Girwan Paudyal
 

This year’s grade XII hike took place on Sunday, 21st February, the route being Jhorgaun to Kakani. We left college premises at around 9 am. Reaching Tokha municipality at around 10:30, we were stopped short as the road ahead was under construction. So, with bubbling excitement, we got off the bus and started our hike. There were 24 of us in total: 21 students and 3 teachers-Arjun sir,Suraj sir and Madhu sir.

The first part of our hike was mostly reaching the hilly areas itself and there was not much to do as we mainly traveled on the road itself. Once we started going off road then the real hike began. Most of us were grouped together for the most part of our hike. This hike was a bit different from the others as we had to scale natural terrain to reach our destination. There was no fixed path and we had to navigate through foliage and steep hills alike. As a lot of us were in the dark about the actual road that led to Kakani, we mostly asked the locals for directions as we went our way. We must have climbed around 3 hills for the total of the hike. Once separated from settlements and finally into the rich natural surroundings of the jungle, we then started enjoying ourselves-laughing and singing sometimes and sometimes, enjoying the deep silence of the jungle. Most of us then got separated into 3 groups-each led by one of the teachers. More than often, our energy drained and our pace faltered and we had to take breaks frequently near the end of the hike. 

On our way, we passed through Tarakeshwor Temple and although, we still had quite a bit to go, we now were in the final phase of our hike. However, we were slightly detained at a military camp just outside of Kakani- on charges of disturbing the natural environment of a national park(Shivapuri National Park). Of course, none of us were aware that we had entered premises of a national park and therefore, we had to pay some amount of penalty fee. Our hike lasted for about 6 hours. Initially our plan was to spend some time at Kakani Hill, however, due to it being really late, we got on the bus and took off. We stopped to eat at Lete Thakali and everbody enjoyed their meals after a long and satisfying hike. We returned to our college at around 8 15 pm. 

For me, our hike to Kakani was a much needed journey to vent out all the stress and emotions built up during a 10 month long lockdown. The natural feel and a sense of peace and freedom as we walked through green valleys made our hike a memorable one. A long day of bright skies, green forests and clean air was just what we needed to get back into the hum drum of post-lockdown life and our hike certainly provided that. Overall, it was a joyous and satisfying experience.

Sophi Shrestha

On 21st February, Sunday ,the hiking club had organized a one day hike from Jhor to Kakani, a gaunpalika and former village development committee in Nuwakot District in Bagmati Pradesh of central Nepal. All total there were 25 hikers including 3 teachers. We all assembled around at 8:30 AM  on Deerwalk premises and the bus departed at about 9:00 AM.

With music,dance and lots of fun on the bus, we reached our destination at 10:30AM,and all of us were well prepared for walking a path different from monotonous one. Though the walk was really difficult, the beauty and view helped us to walk more. We captured the beauty and memories of hiking on camera throughout the walk.After walking for almost 6 hours we finally reached our destination to Kakani. We were in love with the beautiful scenery. It was very refreshing and interesting. As soon as we all got into the bus, we started descending with our tired body and refueled memories. It was already 6:15 and we hadn’t had our lunch. So we had our lunch at Lete Thakali restaurant, Naxal. 

We reached the Deerwalk Premises at around 7:30 pm. The hiking was great due to the destination and company. We were exhausted but at the same time we were delighted to be filled with memories that are going to last for a lifetime.