Canyons to right of them, Canyons to left of them, Canyons in front of them. Valleys and forests, storm and thunder. Boldly they trekked into the jaws of death and out of the mouth of Hell.. marched the mighty twenty.
Our conquest to complete the Tamhini Forest and Plus Valley trek can be summed up with the poem Inspired by Alfred Tennyson — The Charge of the Light Brigade.
Day 1: Saturday Sept 19th:
Ahead of Mulshi on the way to Kolad lies Tamhini Ghat, a well preserved forest with some of the most enchanted views of the valleys. This is where the great amphitheater of the canyons welcomes us to ‘Plus Valley’, a densely forested canyon that appears like a Plus sign when seen in a map view, almost 750 meters deep and full of pristine waterfalls, giant jacuzzi ponds with crystal clear waters and many such nature’s best kept secrets. Ladies and Gentleman, this is paradise we are checking in.
We believe that wilderness will always keep you in touch with your inner hidden emotions. Plus Valley is slightly secluded from the most of the world and during the monsoon season the forest undergrowth gets extremely dense which gets the route flooded with waterfalls from all four sides.. thus not many would attempt this in the monsoon season except intrepid travelers like us.
Since some of our clients were attempting a real trek for the first time so we planned on having a warm up trek on the first day to get used to the terrain and mainly experience some level of difficulty that would work as stepping stone before taking the Plus Valley trek. Our first day trek was via Tamhini Forest Sacred Grove climbing up the hills and making our exit just after Dongarwadi (The actual starting point of Plus Valley Trek).
After the warm up trek which lasted for about 5 hours we headed to our campsite where some delicious food awaited us. When you are camping there is more fun in getting involved with the cooking, cleaning and setting up your campsite. Based on the opportunity that we never miss, firing up the grill has been our speciality and its something where everyone can participate equally. From being our clients and having expectations to be served etc. everyone just picked up just something to do and we all bonded perfectly over the bbq meal, this is where we became one as a team of fearless adventurers.
We retired for the day around midnight after session on trek realization and some basic Q&A.
Day 2: Sunday morning Sept 20th:
We reached at Plus Valley around 10 am, the weather seemed conducive but recently it had poured heavily non stop for 4 days and mostly during late afternoon, evening and night hours, thus giving us time to go and surface back to the main road by maximum 2:00 pm. The descend into the Plus Valley can be divided into four legs. The first part is steep hike through the forest and has a regular trail, on the second leg you will see diversions formed due to the downhill gushing waters, you have to be careful on choosing the right trail, this is also where you will cross rocks and mostly thick forest vines almost wherever you step. The beginning of the third leg you will notice the rock steps here are higher and you are only a few inches away from the wall of the valley on your right side. The third leg is also the point where we made small groups to go past as soon as we could because of the vertical facade of the valley may invite rocks and stones to roll down into our path. Once you are out of the third leg you are 1/4th distance away before you enter paradise.. forty five mins are you are down to the valley surrounded by mesmerizing views of the valley, waterfalls, gushing streams and this is where you wash away your tiredness and wear a completely new attitude. This is where we had come with the common goal that we will share our energy, optimism and desire to accomplish.. but so far only 25% of the adventure was over, counting the previous day’s warm up trek as well.. rest of the 75% lies ahead in getting back to the exit point.
Before starting out I had informed everyone that this trek as much as it demands your physical ability.. it accounts only 10% and rest 90% is completely your mental preparedness.. this is called survival and survival in the mountains is to keep moving and never stop.
We took off towards the climb and it was a great feeling.. luck was on our side that it did not rain all this while we were there. I had visited the Plus Valley 3 times in the past couple of weeks, twice for a reconnaissance and one for guiding another group of clients. The rest of the trek isn’t a very long one but the weather makes it just so difficult and I had already registered that today the flow of the waters was much more than any other day.
The ascend can be divided into six legs and all of them are intense. You are climbing through the waterfalls, over slippery rocks, chest deep in gushing streams, fallen trees in your way and bouldering your way out. One of our client fell a few times trying to get across over the slippery rocks, but she wore this wonderful smile on her face each time that made her forget the growing demands of the body.
She asked me a few times ‘Will I be able to accomplish this task, will i make it to the top’?
I told her to stop thinking too much about the destination and keep making progress, even if it is gradual. But, can someone really stop thinking? Can you simply clear your mind? How do you relax? When someone tells you to concentrate, focus and pay attention, what are you supposed to focus on, concentrate about, and pay attention to? You are hiding your pain but it is still there.
We were half way up the climb distance wise, but difficulty wise there was way more to go.
Going back and forth and assisting my team mates, my job demanded me to get all of us out of there by 5:00 pm. The last leg on the ascend is steep mud climb with thick Karvy bush growing almost vertical on the slope. The terrain is not sturdy and very confusing, the only way to find your direction is following the sound coming from the main road.
What I was really glad about was the weather had given me enough time to get us out but around 4 pm weather was turning back on us, slowly the valley was getting engulfed by the rain clouds and that concerned me. The benevolent clouds that looked so beautiful from the top giving a wallpaper look to the valley suddenly turned hostile and as you are climbing upwards you can sense some heaviness the place was turning inhospitable. Slowly and with careful steps we all made it out of the valley safely.
I checked the time, it was 4:58 pm, looking at the valley you just trekked to the top you could see the entire canyon, all the way below and next minute it was all gone, everything was white, only thing that was visible was the edge of the road you were standing on – zero visibility. Everyone headed to the exit base with a triumph march. So much of flowing emotions, soaking in utter happiness each one had a halo of achievement. The best feeling that they lived for was something like this.. life was rewarding each one of us for pushing every ounce of energy, looking into the face of danger and saying ‘I won’t give up’.
To get common people to achieve this dream is a wonderful feeling for me, this is what puts me into the perspective of what life is all about. This is why I go to the mountains and the forests, thats what works for me to live my dream.
Congratulations to everyone on completing this trek, this is life and we will see you all on another journey.
Regards,
Rohan
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