A Trek - Part 3

Finally we reached the foot of Sinhagad. Thankfully, parking was available, well it was just 9 in the morning and more people were expected only later in the day. We all came out of the parking lot and cast a glance skywards. There were 2 reasons for this. First, just to see how high we had to climb, second was a silent prayer to the Almighty. Well, Sinhagad is not exactly Mount Everest, but we all, still had a MOUNTAIN to climb. And so, we all set out to reach the top, beginning another journey which was going to be slightly arduous.

For about 500 mtrs or so, there is a KACHCHA road and then starts the real climb. V was leading us, obviously the most enthusiastic. I followed him, with M trailing me and N bringing up the rear. Half an hour passed and we could all feel droplets of sweat trickling down our side-locks. We took our first break, as we all rested on the rocks. The sun had started beating down. The number of people was increasing as well. Surprisingly we could also see some trekkers coming down, they had surely started early. The 4 of us smiled at each other. About 10 mins later, we all started again. The climb was getting tougher. Some places were wall-steep. V was still the leader, I was close behind, M was further back, but there was no sign of N. We still kept walking and about 15 mins later, M hollered at us to wait for N.

Where was he? We rested again, while M decided to backtrack to find N. We had reached quite a height, and the view from up there was sensational. 10 mins had passed and we were getting rather bored of sitting. Just then, M came up to us and pointed his finger upwards. There was N. How the hell, did he reach there? He took some other route, maybe. Anyway, we all gave out a hearty laugh.

So, we started again and about an hour later, we had reached the gate of the fort. Refreshment vendors were yelling and tired people were obliging. We too, bought some lime juice, lassi, boiled peanuts and cucumber. Our parched throats felt gratified. 15 mins later, we were sprawled on mats laid out on top of Sinhagad. A vendor quickly brought some vessels of curd and put it in front of us. Hell, who had told him to? Nevertheless, the thick curds in small mud vessels were too appetizing. We grabbed them, added some sugar and gobbled. Heaven! The aroma of wet mud is beyond words. Wow! This had just whetted our appetites and in a while, we were all gorging onion-pakodas followed by a lunch of Zunka-Bhakar. Post lunch was snooze time, that lasted only for about 10 mins.

We took a quick tour of the fort, and decided to go back home. The descent was rather difficult. Gravity pulls you down, and you have to resist. The knees and calves take a pounding. We were ambling, and after an hour we were back near our bikes. We had a quick meal and drink, and waved goodbye to Sinhagad, thus ending a wonderful day of trekking. J