The Monsoons like never before...

I just had a blast with a valley crossing event in Duke's nose valley, one amongst the jewelled sahyadris.I came home with an accentuated suntan, with my skin getting darker with every trek.Never mind, as it is all worth it,to say the least.We were a group of 260 people from my workplace( distributed in batches) and i was in the morning- noon batch with a headcount of 110.People from different companies,accompanied by friends,companions and some loners, looking forward to making new friends,were all excited about the thrilling adventure they were going to experience.Weather was not that cooperative, with a sunny day adding to weariness.As we boarded the local to Lonavala with the group scattered in all corners of the Coach they we chose to be in,all i could see was new faces, all in tracks and t-shirts,excited and happy about the day that was to be dedicated to the activity,valley crossing event,and some magnificient views of nature and beauty, all together.I became a part of the group who shouted and fought(ofcourse in good sense :-)) for points and places unknown, in a game of atlas.I ended up with a mild headache, discovering that it was the result of those high pitched shouts and efforts to be heard, and the good thing was that we won the game.Time sped by, and i found that we were being watched and stared at by some of our colleagues,and some locals,who ofcourse were becoming the victims of noise pollution, with our continous rants and absent minded fights :-).Anyways,we reached Lonavals station,and after a headcount and the core group deciding who will take which position so as to make sure the group is safe and navigated well, we strode through the plain track that led us to the base village.The journey to the base village was lovely with the takeaways being-beautiful row houses on either side, a well, some children playing by, a puddle here and there, duke's nose view from different angles,a stream with a beautiful scenic view, and a plain lush green stretch leading to the base point from where the climb to the valley was to start.We had our lunch and post that, we started, though tired, the real climb,considering it was steeper than what i had estimated from what adventurizants, the core group told us .:-).The climate was hot and was adding to the difficulty but with time, the trek seemed easier and at points,we clicked and made sure we cover up for we were amongst the ones who were behind the rest of teh group.The climb consisted of smooth stretches, rare though,some out of shape rocks,some steep and risky movements,but the rocks were not moist and the way far away from being slippery, which made the trek safe,considering we were a huge group with people of different strength and experience in trekking. As we approached the peak, i saw beautiful sights wherever i looked-valleys stacked close to each other,with your imagination turning them into shapes resembling a nose or maybe a ship, the various shades of green, deep green glistening along with a darker,paler green stretch close to it, the panoramic view of the "unknown" beyond the valleys, the white smoke which made you think if there is something beyond those valleys, with your eyes estimating the certain point becoming your farthest vision.Beautiful, and worth the effort of the climb! We sat there for a while, to take a glimpse and form memories,i just penned down.We reached the top sometime later, and there were few ropes tied with safety equipments,and the adventure group, leading the activity from four positions.I preferred crossing through the peak, it was the most thrilling point to cross anyways.:-).As i became ready to go for my turn,i checked the harness twice, with my subconsicous mind making me weak with questions of what if ? , and i was a bit surprised, at my subdued fear, that had emerged as i realized that the valley was deep.I asked the person in charge of leading the activity if those buckles they use to connect the rope to the harness are really strong,and i was assured with his answer that they are just a formality, they have all safety in place.And that took all the hazy pictures that i was imagining, with me falling due to an open buckle..:-).It was a great experience,with the strude being smooth,and landing back at other end,took some effort but it was fun.Yeah, i took time landing to the ground as i was not sure i could balance myself in that small area which was shared by the person who was helping us untying and landing from the master rope. It was just like the time when you lose confidence in yourself for a while even when you are delivering the best speech you could think of.Anyways,i reached safely to the other end and felt happy to be a a part of such experience.Went back to the other end again,where entire group was present,with some close to the start points,clicking shots of tehir friends about to start the valley crossing,some idling nearby,some looking at scenic views,while some gossiping and making merry.I borrowed Sunil's (my teammate and an avid trekker) cam and clicked some pics,of the amazing view from top,hoping that it would appear the same in the pics,as it looked like then. It was an awesome view and we clicked some pics together too.After a while, we trekked down the peak, to the base village, and it was almost evening.Cool wind, with fog covering some peaks looked beautiful and captivating.We clicked few pics and moved faster.Washing your face from an odd water tap amidst the lush greens,with cold water running is so much fun,isnt it? We stopped for a while near the base point and moved for the station.Chatted about stories of ghosts and supernatural powers entire journey in train and reached the station.Came home tired and a sunburn but it was a great day.