A Hiking Trip

A Hiking Trip

            Hiking means a walking tour for pleasure, especially in the countryside. It is the best way of enjoying nature. In our country, the hills are popular resorts for hiking, because there you see nature in all its beauty. Last summer, I had a chance to go on a hiking trip in the company of some friends.

            It was the second week of June. The monsoon had not yet set in. We planned a cross country walk in the Murree Hills. We made necessary preparations and reached Murree by bus, and spent the night there.

            Early in the morning we got up, collected our things and set out. The sky was clear blue, and the morning was pleasant. Soon we were out of the town. The road suddenly ended on the top of a hill, and a small narrow track led downward winding through tall, graceful pines. The green turf was under our feet and the pine branches rustled over our heads.

            The sun had risen and its rays fell on the earth where the trees were not thick. It was a pleasure to walk, for we were in no hurry.

The scene was glorious, and the morning quiet and cool. We were speechless with wonder and delight. We walked leisurely wherever that winding path led us, up and down the hills.

About midday, we reached an open space among the trees and suddenly a gentle breeze blew in our faces. It was cool and brought with it a soft murmuring sound. A few steps further, we came upon a spring. The clear water spurted from the earth and ran down the slope rippling and sparkling in the sun. I had never before seen such a delightful scene.

We sat down on the soft grass near the spring. One of my companions brought out his camera and took many photographs. We were tired and hungry now. So we unpacked our launch. As we finished eating, a gentle drowsiness overcame us and we fell asleep.

It was 4 o’clock when we woke up. We resumed our hike and an hour later, we reached the narrow below. There were a dozen small stone houses. As we reached near a house, a sheep dog appeared all of a sudden and stood in our way. It barked rather threateningly. Now I never trust dogs, through wise people say that barking dogs seldom bite. But who knows when a dog will stop barking and start biting. So I stopped where I was. And so did my friends.

Now it was the turn of the children. They came and stared at us until an elderly man came out of a house and scared them away. He was good and hospitable. We stayed the night in that village and returned to Murree the next morning.

Words	Meanings
countryside	دیہات
trip	سیر کرنا
preparations	تیاری
track	راستہ
winding	ٹیڑھا
pines	صنوبر
turf	گھاس
rustled	سرسرانا
leisurely	آہستہ آہستہ
spurted	پہوٹ نکلنا
rippling	لہروں کا بننا
sparkling	چمکتا ہوا
drowsiness	اونگھ
resumed	دوبارہ شروع کرنا
stared	غور سے دیکہنے لگے
scared	ڈرا کر بھگا دیا
hospitable	مہمان نواز

Words	Meanings
countryside	rural area
trip	a journey
preparations	get ready for an event
track	path
winding	a twisting movement or course
pines	a tree which has clusters of long needle-shaped leaves
turf	grass
rustled	a sound like that caused by the movement of dry leaves
leisurely	without hurry
spurted	move with a sudden burst of speed
rippling	cause (the surface of water) to form small waves
sparkling	shine brightly
drowsiness	sleepiness
resumed	continue after a pause
stared	look fixedly at someone or something
scared	fearful
hospitable	friendly to visitors