं, जो ना समझे, they must have already closed the tab..

you remember बबन कासळे and बसंती? the answer is most likely, "of course, not".. they are mentioned in this article, as guide and companion for our previous outing in this very region at रिठ्याचे दार and घोडेपाण्याची नाळ.. after reaching आंबोली on the other side of the col, we went to visit him for a tea break.. enquiring about बसंती 🐕, we learnt, she was devoured by a wild animal..

resuming rest of the journey, we were now to ascend the ढाकोबा mountain, which is famous for its waterfall वाला crowd.. midway, there's a rock-patch, which was hard to compromise, given the weather in last few weeks 🌧️ ⛈️.. 3 of us tried and after a lot of diffidence 🥺, finally managed it, but also sent others to try a different route, also suggested by a localite.. enjoying the top of a waterfall, we went ahead to the mountain top, to replay the same rock story, this time a bit milder..

lunch break was at ढाकोबा temple, which was then followed by more or less a plain walk to दुर्ग.. at neither of these tops, we had any views of the कोकण side or neighbouring ranges, courtesy: fog ☁️.. same as that of first visit to हरिश्चंद्रगड, let's see if I'll revisit here too (time will tell).. because, the views are mesmerizing indeed, as observed in a YouTube video 🎥 of one of the participants, whose today was a second time outing here..

defying gravity

after ending the activity at दुर्गादेवी temple, we went to लेण्याद्री for dinner.. am I kidding? no, not at all.. may be people forgot, we actually need to go (in other direction) to पुणे so that we can sleep at our everyday paradise 🏡, where we reached at 11:45 p.m.. before the journey ended, 1 of the 3 participants (who had confirmed, of today's total 18) was still firm to join me next day on my 475th hike to सिंहगड fort as India completes 75 years of independence.. the other 2 had already backed-out..

this is my happy place.. सिंहगड #४७५ @ ७५

I completely understand this one.. the milestones will never be as important to you, as they are to me.. but, when you accept to join for them, it's not fine at all to not show up, for whatever reasons, including genuine ones.. if you cannot make it, you must tell it upfront.. as simple as that.. and then, the same applies to the treks which I / we plan.. because, I am / we are not professional / registered organizations, whom you pay first, and then, not showing-up is even better..

if I am any good with my memory 🧠, I had participated in a hiking event on the Republic Day 🇮🇳 last year (2021) from भुतोंडे खिंड to highest fort in पुणे district, तोरणा.. as the night gave up to rising sun, I read that more-than-suitable quote on one of the participant's T-shirt 👚, "this is my happy place", who was also part of the organizing team.. ever since then, I've been asking the organizer to order some more of that.. and every time he politely replied, "those were special edition, not to be produced again".. 

15 August 2022, आज़ादी का अमृत महोत्सव 🇮🇳

along with 3 from yesterday, in total, 5 had confirmed their presence for today's event.. we already read above about 2 of them not joining.. of the remaining 3, it was actually my misunderstanding with one of them, that he missed to ride along.. really sorry for that.. but he still joined to keep his word 🙏.. the other 2 emperors never showed up.. smell the sarcasm? you must.. only emperors have the undue liberty to take others for granted..

first surprise 🥳 of the day was, somebody else (other than those 5) called at 5:50 a.m., "we have crossed डोणजे".. ok, first thought was - usage of 'we' implied that he is bringing somebody along 🍩.. second one was - every time, he gives surprises.. May God Bless Him 🙏..

second surprise of the day was this 👇 "this is my happy place" gift.. buddy, thank you very very much for this 🫂 .. you made my day 😇..

regarding सिंहगड streak, somebody had once asked, "what is the ultimate target?".. and to that, another one had replied, "there is only a next milestone".. cannot agree more, thank you bro 🤝 for covering up for that..

to end it all, as said, I won't utter a name.. but you know very well, if and which statements you must take personally..