We do it once, we do it right! :)

The planning started on March 26 2006, and finally it was a memorable trip on Memorial Day weekend (May 26, 2006 – May 28, 2006) at Adirondacks :).

Lists for things to be bought for the trip kept pouring in. Kaushal taking the lead went ahead with organizing most of the trip, hats off! He made reservations for the camping site at Nicks Lake in the Old Forge region. Also, the rafting trip was planned & booked for Moose River by Kaushal & Shantanu. Tents purchased by Golu & Chintu (after too much research by Chintu ;)). Grill & barbeque enthusiasm showed by Kavin. Purvin & Chintu landed up doing loads of shopping of all the essentials, be it light, food, protection, etc. Kanan & I prepared thepla & other food necessary. Purvin & myself also researched on the trekking & hiking trails with no success :-P. Here we were all set for the trip, the car trunks loaded & all pumped up for an exciting & adventure-filled weekend ahead … Yoohooo…!

May 26, 2006 (Friday):

We (Buffalo gang) loaded the last bit onto the trunk and off for a great start at 4:30pm. We started with loud music in the car & all crazy acts. With Kanu aunty in the car, not a minute can go without music :-P Nautanki in the car! On the other side, Golu was struggling his way out of the DC traffic. Finally made it to Shantanu’s place and they drove to Kavin’s place where Chintu & Kavin were waiting all ready to start.

With continuous runs of 80-85 mph we made the 5+ hour journey in about 4 hours to the Old Forge town. Mother Nature started showing its hues :). Couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty every time. In this jhol, we lost our way… had to call the camping people to figure it out. Finally made it to the destination, just in time. B-29/B-31 was where we headed to; it was 10:00pm by now. It was only now that the other gang had made their move out, they would take 4-5 more hours.

Super-excited us, started unpacking. Unboxed the tent, and here we were building our tents. Reading the manual, finding our way out, sticking in the right rods, tying the right rope, and we were all set… tambu gaadh diya finally ;) The traditional Lantern hung on a tree branch by its side. All our energy wasted, we hogged on to the theplas & athanu ;) We decided to take a bit of sleep before the other gang came in. So some craziness in the tent for a while, before we slept away to glory. Boss, tambu mein dhoom-dhaam ;) They arrived earlier than expected, neat driving must say. Disturbed our sleep for some gap-shap. Shantanu ke haathon ka bana sheera in the middle of the night tasted great. Then Purvin uttered the golden words “Atyaare sui jao laa, nahitar kaal no aakho daado bagadshe” ;) O’boy… we picked up on him the entire trip bcoz of this statement! We distributed in the 2 tents for some golden sleep before the long day which was in store for us.


May 27, 2006 (Saturday):

Woke up by 9 o’clock… I know it’s late, but thought we’ll take it easy ;) Headed towards the showers to freshen up & get ready. Pilan mein thoda change tha… we decided to experiment with the grill & campfire before we headed to trek/hike. The campfire wouldn’t light enough, the charcoal wouldn’t get red-hot :(. With few futile attempts, we decided to move-on. The hunger satiated by sandwiches & chips.

And we started for the trek. Drove to the Cascade Lake trail (4.6 mile round trip) With great zeal… the trail went on with fun being the greatest ingredient. The walk through the tall green trees, some times bare trees, also through the sward, the swarm, marshy patches. Purvin had his shoe caught up in the marshy lands, hero-giri joh karne gaya tha bhidu ;) A beautiful sight of the waterfall refreshed us. A wash under the falls was rejuvenating… but the bugs had made life difficult. Logon ne unn bugs ko kitni gaaliyan di thi :-P Climbed on tree branches, Bandar-giri toh humare khoon mein hai ;) Chalte-chalte we eventually caught a sight of the lake. It was indeed blissful, my wait for the sight of a water-body ended. Took pictures in abundance, each one of us trying our hand at photography. Then got to see a group of people on horse back. Rested at a mini-falls; wetted our feet in the chill-cold waters & did kidas :-P Not to miss out, Purvin dropped his cellphone in the water - talent hai boss! ;) The trail ultimately came to an end. Pretty worn out by now…

Drove to the Bald Mt. Trail (one mile hike). This was really exciting, and we were cursing ourselves for doing that stupid previous trail. Many steep sections offering excellent view of Fulton Chain of Lakes. This was indeed scenic… started experimenting with B/W & Sepia modes on the camera. Eventually reached the mountain top and straight away climbed a tower there. The top view was mind-blowing; out of this world… jannat! By now the athlete & the smart one, Golu had cracked us up completely. And ya… not to forget, his Aniket and Thumbs Up ;) Maarna mat mujhe…! Kavin had lost his stamina by now, fukadi saale aisa hi hoga; he took a quick nap. Now tired, we decided to head back to our camping site. 4 of us zoomed down the slopes, with Golu falling once when his ABS system failed :-P. The other 4 lost their way, so we had to wait ½ hr at the base fighting the bugs. And we were outta here…

Ab toh logone thaan lee thee, Campfire aur Grill ko toh chalu karke hi rahenge. While Kanan & myself closed our eyes for a while, the guys did a gr8 job ;) (Don’t get ur mind to think wild). They just lit the campfire & as per instructions given by the gas-station guy got the charcoal to the red-hot stage ;) Kaushal used his expertise from Samiyala to get the woods burning to fire. Ab garmi badh gayi thee :-P Bando ne sahi kaam kiya, grilled veggies & burgers were ready for us. Shantanu & Purvin, the hot pair showed their culinary skills & served hot grilled food to all of us. Now was when we really felt the tire… we gave each other massages (Don’t worry, not foot massages ;)) We crashed in the tents, some snoring, some shivering in the cold.


May 28, 2006 (Sunday):

Morning was too early on Sunday. 6:30am the alarm rang & we struggled to get out of the tent into the cold. Now it was time to pack up & get to our rafting site on time. Ab tamboo ukhaadne ki baari thi. Tents out in no time, but fight thi iss samaan ko ab car ke trunk mein fit karne ki. Convinced the other car to take both the tents with them ;) Cleaned up the litter & left the camping site. We had to say bye-bye to the grill. Also, FSA ki yaad dila di meine Kavin & Shantanu ko. They had to dig into the dumpster to actually get my shoes out, which were by mistake dumped into the trash :-P U guys rock… Thanx :-)

Now came the super-exciting part, white-water rafting. Oh did I mention… before we left on Friday the rafting guys called us up & told us that they won’t be conducting the trip. To our good luck they arranged for a level 4 rapid in the Hudson River (17 mile stretch) for us :-). Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai. We grabbed coffee & finished the theplas for breakfast. Now we had to cover a distance of about 60 miles within 45 mins. The drivers did a great job of driving through the curved roads. Some great maneuvering of the wheel & we made it just in time. They rushed us through wearing our rafting gear; we were all set to hit the waters in our wet-suits!

Here we were, finally listening to instructions from our raft guide (dunno if there’s a special noun you relate to them). Colleen, I guess that was her name & not even sure if I spelt it right. Guys, correct me if I’m wrong. Especially Kavin & Golu who were busy hitting on her, bahut try maara boss! Last row on the raft bhi occupy kiya, sorry daal nahi gali :-P Left back, right forward, dig it in and the best of all ‘Paddle check’ were the commands made known to us. Battling against the rapids, taking turns in securing the first row on the raft, the swims in the still sections, the lemonade & wraps served during the lunch break, the rapids again, Purvin’s fall in one of the rapids – style hai! The sensational beauty around was truly enchanting… The last 2-3 miles were still waters, the last 45 mins relaxing, playing the 20 question game. I became famous for my question, did the freedom-fighter become famous before or after the freedom struggle ;) :-P Kaushal would invariably pull my leg “Sabse bada stud kaun – Saloni”. We had a great time pulling Golu’s leg… Thumbs up, taste the thunder! Finally we reached the shore & helped her pull up our raft onto the truck.

The rafting company sponsored dinner tasted even more amazing ;) And once we had refilled our stomachs, we decided to spend sometime together before we departed. Maps in hand, now we were hunting for a place to relax on the grass, get a view of the lake and chit-chat for a while. The drive on 30 S was picturesque indeed! The scenic beauty never failed to impress me, attract me (a sight of a water body – my weakness, u see). We found parking on the banks of Mason lake. It was too beautiful all around. Have no words in praise of the blissful sight.

We munched some left over food & there came the time to depart :(. We finally took the last picture & bid farewell to each other, dispersed. Adieus amigos!

This wasn’t enough that our drive back was even more marvelous. The vivid skyline, the orange formed a silhouette… astounding.

Wohoa… still cant get over all the niceties of the weekend. Cant stop telling stories about it to friends around. Hence venting it all out here :-P

WE DO IT ONCE, WE DO IT RIGHT… What say public?

p.s. Oye boss, feel free to add if I've missed out on something. Apun se koi galti hua toh maaf kar dena.