Mondays, mountaneering and a trip to Heaven

Mondays are always hard to deal with when you get back to office. The cobwebs in your mind which have accumulated over the weekend, the stiff limbs, the mountain of work awaiting you (especially if you are catering to clients in a different time zone) etc. Last Monday however, something seemed different. I did have a large stack of work (it was going to be the busiest week in the past couple of months). But I did not feel depressed by the prospect of insurmountable work; neither did I feel the Monday blues. As I now sit down and contemplate what was so different about that Monday, I can come up with only one answer: my trip to Lohgad. But then, I said to myself, how is it that after such a long and harrowing trip – being the smartasses that we are, we had gone on a Sunday and returned home at 2 a.m. the next day - instead of feeling drained and tired, I am feeling fresh and energetic. I know that most people will gape at me and wonder what is so tough about a mountain trip to Lohgad (it certainly can’t be called a trekking trip). Well, all I can say is that for someone like me who thinks that taking the stairs to my sixth floor office is a form of exercise, this was like climbing Mount Everest.

I would like to make a confession first. I am not too fond of climbing mountains. I don’t have a fear of heights, but somehow I feel much safer at sea level. I like to go on beaches. The vast expanse of the ocean always fascinates me. Sitting on the beach, reading a book, going for a swim in the sea, or just frolicking around; that’s the life for me. But as far as climbing mountains is concerned; well…to be quite honest, on my entire journey to the base of the mountain, all I can think about is how I am going to approach the climb. When I am climbing, I prefer not to talk as it may give away my nervousness; and when we finally make it to the top, all I think about is the routes that I am going to take while climbing down (especially at the stretches where we had a tough time climbing). I may cheer up a bit when we are taking lunch and stuff (Who doesn’t!!!), but all in all I can’t remember a single mountaineering experience where I have enjoyed myself completely. Somehow, I am just not sure of my footing and balance. It’s pathetic really, but true.

Now for those who don’t know, Lohgad is probably the easiest mountain to climb. Unless of course you want to be a bit adventurous and try to find new innovative routes up to the peak – which is the only way you can get some trekking done on Lohgad. You can take your car up to the base of the fort. This reminds me that I haven’t mentioned anything about Lohgad itself. Lohgad is a fort based near a small village named Malawali. It is one of the many hill forts that belonged to Shivaji. The actual fort begins in a village called Lohgaon. After climbing some 500 steps you can get to the very top of the fort. For more details on how to get there, please log on to Google maps or Wikipedia.

I won’t talk of any adventures that happened to me, because frankly speaking, there were none. My other friends had adventures; I was just a silent spectator making my way using the best possible routes. The one good thing about that day was that there was plenty of rain. I like rain when I am not in the city. A rainy day in the city is filled with dirty potholes, travelling in trains packed with wet, sweaty human beings, going to office with your jeans or trousers rolled up to your knees and several other detestable things not worth mentioning here. But a rainy day anywhere outside the city is a blissful experience. Taking in the smell of the earth, seeing the nature without the layer of dust on it, shedding all our inhibitions and getting wet in the rains; this is something which cannot be equaled even by a raise offered at our workplace. Add to that a cup of hot tea and piping hot vada pav, and my day is made.

But the one lasting memory in my mind is not the rain, the chai and vada pav or the constant anxiety that follows me every time I go for trekking. It’s the magnificent views that I got to see that day. Half way through our walk to the base of the fort, we came across a plateau which afforded a view of the surrounding mountains and the fort itself. With the clouds covering the peaks the view was indeed breathtaking. There is huge mountain right opposite to the fort – I can’t really remember its name – that was covered with clouds with only the front portion peeping out like the prow of a huge and ancient ship. But the finest view was seen from the top (isn’t it always?!). When we reached the top, it was all misty with the cloud cover giving everything an ethereal feel. There was a moment when the clouds broke apart and sunlight rushed through to reveal a magnificent landscape surrounding the mountain. It was like the nature had turned a magician that day and it had kept this final and the most spectacular trick till the last moment when the spellbound audiences would have thought that there are no more tricks in its bag. I am not sure whether there are such places as Heaven and Hell - if there are, then I am certainly going to Hell; for reasons I won’t go into. But I can say one thing for sure; Heaven cannot be more beautiful than this. I know there are many people who will say that they have seen much more beautiful places on their trekking trips; but being an amateur in this regard, I can only say that I haven’t seen anything better. And who knows, maybe this experience will encourage me to go no to better views.

I have uploaded a few pics taken by my friend and am sharing them here:

Lohgad pics