Just after Tringalwadi, Hemant and I decided to go for a trek or an outing on next weekend. The planning for Saturday the 19th January included all options from Torna to Bhivgad. But our basic aim was to get more room for expermentation with our CAMs at the same time a location which would be near, less hectic and where we could do as much as TP that we dont get to do during normal treks.Soon Pinak and Tanu joined in for the plan and the location was decided rathe finalised as Karnala Fort and Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Panvel. By Friday our list of members grew to 15 but only 7 of us could make for this event.
As decided, Pinak along with his friends would meet us at panvel and Hemant, Tanu and I along with Shirish & other who didnt turn up for the trek; were gonna try to get the Thane-Vashi local scheduled at Thane for 6.10 am. Tanu was the only person who witnessed the 6.10 local… while Hemant and I were late by few minutes and managed to miss the local . As per original plan we boarded the 6.30 am Thane Vashi Local and reached Sanpada within next 25 minutes. From Sanpada we took a Local going to Panvel where we were supposed to meet Pinak at the ST stand. The whole journey from Thane to Panvel was royal. We got places to sit at our liesure and discussions relating college/work/examinations haunted thru the journey.
We were there at Panvel station waiting for the Kalyankars to arrive. After they arrived, to our surprise there was a ST starting from Panvel just waiting for us. The journey began from here to our actual destination with some introdutions and jokes. The highlight of this journey was the discussion about Pinak’s style for making bhel. Especially the 1c for cutting onions… for more details contact Pinak. We made it to our detination well before the targetted time and entered the sanctuary… but there was a reason for Hemant and me to not be happy about…. a group of kids shouting on top of their voices and scared the birds away. It happened a few times that we had our focus set and by the time we actually clicked the subject flew away. These kids also followed the same route for some time of climb. Finally we had to scold them and report to their gaurdian.Even then we could hear their yells for some time.
Our 1st pit stop indulged Hemant and me into some serious photography with the flower that Tanu carried with her. Others moved forward while we folowed them after wasting too many clicks experimenting. The second pit stop included some heavy teasing with Tanu and Pinak. Within few minutes we reached the ridge and Pinak guided us tward the main entrance of the fort avoidin the conventional way… The door seems to be destroyed and no 1 could say that it was the main entrance to the fort. Further we went to and unknown water tank which didnt have water… but after peeing in we did find a couple of BATS…. Then we moved up through a scree path where we found so more remains of steps which may be another door, hidden under the scree. Aftter reaching the top… the snacks were out at the door itself and every1 was in relaxing mood. Here we practised various techninques for opening the crown/cap of the chutney bottle…. Finally my teeth did the needfull. After some rest we headed the upper deck of the fort, when we noticed a crowd heading towards the fort. The clicking process was on and we noticed 2 climbers climbing up the pinnacle. After observing them for some time, We headed forward and see the rest of fort. The fort still has most of its fortification intact and gives an impression of hw strong and comanding it should had been in its golden days. One of the Doors on the other side has the royal symbol of Yadavas carved on its both sides. After some sight seeing and running behind bhoongas for its closeup shots, all headed to find a place to sit so that we could prepare bhel. The Basation at the base of pinnacle whihc had enough shadow and proximity to water tank was finalised and all bags were dumped there. One gets a commanding view of Mumbai-Goa/Pen/Alibaug highway passing through the santuary from here. All the Onions, tamatoes, chutneys were out and the amazing part being that we had got a sack full of Kurmuras ( app. 2.5 KG ) we could had sold bhel there… the idea didnt click there 
) The bhel was prepared but none of us had much of it. After clearing the bhelly mess it was time for some relaxation. Shirish who buncked this trek was called and taken care of and the discussions targetted various alcohols, mocktails and cuisine preparations; watering my mouth.
Around 2.00 pm we were all set to wave a good bye to the fort. On our way down, we took a longer route which was less steep. This route also offered us to enjoy natural swings and witness a large group of monkeys. Within some time we were back to the cages at the base. Here we had some cold-drinks and relaxed ourselves. On the way back to the main road…. we clicked gud closeups of monkeys, ducks and langoors….. gotta ST to Panvel and then from Panvel,after having some snacks, the Kalyankars took ST towards Kalyan and Hemant, Tanu and I went to Panvel station and took the same route back. The return journey was quite a sleepy one but had a lot of memories to cherish.