Utsab Sapkota With an ever-growing excitement to see the panoramic views of Gaurishankar, Langtang, Ganesh, and Annapurna mountains, Squad B gathered at Deerwalk premises at forty-five past seven in the morning. We had with us notebooks, pencils, bottled water, and snacks. All prepared, we boarded the bus and left for Tokha at ten past eight. We had planned to start our hike from Tokha. The hike was quite an exploratory one as we had no idea how breakfast would be at Jagat Buspark. We breakfasted at Tokha—the food was so bad that we couldn’t even eat for sustenance—and started our hike. In the meantime, it started to drizzle. We thought it was going to be a wet and rainy hike, but luckily that didn’t happen. We climbed uphill, reached Gurjebhanjyang, and bought tickets. We also took a group photo and started walking. The view of the mountain ranges from Surya Chaur was not so clear due to the foggy weather, but we kind of enjoyed the cool breeze blowing and the clouds floating across the sky. We could see the traditional Nepali village and the terraced farming form up there. We captured all those moments in our cameras. Realizing that we were starving, we ordered our midday lunch—Dhido and local chicken—a Nepali delicacy. We rested for a while, filling our exhausted bodies with new energy, and went to see the horses grazing. Even though we didn’t want to, we walked back the same way, enjoyed taking greedy sips of tea at a local tea shop, and waited for our vehicle to arrive. We were back in Deerwalk in the evening. All in all, it was one of the memorable hikes of my life. 

Anjan Bhujel Squad B planned to go for a one day hike to Surya Chaur, a hillock 20 kilometers away from Kathmandu, on Saturday, September 28, 2019. I knew it was going to be a great experience, especially when hiking with the team. Our journey started from Deerwalk. It was my second hike from Deerwalk, and the memory of the first one was amazing as I became friends with many colleagues. For this hike, we decided to leave the Deerwalk premises at eight in the morning, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, we got late. So, we left only at half-past eight. At ten, we had our breakfast in a local eatery at Jagat Buspark. We began walking from the Jagat Buspark, and all of us were quite excited. After walking two kilometers, we reached Gurjebhanjyang. To keep the energy level high, we carried some snacks and bottled water. Losing ourselves in the charm of nature, we walked for about an hour through a dense forest. Even though it was sprinkling at times, the weather was fine: perfect for hiking. The intermittent rain kept us from getting hot and exhausted. After walking for an another hour, we finally reached our destination: ‘Surya Chaur.’ The view from there was simply majestic. We could see the breathtaking panoramas of Annapurna and Langtang mountains. We realized that we were rather hungry, so we had our midday lunch in a local restaurant at Surya Chaur. Losing ourselves in the unparalleled beauty of the place, we started to capture this moment in photographs. Up there it was quite cold. A few horses were grazing, and we could see the local villages, traditional terraced farming, and a bird’s eye view of Kathmandu Valley. The floating clouds enhanced our photos. Time went swiftly, and at around two we headed back to our starting point: the Jagat Buspark. Due to the rain, the road was now muddy and rugged. And also we did not see our van at the bus park. So, we walked further to board the van. Before leaving, we decided to have a good cup of tea. Finally, we came back to Deerwalk in the evening. It was one of the most memorable hikes for me.