Kalsubai - Conquering Maharashtra and a Broken Fibula

Trekking has always been one of my favorite activities and being an outdoorsy person I am always excited with the prospect of going to a trek. Since, 2017 when I had moved to Mumbai for work, Kalsubai was on my to-do list but I was not able to go for it and finally in April 2019 (thanks to Instagram) I decided to go because it was like a now or never kind of situation. I told my office friends about the same and two them decided to join me. So, I made the bookings for myself, Rutuja and Tejas for the coming weekend of 14th April.

Kalsubai is a mountain in the great Western Ghats and its summit is the highest point in the state of Maharashtra at an elevation of 5400 feet and after trekking Triund which is at an elevation of 9350 feet, I was pretty confident about it despite it being a moderately difficult trek but I did not know what was going to unfold in front of my eyes.

I informed my friends that it is a night trek and provided them with the details of necessary stuff which needs to be carried like flashlight, water bottles and some energy bars etc. 

Saturday came and we reached Thane station from where we had to board the last local train to Kasara which was the meeting point for everyone but when I saw Rutuja at Thane station, my first observation was her shoes. She was wearing red sneakers which definitely did not qualify as trekking shoes and I immediately asked her about the sneakers but that conversation did not last long. Finally, Tejas also reached Thane and we boarded the train and reached Kasara at 1 in the morning and were ferried on a taxi to Bari village from where we had to start our ascend.

We reached Bari and after a quick rest and some instructions, we started the ascend. It was a group of 15-16 people and everyone's flashlight was out, the initial stages were pretty easy and it took us no time to reach the first halt for a quick breather. The weather was pleasant and it was a starry night, while we were catching our breath, Rutuja saw a shooting star or at least she claimed that. We began again and the climb started to get a little tough, the absence of any physical activity in my daily routine started showing its signs and I started getting a bit tired but I did not let that thought stay in my mind for long, also some motivational quotes painted on the rocks pumped me.

It was dusk and we had completed almost 90% of the climb, we could see the glimmering lights of nearby establishments. I was ecstatic, my energy was back and the only thing that was going on in my mind was sunrise and the pictures I will be clicking. Finally, we reached the summit and three of us sat on a ledge, talking and clicking pictures, a cool breeze was blowing and it was very pleasing.

The sky was showing its colors, from the dark blues to the bright golden hues, it was surreal.

 

The sun was up and shining and after some rest and a little breakfast, it was time for us to descend, we told Rutuja to take extra care while descending and stay between myself and Tejas because going down is always the most trickiest part of a trek. The soil was loose and slippery, our dear friend Rutuja was in no mood to follow the instructions and 20 minutes into the descend, Rutuja, who was in her own world made a mighty mistake. The foot placement got wrong and her sneakers did the rest, she gained momentum going down and after dodging 2-3 boulders she finally slammed into a massive boulder.

Tejas and I were shocked, we looked at each other and ran towards her with an "I told you so attitude."

Rutuja was lying down in pain, initially we thought that she will be fine but after giving her a pain killer and spraying the affected area, she still was unable to stand. This sight scared me and I could only think of a broken leg but I did not say anything as absolute honesty isn't always the safest or the most diplomatic form of communication with emotional beings. We encouraged her to at least stand up but she was not able to do that. The worry factor was surging as we had a long way to go before anything could be done, the sun was starting to warm up and she was in immense pain.

Then we found 3 saviors within the group: Rishikesh, Lloyd and Jayesh. The former 2 were coming from Pune and they said that we will have to carry her all the way down and honestly speaking there was no other option available. Rishi took the lead and carried Rutuja over his shoulders and we started to walk again. We were cracking jokes to keep her encouraged and even she was singing. Rishi and Jayesh switched lifting Rutuja and we were carrying their bags.

We had almost covered the descend but the heat and the pain started taking its toll on Rutuja so, we decided to stop under some shade, gave her whatever water was left. We asked Tejas to keep going and ask for some help as our trek leader had abandoned us and had reached the base village. Tempers were running high but we had a dehydrated and injured friend so we had to calm ourselves down. I was constantly talking to her because her being conscious was extremely important for us, finally Tejas came up with some help. The trek leader also came with a sheet and we lay her down in it and carried her to a nearby point from where she can be taken on a bike. I held her firmly on the bike because the balance was very important and the things were not going our way, falling her again from the bike was not an option. Thankfully we reached the base village  and I carried her inside the designated place and after a while the rest of the guys were also there. Rishi and Lloyd said that they will drop us Mumbai and we instantly agreed to it because carrying her in a local train would have been a gigantic task. After all this drama, we finally left from Bari village and dropped Rutuja to her home. She had not informed her family and the sight of me carrying Rutuja to her home along with 3 other guys must have shocked her little sister.

We came back to our respective places after dropping her home, next day we called her to know about the condition of the leg. The impact from the boulder had broken her fibula bone and she got operated in the same week, she is fine now but she has a screw in her leg now which is holding the bone together.

The experience of this trek will always remain ingrained in my mind, the sense of achievement and the euphoria of climbing the highest peak of Maharashtra to immense shock and fear, it was a proper package. In a way, this accident made us meet some very humble and lovely gentlemen and I think it is safe to say that this friendship will remain with us for a very long time.

Till the next trek or the next journey, Ciao!