Everest Base Camp (intro)

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

Towards the top of the World.. Everest Base Camp (intro)

himalayan treks 🏔️ २ झालेत, बस झालेत.. सह्याद्रीतील मजा, सह्याद्रीतच.. तिथल्या बर्फापेक्षा ☃️ इथलं ऊन बरं 🌞..

that's an excerpt from the article on family trek to कळसूबाई, about 2 years ago, which may sound now contradictory 😬..

I always had this impression of 'EBC' being off limits 🫣, only for expert trekkers (having some qualified fitness 💪) and likewise kind of stuff.. but when I recently watched the 'uunchai' movie 🎥, the perception / anticipation changed in the direction of it definitely being not beyond reach 😃 and more fascinating than dramatic as depicted (in the motion picture) 🤞.. then, 2 of the pune agencies posted their April schedule in this very same region, and this was signal enough ℹ️.. the homework kicked-in (via YouTube) and the journey began 🎒..

and now, himalayan treks 🏔️ ३ झालेत, बस झालेत..

and I still believe.. तिथल्या बर्फापेक्षा ☃️ इथलं ऊन बरं 🌞..

and, to add to this, तिथल्या rice पेक्षा, इथली भाकरी बरी ☺️.. 

there is absolutely no going back 🚷..

I have moved on..

not to unnecessarily elongate the main article, this article will simply highlight / elaborate some of the surrounding terms.. so, let's start 🏁..

Himalaya 🏔️ - him-alaya - literally translating to "the abode 🏠 of snow ❄️".. home to world's tallest mountains, including all the 14 8-thousanders, this mountain range attracts the trekkers 🧗 ⛷️, the most.. probably, also the only place, where one can find people of various nationalities, at once ⏱️.. spanning across borders of 5 nations 🇵🇰 🇮🇳 🇳🇵 🇧🇹 🇨🇳, this range offers exquisite views of .. .. do I even need to mention? 🤔

Nepal 🇳🇵 - only country to have a non-quadrilateral flag.. as per one of the videos (non-verified fact), it hosts 8 of those 14 8-thousanders, has 127 peaks above 7000m levels and 1167 peaks above 6000m.. so, if at all we want to relate it, कळसूबाई (highest peak in the महाराष्ट्र state) is nothing more than उंबरठा 😐 for people who live / are born 🐣 here..

om mani padme hum
(outside Tengboche monastery)

om mani padme hum - the 6 syllable matra 🧘 with tibetan origins, actually has a meaning to your interpretation of a jewel 💎 and a lotus 🪷.. during the trek, one can find this scripted on numerous stones / rocks, popularly called as 'mani stones'.. it is a good practice to cross these stones / rocks from the left.. but, would that not mean, one will have to read these from right to left 🔙, when the text is actually written in the other direction? 🤨.. so, even if I did not find that logical enough 🥺, I simply followed the said practice, as told, same as many more rituals, we just do for the sake of it, in our motherland 😔..

this mantra is also observed to be printed on many rotating wheels ☸️, which are supposed to be rotated only clockwise ♻️ - this sounds logical 😊.. and every rotation (normally supplemented by a ringing bell 🔔) is believed to be equivalent of reciting the mantra, the number of times, it is printed in a single rotation, mostly once 🔂..

similar to these wheels and stones, one can also find quite a number of tibetan flags enroute.. blue 🔵, white ⚪, red 🔴, green 🟢, yellow 🟡 - finally, I could remember the fixed sequence.. the colors representing the पंच महाभूत - sky, air, fire, water and earth - also believed to be the prime constituents of our body 👽..

tibetan flags (Lukla)

variant with a mani stone

Everest - the tallest amongst the giants 🦕.. standing at 8848m, recently, re-measured / re-calibrated 📏 to be 8848.86m, this peak is shared by the countries Nepal and China, same as few other peaks which lie on the international borders 🌏.. named so in 1865 after a British surveyor, this peak is also known as Chomolungma, Sagarmatha or Peak XV.. in May 1953, it was conquered first time by a New Zealand 🇳🇿 citizen, supported by a sherpa.. the duo are known as Tenzing-Hillary, after whom the Lukla airport 🛫 is also named after, which we'll visit in next article, also popular as one of the world's most dangerous 👻 airports..

movies 📽️ - while surfing one of the videos, (vlogger) at Thukla pass, I heard about Scott Fischer and a movie, based on true events from 1996, named 'Everest' (released in 2015).. needless to mention, the urge cooled down only after I watched it 🤳.. it's a must watch by the way, to very much understand the importance of turnaround time ⌛, and not be over-confident about any feat, you may have / not already achieved before ☠️..

more or less, at the same time, another movie was OTT released, christened 'fall'.. as the poster itself is enticingly intriguing, one cannot just keep it on-the-shelf 🙈 for long..

EBC trek (from South) - this comes in 2 variants.. one is probably the easier one, which we followed.. the other one is popularly known as '3 passes trek', that takes one through the slightly challenging 💪 🧘 route via Renjo La pass, Cho La pass and Kongma La pass, including Gokyo region and various lakes 🏝️.. both the routes start from and end at Lukla, with a summit 🚩 at 'Everest Base Camp', with an option to also summit 'Kala Patthar', from where one can experience the golden variant of Mt. Everest 🌄 (sunrise special).. at EBC, the trek ends at the famous hook-shaped 🪝 grey-colored rock, till a few metres before the actual base camp, where the probable summiteers hope 🤞, pray 🙏, stay 😴, wait ⏲️ and acclimatize 🌬️..

our entire schedule was of 15 days, ex-Kathmandu, which basically comprised of 12 days of walking ~130 kms 🚶‍♂️.. 2 of these were acclimatization days (keep reading to know more about 'acclimatization', if you don't know already).. additional 2 days of rest days 🛌 in Kathmandu (before and after the trek, one each) and a buffer day, in case a change in schedule was inevitable, had the weather ☃️ not complied.. did the weather behave / misbehave?, was the complete itinerary religiously followed? by each one of us?, we'll learn in the next article..

THE suspension bridge

suspension bridges 🌉 - one of the major attractions of the trek are also the suspension bridges, which immensely help you cross the rivers 🏞️ enroute in quick time, saving you fortunes in many ways.. if my counting and memory 🧠, both are correct, there were 8 of them.. first was across a valley, partially caused due to landslide.. next 6 were across the river 'Dudh Koshi'.. and, the last one was at the highest elevation, over its tributary river 'Imja Khola'.. most of these, may be all of them are not more than 20 years old.. these are constructed from metal plates, 2-3 running abreast, depending on their individual widths and are connected to each other by metal strings 🔩.. each plate is about 4 feet long and around 80 (x 2-3) plates tied together, complete the bridge.. implying the bridges are about 100 metres in length.. truly amazing 🤩 !! is it not?.. 

tea houses, food and temperatures - the stay on all the scheduled days was in tea houses 🏫, of course in different villages.. it's very fascinating 🫡 to observe, how these people have built these tea houses in this region, when the modes of transport are only limited to humans, animals and helicopters 🚁.. there is absolutely zero road transport (cars, bikes, buses etc. ❌)..

check this amazing establishment (Namche)

the tea houses do not offer any heaters 🌡️ though (except the common area) and one needs to survive through the negative temperatures at night 🌃, only via blankets, comforters or sleeping bags.. may god bless 🙏 the ones, who spend it all inside the tents ⛺, in an outside open area.. 

eating options are obviously limited, and majorly comprise of rice 🍚, bread 🍞, eggs 🥚, pasta 🍝 and pizzas 🍕.. they even call it here, 'दाल-भात power, 24 hour'.. but, you cannot disagree - that's all junk, except eggs, which we did not resist at all - on every single day.. when we discourage eating white (sugar, rice, bread, मैदा etc.) in our area, we don't have a choice here 😰.. (unfortunately) must have definitely consumed these, more than what would have done since the first lockdown 😭, i.e., in last 3 years.. drinking min. 3 litres of warm water is highly recommended to avoid any potential issues caused due to AMS 🤕.. that reminds me,

AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness - one can suffer AMS at higher elevation levels due to lack of oxygen in the atmosphere 🌀, which is generally termed as 'thin air'.. to prevent AMS, or to get used to these levels without much discomfort, one has to be slow while going up.. a few times, also needs to spend more than a day, at the same location 💤, termed as 'acclimatization'..

acclimatization day at Dingboche
(Ama Dablam in the background)

apps - here again, while surfing one of the YT videos, learned about 'PeakFinder' ⛰️ app.. the first app, I ever paid 💰 for one time subscription, after getting some second / third / fourth opinions.. and mark my words, 'totally worth it' 👏.. meantime, वैभव also sent an insta link with a few more app recommendations, but opted to leave them out for a latter point in time.. if interested, this is the link..

first view of Mt. Everest, credits: PeakFinder

currency 🪙 - almost everywhere, Indian Rupees ₹ are accepted (mostly of or below denominations of 100 💵), did not enquire about other currencies though.. the conversion rate 💱 is flat 1.6.. 100 INR is equivalent to 160 NPR..

agencies - not to blame / praise any specific names, it will just be 'pune agency' and 'nepal agency' throughout the next article 📑.. while 'pune agency' did nothing more than tying-up, the 'nepal agency' actually took care 👍 of every possibility and every small / big thing needed for the successful execution of the trek, especially leads / guides 🤠..

leads - in any activity, we need to have some experts who can guide us safely and confidently through the entire process.. in some cases, even we are offered these leading roles.. theoretically, there was one person joining us from पुणे as a representative of 'pune agency'.. practically, we were only 3 participants on the trek.. everything related to 'why I said / wrote / typed so?', is upto your free and wild imagination 🤷..

दाइ vs भाइ - in नेपाली (language), big brother and small brother are respectively called as दाइ (dai) and भाइ (bhai) 👬.. so, our leads (from 'nepal agency') will be referred as दाइ in the next article 🤛, just in case, you find it inconsistent with the previous articles, you may have read so far.. and this also reminds me, नेपाली is another language, similar to हिंदी and मराठी, which is written in देवनागरी script 🕉️.. if not exactly the same, at least very-very close 🤏..

with all of that, ending this article and starting the next one (on actual EBC experience) with a one-liner from the movie 'Everest'.. 

The last word Always belongs to the mountain.. true that.. 🙇

..see you on the other side

माकड नाळ

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

म्हणजे आम्ही माकडं?.. माकड नाळ.. नादच खुळा

ह्या articleची सुरुवात आपण ह्या आधीच्या १-२ articles मध्ये नमूद केलेल्या काही ओळींनी (excerpts) करणार आहोत..

सर्वात महत्त्वाचे आणि अगळे-वेगळे "इंद्रवज्र" अजून due आहे.. पुन्हा येणार !

"भटक्यांची पंढरी" ओळख असलेल्या हरिश्चंद्रगडावर लिहिलेल्या article मधली ही शेवटची ओळ (read complete article here).. आम्ही काही दिवसांपूर्वी जे Marvel Comics वाल्या original Iron Manच्या Statue of Unityच्या छाती पर्यंत जाऊन आलो, साधारण तसंच ह्यावेळेस गडाच्या माथ्यापर्यंत न जाता, माकड नाळ 🐒, आडराई 🌳 आणि (अर्धा) राजमार्ग 🛣️ अश्या combinationच्या ह्या trekला हरिश्चंद्रगडाचं नाव देणं योग्य नाही वाटलं 🤷‍♂️..

रही बात "इंद्रवज्र" की.. 'काय प्रकार आहे?', तुम्ही जर हा विचार करत असाल, तर थोडक्यात सांगायचं झालं तर, "इंद्रधनुष्य" 🌈 म्हणजे science आणि "इंद्रवज्र" म्हणजे magic 🪄.. ह्याला (शक्यतो) लागतो पावसाळा 🌦️, आणि अर्थातच, सध्या पावसाळा नसल्याने ह्याचाही लांब-लांब पर्यंत काही संबंध नव्हता.. तरी, भर उन्हाळ्यात 🌞 (म्हणून, वर 'शक्यतो' म्हटलंय) जंगली जयगडला जो हा जादू बघायला 🥳 भेटला, त्याबद्दल थोडक्यात माहिती इथे वाचा..

सगळीकडेच science शोधायचं नसतं.. काही ज्या गोष्टींबद्दल आपण गाफील राहिलेलंच बरं 🙈, त्यातली ही एक - इंद्रवज्र.. आणि, एकदा book करून cancel 🚫 झालेला पाचनाई मार्गे साधा सोपा हरिश्चंद्रगड trek अजून बाकी आहे.. पुन्हा येणार!

postpone झाल्यामुळे माकडनाळ साठी थोडी वाट ⌚ बघावी लागेल, मला लिहायला आणि तुम्हाला वाचायला..

ही ओळ आहे, लता मंगेशकर 🎙️ दिवंगत झाल्याच्या दिवशीच्या लेण्याद्री-हटकेश्वर trekवर लिहिल्या "the drone material" article मधली.. detailed article here..

आणि ह्या वाक्याचा sequel म्हणून, वर्षभर वाट बघायचा कार्यक्रम संपवत, श्रीगणेशा करूया / होत आहे ह्या articleचा 🏁..

सीतेचं डोंगर, शेंडी सुळका

SG Trekkers सोबतचा हा पहिलाच technical trek 🧗‍♂️.. अंदाजे (imperial) ७०-८० फूट किंवा (metric) २०-२५ मीटर patch साठी दोर 🪢 लागेल, असा हा "surprise trek".. surpise कसा / का? तर, "something" they have recently introduced - as a substitute to "TTMM" 😏..

दुपारपर्यंत सावली ⛱️, नळीच्या वाटेहून किंचितसा छोटा आणि steep, शेंडी सुळक्याला summit - ह्याच्या अजून काही ओळखी..

११ मार्च २०२३

schedule अगोदर जसा क्वचितच project deliver होतो, असाच आजच्या travellingचा प्रसंग म्हणजे driver काकांनी आम्हाला ३:३० 🕞 वाजताच base village वाल्हीवळे गावात पोहचवलं.. नाश्त्याची सोय / वेळ होईपर्यंत तोडकी-मोडकी झोप 🥱 पूर्ण करत, वेळ होती आजूबाजूला दिसणाऱ्या गडांची नावं ओळखण्याची / ठेवण्याची.. तारामतीचा guess बरोबर नसावा 🤔, हे लगेच रामदासने (guide) confirm केलं ✅.. त्यात कोकणकड्या वरचा अंधाराचा पडदा जो हळू-हळू बाजूला सरकत त्याची ओळख पटवून देत होता - क्या कहना !! 😍 always a treat to watch..

कोकणकडा 😍

ह्या वाटेचा सुरुवातीचा काही भाग, नळीची वाट आणि ह्यातला common part.. साहजिकच, ४ वर्षांगोदरच्या (जानेवारी २०१९) आठवणी जाग्या झाल्या 🙃.. थोडं पुढे घराबाहेर एका आजीने गोळा केलेले काही फुलं दिसले.. दारू 🍷 बनवतात, असं कळलं, मोहाची फुलं.. अजून पुढे गेल्यावर एक काका हेच वेचत असतांनाही दिसले.. बरीच काही (typical) process सांगीतली (०७:०० 🕖) दारू बनवण्याची, पण ह्या article साठी नाही..

मार्च असल्यामुळे पाण्याचा एक थेंब नाही वाटेत.. म्हणजे, १. आम्ही आज सह्याद्रीची चव मुकणार होतो 😞, आणि २. गेल्या वर्षीची घोडेपण्याची नाळ बरी होती ☺️.. सांगितल्याप्रमाणे सगळ्यांनी कमीत-कमी ४ लिटर पाणी आणले होतेच, त्यात अजून काहींच्या ओझ्यात विशालने भर घातली कलिंगडाची 🍉.. total ४ - चिरलेले नव्हे, अख्खे - नादच खुळा 😋..

नेहमीप्रमाणे एक loyal soul, म्हणजे भू-भू 🐕, आमच्या सोबत.. नाळ म्हणजे रस्त्यात छोटे-मोठे boulders (धोंडे) असणारच, आणि वर छोटासा का होईना technical patch आहे म्हणून, हा प्रामाणिकपणा जास्त वेळ टिकणार नाही, हे स्पष्ट होतं 😐.. माकड नाळेच्या वाटेला right turn ➡️ घेतला, नळीची वाट डावीकडे ठेवून आणि सगळे क्षणभर विसावलो (०७:३० 🕢)..

कोकणकडा again, and the loyal soul, credits: वैभव

आमच्या just पुढे १० जणांचा मुंबईचा एक group गेला आहे, हे पोहे खातांनाच आम्हाला कळलं होतं.. technical patch चढायला त्यांना साधारण तासभर तरी लागेल, ह्या हिशोबाने आमचा speed, जरा कमीच होता.. (आधी सांगितल्याप्रमाणे) वाटेत सावली असल्यामुळे थकवा relatively कमी जाणवत होता 😌.. नाहीतर, पाठीमागे (पाठीच्या मागे) नळीची वाट चाढणाऱ्यांची जी फजिती झाली असेल, त्यांना आम्ही फक्त sympathyच देऊ शकत होतो..

(center) नळीची वाट

आधीच्या (मुंबईच्या) groupची climbing सुरू होत नाही तर आम्ही त्यांच्या सोबतीला होतो (०९:०० 🕘).. आराम आणि पेटपुजा करायला भरपूर वेळ भेटल्याची संधी साधत, पराठे, cup cake 🧁, काकडी 🥒, संत्रे 🍊 etc. etc. सोबत, नादच खुळा 😋 "कलिंगड" बाहेर काढण्यात आले.. bagचं 🎒 वजन पोटात transfer करत आम्ही वाट बघत होतो, 'अपना time आयेगा' ची..

समोर दिसणाऱ्या नळीची वाटेचं रौद्र रूप बघत काही doubts तरी भेट देऊन गेलेच.. आपण चढलो तेव्हा सुद्धा इतकीच steep होती का?.. इथून बघून तरी वाटतंय की चढायला नाही जमणार 🧐.. आणि ह्या doubtsना सोबत होती एका proud feelingची 👻.. आता, आज काय चढतोय, हे एका frame मध्ये बसवायला परत नळीची वाट trek करावा लागेल कधीतरी, कारण back in the time 🕰️, आजचा trek technical असल्यामुळे 'इथेही येऊ', हा विचार मुळीच केला नव्हता 😒 / इतक्या आपुलकीने न्याहाळलाही नव्हता..

माकड नाळ 🐵 - नाळ म्हणजे पाण्याची वाट, हे आपण जाणतोच.. "माकड" - हे नाव ठेवायचं कारण, सगळेच आप-आपल्या परीने guess करत होतो.. त्यात, माकडं भरपूर असतील, किंवा माकडांनी ये-जा करायची वाट असेल, हे guess साफ चुकीचे ठरले 😬.. तर, कोणी म्हणे माकडासारखे 🙉 आपण चार पायांनी चढतोय म्हणून म्हणत असतील.. boulders किंवा / आणि rockpatch 🧗 असल्यावर ह्याला पर्याय नसतो.. पण मग, by this logic, सर्वच नाळींना 'माकड नाळ' 🙊 म्हंटलं पाहिजे, हो की नाही?.. असो..

the safe climbing, credits: वैभव

प्रत्येक trekला भेटतंच कोणीतरी, तसेच आजच्या trekला ही होते काही धुरंधर, ज्यांना 'माकड आपले पूर्वज आहेत' असं वाटत होतं / अजूनही वाटत असेलच 🤦.. not my problem, पण ह्यांनी स्वतःवर कृपा करून Darwin's Theory पुन्हा एकदा वाचायला हवी.. किंवा 'Sapiens' पुस्तकाची 📖 काही पाने नक्कीच चाळायला हवी.. म्हणजे, गोष्टी गृहीत धरून अज्ञान पसरवण्यापेक्षा सुजाण होऊन गप बसलेलं 🤐 कधीही बरं.. again, असो..

trek चालू करायच्या आधीपासूनच जी रुखरुख होती 'शेजारी 👉 रोहिदासला पण जाऊन येऊ' ची, सर्वात आधी (११:०० 🕚) चढून गेल्यावर ती सुद्धा पूर्ण करायचा (फक्त) प्रयत्न करण्यात आला.. 'खूप वेळ लागेल', लक्षात घेत / येत 😓 थोड्यातूनच माघारी येत प्रयत्न वायफळ होत, वेळ झाली होती आजच्या trekच्या summitची 😎.. ज्यांच्या लक्षात नसेल आलं, त्यांच्यासाठी - summit म्हणजे trek मधला उच्चांक, जिथून एक तर आपण परत येतो किंवा पास 🏔️ करत दुसऱ्या बाजूला उतरतो.. हा नेहमीच top of the mountain ⛰️ असायला पाहिजे, हे जरुरी नसतं.. पण मग, by this logic, 'plus valley सारख्या trek मध्ये summit कशाला म्हणावं?', हा doubt 🤨 यायलाच हवा, की नाही?.. ह्याचा एक अर्थ असाही होतो का, की प्रत्येक trekला summit असेलच, असं नाही?..

नळीची वाट चढतांना एक सुळका जो करंगळीच्या नखापेक्षा 🤏 छोटा दिसतो, त्याची actual size इथे जवळून बघत / अनुभवत निसर्गाची किमया लक्षात येते 😯 - शेंडी सुळका.. leaning tower of Pisa 🇮🇹 सारखा ह्याचा सुद्धा एका sideला कल.. "आत्ता पडेल असं वाटतं", हे बऱ्याच लोकांचे उद्गार 😌.. सोबत सीतेचा डोंगर, नळीची वाट आणि मागच्या बाजूस भोजगिरी, सिंदोळा, निमगिरी-हनुमंतगड, वेताळ, तेली सुळके, उधळ्या, घोण्या सोबत हटकेश्वर आणि रोहिदास असल्यावर photosession 📸 संपता संपत नव्हतं.. बरं, confusion नको म्हणून, 'रोहिदास' म्हणजे हरिश्चंद्रगड शेजारचा गड / शिखर आणि 'रामदास' म्हणजे आजचा guide..

शेंडी सुळका again - the summit, credits: वैभव

सर्व आल्यावर अजून एकदा डबे आणि plasticचे पुडे काढण्यात आणि उघडण्यात / फोडण्यात आले.. trek करायचा चिमुटभर 🤌 आणि खायचं मूठभर ✊, म्हणजे, ह्या बाबतीत ताळमेळ नसलेला अजून एक trek आता उत्तरार्धात शिरत होता.. निघतांना (०१:३० 🕜) ५-५ चे २ group झाले.. रामदास (guide) सोबत आम्ही traverseवर धावत सुटलो 🏃‍♂️.. आडराई अजून लांब होतं आणि ऊन 🔆 आता बोचत होतं.. ह्यात रोहिदास (गड / शिखर), त्याच्या शेजारचा नाव माहीत नसलेला सुळका, नेढं 🪡, ह्या सर्वांचे क्षणा-क्षणाला बदलणारे रूप was new / next attraction..

(center top) नेढं

तासाभराने आडराई लागलं आणि भेटले मुंबईकर.. त्यांना आणि उरभर सावली बघत आम्हीही अजून एकदा bags टाकल्या आणि लोळलो 😌.. थोडा दम खाऊन झाल्यावर निघत जेव्हा descendला, म्हणजे जुन्नर दरवाजाहून येणाऱ्या राजमार्गला (highway kind-off) लागलो, तेव्हा परत शेवटचे टेकलो (०३:३० 🕞) 🧘‍♂️.. निघत नाही तर वैभवला चष्मा 👓 राहिल्याचा भास 😜 झाला.. गेला माघारी आणि आला परत, त्याच पावलांनी 😃..

सगळं उतरून झाल्यावर जेव्हा रामदासने दूरवर खिरेश्वरचं मंदिर दाखवलं, सर्वांनी तिथूनच नमस्कार 🙏 करत आप-आपल्या smartphone 📱 मध्ये सकाळपासून चालू असलेले recording बंद केले (०४:०० 🕓).. उर्वरीत ५ आल्यावर वेळ होती डुंबण्याची 🏊‍♂️, स्थळ: पिंपळगाव जोगा धरण 🏝️..

कारकाई and its reflection in पिंपळगाव जोगा धरण

सिंहगड - राजगड - तोरणा २०२३

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

a trek to remember, a trek to forget.. सिंहगड - राजगड - तोरणा

while last year's article was with a question mark, this time it was indeed "a double hat-trick".. a 4th activity in the same area, having an annual frequency, starting from 2020.. what we call in मराठी as - वर्ष ४थे..

सिंहगड streak 🏏 - all of the following numbers are from India 🇮🇳 of course.. while it was highest individual Test score (#319) for 2021 and highest partnership 👥 in Tests (#413) for 2022, plan for this year was to augment this article with longest individual innings in Tests, by number of deliveries faced (#525).. but the resolution set for the last year was asking for more, and so, as we grew older 👴 by a calendar year, the streak hoped on to another figure, #538.. the number may not be as significant as earlier 3 you just read about, but the individual behind has served Indian cricket, unequivocally, better than any other, to become the first captain ever in the world to have won 🍾 all the ICC trophies 🏆.. ladies and gentlemen, he is none other than "Mahendra Singh Dhoni", who played #538 international matches (Tests + ODIs + T20Is), the second most for India.. under his captaincy, India flourished in all formats - topping 🥇 the Test rankings for 18 months starting December 2009, seized the ODI World Cup in 2011, World T20I in 2007 and a Champions Trophy in 2013.. with that preamble, let's now voyage through SRT..

as a contingency, the plan this time was to start fairly early and not end-up doing the तोरणा ascend any time after sunrise 🌄 or before sunset.. did that happen 🤨 as planned?.. you guessed it right.. so, ​next time I am doing SRT, there will be some sort of questionnaire ❓ for the potential candidates, only to gracefully filter out the inconvenience they "always" (with no exceptions whatsoever) cause to other participants 😞.. I mean, were the metric units to measure length, not taught in everybody's school 🚸?..

11 Feb 2023

we 8 started to ascend the first of 3 forts at 5:30 p.m. 🕠.. I was pathetically slow 😩 and could only manage the last position in reaching the first (of 3) पुणे दरवाजा.. or was I the second last? cannot recollect exactly, but that does not take away the 'pathetic' tag.. in case you missed it, we were 8.. yes, the highest count 📈 since inception in 2020.. and now you are also speculating - same as all the previous instances, obviously not everyone must have completed it.. let's uncover that too, as you read through..

when we crossed over to reach कल्याण दरवाजा, it was time to mocktail 🍹 a hydration drink, undoubtedly realizing the need / ask of 'time'.. I was in no position (yet) to lead today, so the front-runners actually started to descend towards कल्याण पेठ 🤦, as if the SRT in itself is not more-than-enough.. after having all back-on-track, we started migration from this fort, in unison.. 

nothing unusual happened thereafter, at least till विंझर, to mention in details here, other than my sluggish gait 😦.. spotting an open-but-empty shop, occupied by some PMPML 🚍 serving individuals, who were having their dinner, we too sought permission and joined them for the same cause 🍱.. around 11:10 p.m., it was time to navigate not through the tar road, but through the last year's recording.. first time, with me leading the way..

12 Feb 2023

as if had got disturbed by the barking dogs 🐕, somewhere near the फणशी village, an oldie marched out of his sweet home to suggest / warn us 'इतक्या रात्री 🌌 नाही यायचं'.. acknowledging him half-heartedly, we were back to our business.. सुनो सबकी, करो मन की..

as we converged with one of the usual trekking routes to राजगड, from base village गुंजवणे, we opted for our next strategic time-out ⏱️.. setting and super conveniently hitting a leveraged target of 03:00 a.m. 🕒, the last candidate (not me) (as if) conquered the चोर दरवाजा (as if) in despair.. it took me 5 minutes on top of an hour to achieve this feat, compared to last year's 47m, specified in its article as 'I am proud of myself'..

after super leverage, it was time for the super disappointment ☹️ - unreachable levels of potable water in the cistern near पद्मावती temple 🛕.. we had no choice but to resume the journey with (on an average) just half a liter with each one of us, till we reach / manage to reach the next water source, कचरे काका..

always quoted in my articles as 'engineering marvel', संजीवनी माची was another locale where the front-runners flunked, yet again 🤦 🤦.. yesterday was an undesired detour toward कल्याण पेठ, today was भुतोंडे village.. once again, forcing everybody to retreat back to the trail, discussions started if we should now divide in 2 groups, as परमेश्वर was supposed to board a train at 03:30 p.m. 🕞, the very same day.. clock was now ticking 04:15 a.m. and projections did not appear that encouraging, given the physical state of all the participants, if we were to march and end 🏁 this together.. he suggested to observe for some more time..

the descend and ascend, pre and post the col was debilitating 🥴 enough for प्रशांत to stamp on the idea of division.. everybody else, other than me and him accelerated, rather, did not slow down or wait for others, thereafter.. when we reached the next col (भुतोंडे खिंड), we were further accompanied by सुजन, now technically qualifying ourselves as a 'group' - ever heard of a group (on social media) having just 2?..

anybody would have and so did I, distinctly reckoned him nowhere near the minimum of the required strengths to complete the remaining stretch.. to-and-fro discussion and possible ideas of suggesting प्रशांत to quit the trek were overshadowed by the fact of having relatively flat terrain hereon, at least till the most anticipated and long awaited next water source, कचरे काका.. and it was only this flat terrain, that facilitated in assembling all 8 of us again, where / when we refilled all the bottles 🍶 we had..

गडांचा राजा, राजगड

thanking (and rewarding) the oldie for his hospitality ☕, at 6:30 a.m. 🕡, 7 of us were on the run for परमेश्वर's target.. प्रशांत opted to rest for a while before absconding restarting (fresh).. 7:40, we were at the base of बुधला माची., 07:55 a.m. on the top, all 7 💪.. hiking pretentiously now towards the right ➡️, we reached कोकण दरवाजा, only to learn about some renovation happening at the बिनी दरवाजा 😒 - completely thrashing our descending plans from तोरणा.. I was now starting to feel guilty of being confident about the return time, while talking to परमेश्वर, a couple of weeks ago..

वैभव and I then spared a thought and acted towards the reality check.. only after affirming our misery, one of the workers told us about some getaway near झुंजार माची.. delighted, but only for a moment, and to waste some more time ⌛, I decided to give it a try.. realizing, we have (almost) ran out of luck, we were back to कोकण दरवाजा, where प्रशांत joined us back.. in all of this, we had lost close to 2 hours, denoting 10:00 a.m. 🕙, and he (परमेश्वर) was carving already a 'Plan B'..

about time to start descend towards our new final destination (of the trek), मेट पिलावरे, the old lady 👵 informed us about possible help we can get from her son, responsible for collecting parking changes at the base.. upon our arrival, he arranged it quite effectively and helped us reach कात्रज at 02:00 p.m. 🕑, potentially giving परमेश्वर a fighting chance, duly respecting all the unavoidable matters he ought to have to deal with, in those remaining 1.5 hours.. sometimes, even 'Plan B' needs to be dropped, so that you can go back to 'Plan A' 😊..

a trek to forget

- my सिंहगड ascend was 01:22 hrs 😭.. longest since the very disappointing 01:26 hrs, immediately after the first lockdown 🔒 was slightly relaxed..

- तोरणा via मेट पिलावरे.. there is no way 🙅‍♂️, I am going that way again, unless.. no, there is no stipulation to this..

a trek to remember

- unlike earlier 3 instances, nobody dropped-o​​ut.. after all the interim ups and downs, 40+ kms, 2100+ m elevation gain and ~18 hours, all 8, राहुल, चिंतन and अनुप along with 5 others you already know, started and ended it on high and returned to पुणे in the same vehicle 👏.. all is well, that .. ..