We set out from McDonalds around 4:00 pm as usual and headed out into the countryside. There was a good crowd and the Song Tau was packed with an overflow into private vehicles. I am not sure where the run was actually set but judging from the length of the Song Tau ride I am guessing somewhere near the Laos border. Once there I was surprised by the size of the turnout. I had been told that this was an “intimate” run but if this was intimate I can’t imagine a crowd. There must have been at least 30 people. After the usual short period of socializing and stocking up on water we set off.
The weather was exceedingly hot and the terrain was mercifully flat. Score 1 to the hares for their choice of venue. The area was entirely populated with fragrant palm and fruit tree plantations which made for a pleasant run for both the FRB’s and the strollers. I am relatively new to hashing and had been led to believe that when a trail is set with paper it means that line of sight paper markers are set down which end at a circle from where you search 100m in all directions for the next marker. I now realize, that assuming paper is not a carefully rationed commodity in Chiang Mai, that this assumption of mine was entirely wrong. In fact I learned on this hash that a paper trail is in fact marked every 100m with a piece of paper hidden on the back side of a tree leaf and line of sight be damned. I had also wrongly assumed that when a major junction in the trail is reached that a circle of powder is laid down and a check in all directions is required and then kicked out by the FRB’s. Wrong again. Instead the hares implemented a wily obfuscation clearly intended to hold back the strollers and walking wounded from getting in the way of the FRB’s, as it is very difficult to follow a kicked out circle where no such circle exists and at the same time conveniently eliminated the need for the FRB’s to bother with that oh so annoying run back to kick out the circle. It also gave the hikers a rare and sorely needed opportunity to be constantly searching for the trail. It gave us that FRB feeling while at the same time keeping us from under foot. These hares are not amateurs.
Then there was the barbed wire. In some respects the trail reminded me of a World War II battlefield crisscrossed with barbed wire, cement posts and perhaps better navigated with an armoured personnel carrier than on foot, but again it was simply another clever ploy deployed by the hares and intended to keep the slow pokes from getting in the way. Where the FRB’s simply vault over these obstructions, those who like to smell the roses had to actually deal with the barbs as the trail winded and wended its way back and forth over these challenging and very pointy obstacles. Several of us had a chance to reacquaint ourselves with our long forgotten commando crawl technique. It also engendered great team building as navigating these fences on ones own was truly a perilous experience. A very nice touch.
But we in the back were not entirely forgotten. Using a trail setting technique that bordered on genius the hares had laid out a large 3k loop that was carefully constructed to bring the entire pack of FRB’s within eyesight of the sorely treated slowpokes, allowing them to spot a convenient shortcut bringing them immediately to the Whisky Stop and within 500 m of the OnIn only 5 minutes after the pack had passed. This allowed the trailers to arrive at the OnIn while there was still food and cold drinks to be had. What can I say but brilliant. This was a feat that pleased everyone. The FRB’s were handed a run where they did not once have to trip over a hiker and the hikers were handed the opportunity to shave 3k off an 8k run on a very hot day while at the same time refreshing their rarely used trail checking skills. My complements to the hares.
After the run there were ice cold drinks and a spread of very tasty Thai dishes laid out by the ladies followed by a high spirited circle. Now I know why they call it the Happy Hash.
Cheers
Pussy Whisperer