Monsoon Treks

FACE-CSI TREK

The FACE-CSI trek on 11th August marked the beginning of a new year of gratitude and self loathing aka what a year of engineering boils down to.

The second years and third years accompanied the freshers on their one day long trip to Karnala Fort. Their bus journey paved the way for much needed interaction among the Juniors and Seniors.

“The freshers have maximum energy when it comes to the trek. It’s a thrill to both organise it and participate in it.” said Pulin Prabhu, Creative Head- FACE.

Thirty-three first years started their journey at 11:30 am as the proverbial ribbon cutting to their first year of engineering.  

The climb was steep but computer engineering is not made for the faint hearted. They persevered. It was interspersed with a rain that flirted with the wind and gave the freshers an opportunity to bond with one another.

“The trek justified what is said about traveling: It leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller. The exquisitely chosen destination coupled with perfect weather highlighted by just the right amount of rains made for a perfect day.” Harsh Sandesara, FE Computers.

Needless to say, this is simply a precursor to what stands to be an exhilarating year for the branch.

-Garima Kaushik

IEEE TREK

The new academic year came in with a literal breath of fresh air, with IEEE organizing its annual monsoon trek in the hills, on the 11th of August. The congregation of students from Electronics, EXTC and MCA departed from college at 6AM. A multitude of games like antakshari and  charades kept the atmosphere lively through the bus ride to Kothaligad, near Karjat.

After a refreshing breakfast enroute, the students accompanied by tour guides embarked on their climb. The hill road gradually gave way to a trickier pathway, leaving the trekkers’ boots soiled, as they stepped over slippery rocks and cascading streams of muddy water.

Towards the end of the trek was a heart stopping point, a hairpin turn without any railings on the side, which the SPITians braved and surged ahead.
The fort was only at a ten minutes climb from there, where they explored and marvelled at the architecture, and the craftsmanship of humans. The surrounding view was breathtaking and promptly had everyone scrambling to pick spots and take pictures.
Descending to a checkpoint, lunch was arranged, following which the buses left for Mumbai. The students were exhausted, yet enriched having scaled one of many peaks in their journey of engineering.

-Aumkar Gadekar

ESA-IETE TREK

It was a happy day for the students of Electronics and EXTC, as it was time for a trek at One Tree Hill. The trek was organised by ESA (Electronics Student’s Association) in collaboration with IETE committee, on 25th August, 2018. One tree hill is situated in Matheran, approximately 1.5-2 km from Matheran toy train station and ninety kilometres from Mumbai. The height of the hill is roughly 2,625 feet above sea level.

A total of ninety-four students had gone for the trek. The bus journey from the college entrance towards Matheran started at 6:30A.M. The students were provided enroute breakfast.Trek began at the village of Ambewadi. The weather was pleasant, occasional rains and waterfalls, made the trek an adrenaline filled one.

  The last part of the trek was the toughest. The students had to climb around patches of waterfalls, on loose, uneven stones. An adventure they thoroughly enjoyed. The students reached the peak to find a combination of refreshments and a breath-taking view available for them.

After finishing the descent, they were served delicious Veg Biryani for lunch. Professional trekkers to guide the students and first aid ensured a safe trek.

Rahul Kelaskar, the cultural secretary of ESA quoted, “The trek was a great experience, not only for the participants, but also for us. With the amount of fun everyone had on the trip, it was a great start to the year.”

– Akash Junnarkar

ITSA Trek

At an astonishing height of 2300 feet, in the mountain ranges of Sahyadris, lies the Muranjan fort. Better known as what Shivaji named it-‘Prabalgad’, is situated in the Raigad district of Maharashtra and tops the list of all offbeat trekkers. Built by the Bahmani Sultanate, this massive fort has witnessed the rise and fall of powerful kingdoms, such as the Marathas and the Mughals. But on 25th August, the fort only saw the spirited students from the IT branch rise up to its peaks

Morning 7 A.M, everyone was ready with their tracks & shoes. It was a two-and-a-half-hour drive to reach Thakurwadi -the base village for Prabalgad. The students had ‘missal pav’- the local’s breakfast before starting their ascend on the trail. They were greeted by sweet voices of nature that have got muffled in this city full of chaos.  After about 80 minutes of trekking they reached Prabalmachi- the halfway checkpoint. While on their trail, they passed through a patch of the thick forest and crossed a gushing stream.  Birds like Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and White-Rumped Shama greeted them as well. In about 3 hours, they reached the top and were astounded by the breathtaking view.  Amidst this beautiful surrounding they had their lunch and clicked photos enough to flood their Instagram stories. The downhill journey was great too, trickier and more tiring. By the time they reached the base village, everyone had the same question- When’s the next trek?

All of them took back loads of memories with them. But one thing that was common for all was the realization of how beautiful mother nature is!

– Muskan Sahu.