The Grand Canyon of Texas

December 2005.

What ... Grand Canyon in Texas ??
It was 4 months since I came to Plano, Texas and no significant trips
to brag about. I had been searching the Texas State parks website for some good hangout for quite some time now and so far the best candidate was Palo Duro Canyon. More information about this Canyon will follow in this log. This canyon, sometimes referred to as Grand Canyon of Texas, is about 20 Miles south of Amarillo, Texas and formed by the erosion by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. This Canyon is about 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide(at some places), and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level.The steep sides of Palo Duro Canyon consist of bright, banded layers of orange, red, brown, yellow, grey, maroon, and white rocks that represent four different geologic periods and a time span of more than 240 million years.

Why Palo ... whatever ...?
The description above and the pictures present at www.palodurocanyon.com attracted me to this Canyon.. My trekking interest and liking of the mountains and nature made this spot the perfect get away for me. What more there was a long weekend for the Christmas which meant that there were lot more people who were interested. As the enthusiastic (read desparate) traveler I was entrusted the responsibility of searching for a good place, by as many as 9 people. Naturally I convinced all of them that Palo Duro Canyon was a good place. Most people I talked to said "Palo .. what ?" and I said trust me its going to be fun.

The day of the trip ...
Finally it was 23 December 2005 the day of the trip. The Plan was clear .. 10 of us drive to Amarillo that night and stay at the Motel 6. Saturday morning we would drive to the Canyon , trek around and then come back to Plano on Saturday late night.
As I entered the office I heard some discussion around my cube about the weekend. The general consensus (especially among Texan old timers) was "Palo .... what? ... I haven't heard of this place, its probably not worth it? .... check tripadvisor.com."
My instincts convinced me that the place was worth it and thankfully so did tripadvisor.com...
Had it not been for tripadvisor reviews , and my story of my knack to find unheard of , yet extremely enjoyable trip destinations .. I think the rest of the people would have had me change the destination to something like San Antonio, perhaps ....
Now just after I survived a coup on my job as the trip lead there was another disaster... well almost a disaster. A collegue told me that the state park was closed due to bad wheather since Dec 19. I called the park and thankfully they were open on the next day. The rest of the day was cool without any more happenings to thwart the trip.

The trip begins.
Finally after a few short delays we were on the way at about 6 pm. So it was one 12 seater van, 10 people and loads of food and enthusiasm. It was a new experience for me and Srini, driving the biggest vehicle we had ever driven. As we were driving Pankaj said "Yeh to India lag raha hai" ... I said what else would you feel if you were in a van full of Indians listening to Hindi music and singing hindi songs (or rather shouting) at the peak output of our vocal chords. To add to this there were flat lands of texas .. giving a feeling as if we were driving on the farmlands of the deccan plateau. For a moment (or may be most of the trip) I felt as if I was back in India.

The higlights..
Rajiv bluffed the whole day that he had would not be able to come due to some personal issue. He did come saying that he need to get down at nearest Walmart so the whole onward journey we(especially Bharat) reminded him to get down every time we saw a Walmart. I guess whereever you go in the USA you are probably never from a Walmart . That's exactly what Rajiv learnt as we asked him to get down at every town that we passed. Soon he changed his stance to "I'll get down when we reach a Kroger". Smart move I would say as we realised that Kroger wasn't as common as Walmart.
Then there was Partha who was on his first road trip in the US. Not knowing much about the navigation or driving skills of the rest of gang and add to it his meticulous nature, I guess he was a little suspect of us being on the right path all the time till we reached the motel. Just as he was dozing off to somebody said that we are on the wrong highway. Partha woke up with a start and was immediately interested in the map and the driving directions. We soon figured that the best way to get Partha off his sleep was to just mention once that we were not on 287 (yeah that was the highway that we were to catch to lead us to Amarillo). For the rest of the onward journey Partha didn't catch too much sleep.
We reached our motel at about 1:00 am on Saturday and it was time to relax before the next days trek..

To the Canyon
We got up at 6.30 (am) on Saturday morning. By all my standards that was like getting up in the middle of night. For a moment as I got up I thought what am I doing getting up early on a weekend. That is against my rules of laziness ... but then trekking is my hobby so I can bend a few rules. We started off this time with Srini driving and Sam becoming the navigator. Normally a good navigator within Dallas , Sam did lead us into a wrong turn in the beginning. I guess he was busy listening to music on his new CD player ... but that was enough for Partha to become conscious that we were lost. So while Sameer was busy trying to figure out how to get us back on track, Partha and by now rest of us were busy challenging his navigation skills (read as asking for the Map). We were soon back on track. Then we got a glimpse of the Texas ranches. For as far as eyes could see there were only fields (or should I say ranches). All the land was abosultely flat and we were all wondering where was the Canyon. Technically we were just about 3-4 miles from the Canyon now but there was no glimpse of a river or even the slightest of contours to indicate the presence of a Canyon.

The Park
After driving for about forty minutes from our motel we were finally at the Palo Duro Canyon State park. The park office had a old stone house look. It looked like one of those houses that we have in remote villages in Rajasthan back in India. To the right of the office we could see the Canyon. It was as if a part of the land had fallen of into depths of the earth. I was searching for the river which caused this but there wasn't any flowing water to be seen. The park ranger informed us that the lighthouse was the most popular spot in the Canyon and was about 3 miles of trek once we had descended into the Canyon to the beginning of the trail. So now Bharat finally got to lay hands on the wheel on the sharp, sloping and curving roads that led to the floor of the Canyon. The scenery as we were going down was breath taking. It was enough for us to take a pause and venture around a bit. As I looked around there was the Canyon for as far as eye could see. Suddenly it felt as if we were in a hilly region. There was a good wind blowing too and it was quite cool. It was a sharp contrast to the ranches that we had by now gotten used to seeing.

The Trek.
Soon we were on our feet ready to trek. So there was everybody with a bottle of water and up on their feet and cheers on their faces albiet perhaps with rattling teeth for it was a little chilly down in the Canyon. The weather prediction was sunny and with very few trees the sun was really beating down. I was hoping that nobody would get dehydrated.
As we were walking I paused often to look around and the place was really beautiful. The walls of the canyon were nicely eroded to expose the historical composition of the crust. The colours were simply amazing .. a treat for the eyes. Unfortunately my ability to describe colours is limited by the actual number of colours that I can really recognize .. that's approximately 4.5 bits ... or 24 colours for a layman.. So with the 24 colours in mind I can only point out that I saw shades of red , gray, orange ,cream, white , yellow and more (colours which I am not quite good at describing) ... Of course apart from these colours there were the trees and shrubs here and there adding up another colour - green and of course the sky is blue. Most of the time there was a cool breeze blowing in the Canyon which kept the weather quite cool despite the sun.. Overall with the wind chill and the sunlight it was more like taking a morning walk..
The more experienced trekkers in me and sameer were not to be satisfied with a morning walk though so we decided to climb up a small peak near the Santana's face and a get better view. Rajiv and Neeraj were in too. It was a nice excercise for the legs although it also made us realise that Sandstone is brittle and that the formations are not really as strong as the look..
In fact I would go on to say that the formations represent the fragile equilibrium of the ecosystem of the canyon .. It was quite serene with our group being among the few to disturb the place. I almost felt guilty but then we couldn't have expereinced this serenity of the environment without having disturbed it. The rest of the trek was filled with a few stops at the rest places and lots of pictures. Of course the lighthouse formation was our final destination but the place itself had so much to offer for the artists perception .. As the say "beauty lies in the eye of the beholder"

The Formations
The first of the formations was the Santana's face and the capitol peak beside it. These Capitol peak peak clearly exposed the various colours while the Santana's face really looked like the face of a Tribal Chief ... No wonder the name.
The next interesting formation looked like a big Dog basking in the morning sun. I guess the park officials didn't really bother naming a lot of formations but our eyes were definitely at the artistic best finding out a formation or other wherever possible.

Just as if the tribal chief and his dog were not enough we were taken to Egypt as well .... I mean almost. One formation had a striking resemblence to the Sphinx in Egypt. Thankfully my friend Srini's camera caught a good view of it and therefore there is a snap to prove that I am not out of my minds to imagine a sphinx in Palo duro.


The ultimate formation of course was the light house which was amazing, imposing and yet beautiful at the same time.. It was formed of red rock (Sandstone I think) and from far of really looked like a light house except that there was no real light. It was as if we the trekkers were wandering the vast expanse of the Canyon (which is in fact rather wide to look like a canyon when you are inside it). The light house was guiding us (apart from the signboards courtesy State Parks authority) to our port which here was the base of the light house. As we sat on the base a nice and clear wind blew which was refreshing and soothing. All tensions of work and life were so easily blown away by the sight of the serene light house and the calm breeze ..


the Return Trip.
We were soon on our way back. The return trip of course was more sleepy than eventful or entertaining .. Understandably so as most of us weren't really regular trekkers or travellers. There were some highlights which without a mention will render this post incomplete...
The first were the wild turkey's which were large and eat biscuits (cookies).. I thought that these were some large and uncommon (even protected) species. Only later did I find out that they formed one of the animal groups, which I proudly boasted as one of the many animals that I have had for my meal ..
Then we saw some of the parks longhorns whose horn span was perhaps as large as that of my outstretched arms.


The next was my roommie Sam's voice from the heart. Rather his obsessive, compulsive desire to sing complete songs where most of the other people singing were happy to stop at just one stanza or two. I thought his desire was more so fueled by us trying to put a end to his singing for the trip.
The grand finale of course were Partha's "Dil" beats .. He used the word Dil as if they were the drums used to provide beats between lines of a song... I guess written text has limitation that I cannot reproduce those beats in their totallity and unfortunately none of us captured it as a film and so his talent will always go unsung ....

All in all this trip has been one of my most memorable experiences in the country USA even though most of americans probably haven't even heard of the place .. which is perhaps one reason that the place maintains its tranquil....

Jungle Mein Mangal

It was a warm weekend in the month of Feb 2003. I had registered for my first trek with Adventura. It was to be a 2 day affair and I was quite excited.

We started from Bangalore at about 10.30 pm on Friday. Took KSRTC bus .There were 13 of us. The seats were not together and it was late night journey so not much scope for Antakshari. We did have Nariyal Pani at a Dhaba at 2:00 clock in the night with the first photo session with a Toast on the nariyal Pani.

Reached Sirsi at 8:00 clock in morning on Saturday.

Had breakfast at Sirsi some idli – dosa, proceeded to catch a Tempo to DevanHalli. The Tempo was quite crowded and reminded me of the luggage compartment of the local trains in Mumbai. Especially with the villagers coming in with their wares perhaps traveling across towns to trade stuff.

Reached Devanhalli at about 11.15 am. Yana is about 13 Km from here by normal road. But we were here to trek and enjoy the nature. So tar road was out of question .Instead we muddy village road hoping to reach some village called Bengaon. After about 1.5 hours of trekking which spanned some jeep tracks and farms we reached a small village. . A short break and then we were back on track crossing the farms and village roads. Before we knew we were inside a jungle. Now was the real fun as nobody knew the path. We had to stop often so that the experienced junta (Dada , suma , Bharatesh , Haider and Gautam) could determine whether we were on the right path. It was pure instincts and sense of direction that guided us here as there was nobody whom we could ask. At one time I thought we were running round and round in circles. Amongst the creepers and tree I lost my dear wrist watch (You know my sentiments were attached with it). But unfortunately there was no time for sentiments and we had to continue otherwise the next days headline would have been “13 infoscians feared lost in jungle”. But after another hour or so of trekking we finally saw some habitation and hey presto it turned out to be Bengaon .

Had a lunch at a vilager's house. The menu was Parathas and pickles with some buttermilk provided by the villagers and some goodies (cakes and biscuits). Never before had dry parathas seemed so tasty. They say that when hungry and tired you don’t bother about taste .. so very true. Eti was so highly engrossed in finishing the parathas that we knew that this Punjaban was the next Paratha Queen (if not beauty queen). Then back on trek using another village road. By now we ahd covered about 10 kilometers and our host had told us that yana was about 4 - 5 km and so we were happy that we would make it by sunset as it was 4 pm now. So with rejuvaneted spirits we started but with a heavy stomach the speed was obviously slow. The worst part was that the road from now on was a almost continues uphill one. Thankfully for the new comers like me it was a steady slope and the sun was going down so the heat was less. We kept walking up hill for another 3 Kms it was almost 5 and we reached a Tar road. This time the confusion was which way to take cause there was another village road crisscrossing this tar road. And as usual remote roads so no body to ask. We decided to scout around and finally some of us took the village road assuming it would go to Yana. The others were still taking rest. we walked about 5 minutes and saw a local. In the whole group there were luckily 5 people who knew the local language. One of them (Shubha) was leading the way and she asked them for directions only to realise that we were on the wrong way. The right way was to take a left on the Tar road. So went back only to see that Eti and Co had still not started walking from the cross. So we were back on Track and apparently another 5 Kms to go to Yana.

So the song for the moment was “Bus Chalte jaana hai”. The good news was that the most of the trek now was downhill so less tiring. Bad news most of the water we had was exhausted. I was walking like a Zombie while bharatesh gave his trekking fundas. After about 40 minutes or so and saw a diversion . Me and Rana were the first to reach here and as usual had to wait a few minutes for the Kannadiga's to come in and read the board (Kannada is as good as “kala akshar bhais barabar”. It said 3 Kms to some place and 8 Kms to some other place and 48 Kms to some third place . The 3 Km diversion was indeed a diversion to Yana. So now only 3 Kms to go and it was 6 .. Desperate to see the Sunset and only half a bottle of water left we tried to walk fast. The Darkness was setting in and the road went right through a jungle .We continued walking and enjoying the nature around but all the time Me and Rana were feeling the fatigue. About 1.5 kms and it was almost no light and we were just dragging our feet. It was as if life less corpses walking and yet no sign of Yana or any of the popularised rock formations.. We stopped hoping to hear any voices of the rest of the gang but it was only crickets and other insects in the night. Me and Rana were confused as to whether go back and look for the rest of the gang or continue walking. Now the road was hardly visible and I insisted that we do not use a Torch. Besides thanks to one road sign in Kannada we were not sure whether we were on the right path.

So we decided to walk for another 5 minutes and if we found nothing we would wait for the others. Another 100 meters or so and there was a small left turn . As soon as we turned suddenly almost out of no where we saw this huge rock like the one 's you see in dry climate (eg Remember MI2 Tom cruise climbs a Rock) . There was this tall rock and stars shining in its back drop. This was an amazing site an out of the world sight . A few more meters and we saw a even Massive rock (Should I call it a hill ?). This was we were sure Yana and we saw a temple and some house like structures at the base. This was indeed a site worth the 20 Km walk we did for it. The rest of the gang arrived around 15 minutes after us .

Then we had our dinner under .. cup noodles and some parathas. After some timepass and star gazing (saw Venus or Mangal if I am not wrong) wherein I gave some fundas to Rana. We went further down the valley to the vilage. There was some sort of shade built up a little before the village where we spent the night. Some junta went to the nearby stream and some exploration while lazybones like me got cozy into the sleeping mat. Next morning we got up early (hoping to see the sunrise). But we forgot that there were mountains all around so effectively we could actually see the sun when it was something like 9. However we took the opportunity to explore the jungle. We found a cave full of bats up above the massive rock. Later we also found another cave inside that rock which almost cut it into two. And we realised the the cave of bats that we had seen was nothing but the top of this big cave. It was really cool and really gave the feel of those Indiana Jones exploration movies (Should we shoot a movie Indian Shanbhag and the last Cave).

We moved back from Yana at about after some tea , cakes and cup noodles. Thanks to head cook Haider and the ladies (no not Eti. she still preferred to devour the food prepared by the rest) for the wonderful food right in the middle of the jungle. Now there was another long trek back hoping to go to a pilgrimage center called Gokarn and then go back to Sirsi . But after 3 Km trek back to the main road we found that we didn't have enough time and the bus stop for Gokarn was something like 7 kms ahead. So started walking back. Again me and Rana and 4 other people got far ahead of the group. We took a road expecting that it would take us to a place from where we would get a bus for sirsi and a little further (about .5 km) on this road a person told us that at that time there were no buses from that place to Sirsi so we walked back to the main road and still rest of the group wasn't there . Obviously they had missed us and gone ahead so we started our trek to Devanhalli along the main road . This trek was expected to be 10 km and we had no water or food left with us. After about 3 kms of trudging along the road we finally got back with the rest of the group who was waiting for us. Thankfully they had some food so we filled our hungry stomachs. A further trek of about 2 kms and there was a bus stand from where we found that buses to sirsi were available. So we waited here and around 3 pm we got a bus. Back to Sirsi by 4 and 4 more hrs to go before the bangalore bus arrived . So we decided to go to the MadhuKeshav temple in nearby village of Banavsi. This time we took a bus. This temple is a rather old temple must be a few centuries old atleast. It has some unique in which the head of the Nandi is inclined in such a way that one eye looks at the Shiva idol and the other eye looks at the Parvati idol in the adjacent Parvati temple.

Its architecture was amazing.

Finally we came back to Sirsi at 7.30 or so. Quick snack and we were in the Bus to Bangalore. Reached Bangalore at 6 am. Caught an hour or so in sleep and back to office for work.

Tales of Rock Climbing

Background:

Infosys Pune Adventure club along with an independent group of experienced climbers organized a rock climbing camp at the Sinhagad Fort about 20 Kms from Pune. For me this was one activity that I always wanted to do and this was an ideal opportunity. Abhishek happily joined me and soon on 22nd May we both got up at 4 :00 clock in the morning (or should I say midnight given my sleeping habits) to get ready and go. At 5.30 we were waiting for the first bus to Sinhagad at the gate of Abhinav college. Mandar caught hold of a Sumo (the vehicle looked similar at least) driver who would drop us all at the top and so we hopped onto the sumo and by 7:00 am we were having a hot cup of tea overlooking the beautiful valley beside the Sinhagad fort.

The Camp begins:

After tea we quickly unloaded all our baggage at a cottage which was reserved for us. The cot looked tempting and so I stretched my legs but before long the instructors were ready to being the show. The camp began with a briefing on the different kinds of rock climbing techniques and different kinds of equipment used. I then came to know that what Tom Cruise did in MI2 was only good on screen and practically suicidal. I also got to know that the technical name for that Tom cruise adventure was “solo climbing”, the other 2 types of Rock climbing being “Pitch to Pitch” and “Sport Climbing”. The sheer number of bolts ropes and supports available for rock climbing amazed me so did their cost. Then followed a session on kinds of knots which were a reminder of all the theory of scouting I had forgotten after school. This was followed by a sumptuous breakfast.

Practical Lessons I: 10 feet climbs.

The first of the practical lessons were two 10 feet climbs. The rocks were relatively simple to climb except for the first step which was quite difficult.

I realised that jeans and normal sport shoes were after all not made for all kinds of adventure. However the rock surface was good enough to provide me some grip to get going. The second realisation was that rock climbing was more having the feet firmly on ground (rather the rock) than hanging on the edge with two hands (a la Tom Cruise). In fact feet are an overstatement as rarely ever did we get enough space in the foot holds or crevices of the rocks to put the whole feet. Most of the time the foot holds had only enough space for two / 3 of the toes and occasionally the front of the foot. Having the 2 feet firm the next step was to search for the next higher hand hold which could allow me to put my foot on the next higher available foot hold. Searching for the hand hold and foot hold taught me what “thinking on the toes” is all about. After murdering the 3 point climbing technique, which all instructors so emphasise on I managed to finish my climb. I realised then that I had actually made use of the same technique to reach the top of the first simple rock. By afternoon 2 :00 pm the whole group of 20 people had covered the 2 simple 10 feet climbs and were all excited and read for the lunch.

Lunch time day 1: The lunch consisted of pitla , bhakri and curds with some pickles. A typical maharashtrian food but very stomach filling. We also had some rice for those whom the bhakari did not satisfy (yours truly). This was followed by some demo climbs by the experience instructors in the group. There was a 10 year old kid (the son of the oldest instructor) who amazed us all with his skills. As the say “it all runs in the family”. Even his Mom was a rock climber and later she told us that the kid had started learning rock climbing almost the same time as he started walking. No wonder he could take on all the boulders and rock faces that we could only dream of.

Time for Practice: 40 feet climb.

Now that all of us had settle down and were over the fear of climbing it was time for some real climbing. So our instructors took us to a sight of a 40 feet rock face. There were quite a few routes to get atop this face. By now a whole new dimension had been added to my outlook towards rocks. Every rock face I viewed was not just another dead rock but a very alive rock climbing route. I took my time to decide that I was ready and took ample opportunity to take snaps of people climbing. Finally my turn came and I was ready all dressed to kill (oops climb). The rope well fastened to my harness in case I slipped. The start was again difficult as I was finding it difficult to get good foot hold. I got panicky and again forgot all about the 3 point technique. But the instructor was there to encourage me and remind me of the fundamentals. So I begin after slipping twice before the start. Once started there was no stopping me and I found that my brain was working quite well to find the hand holds and foot holds. Within minutes I could see the instructors at the top staring at me. I was so elated that instead of climbing quietly on the last step I just pulled using my hands and put my knees on the top of rock (using knees for support is a strict no no and a bad technique). Then I stood up to look down. I could feel the adrenaline rush through my whole body. This was one of the most ecstatic moments of my life and I was just hoping that Abhishek had captured some of it on my camera which he sure did.

An Evening with Snakes:

In the evening we realised that the place where we were staying did not have electricity. So I got busy trying to spot potential people for the next Ramsay horror movie by focussing the torch on the face of people around me. I did find some potential including myself. Then it was time for a feedback and fun session in the light provided by the fuel lamps. I guess most people were a little tired to go for a fun session so we were quick to pounce on the dinner as it arrived. Post dinner some of us went for a walk with the cold winds blowing and the trees hissing around. As we came back we saw the big surprise item of the day. One of the instructors was an employee of Haffkines Institute and he removed a live snake from his bag. The snake was non poisonous so everybody got an opportunity to touch and fell the scaly body. It was a chilling experience but just for a moment till I held the reptile in my hand. We were promised a date with a cobra and viper (they are poisonous varieties) the next day.

Soon after the snake show we were lying on our backs tired but excited to go rappelling down a 160 ft cliff the next day.

Day II:

Day 2 begin early with all of us getting ready to go for rappelling by 6.30 am. We were waiting below the cliff watching a demo of rappelling. There were some small rocks around as well where all the budding climbers could practice the skills. It was decided that 5 people will be waiting at the top ready to rappel at any given time and the rest will encourage them from below. I got busy trying to practise climbing as the fellow campers started descending one by one. The descent was indeed slow but that was quite expected as most of us were first timers and therefore quite careful and tentative. Soon the cameraman in yours truly got busy with the snaps.

Rappelling:

The cliff was about 160 feet tall. The initial 30- 40 feet were in fact the walls of the Fort. This was followed by a vertical rock. Then there was a flat horizontal region on which one could actually walk. This was followed by another long vertical face with a huge crack running right through middle from top to bottom. To the right of this rock face was a huge ridge and to the other side of the ridge was a smaller rock face.

The route in the beginning was fine with people rappelling with the 2 feet on the 2 sides of the crack for the last part of the descent. Every person who came down felt elated and that got me further excited for my turn. I had to wait till Abhishek made up his mind and then finished his turn (I had to take his snaps) and he sure made me wait. While we were busy with our climbing practise and photography an interesting event occurred. One guy (don’t remember your name dude) lost his footing just at the beginning of the last rock face. He was pushed to the right by the wind hit the ridge with his back. We were all worried to see this and I think most instructors had their heart in their mouth but thankfully he was not injured and was in his senses. He was just about beginning to rappel when another gust of wind threw him to the other side of the ridge. But this guy was simply so relaxed that he managed to smile for my camera. This guy was the only one who took the path on the other side of the ridge and surprisingly he came down without a scratch. Thank god and thank the people holding the ropes. But the fact that despite this accident he came down safe and sound increased our confidence in the people who held the ropes from above and below.

After this accident though it was decided that everybody will rappel between the ridge and the rock face at the left. This path was safer as the ridge provided a very stable surface for the feet. Soon Abhishek‘s turn came and that excited me as now I could leave my camera for him and get ready for my turn. I rushed to the starting point and got ready to rappel within minutes. Some people were waiting there still conquering their fear while I got dressed up and soon I was on the edge. But it seems my descent wasn’t going to be without events. In the very beginning I slipped and was in an odd position. My legs were above me and my head was facing the sky instead of the rock. I was stuck there unable to do anything with my legs or hands but thankfully the instructor above realised that and pulled the rope. Now I was in the right posture with my feet on the rock face and my head facing the rock (a proper L). I was descending quickly when I came across a crack and lost my footing a bit. A gush of wind at the same time made sure that I had a swing but thankfully the swing was small. I gave a smile after I was back under control hoping that somebody was taking a snap and then back on my way to the bottom of the cliff. The rest of the descent was quick and easy but definitely pumped up my adrenaline flow.

Eventually all of the participants took their rappelling practice (even the ones who were stuck at the top for the fear of falling).

Time to say good bye:

Then we came back to the resting place for a sumptuous lunch thought it was rather late in the day at nearly 3:00 pm. The lunch was followed by another feedback session where every one gave their experience. Sandeep, Kaushik and Guncha were named as the most enthusiastic climbers in the group. This was followed by the drinks … no not hard but the drink was a glass of buttermilk and it tasted heavenly especially after being tanned in the sun without too much water to drink for a little above half the day.

I and Abhishek then decided to walk our way down to the base of Sinhagad and then take a bus from there. We came down only to realise that the bus is too crowded at that place and that there was no way we could get a seat in that. With our efforts we did finally get back to Pune in about 2.5 hrs after we started from Sinhagad , thanks to a sumo which willing to bring us to Pune at the same price as the bus.

I then made my way to the bathroom for a nice shower of hot water ….. thank god for electricity and thank the inventor of the water heater.

Now that I am into thanking people I did like to thank all of you for being patient enough to read to this point. I would like to thank Mandar and Ajit (one more of my Ramsay movie potentials) for taking the trouble to organise this camp. Finally last but not the least I would like to thank each and every instructor of the adventure group who took us through the 2 days of the camp, especially Bhau sir who was ever encouraging and Kedar for being the voice of the adventure group and relating with us quite seamlessly which made the whole learning process quite easy and enjoyable.

Caverns and Carillon of Luray

What do you do when you want to get away from the hustle, bustle and tensions of your work life? ... Take a vacation .. booze on the weekend ... do yoga ...The options are many and each person has a very own way of relieving stress. On 30 July 2005 I just wanted to get out of my residence at Richmond, VA - USA.

Our Plan -
Drive up to the nearest Theme park (King's Dominion), pump up the adrenalin with the roll coasters and forget about anything else... A straight forward plan but only 2 of my room mates bought this plan.

Late Start -
Saturday's are for lazing on the bed so we got up late and as usual by the time we got out of home it was noon.
We missed out checking weather and as we were about to enter the park rain's started pouring in and that after going through the slow traffic on I-95. As we were about to enter the park we learnt that being late was not bad after all as the park had just stopped the rides and were not quite certain when they would start them again. Looking at the clouds myself , Damle and Ashutosh thought that it was not a good idea to waste the tickets when the rides were not even running. We decided to think of other options.

And the options are -
About 2 hours of drive from Richmond's opens quite a few getaways .. Virginia beach, Washington, Appalachian Trails ...
The cloudy weather didn't favour the beach and Washington is a city not quite my kind of a getaway. So we thought of going somewhere in the Appalachians. By the time we had finished our lunch and the rains had subsided, it was 3 Pm and Luray was the only place where we could go and comeback the same day


So we headed northwest to Luray via I-64, I-81. As we closed on to the Appalachians the weather started to clear up and soon it was bright and sunny. Just about perfect to get a good view of the mountains. Around 5:45 we reached the caverns. The next tour of the caverns got us into the spectacular world of stalactites and stalagmites. Within minutes of entering the caverns I was amazed by what treasures nature can provide us with. I remembered reading in the science books that water contains salt and minerals. I had seen water dripping from the roof and water leaking drop by drop from a wet ceiling in the rainfall. I had however never imagined that something as common as water dripping from a roof can lead to formation of massive columns called stalactites and stalagmites.


As the guide explained as the water drips from the roof of the cave some amount of salt and minerals in the water are left behind on the ceiling and the ground below. These microscopic quantities over a period of millions of years lead to formation of macroscopic beauties called the stalactites and stalagmites. I don’t remember most of the stories our guide explained about the caves but there was this one piano inside the cave which was an excellent demonstration of nature, music and human imagination working in harmony. The place is a dark humid hollow and a gentle tap with a metal on any formation can definitely make a haunting sound. However it was the imagination of one man Mr Leland W Sprinkle that led to the creation of this wonderful Piano. In 1954 several hours of patient selection by trail and error helped identify some 30 odd notes on as many formations from about several thousands of formations. The formations are gently tapped by solenoids controlled by keys set on a piano. We were spellbound by the tunes of this Piano for a few minutes but it captured my imagination forever.


Another view of note was the mirror inside the cavern. There was an area where the ground mirrored the stalactites on the ceiling. It seemed as if they the formations were actually growing out of the ground but in fact it was a reflection of the ceiling in the clear still ground water in the cave. We talk of the Pyramids and the Great Wall as some wonders of the world. While there is no doubt that these form the epitome of human achievement but these caverns form a part of what I prefer to call as wonders of the nature. These are some sights that are a result of natural phenomena very common in our daily life yet when left untouched for several million years those phenomena give rise to some breathtaking sights – sights where dictionary would fall short of words to provide a description.

As if the Caverns were not a treat to the eyes and mind, there was the Car museum showcasing some of the oldest Cars and Bicycles. It was one large room which captured the history of Cars in USA. We spent around an hour in the Museum and by the time we were out it was almost sunset time at 7:50 pm.

As we stepped out we were ready to ride home but Ashutosh wanted to see one more thing. The information booklet mentioned some Bell tower with 47 bells. Ashutosh kept pestering me and Damle about going to that place through out our time at the museum out we weren’t too interested. When the clock struck 8:00 the bells started ringing. We just stood there in the Luray Parking lot and listened to the sound of the bells. We all thought that it was the hourly gong but the bells kept ringing for more than a few minutes. Then just as we were driving out of Luray we thought we might as well visit this place while we were there.

As soon as we parked outside the tower we realized that the ringing bells were not the hourly gong but in fact a part of a timed recital. All the bells were connected to a Carillon (an instrument which is like a Piano but the keys are connected to the Bell Clappers and can be used to play the bells to a harmonic tune) and the Carillon was played in a scheduled recital. The recital would last for 45 minutes. The tunes sounded were good and we decided to stay on to bear testimony to this treat for the eyes, ears, heart and soul.

The Singing Tower –
The singing tower is present in a very picturesque setting and coupled with the timing and the music, it makes way to a remarkable experience. The tower stands against a back drop of the small and beautiful town of Luray. In front of the tower just across the road towards the west are the Luray Caverns. Behind the Caverns towards the horizon are the scenic Appalachian Mountains. There are wooden benches facing the west kept ready for an audience. Just in front of the benches is a small calm lake. The benches usually have a few people sitting on them. A young couple, an elderly old man, a few families and small children playing around the lake – they all just add to atmosphere. When we went to the Carillon there was also a female trying to sketch the tower. The timing of the recital is also such that it just prepares you for an unforgettable experience. At 8:00 pm the sun has just started to set behind the mountains. The evening sky had the various shades of orange. The benches are set just right to see the sunset. I sat down on one of the benches and just listened to the tunes that the carillonneur was playing. The beautiful sunset made a treat for the eyes and the tunes were just great music for the ears. The sunset soon made way for the twilight colours in the slightly clouded sky. The whole scene with the people, the tower, the bells, the lake , the sunset and the mountains seemed to me like a scene straight out of a romantic fiction novel set in the 1700s (except for the Cars). This experience touched my heart and soon I found myself trying to meditate and feel one with my soul. The only real thing missing from my perspective was the absence of my girlfriend. I thought to myself that I would come back to this place sometime with my wife / Girl friend whenever I get a chance.

Truly this last experience was the pick of the trip to luray. As we were driving back all three of us were happy that we didn’t go to Kings Dominion. It seemed like all the happenings of the day were not just a coincidence but perhaps a definite set of events that set us up for the recital. We came to Luray in the evening and spent a lot of time in the museum, and just by chance were still present in Luray till 8. But we were happy that this whole set of events allowed us to listen to the recital that we otherwise wouldn’t even have imagined.

Cycle to Sinhagad

This write up is probably a boring one (considering that it is a monoact) but nevertheless I hope you can continue till the end of it.

Background
Friday 23 April 2004:

It had been exactly 3 months since my last trek (Mulaiyangiri in Jan 2004). By now an avid trekker with 7 treks in a span of one year at Bangalore I had gotten used to this habit of going out for treks once in every 1.5 – 2 months. This was a considerably long gap without any trek. The worst part is that I am now in Pune which is supposed to be a trekkers paradise with so many forts of the Shivaji era spread all around Pune not to mention the hill stations like lonavala , Khandala , Mahabaleshwar and of course the Sahayadri mountains – the host to all the forts and the hill stations. To add to this urge for a trek was a long weekend (thanks to the polls Monday was a holiday). So everything was right for a trek except for some soaring temperatures of Pune. Also I had to be in Mumbai for the weekend so Sinhagad seemed the best option as it could be covered in a matter of 2 hrs and was only an hours journey from Pune. All I needed to do now was to find some like minded people who were free on the weekend.

All my efforts to rope in somebody to accompany me were in vain for various reasons.

For the Mumbaites long weekend meant more time to laze around in Mumbai. For some people office continuous to be an attractive destination on the weekends. Then there were others with some random plans on the weekend. For the Puneites this trek was more like a morning walk which they did every Sunday so they too were not too keen and no way I could woo them into accompanying me. That left a desperate me and my tanhaee (my bicycle). Finally I decided come what may I am going. So I caught hold of one of the Puneite morning walkers (Saee) and one with some random plans (Manoj) and got each of them to give their input on how to get there. Saee’s complete road map ultimately turned out to be very helpful.

7.30 pm: With nobody to accompany me I finally decided to go on my own (rather with my tanhaee). The question haunting me was “To cycle or not to cycle”. I decided to test myself and then answer the question and went on to roam around Paud road – Karve Road and then on to the sinhagad road itself. After about 2 hrs of cycling with a lot of breaks I decided “To Cycle”. The pune heat was a big factor so I decide to start early in the morning. My plan was simple start at 6:00 am reach the Pytha (the starting spot for the trek) or the base camp by 8 :00 .Park the cycle there and trek to the top by 9 :00 am. Then some roaming around and back to the Pytha by 10.30. Then cycle back to my home by 12.30 and finally Leave for Mumbai by 3:00 pm. The plan seemed perfect except that I had not accounted for two things properly. One was the fact that the heat was going to sap my energy and the cycling would be even more tiresome especially on the return journey with the Sun soaring higher and higher. The second was that even though I have done a lot of treks I haven’t done any trekking all alone and after 2 hrs of cycling. But both these factors only added to the fun as I ended up testing my endurance.


The Trek

Saturday 24 April 2004:

6:07 am : I packed up some 2 litres of water , my camera and a few chocolates and I was off on my tanhaee (my MTB bicycle). The temperature was cool and the sun was shining to its full brightness yet so I enjoyed peddling my way. My first destination was the Rajaram bridge across the Mula / Mutha river which put me on the sinhagad road. This place is about 4- 5 Kms from my home in Kothrud. Being a bachelor without a kitchen at home my only breakfast was some frooti available at some shop which opened up early. I got some dry fruits to keep me alive on the way. My planned breakfast was at the Pytha.

6.32 am : I am at Rajaram bridge. No cramps or strains so far. Hardly any water used and almost no heat. So far it was all very pleasant and I was enjoying the morning air. A short break and I started again. I planned to take a break almost every half an hour so that I wouldn’t get too tired. The distance form this bridge to the Pytha was about 18 Kms or so so it would take me about 1.5 hrs. I was a little behind schedule but that was not too much of a problem. I continued cycling. Now the sun was rising and I felt that having not taken a bath early morning was not a problem after all. My shirt was already too quite wet with the sweat but yet I hadn’t taken a completed bath in the heat. All the time the sun was rising behind me and I could only imagine as to how bad it would be on the return journey when the sun would be shining in my face. But I decided that whatever happened I had to make it back to Pune alive and kicking. Just then I saw an empty truck heading towards Pune. This vehicle lit up my eyes. I knew what I had to do in case I got too tired – just take a lift. After all who would deny lift to a poor little boy on cycle in the middle of a highway in the afternoon (Atleast that’s what I thought).

7.15 am: I reached outskirts of Khadakwasla ( a cantonment town near Pune). According to Saee’s info there was a Dam nearby but as yet there was no sign of it. I had cycled continuously for a long time now and I was losing my breathe. So my second long break came after nearly 45 minutes of cycling. I was feeling really tired and it was only the dry fruits and some water couple with the cool shade of a banyan tree that gave me the confidence to continue.

7.30 am: I was cycling with the IAT (Institute of Armament Technology) campus on my left and the Khadakvasla backwaters of the DAM on my right. The scenery was beautiful. The waters were tempting me to have a splash but that would have meant that I would overshoot my plan and risk some sun burns on the return journey. Also I didn’t have any changeovers as I hadn’t anticipated this opportunity before. So all my intentions of a bath put to rest I went on. There was a gradual slope upwards from now on which meant that I had to peddle that much harder. I took a break after every 10 -15 minutes.

7.50 am: I could see the Sinhagad for quite clearly now all the time perched atop the tallest peak among the visible ones. It seemed so close I thought it should be just 10 minutes or so from here to the Pytha. My legs were a little stiff now with almost 2 hrs of cycling. But the sight of Sinhagad charged me up. I enquired with some villagers nearby who disappointed me by telling that the pytha was another 5 kms. Now 5 Kms was a long distance still to go and the slope was increasing. All I could do now is to drag the cycle whenever the slope was a little steep and peddle when it was flat or downwards.

8.00 am: I saw to roads one was a narrower one which I was told led to the Pytha. The other one apparently was the one which meandered along the slope right upto the top of Sinhagad. I decided to stick to the plan and took the road to the Pytha. The slope was now almost continuous and with my tired legs I walked most of the way but utilized the slightest downhill slope or flat road available.

8.30 am: Finally after about 2.5 hrs of cycling I reached the base camp. Parked my cycle in some shade and went to the nearest hotel to devour some food. The bread omelet was a good breakfast and made me ready for the climb. The bad news though was that the temperature was already increasing and the sun was shining brighter.

After relaxing and stretching my muscles I started the climb at about 9:00 am. My plan was already overshot by an hour but I was hoping that I would climb fast and come down quick and save some time there.

9.15 am: Just 15 minutes into the climb and I realized that the Sun god was mercilessly beating down on my back. To add to it all the foliage around was dry due to the summer heat so virtually no shade. I tried walking fast but my tired legs refused to coordinate. I had no option but to forget about the idea of making it back to Pune by 12.30. Never mind I thought at least I’ll complete my trek. As I climbed slowly often dragging myself I saw a few stalls on the path. The peddlers in those stalls were selling lemon juice and masala cucumbers. While the heat tried its best to tire me out .. tones (actually just 3 glasses) of lemon juice and some cucumber kept me going on and on. At one point I thought I was going to drop down but a little rest each time kept me going on and on. I remembered the Duracell advt… about going on and on.

9.50 am: I was about mid way to the top by now. A look down and I could see the backwaters of the Khadakvasla dam. That was one beautiful sight. I could also see the whole path leading down to the road below. A look up and I could see the Sinhagad fort in all its glory along with the Prasar bharti tower atop the fort. All the 3 gates of the fort were visible. Now I knew that I wasn’t far away and could make it quite easily to the top. Most of the climb I had avoided the steeper paths keeping in mind the bad grip of my floaters and my tired legs but now I didn’t mind all that. With the destination so close I was excited and used the steeper short cuts to speed up my climb.

10.30 am: finally I was at the top. Sitting in the shade provided by the Gate I wondered how it could be so cool and breezy here when it is much hotter just a few steps away. I took my time with my camera and roamed around. There were a number of eateries on the top and all the women out there referred to me as “bala” (which in Marathi is used to refer to kids). Felt nice to be treated like a kid. The kid inside me suddenly felt pampered and I loved the attention a loner like me got. The fort also has a house which once belonged to Lokmanya Tilak. There are the samadhis of Shivaji and Tanaji Malusare (A warrior in Shavajis army). There is a well which is supposed to have water all round the year even when the wells in the nearby villages below are dry. I also went atop the Kalyan Gate right across the other side of the fort, which provided the best view available from the accessible places on the Fort. All in all I saw most of what I could see and finally decided to return.

11:30 am: I started my descent after satisfying my appetite for good scenery. I started slowly but as I walked I felt that my legs were no longer tired and soon I found my self literally running down the path. The descent was very fast and I was back down in almost half the time.

12.15 pm: Back at the hotel where I had my breakfast I had some lassi and biscuits. I was tempted to have a full lunch but the heat had partly killed my appetite. A short nap and I was thinking about what am I going to write in this report. I guess I didn’t have to think too much to write such a long report. There was a continuous slope on the way back so I thought that at least the initial part of the return journey wouldn’t be tiring. Although the thought of catching the truck was very tempting I skipped 2 trucks. I thought truck should be a last minute resort and should be taken only when I no longer have the energy to continue. After all if I took a truck I wouldn’t be able to brag about having cycled to and fro for the whole of Pune – Sinhagad distance. For a chatterbox as I am more adventure meant more to talk (and write). All said and done the slope was so good now that all I had to do was to have my hand on the brake and watch out for any vehicles coming along. The next part was cool and all I could think now was about my 3* 6 ft mattress in Pune. With so many hours of cycling and trekking I was beginning to realize the value of 206 - every orthopedists favourite number. I was feeling each and every of those 206 bones as I cycled occasionally whenever I met with a flat road or a uphill ride. I also was thinking about how comfortable the chair in my cubicle is which provides so much rest to my butt as against this hard seat on the cycle.

1:00 pm: Back at Khadakvasla Dam . This time I took a break for pictures and again the water was tempting. Once again I stopped myself saying that I had to go to Mumbai as well the same day. With some water to keep my body from dehydrating I peddled on. I knew I wasn’t far off from Pune and in another 1.5 Hrs I should be back home. The only worry though was Mr .Ravi (Sun god) dancing overhead. My handkerchief which was by now tied on my head like the Bedouins cape provided some relief but it was not enough. As I cycled further now my muscles were beginning to go on strike as well. But the thought of the well laid bed at No 5 / Jyotsana , Korthrud ,Pune kept me going. Now for the first time I seemed to be counting on every extra second that I cycled.

1:40 pm: Finally I saw the flyover (perhaps the Bombay Bangalore bypass highway) which meant that I was on the outskirts of Pune. But that also meant that I was into my reserve energy. About 10 minutes from Pune and I had to take a long rest to allow my breathe to catch up and my body to cool a little. After almost 15 minutes of rest I started my last dash to Pune and soon the Rajaram bridge was back in site.

2:15 pm: I reached the Rajaram bridge still had enough energy to continue cycling right up to home but the line of auto rickshaws was too tempting. Also with the sun still beating down overhead I thought it was better not to try more stunts and played it safe. The autowalla was kind enough to allow me and my tanhaee both into the auto at just Rs 10 extra. Never mind I said to myself I had saved much more on the Sumo / ST tickets.

2:30 pm: Back home lazing on the bed and already bragging about my feat to the first person (Shag) to receive a call from me.

All in all a trip that I thorougly enjoyed except that there was nobody to chat on the way. But that’s ok I can always write down my experience.

Hope I didn’t bore you guys too much.