Kalsubai - Journey to the top

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Lao Tzu 

I stood with my arms outstretched like a starfish announcing my latest conquest. At 5400 ft the entire state of Maharashtra lay at my feet hailing the conqueror. I had successfully climbed the ‘Everest of Maharashtra’. An exhilarated feeling ran through me giving me goosebumps. Nestled in the Sahayadri ranges, Kalsubai is one of the prominent trekking points in the Western Ghats. However, unlike other trekking points, proper pathway and well laid out steps and ladders make the climb a less daunting task for the ‘muggle’ trekkers.

Like Ninja turtles, the four of us mounted our backpacks and started off from a small village called Bari, a little after two in the afternoon. The village showed signs of an impending season of merciless summer. The sun had soaked nearby ponds dry. Women with their earthenware queued up at a nearby borewell while some elderly men sat under a tree that spread its wings to provide shelter from the sweltering heat. The grass was sparse and what was left of it had turned yellow. Intermediate breeze was a welcome guest. Even the livestock acknowledged the summer that was upon them and made sure that none of the water that spilled over went waste, lapping up excess water.

An uphill task

We began our journey at quarter to three. After receiving some preliminary advice from a localite we set off on our journey. My journey to the top was more of a start-stop campaign. I had scaled the much more treacherous Harishchandragad year ago but Kalsubai proved to be an onerous task from the word go. Probably it was the heat or just a mental block or maybe both. I was to find out soon. 

As our journey to the top gathered pace I began to slow down. The winding paths and the upward trajectory kept adding a few pounds to my untrained leg muscles with every step. Shallow quick breaths made me feel as if oxygen was being sucked out of my lungs. My mouth soon turned dry reflecting the moisture-less environmental surroundings. I began to thirst and stop at regular intervals. My friends kept egging me on sometimes hurling abuses at me and sometimes there were just kind words. Either ways they meant well and proved to be just the sort of push I needed under the prevailing conditions.

The journey was fraught with stamina and mental strength issues. Every time I rested to catch my breath or have water it kept chipping away at my confidence. I kept telling my friends I can’t do it and they kept urging me to push on.

It was not all gloomy though. Breathtaking views of the villages and the farm areas in the surrounding Nashik district were a sight to adore as we kept clawing our way to the top. At regular intervals there were small sheds made by the villagers. Some were used my villagers as refreshment kiosks for the trekkers.

Task accomplished

Our major concern was reaching in time to the top of the mount to catch a glimpse of the sunset and set our tent before the light fades. My pace was slower than a tortoise on its worst day. I kept backing myself to do it. I knew I could do it. One step at a time. The perseverance and constant encouragement from friends paid off and I made it to the top.  I did it. It took us 3 hours. The view from the top of Kalsubai was breathtaking. Gusty winds and a fading sun made all the struggle and pain disappear. We set up our tent just below the top of the peak. Collecting dry sticks from surrounding areas, we set up a bbq area. Using basalt stones which proved to be good enough to make a sigri, we designed a makeshift bbq. Using slender sticks as a makeshift grill plate we used a handy trident shaped tool as skewers to bbq sausages and kebabs. The thrill of barbequing in the wild was simply wonderful. The ingenuity of using tools made available to us by Mother Nature made us feel closer to our ancestors.

All’s well that ends well

After drowning our exhaustion in mild spirits and gobbling up our barbequeued food, we retired for the day in our humble tents. The next day we packed our belongings, cleared the area of all rubbish. We refilled our bottles with the help of a nearby well which was shortly followed by our descent. The climb down the mountain was relatively easy but slippery at times. The view of the valley down was simply awesome. We had a bird’s eye view of the contours of the land. It took us just under 2 hours including all the stops we made to capture precious moments through our phone lenses. Just before we could reach our starting point we quenched our thirst with some home-made lemon juice. Upon reaching the start point we rushed straight to the bore well pump to quench our thirst. After that we helped ourselves with some lip smacking kanda poha and local tea. After cleaning ourselves up we packed our trekking kit in the car’s trunk and headed back to our homes. Thus came to an end a memorable trek.