November 18, 2006

It was a cold and blustery day when sixty Woodstock elementary students and twelve chaperones took to the trails from Woodstock School to Everest House. The older students took taxis to Waverley Convent School to begin their hike. The younger students took the Woodstock school bus to Hathi Paon, via an exciting circuitous route due to road closure. When the two groups met at Hathi Paon, we stopped for a cold drink at the local tea stand. Refreshed, we start on the climb up to Everest House. Some of the more adventurous children followed the ridgelines while the youngest hikers held to the path with their parents. A van of cooks and food had proceeded our group to Everest House, and we arrived to a welcoming fire, with a hot lunch being prepared.

The wind blew cold on the open plateau where Everest House sits, but the house itself provided a block from the wind. A lone cow and horse, and a troop of langur monkeys watched the playing children from afar. The children explored the ruins and imagined what it would have been like in Everest's day. Children and adults alike marveled at the view from the house, south to the Doon valley and north to the high Himalayas. We hiked back to Hathi Paon, where we were glad for the warmth of buses and taxis to take us back

Barbara Taylor, Elementary School teacher