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Title	2013 Jun - Deerwalk Hiking from Sundarijal to Sankhu via Jhule
Route	Driving (Kathmandu >> Sundarijal), Hiking (Sundarijal >> Jhule >> Sankhu), Driving (Sankhu >> Kathmandu)
Date	June 23,2013
Hike Duration	7 hrs
Coordinator	Sushant Pandey
Participants	(Deerwalk Inc.) Amir Rajak, Anil Kumar Shrestha, Ashish Maharjan, Bidish Acharya, Bal Krishna Pandey, Nischal Sharma, Sampurna Chhantal, Sandeep Neupane, Surendra Nath Adhikari, Sushant Pandey. (DWIT) Aananda Hari Mainali, Abhishek Gupta, Ashish Bikram Lamichhane, Anil Lama, Anish Thakuri, Bidish Acharya, Indra Rawat, Kshitiz Banjade, Pratik Budhathoki, Prajjwal Sthapit, Pankaj KC, Sagar Giri, Sachin Aryal, Sandesh Sharma, Sanjeev Budha, Sushant Gurung, Surya Raj Timilsina.
Photos By	Anil Kumar Shrestha, Sandeep Neupane, Sushant Pandey.
Report By	Anil Kumar Shrestha, Bidish Acharya, Sandeep Neupane
Creative Support	Kanchan Raj Pandey, Rinesh Bajracharya
Edited By	Rinesh N Bajracharya

Bidish Acharya I was very much excited for my first hike with Deerwalk. There were 26 members in total with 8 from Deerwalk Inc. and the rest from DWIT. We started our journey at around 7:45 a.m. We reached Sundarijal at 8:20 and had our breakfast consisting of samosa and tarkari with tea. Surendra presented a brief orientation before we started our hike. He asked team leaders (Anil Lama from our group and Sanjeev Budha from the other) to lead their specific group leaving some suggestions. We then started walking. Though our groups were different, Anish and I were walking together. After walking for just a few minutes, I realized I was going to have a tough time as I had never walked much in these difficult tracks ever before in my life. We took photos in every exciting place we walked through. Every one of us walked together making a same group. But it was only lasted for a while, later on as most of us were tired the group began to disintegrate into Professional, Semi-professional and Amateur walkers. Abhishek, Ashish, Ananda and I were down to amateur group of walkers as we couldn’t keep up with the other members of our hiking team. After every 10-15 minutes we needed a rest. Even though it felt like we’ve been walking for hours, when we looked at our watch, it was only 10am! Roads were gravel type and really tough. Walking through ups and downs, we continued our journey. After walking for around 20-30 more minutes, we reached a village named Gulamfedi. We had talks with some local people there and again resumed our journey. We rested at some points, had some snacks, and were ready to walk again. After walking for couple of hours, unfortunately us five (Anish, Ananda, Ashish, Abhishek, and I) lost our way. We were far behind from the leading group and it got worse when we took the wrong route. We screamed but nobody seemed close enough to hear us. Finally, after some time we heard Surendra and Surya shouting our names, and we followed their voice till we reached them. We had to slide down from a hill as steep as a 3-storeyed building to reach them. The route was tough and risky but we enjoyed it. After that incident, hiking was fun for us, but still we could not keep up with the team. We were always lagging behind. Then, our group of 5 split as Ashish, and Anand could not stand any more of our every 10 minutes rest policy. After some minutes, I could not either. I told them that I’d wait for them when I find rest of the hiking team. I left them behind and walked alone thinking others could not be that far ahead. But I could not find anyone even after walking for 20 minutes. I could do nothing but continue walking alone, imagining how I would tackle a tiger if I got attacked. I walked with hopes and fears realizing I should not have walked alone. But, after a few minutes I found Anil and Pratik. I walked along with them till we joined everyone else enjoying the shades of the hard rocks. After about 15-20 minutes Anish and Abhishek joined us too. They seemed relieved after seeing us, and so was I. After having some snacks we again continued on our long hike. We felt like we had found some momentum in walking. We continued walking for another hour. It was raining slightly, some thought of walking under the umbrella, but some didn’t. Our next stop was Jhule. We stopped there for 15 minutes. We realized that throughout the way of Shivapuri national park, we were being fed on by leeches. Leaches were all over the body. Some were busy throwing them out while some were taking pictures of leeches sucking their blood. Walking for another hour, we reached to a village named Lapsephedi. Our bus picked us up there at around 5:30 p.m. Then, we stopped at Sinamangal, had our dinner and made our way back home. This was all about the best adventurous journey of my life. I am delighted to share my wonderful experience to you. As, I’ve still more than couple of years left at DWIT college, I’d surely entertain such opportunities again throughout my time at Deerwalk. Anil Kumar Shrestha Sunday,23rd June 2013.It's the rainy season but no matter rain and muddy trail, as a regular weekend hike, Deerwalk hike management team managed to organize a hike from Sundarijal to Jhule and down to Lapsephedi . I was selected to join the hike team with my three fellow interns Amir, Ranzan and Sandeep. All of us (including DWIT brothers) gathered at the Deerwalk premises at around 7:00 in the morning, except Ranzan who had an accident a day before. The Deerwalk bus left the premises at 7:30 am and stopped at Sundarijal . After having breakfast of Samosa-Tarkari and tea we were introduced to the DWIT students participating in the hike. We started our walking adventure at around 9:10 am. On the walk, we had a better chat while viewing the scenery, getting some camera shots. After an hour we reached a small village Gagalphedi where we first stopped and had cucumber with some “noon-khursani” (mixture of salt, Chili, Ginger, Garlic) made by Surendra. We rested there for a short while before marching through the inclined slope with slippery rocks and through the jungle where we found beautiful falls & luscious greenery. We washed off our sweat and mud in the waterfall .After half an hour we reached a long stairway where we took the shortcut. We missed the track, entered the dense forest of “Shivapuri” and were lost. But it was the best hour and the most adventurous one where we scrambled and made our own way through the dense bushes, thorny plants while crossing through the gullies. Finally we conquered the Shivarpuri hiking trail. We rested for a few minutes and had some energy drinks, cookies and cheese. The rain began to pour on us and the way got more slippery. We reached Chisapani-Nagarkot-Jhule junction at around 1:30 pm. All of the hikers where busy getting the leeches off their bodies. Then we walked pass the army training camp down at Jhule and had a cup of hot black tea at “Jhule ko siran ko ghar”. Then we moved through paddy and maize field to catch our bus waiting for us at Lapsephedi. It was around 5:00 pm when we reached “Thakali Vansa” of Sinamangal where we had our dinner. While waiting for the meal we played some games; one who eats the least picks up the tab, which was awesome game. And I can’t forget the participant brothers Sushant and Sampurna who made the competition really interesting. Thereafter, the office bus dropped us off at the office premises at around 7:00 pm. In summary we had lots of fun, took some great pictures and had a great time with DWIT Hikers .In the end the fruits of the trip was definitely worth the hardship. Sandeep Neupane Hike in Rainy Season over slippery dirt road, nevertheless still thoroughly exciting, that was my first hike with the Deerwalk family. I got up early on Sunday morning of 23rd June, which usually is impossible and I rushed towards the office premises. Around 7:30 am along with DWIT family we moved towards the starting point of our hike. At Sundarijal we had our breakfast of “Samosa n Jeery”. The journey began with long walks along the unbalanced landscape. After two hours walk, we reached Gagalphedi. Than our coordinator decided to take the new short-cut route as a result of which we got lost for a while. Us, the 25 Deerwalkers, were lost in the huge trackless, directionless, land covered with autotrophic and thorny jungle. After long hours of wandering around we finally hit the graveled road and continued on the remaining part of the hike. At around 1:30 pm we reached the Chisapani-Nagarkot-Jhule junction. The cloud was smoky, air was freezing with cold rain and we were moving on to reach our destination. At Jhule we had a hot cup of black tea at “Juleko siran ko ghar” . It wasn’t the best tea I have had but quite satisfactory nevertheless. At around at 4 pm we reached Lapsephedi where we concluded our trip. We jumped into our bus and reached Sinamangal to have our dinner. It was hearty meal and we deserved it after the long day. I thoroughly enjoyed the hike and I look forward to many more in the coming months.

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