No, I’m still moving at a slow speed, but yesterday’s Hash trail was a little different and actually quite nice. Cumslinger was a first-time Hare (assisted by Fucking Cupcake), and while the area we hiked was familiar, the actual paths for most of the trail were new to me. There was one climb at the end that I managed to bypass, so I consider that a win too.
The meet-up location was at the junction of the National and Govic highways. From there, we took a hired Jeepney all the way out to Naugsol, which surprised me because I had signed on for the “easy” trail. Just walking the road back would have been a good slog, but as it turned out, the paths through the fields, forests, and landfills cut some of that distance down. I logged in at just over 6K, start to finish.
We had a heavy rain in the morning, but by the afternoon start, the sun was shining. The Hares had a unique way of marking most of the trail–stapling pieces of paper to leaves and tops of thatch grass. It actually worked pretty well visibility-wise, at least on my portion of the hike. I’m told the people who did the long trail got lost in places because some of the locals apparently removed the stapled paper the Hares had left. That’s the thing with powder and shredded paper on the ground; it’s much harder for malicious individuals to remove.
Here are some pictures from the journey:
Walking to the meet-up location, I saw this new store getting ready to open. I had to laugh at the unique name.And at the meeting location was a sign announcing a new samgyeopsal resto called Meat and Pan. The locals are crazy about grilled pork belly, I guess. By my count, that makes five locations featuring this delicacy in our little town. I also noted that this is the only one that actually spells ‘samgyeopsal’ correctly. (I misspelled it for years until a reader shamed me enough that I stopped writing “samgyapsol” which to me was phonetic, but apparently, I pronounce it wrong too)The path I (mostly) walkedLoaded up and ready to roll in the unique safety and comfort of the Jeepney.Well, hello there, Annabel. (She works at my old haunt, Alley Cats, and was my first crush when I moved to the Philippines.)Off-loading at our drop-off location on the road leading to Naugsol.And we are On-On!Over a rickety bridgeA wary carabaoThrough the fields, well, at the edge of the field anyway.I rarely see Easter mountain from this side.The wide-open spaces.This was a landfill up until about a year or so ago. Rumor has it is being groomed to be a new subdivision. I got a laugh as we walked along because I could still see some trash (plastic bottles, flip-flops, etc.) poking up through the dirt. If they do build houses here, folks will be in for a surprise if they want an in-ground swimming pool!Let’s get out of this dump!Into that damn tall grass again. ‘Tis the season.Another rarely viewed side of Easter mountain.Into the woods. You can see some of the paper markers in the tree leaves.We also had some pink chalk arrows to follow. (I jokingly called it a Pride trail).We brought some life to this cemetery as we passed through.You can’t see it, but this portion of the trail was wet and muddy underfoot.I honestly just now made the connection between the ubiquitous thatch grass we wade through and the very common thatch roofs on dwellings. At least it serves a meaningful purpose.Back on dry ground.A bloomin’ tree.A narrow passageway.And finally, we arrived at our On-Home venue, Yero’s. I kinda like this place, and if it were closer to my house, I’d drop in for a beer and a snack now and then.Over fifty Hashers were in attendance for yesterday’s adventure.A table full of Harriettes.And some more Gash standing.Cumslinger was rewarded for his efforts as a Hare by receiving the Hashit.
Well done!
You can Relive the hike here if you are so inclined:
4 thoughts on “A change of pace”
I was wondering what walking through a landfill might be like. Thanks.
Stapling stuff to trees doesn’t strike me as all that environmentally friendly.
On my way to Jeju International Airport now. Kinda sad to be leaving. Next holler I send will be from the mainland.
Rock on!
Sweet Easter mountain pix!
Well, it’s paper, so it is biodegradable. I’ve seen tying plastic or ribbons, and that seems to never go away. But yeah, I guess living in a litter culture has desensitized me some. Ideally, the Hares would go back out the next day and undecorate the trees.
I’m talking less about the paper and more about the staples.
I was wondering what walking through a landfill might be like. Thanks.
Stapling stuff to trees doesn’t strike me as all that environmentally friendly.
On my way to Jeju International Airport now. Kinda sad to be leaving. Next holler I send will be from the mainland.
Rock on!
Sweet Easter mountain pix!
Well, it’s paper, so it is biodegradable. I’ve seen tying plastic or ribbons, and that seems to never go away. But yeah, I guess living in a litter culture has desensitized me some. Ideally, the Hares would go back out the next day and undecorate the trees.
I’m talking less about the paper and more about the staples.