Crazy discotech people planned this crazy trip.. All our out-plans usually turn out to be super loaded with fun and unexpected twists, how could we spare this one.. The fun started in the bus journey itself (from hyderabad to shirdi) where we disturbed each fellow traveler with our innovative songs and movie dubbings.. it continued in each second spent during the 2 day trip.. This picturesque blog narrates the full story..
Expected difficulty of this trek was low due to limited details, but we were all heading towards a surprize.. It was a hell of an adventure exceeding all pre-medits.. even more adventurous as there were delays of 3hrs (not due to girls this time :) ) as the bus from hyd was late + other time wasted by slow service of this dhabba below (on way from shirdi to samrad village).. that delay turned out to be drastic as the most difficult part of the trek was done in complete darkness.. follow the tale below..
The gang:
Gagan (me), Om Prakash (OP), Giridhar, Sakshi, Khushboo, Prashant, Dhara, Vipul, Anshika, Ankita, Jaee, Harshit, Sudeep, Sahil, Ravi, Poojitha, Rupesh, Pradyman (PD), Ishan, Sunil
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day started with marathi breakfast.. vada pav and poha..
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and some fun..
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The super gang of 'not so amateur' trekkers
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On the way to SAMRAD. The bhandardara reservoir
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the trek started simple from samrad village
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through the grasslands
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it became technical
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and more technical
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then the dip, first water pool
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getting ready
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bags on head, and tackle waist high water
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the mesmerizer.. the narrow gorge towards the valley..
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A unique terrain to tackle
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Water pool no. 2.. this time shallow and short..
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what the Route!
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what a location for hide n seek :)
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View of the valley
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Then the big drops started.. big drop descends..
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another view
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enjoying the wind from the valley
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dead end.. All waiting for their turns to rapple down 50ft
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| rappels.. multiple shots.. |
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halfway thru.. learned a lot from my first rappel.. new skill added for next ambitions..
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The rappel took a toll of time. Last 3 happened in dark. The route that followed was tougher as well with bigger drops and no alternate paths. two more rope supported drops and a deep water pool before the destination. All that done in pitch darkness of the valley, with torches. Meanwhile the sky above was immensely clear and dense, that time and again you glance and aww, before continuing through the tough trail. not many photographs in dark as there was quite a lot of anxiousness among trekkers.
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rappeling in dark..
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another one
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down through narrow split in just torch light
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the last drop under rope safety
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Finally we made it..
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Camp site, day 2 early morning...
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getting ready for the bath at pool
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| The bath pool.. deep n cool.. |
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the chillax moment of the trek.. everyone enjoyed the dip in cold water..
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day 2, trek back started at 9am
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from the boulders to the jungle
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meanwhile on the trail..
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rock patch 1, steep climb
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beautiful sahayadris view
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near the last water source..
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ahh water.. gulped in style!
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rock patch, last 1
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never miss the punjabi touch.. bhangra time :)
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all at the grasslands on top.. amazing stamina of group as we sweeped the trail in 3 hrs..
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yay.. came back alive.. :P
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it can never end without frisbee.. disco disco discotech
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time to settle accounts and leave
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mind blasting waterfall enroute
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added adventure.. ganne ke khet se ganna churana..
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too tired now, as u can see.. :D
in the end, the eventual blessings of Shirdi Sai made all that possible! :)
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