---

- Hiking up the hill This was my first ever hike since I joined D2 about a year ago and of course, my first ever hiking report. What a better way to start than to start from the beginning. The mail had been sent initially for a two-day hike to Jiri, which was cancelled due to lack of participation. Had it not been changed, I would not have been writing this report (I am not complaining though!) After a brief moment of confusion, the new hiking route to Sundarijal was decided and finally, a list of enthusiastic hikers was prepared (we forgot to include Suresh Dai!). The early Sunday morning was marked by a light spell of rain, a harbinger of cool weather. Eleven of us gathered at the office premises (let me not reveal who came late!) and we headed for our destination at about 8am. Our hiking group was a mix of experienced hikers like Pawan, Paras and rookies like Sristi and me. Our first stop was Jorpati, where we had breakfast and we equipped ourselves with the most necessary hiking gear (water and food, of course!). Then we headed for Sundarijal and reached there at about 10:30am. Full of excitement, we began the hike accompanied by the sounds of flowing water, the sweet chirping of birds, and the tall green trees towering over us, as if to protect us from the intense heat of sunlight. First, it was more like a stroll in a park. We walked in our own pace, seeping in the natural beauty of the vicinity. We stopped now and then to capture the magnificent view with the camera lens (By the way, we were unable to take the office camera!). Once we reached Sundarijal, we began our uphill journey to Chisapani. And it really was a journey UP THE HILL… By the first hour or two, we had climbed those innumerable stairs with never-ending steps. We had passed many steep and slippery paths which seemed determined to make us tumble. Fortunately, the weather was cool. We were all sweaty and exhausted. We were greeted by numerous brooks, providing us fresh, cold water to soothe our fatigue. It really tested our physical and mental strength to move ahead and required all our willpower to keep us going.

At about noon, we took a break to refuel and recharge ourselves at the ‘chaur’, waiting for our two ‘late latifs’. It was then, that we took a time to scan our shoes and socks for leeches. Pragya was lucky enough to find two sucking at his feet. After a mighty rest, we continued our pre-planned route. Our itinerants were divided into small groups, some playing the role of a leader and some as followers. The classic songs from our mobiles minimized our exhaustion to some extent. We met many energetic local people carrying loads and the cheerful children on our way. We really wished we could have brought some D2 notebooks, as had been the previous tradition for so long.

every one of them would reply ‘just hours’

One very interesting thing happened during our hike… Whenever we stopped to ask anyone about the route to Chisapani, every one of them would reply ‘just hours’. An old man even replied ‘just 10 minutes’, though it had been hours since we began. We were unable to reach our destination, as many of us were too tired and hungry. So, we decided to return back. The journey downhill was even more torturous. Dipankar suffered a cramp in his legs and Sristi had to walk barefoot for about last one hour as her sandal gave up. So, finally we were at a restaurant, dead tired and hungry. But to our utter dismay, the food was horrible, but our empty stomachs knew better than to complain… After being fed and left at the office premises, we dispersed to our homes, the only sounds coming from our mouth ‘Aaiyaa’ at every step we took... And this is exactly how I’ll remember my first D2 hike, tiring yet full of intoxicating excitement… Please click on the image to see its large version.

01 Excited pawan	02 Sundarijal base
03 Posing for pic	04 Water resource of Nepal
05 This is not a cave	06 Yet another water resource
07 any chances of hydropower	08 How did they climb so fast
09 Checking for leech	10 Oh no leech
11 Does not so thrilling in the pic	12 Again excited pawan
13 s that fern plant	14 How come people live there
15 View of KTM from Sundarijal	16 Water....
17 Waiting for lunch to arrive	18 Dil chahata hai
19 Salad