A book, a boot, and chai.

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Siddhgadh - Flash Flood

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The soft pitter patter of the rain falling on my head was like a comforting rhythm. My feet went squelching in the mud but it did not matter. We had been walking in the rain all day and by now we had adjusted to this wet wet world. We walked in silence in the rapidly approaching darkness. As we walked past the few huts that comprised the little hamlet, we heard a female voice cry out. She said something but the words were lost in the moist wind that cooled our faces as we hurried past. "What was that?" I asked Anil, who was a few paces behind me, "what is she saying?". His command of Marathi was marginally better than mine, or so I thought....thus my appeal to him for a translation. Anil shook his head. "I can't really make out what she is saying." The voice called out again, but we ignored it and kept walking until we were out of earshot. As we approached the little stream that we had waded across 8 hours earlier, an ever increasing roar fi...
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A Dawdle with Dog and Dam

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Satyabrata Dam looked at the rear cargo section of my Honda CRV incredulously. "I must take a picture of this," he said. "All this stuff for a weekend hike!" He could barely conceal the shock that was written all over his face. Baby is all set to travel. (Photo courtesy Satyabrata Dam) Our dog Baby gave him a No Comment look as she made herself comfortable amidst the luggage. She was used to my travel habits, which were a far cry from the spartan norms which my friend Satya was more accustomed to in his extreme adventures to the far corners of the world. Satya has climbed Everest four times, skied to the North and South Poles, climbed the highest peaks on all the seven continents, commanded submarines in the Indian Navy, is a TED Fellow and was now visiting with us for a couple of weeks. He girdles the globe seeking hard climbs in remote and dangerous locations (Afghanistan is a case in point), runs an Everest guiding service and delivers motivational talks...
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Basgadh - Child's Play

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This time it wasn't me who fell. You might be forgiven for assuming that I, like Julius Caesar, "hath the falling sickness" if you have been following my other blogs The Accidental Climber ( http://taccidental.blogspot.com/2012/06/mayhem-at-mumbra.html ) and The Accidental Trekker ( http://accidentaltrekker.blogspot.com/2012/08/life-begins-at-10000-feet.html ) Franklyn Silveira, my hiking friend over many decades, was the Fall Guy this time! Worse, he had slipped on a patch of wet rock while carrying tiny little Shruti piggyback on his shoulders. Miraculously, Shruti was intact but Franklyn's psyche was not. Shruti's mother Shyama was even more perturbed and relieved Franklyn of his babysitting duties immediately! It was June 1995 and this was my first taste of Basgadh. Over the next ten years, Basgadh steadily graduated to become one of my all time favourite destinations in the Sahyadri. Why am I so besotted with Basgadh? When you ...
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