Pune - Rajgad - Connecting Ridge - Torna - Pune: In a Day - Part III

Continued from Part - II ...

Fort Torna (तोरणा किल्ला)

BUDHALA MACHEE (बुधला माची)

By 3pm indeed, I was below Budhala Machee. Couple of inclined spots had a lot of scree and gravel for my comfort, and with that heavy rucksack on my back, I had to be a tad more careful to avoid any skid.

Budhala Machee and its pinnacle (बुधला माची आणि त्यावरील सुळका)

I had learnt that there were 3 rockpatches along the Rajgad-Torna route, and on reaching Budhala Machee, I was all excited and started locating the first one - Shidi Rockpatch on Budhala Machee.

It was a disappointment. It was so lame that, after putting my rucksack and camera bag down, I could climb it while holding my DSLR in one hand, in 30sec tops, while avoiding almost 90% of the ladder (from the left of the ladder). Getting down is different matter altogether though. There is a lot of scree and gravel there, and it suddenly dawns on you while getting down.

Ladder Rockpatch (शिडी कातळकडा) - Start

Ladder Rockpatch - From a distance

Ladder Rockpatch - The Ladder

Konkan Darwaja (कोकण दरवाजा)

I kept my camera on one of the rocks there, and started getting down using all four limbs. But it was harder than I thought. The scree and gravel was making it insanely difficult for me to get good holds. And the place is exposed well enough to make you concerned about the reliability of your next hold. It took me upwards of 15mins to get down from there. 

After picking up my bag, again it took me mere 30 seconds to climb that rock-patch. There, below the ladder, I met a local leaving for home, and got couple of glasses of lime juice to freshen up. By the time I reached top of Budhala Machee, it was 3:30pm. Now this was part of Torna, where I had never been before. But hey, I had never been on that long sprawling ridge before either.

After I started following the dirt route for sometime, I reached what people call rock-patches. They are rocks from the falling fortification, sitting on top of each other in a strange way. Though the exposure is on both sides of that patch, there are proper holds, and if you are nimble with your movements, there is no way these 'rock-patches' can pose any risks. You can be out from there in no time.

I was at Konkan Darwaja by 4:15pm and here I met a boisterous group of lads from Police force who had arrived at Velhe for बंदोबस्त (vigil) during some local poll process. They were quite vocal, and within seconds we built a nice rapport and the conversation was flowing. Me being from Sangli probably helped, since couple of guys were from Sangli themselves. They were impressed with me crossing the whole long ridge alone on my own, while I was impressed by their jolly demeanor with a commoner like me - (supposedly) so much missing from Police force in general.

Fortifications near Mengai-Devi Temple  (मेंगाईदेवी मंदिराजवळची तटबंदी)

TORNA

Taking their leave, I was quickly on my way towards Mengai Devi Temple, and by 4:30pm I was on my way down towards Torna base. Since 1.5hr was seemingly sufficient for climbing down Torna, chances of making it to the base before sundown were looking very bright.

All along the climb down, the legs had started making their presence felt. It was a torture to walk downhill with aching toes. But as planned, I made it to the base right at 6pm. The sun hadn't set as yet, and I was ecstatic to have completed what I had set out to do, strictly within the schedule I had set for myself. There was a very pleasant sense of achievement running around in my mind.

WAY BACK HOME

The next aim was to get to Gunjavane and pick up my bike, before I would set out for home. This turned out to be an ordeal which I hadn't expected. The region is quite short on transportation, and since Gunjavane is almost 20km from Velhe, I was getting quite anxious with every passing vechile that wouldnt stop. Finally got a jeep till Pabe and then a truck till Margasani bifurcation.

आऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽऽय हाझ डन् इट!!

It was 7:10pm and Rajgad was still 8-10kms from there. By sheer luck, I came to know that there was a मुक्कामी बस (residential bus) from Vajeghar till Gunjavane at 7:30pm, and suddenly all my tension went away. I was going to reach home that night after all.

By the time I reached Gunjavane and left for home, it was almost 8pm, and owing to the low visibility coupled with flying insects all around in the night, I maintained a very slow speed throughout. At 9:30pm I reached home, and thus ended one of the most hectic and ambitious treks I had ever got myself into.

Apart from the sense of achievement for going solo in an unknown territory, it was the success on planning and time-management fronts that really improved the credibility of my gut. In my own mind, that is.