Vadgaon-Kudpan-Pratapgad -- The Sublime Trail Trek -- Part II

Continued from Part I

A cacophonous sound of devotional songs getting played in the temple made us wake around 5 am which brought to end my dreamless and sound sleep. It was irritating to get waken by such shrill sound emitting from the faulty CD or cassette. But on the positive side, everyone started getting up cursing the temple's trustee who allowed such songs to be played at such an unearthly hour. 

Just before breakfast, my brother, Tushar Dada had a bad fall on rock as he was reaching towards the stream to fill some water. He was visibly in discomfort. His palm was cut and bleeding but he was more worried of thinking that he might have fractured the bone in the leg. I was carrying the pain relief spray which he sprayed on his leg to feel better. Also after some time, our host applied some turmeric powder both on the cut palm and leg. Fortunately, nothing major happened and Tushar Dada was ready for the trek leaving behind the incident.

Everyone was ready around 6.30 AM for breakfast. Limited Poha and Tea was served in breakfast and people who joined late (including me) didn't get enough of breakfast as it was limited and consumed by other trekkers who were not aware that it was limited. Later we understood that these people were short on resources and so it was not possible for them to arrange for unlimited breakfast. Nevertheless, having some food and hot tea provided initial burst of energy to start the trek on the fresh note.

Sanju Nana had apparently misplaced his hiking pole. Earlier evening, his camera had also fallen down breaking the glass of the filter. After some search, we found his hiking pole and we were ready to start our hike.

My shoes were still wet and soggy because of walking through the streams earlier day and I didn't want to walk with wet shoes for another whole day. Nana's floaters fitted to my feet perfectly. As Nana was hiking with his shoes, I decided to trek with his floaters.

Before leaving Kudpan village, everyone posed for the group photo in front of the house where we breakfasted.

Right at the start, there was a steep slope. As we were ascending and looking back, Kudpan village’s temple which we visited the earlier night, was looking very beautiful.

We were covering distance at a fast rate as it was still early in the morning and weather was comparatively pleasant. There were fantastic landscapes all around. 

Mountains on the Southern Side:

Mountains on the Eastern Side:

 Hiking trail on the Northern side:

Gigantic mountains provided perfect backdrop.

Nana posing for the photo while others ascending in the background:

Trail passing trough the lush greenery:

On the way, we came across few huts and many rice fields. We stopped at a deserted hut for doing some photography.

Tushar Dada's portrait with the background of wooden beams of the deserted hut:

Once the initial exhausting climb was over and we gained some altitude and entered Satara district from Raigad district, weather dramatically changed from humid to pleasant. Soon, we were engulfed in the clouds with cool breeze blowing. Cool breeze really made wonders and we were really charged up to hike further.

Nana in a happy mood:

Pattern for the ascent was quite similar; walking for large distance and then steep ascent to join another plateau.

After exhausting climb, we started feeling hungry and we took a short snacks break. Apples, biscuits, cucumber, chivda were brought out and we gained energy instantly after consuming these food items. Dr. Atul Sathaye poured concentrated lemon juice in my bottle which provided further boost of energy. These little things become priceless in wilderness.

After crossing the Par Khind (col) where right trail was going towards Par village and left trail was going towards Pratapgad, we turned towards left trail.

We had frequent short stops to enjoy the scenery and amazing climate.

Soon, we reached to the point which seemed to be highest point on the trail and we posed for a group photo.

After this, we entered inside a thick jungle and Rajesh Dada started urging us to be together all the time. He was determined to complete the trek before 12.30 PM and he goaded us to walk quicker and faster.

Sanju Nana and I were behind the other trekkers as we were taking frequent stops to capture some photos. At this point, everyone in front asked Nana to pose for a photo and ever enthusiastic Nana did not disappoint.

As we had gained momentum and walking on a narrow ridge with a steep valley on the left side, a horror thing happened to me. As I was walking on the ridge, the clay on the edge of trail where I had placed my left foot got caved in and I started slipping downwards on the slope in the valley. I balanced myself with my hands but as I was trying to haul myself up, the ground below me was further caving in. Fortunately, Sanju Nana and Paresh (Nana's son) and Shrikant with whom I was walking at that time, immediately locked my hands in theirs and pulled me up with all the efforts. There were really few moments of panic. In retrospection, I shudder to think what would have happened in case these guys were not around. May be I would have at least broken the leg or arm or shoulder in case I would have slipped further and entangled with the bushes below. This incident further convinced me not to go on solo hiking ever.

I left the incident behind me and continued with further hiking with normalcy but taking precaution on each and every step. I am already a safe trekker but this incident would make me a safer and better trekker for sure.

Initially I was enjoying my hike with light weight floaters but soon I realized the importance of wearing proper shoes. Mud and water inside the floaters were causing a lot of difficulty in holding my feet in one position; swaying my feet on both the sides and it had an impact on my speed. Still, I was not far behind. But at one point, I asked members to wait and took some time to wipe my feet and floaters with tissue papers drying them completely and after that I again started feeling enjoying hiking with floaters.

Nana who is a veteran photographer was with me and I did not waste opportunity to get myself clicked.

Soon, spire of the Ramvardayini Temple started appearing in front of eyes.

 Soon we reached to the temple. We were now very close to Pratapgad base; just an hour hike further. We rested and had few snacks inside the temple. 

Inside the temple:

After the refreshing break in the temple, we resumed our final march. We couldn't have enough of the nature even if we were about to end the trek.

Final stretch was steep and again hiking was through the woods.

Stretch of the jungle during the last stretch:

Along the way, we stopped at a small stream where Rajesh Dada filled the fresh water in our bottles from a very small stream with the help of a small leaf and we gulped a lot of fresh water.

As we started reaching near Pratapgad, we came across few villagers carrying empty kettles of milk. On enquiry, we came to know that these villagers daily commute of Pratapgad from Kondoshi village to deliver around 10-15 litres of milk and they daily use the jungle route. Really a hard labour to earn the money!

Within 15 minutes, we started hearing loud noises of vehicles and though we were still inside the woods, we knew that we were about to reach to base of Pratapgad. As the noises were getting louder, majestic Pratapgad got unravelled in front of us.

Finally, there was feeling of elation on everyone’s faces to complete this marathon trek successfully. There was an option of visiting Pratapgad but as most of us had already visited it in the past and there was quite a rush, we decided to skip it and proceeded towards one of the restaurants where Rajesh Dada had already arranged for the lunch. After getting refreshed and changing the clothes; some even had a cold water bath at the back of the restaurant, we heartily ate the sumptuous meal. Soon, it was time to return.

While descending Poladpur Ghat, we traced the route from where we had hiked. We were quite thrilled to see Ramvardayini Temple at the top of the mountain. Pune Team got down at Poladpur and after exchanging good-buys with Nasik team, we started our journey back to our respective cities.

We enjoyed tea at the start of Tamhini, did some photography at Mulshi Dam and reached to my place at 6.30PM; well before the scheduled time. Nasik team reached to Nasik around 10 PM.


Stunning evening at Mulshi Dam:

Hiking through three districts within span of two days and that too on foot was quite an achievement. Everything regarding this trek was memorable -- walking through the lush greenery, walking through the streams and then walking with the wet shoes; lunching on the boulders of the stream; having a nap with rocks as beds and sacks as pillows; tiring ascent through the thick forest; breathtaking waterfall of 1000 ft; going to the source of another waterfall of several hundred feet; cold water bath in the stream of Kudpan village, meditating inside temple of Kudpan, walking through the clouds, hide and seek of sun rays, resting inside Ramvardayini temple, gulping fresh water from the stream and amazing photography throughout the trek! Really a wonderful addition to my trekking memoir!

Trek Mates:

Pune Group: Milind Kulkarni, ND Gaware, Tushar Kothawade, Prashant Kothawade

Nasik Group: Sanjay Amrutkar, Paresh Amrutkar, Dr. Atul Sathaye, Dr. Santosh Gaikwad, Dr. Ajay, Aadil Mistry, Deepak Shirke, Vipinchandra Chaudhari, Kiran Awasarkar, Shrikant, Ashwin Alai

Mahad: Rajesh Butala

Local Guide (Vadgaon to Kudpan): Santosh

Tips for the trekkers:

• Guide is a must for this trek. There are very confusing trails and there is a probability of getting lost if you don't have guide with you.
• Best season is during monsoon. In winter, you need to carry a lot of water as streams would be dry by that time.
• Please plan in such a way that vehicle drops you at Vadgaon and pick you up at Pratapgad base.
• In case, you are short of time, you can also trek from Vadgaon to Kudpan or Kudpan to Pratapgad. There is a good road to reach to Kudpan as well.

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Happy hiking!

Appeal: No litter; no plastic; no wrappers; keep the mother nature clean!