Sujata Gautam

Hiking is a great source of pleasure for us besides being beneficial for health- heard this sentence for more than anything. On the 29th of January 2022, I got a call from Manish dai, he asked me for hiking. Oh yes! I could finally go hiking and take the pleasant natural vibes of trees in Shivapuri National Park. On Sunday - the 30th of January, the Hamro Patro Team, Deerhold School, Deerwalk Complex team for the first time gathered together at around 7 am on Deerwalk complex for the hike. It was a cold morning, our hands were shivering so we planned to have a cup of tea. We (the hikers) went to a nearby cafe, Live Bakery - opposite of Deerhold Complex gate for snacks. We stepped into Live Bakery with the hope of getting a good breakfast but regrettably, we couldn't find a good breakfast to satisfy our tummy, so we ended up having a warm cup of tea. We waited a little long for tea so we dropped our idea of having snacks in sifala and hold a hot cup of tea in our hands and rushed to get on the vehicle.

I could see the excitement of hiking with Rudra dai in the faces of all the participants. With a plan to have breakfast in Budhanilkantha’s famous stop for Sel Roti and Jeri, we departed from Deerwalk Complex. When we reached Budhanilkantha, it was already late so we canceled our breakfast plan and headed towards Shivapuri gate after a minute of walk. There we met General Himanshu Khadka, a friend of Rudra dai, who was a very charming and friendly person as we got to know later. After a short introduction with Himanshu dai, we started our hiking from Shivapuri Gate at around 9:30 am. I was excited for this hike - my first hike and that with Deerhold Nepal, Deerwalk Sifal School, Deerwalk Auto Services and Deerwalk Institute of Technology, and Hamro Patro. It's always nice and peaceful to be with friendly people carrying smiles on their faces all the time.

As we were walking slowly, we got a chance to hear many beautiful stories from our seniors. Out of many stories, there is one that I will always remember. A tree that feels the tickle when touched and shakes its body.

After a few hours of walking to get off from hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, we reached our very first destination stop- Nage Gumba. A majestic place with cushy grass ground and beautiful sunlight to warm our bodies and benches to rest up. We settled ourselves cushy grass and in benches and started to have snacks we have carried. Cold winter morning and a hot cup of tea, how can we ignore it, added one more cup this morning. We rested up well so began to look around the place. Amazing view! I was amazed. With a beautiful place around and a camera in a hand, how can we miss taking pictures? We took a few group photos with beautiful Gumba in the background.

After satisfying tummy in the warmth of the sun, we took one more group photo with Buddhist flags in the background. Let's look at these pretty faces ready for the hike to reach the next stop.

We started an uphill hike towards Baghdwar straight after collecting good memories. It was very challenging for first-time hikers like me to reach the next stop. Himanshu dai’s stick became my greatest support for my entire hiking. Exhausted body, hungry belly, and never-ending stairs- I thought I couldn't make it through. I heard a voice saying we are a few minutes back to Baghdwar. What a relief! We reached Baghdwar. After getting to know Baghdwar is the origin of the well-known Bagmati river of Kathmandu, I forgot the pain and restless body. A constant stream of water flows from the mouth of the status of Tiger (Bagh, in Nepali) which should be the reason the place is called Baghdwar (Tiger Gate). We rested up in Shivapuri Baba Ji’s Ashram for some tea and snacks. We refilled tea and our bottles with hot water as it was getting cold.

As I was not at a good pace of walking, I thought I should continue walking. After having two cups of tea and snacks we and moving ahead from Baghdwar. Walking up at stairs, we could see snow. We were very excited. We clicked some pictured and continued walking. While walking, we could see paths covered with snow. Our body was shivering but how come we ignore the snow and did not take any pictures there. We took a few pictures as proof of walking in the snow.

After almost 6 hours of walking, we reached Shivapuri Peak. Yes, we did it! We could see a glimpse of joy on everyone's face. As it was getting darker, we took a rest for a minute, took a few pictures, and started walking down towards Bishnudwar.

Almost after one and half hours of walk, we reached Bishnudwar, passing through an old wooden bridge. Bishnudwar turned out to be a small temple-like place inside a cave. There were some stone structures made all around the cave. It was a beautiful sight to see.

We took a short break resting our bags and tired bodies on the stones near the cave. It was a relief after a long hike but we still had a few more hills and slopes to conquer.

The journey downhill was equally gratifying. We reached Danda Gaun our last stop for today’s hiking at around 5:30 pm. All of us were famished after the long and challenging journey. A meal (lunch cum dinner) felt like a year-long dream come true.

My first hike collectively was a memorable journey full of adventure, wonderful stories, jokes, and lots of fun. Getting an opportunity to connect with Rudra dai, Himanshu dai, Deerhold Nepal, Deerwalk Sifal School, Deerwalk Auto Services, and Deerwalk Institute of Technology will be remembered. After a few hours of walking to get off from hustle and bustle of Kathmandu is worth it. After my first hiking, I can proudly say- Hiking is a great source of pleasure for us besides being beneficial for our health. I am grateful to Rudra dai and Manish dai for giving me this opportunity. I Indebt Himanshu dai for giving me his magical stick and Pawan dai for his continuous support.

Essentials for a first-time hiker
A stick to hold all the pain and support you throughout your hiking journey.
Plenty of Water and Electrolytes
Chocolates

Keep Walking → Stay Positive → Share Positivity

Kushma Thapa

The only con of working as an Offshore team is that you are up until late in the evening and by the time you go to bed it's very late. Per my usual routine, I fall asleep by 1 am, sometimes 2. This was a collaborative hike between Deerhold Nepal, Deerwalk Sifal School, Hamro Patro, Deerwalk Auto Services, and Deerwalk Institute of Technology. Also, this was going to be my first hike with Deerhold, and the anticipation as well the need to give my body a full rest of 8 hours of sleep, ultimately brought me to sleep at 3 am in the morning. I have 7 hours to sleep, I have 6 hours to sleep, and the count continued until I had just 3 hours to give myself a rest. Shivapuri has always been one of my favorite places to hike, my first hike was to Nagegumba, second I climbed the shivapuri peak starting from muhan pokhari and descending down from bagdwar, and I had explored Bishnudwar 3 times previously. We were told we would be aiming for the peak so I had prepared my lunch the previous night, packed myself some fruits and nuts, enough to energize me for the uphill hike. I reached the deerwalk complex at 7 am in the morning, and as we waited for everyone to arrive, we decided to have a quick breakfast so we stepped into Live Bakery, just opposite the deerwalk complex entry gate. Oh, what luck. There wasn’t anything to serve us as breakfast for the hike to come. We had our tea and decided to stop by Budhanilkantha for some breakfast as it is a famous stop for sel roti and jeri. Me and shiva, however, anticipating the worst decided to quickly grab some chana aalu from didi ko pasal. Phew, lucky because no we didn't stop for a breakfast at Budhanilkantha as we were already late.

We started our hike at 9:30 am on one fine Sunday morning from the gates of Shivapuri. Our first destination stop was Nage gumba. Our warm-up was complemented by various knowledgeous talks from wise seniors. As we reached Nage gomba, we settled ourselves for some break, ate some snacks we had with us, warmed ourselves with every sip of the tea in the cold windy environment, and said our goodbyes by taking the first complete group picture under the flags of Om Mane Padme Hum.

Next up was Bagdwar and the hike was starting to be more uphill from here on. Not to forget, we had a new friend who joined us as our hike partner, Dalle Bahadur, a dog of the gumba. I even had nightmares about him later that night, worrying about what he ate and how he was going to carry on as he followed us until the end of our hike. I miss you Dalle Bahadur.

Anyway, so moving on to our hike, the uphill started and it was getting tougher for some of our friends but giving up is not in the blood sir ( Nims Purja, 14 peaks) and nobody gave up. We even got a chance to feed a hungry monkey a banana and some orange pieces who later tried to scare us too. We reached Bagdwar, freshened ourselves with the cold water streaming from the mouth of the Bagh (Tiger). Bagdwar as its name suggests is the origin of the Bagmati river and stopped by Shivapuri Baba ji’s Ashram for some tea and snacks. We ate our chocolates, noodles and had multiple cups of tea. Tulsi dai even filled his flask bottle with tea for later.

Our route from here on was decorated with not just the greens but the whites as well, yes it was snowy and beautiful. For some of us, it was the first experience of snow as well. But you see the thing about snow is that it's beautiful and magical but walking on snow is a challenge, it’s slippery which I always despise for the same reason. Luckily it wasn't so deep that it was risky for my shoes that did not have enough grip. Taking in the view, throwing some snowballs, and being wooed and mesmerized by nature, ultimately we made it to the top ( almost 2400m in altitude) at around 2 pm in the afternoon. It was cold but what was there to rescue us? Yes, that tea Tulsi dai was carrying with him.

After a very short break and a picture of triumph, we started our downhill journey. The steps were filled with ice and were slightly slippery. Some of us climbed the famous Shivapuri peak Stone too, but due to the weather, the Himalayan ranges were not in sight.
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It was a downhill descent and from one point called Bhanjyang, we took a right, which led us to Bishnudwar. Walking past Rhododendron trees, now we were greeted by Pinus tree(Salla), the dried foliage of which also caused me to slip at one point. At so many points, Dalle would see something amongst the trees, and stop and slyly move back, scaring me all too well. He even played chase and run with some imaginary(or maybe not) friends he made along the way, almost tripping us as he did so.
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After paying our respect to Bishnudwar, and adventuring through the rocky routes of it, we met the road that was to lead us to Danda gaun. I, along with Shiva, and Dalle Bahadur reached that stop at 4:15 pm and waited for the rest of the group. All of us assembled by 5:15 pm and we made our way to our final stop: Danda Gaun. At Danda Gaun’s top, we ate our dinner, welcomed by hot water to take the chill off. After a yummy dinner, we climbed into our vehicles and left Dalle Bahadur there to be by himself.

My first hike with my Deerhold family was one to remember, it was adventurous as well as an opportunity to connect with Rudra dai and our counterparts from Hamro Patro and Deerwalk Sifal School and with Tulsi Dai, and Dave dai as well. It was a fresh breath of air, and a peaceful meditative walk to calm our chaotic minds. So, thank you to each and everyone who accompanied me on this hike and accepted me, even when I was sneakily eating my lunch alone. And also a shoutout to Rudra dai for giving us all this opportunity to connect. And a special shoutout to those, who completed it despite the hardship they were having. To conquer Shivapuri Circuit in their first-ever hike is applaud worthy because usually people hike to only one of these destinations at a time and we did the whole circuit in one day. I hope there are many more to come and we all get to connect further. Till then take care and stay safe.