“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks”* is very well said by John Muir. Yesterday Team Beyond Mountains received amazing learning experience from nature. 

 

        Three days back we had recce to Devkund till the end and there was no rain and no risk on execution of our Devkund event. Yesterday when we departed from Pune with team of 45 energetic participants for Devkund trek near Bhira, Tamhini region. Climate was cloudy, humid and there were good signs of rain though it did not started pouring when we started our trek from Bhira. We crossed the first water stream which was on the way to Devkund easily by simple walk later the rain started pouring.. after 30 mins of walk we came across the second stream which was flooded and every other trek group was waiting surprisingly at the bank.No one could dare to cross due to heavy water flow. Till the time we reach, It was pouring and everyone was astonished by changing climatic condition. Since *safety* stands our primary moto we decided to wait back for some time and if the rain stops and the water level gets down we can decide further. For a better judgment, I(Sameer divekar) decided to jump into the water With all saftey majors(a rope tied to my waist which was held tighly by the leaders on the ground) I crossed the stream and came back. The stream was almost 6 ft deep and heavy currents were flowing under it. I was hardly able to stand there. Since there was pouring in the mountains there certainly was no way to cross the stream with all participants by taking unnecessary risk. We quickly took decision to move back and reach Bhira village at the earliest. But nature has decided to teach us more learning experience. While returning towards the *first water* stream, it was converted to a wild river. The stream had been converted into a flowing river. 

Around 200 trekkers were waiting at either bank. Some groups were trying to fix the ropes above the river however due to heavy currents it was difficult to step your leg into the flood. We observed some trekkers were worried and running towards rescue points whenever they see if someone could cross the stream. We certainly knew It was going to create a panic situation among participants. We quickly gathered all the participants to safe place and told them to stay calm and first of all have thier packed lunches which we had distributed earlier.By the time rain stopped we decided to put our efforts to cross the flooded stream. We found the easiest bank where we could able to stand in flowing water with support. We pulled our rope and threw it at the other side. There was no way to tie the ropes. We first made trial to cross the river and stretched the rope enough above the water. Using rope, we jumped into the water and tighten our feets to form a static wall. Water level was above the knee and it was quite stressfull to hold it firmly. 

Since the rain had stopped we decided this is the right time to cross the river before it gets flooded due to heavy rain again.We asked our participants to be patient and trust on us. Since we were standing in the middle of flowing stream with sufficient safety majors. We informed everyone to use us for holding along with rope while crossing the river. One by one we could able to cross all Beyond Mountains’s participants along with all other participants who were waiting for rescue. We could successfully crossed around 70-80 people. After confirming no one was left behind, We pulled the rope and safely returned to Bhira. People clapped and patted our back for whatever we did for them. That was the real blessing for us. Though we couldn’t finish Devkund trek till the end we feel extremely proud that we could return safely with all other participants.

 

There is always next time and we are confident that we will successfully do the Devkund trek again after monsoon. 

Yesterday we learn to differentiate between what is truly important and what can be dealt with at another time.

Thank you so much to all the participants for your patience, co-operation and the most important ‘Trust’ that you all have shown on us.