Naneghat

We turned left on Alephata towards the well know Malshej Ghat. And Suddenly Pratik realised the cars gear stick is moving in all directions, and not locking in the gerar socket. He pulled the car on the shoulder and we realised the problem was big. We could not operate the gear stick at all. Luckily Ale Phata was just a Km behind and we got a mechanic from there. The connection between the gear stick and the engine was gone. We got it done but we lost 30 - 40 mins in the process. It was already 1745 andwe were at ALe phata. We were running 2 hrs behind schedule. As Pratik took the wheel the gear stick was still hard and the 3rd gear was still not fluent. To rain had started to pour to further dampen our interest in climbing Naneghat in the night. Malshej ghat was invisible due to fog and clouds. Pratik must have had great time driving us through it. The road conditions were horrid,big potholes every where and rain water slushing onthe road. We followed brake lights of a big truck till be got down the ghats. It was slow moving and was scary some times. Jinko and me kept finding the white shoulder line on the left and pratik kept slowly following the brake lights. As we got down the road and the visibility conditions improved and we cruised comfortably, thanx to Jinko for his "Aaa (trade mark long pause.......) Lautke aja mere meet"

On the way towards Vaishakhare we saw a big board pointing towards Naneghat, just 1-2 Kms from Vaishakhare.We had already decided not to climb in the rains and drop Jeevdhan, decided to camp in the village temple. This Maruti Mandir is well built and clean and can accomodate around 15 ppl.It even has power. Till now axcept for the hard drive we were very very comfortable. Vaishakhare is a preety big village on the highway with a school and also well connected by state transport busses from Kalyan and Murbad. Pratik Jinko and mintya are college mates and they had funny stories to tell from therre college lifes'. It was a good dinner talk and we hit bed at around 2200. Every buddy was keen on getting up early and only enthu ppl were pratik and Xitija. Me and jinko were last to get out of the bed but first to get ready for the trek. After a small halt at the road side hotel for chai we reached the Naneghat base marker around 0730 hrs.
Nana cha Angtha	Gang in Naneghat	Black out Cave

There was a big wild boar lying dead in front of the us. that was one hell of a site. It must have been crushed by a truck or something but I had never seena Ran-dukkar in my life, I tell you guys its a beast.. really a big beast.All those who have a notion that a pig looks more ugly than dangemrous should see a wild boar. Even the dead boar was frightning. Pratik steered the car around the stinking carcass. We started our walk in the unkown as nothing was visible due to heavy cloud cover. The route is well BEATEN.. and its very well marked with arrows on the rocks. Very difficult to loose your way here. First hour of the trek is a merry walk and a jentle climb to the first plateau, where you come across a broken down settlement and you start seeing the big electric poles climb alongside you till the top. These take power to Mumbai from the deccan plateau. Once you have climbed for for an hour the route enters pretty dense forest but the route is well beaten and if properly flatenned you can drive a bullock-cart up to the naneghat. Its that wide. All along the way you will find arrrow marks on rocks. So the crux is its almost impossible to loose you way atleast in the day time. So the rule of thumb followed on such routes "If you are walking on less beaten path your are blind" just kidding.
Toll office - Nanaeghat	Rest in the coluds	Green climb

We started at around 0800 and reached meerily to the top by 1030. We had ample Tang stops on the way and were still drenched out by the humidity. I was all wet with sweat and ocassional rain. after reaching the top we had good lunch Pooran Poli, peanut butter,granola bars and lots of water. After a relaxing break and waiting for the clouds to clear we clicked a few "WE WERE HERE SNAPS" and started our journey back. Walk through the slippery rocks was a hard work on cerebellum balancing the body. We did not think it would be that hard when we were climbing :) almost every buddy slipped once. As we climbed down the clouds cleared and Nana cha angtha was visible in all its glory. It took us around 2 hrs to get down. On the way to the car we had a plunge in the stream for about half an hour. I always wonder what make the body feel so refreshed after a dip. after a long 5-6 hour trek we were not feeling tired. Thanks to the refreshing dip. When we returned to the car the carcass was still stinking and the birds were having a party along with the flies. We changed into dry clothes and off we went towards Pune. After a short break at Malshej Top for some "WE WERE HERE SNAPS" and Narayangaon for a very hot spicy Misal, we reached Pune by 2000. Thanks guys for making this a refreshing trek. See you all next time on some other mountain.
Very happy - Om	Refreshing Jacuzi	Ale phata - Malshej - Murbad
Location : Junnar , Malshej Getting there :(ST bus) Pune - Ale phata - Malshej - Vaishakhare Best time to visit : Avoid Heavy Rains,harsh summers More Photos : Naneghat

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