Tuesday is supposed to be my day off from walking. It’s a whole other kind of excitement for me on grocery shopping day. This week things went a bit out of the norm though. To begin, my driver had a court appearance (no, I didn’t ask why) and couldn’t pick me up until 10:30. No big deal. Also, I had to go to the immigration office in Olongapo to renew my tourist visa for another 60 days. That went fine. Then it was off for the groceries.

I wanted to hit Pure Gold, another grocery store on the old Navy base, first to see if they were stocking some of the things I can’t seem to get at Royal lately. I was pleasantly surprised to find the coveted frozen strawberries I hadn’t seen for months. Also got a few other hard to find items, then went to the old Royal store nearby for the rest of my shopping. Given the late start and detours, I wasn’t back home until 1:00 p.m.

When I checked my phone I found a message from H.I.V. asking if I was coming to the Bundok Hash he was hosting. Well, a couple of weeks ago I had signed up and never got a response. I figured it wasn’t happening. Then I heard it mentioned at Sunday’s COVID Hash so I emailed to ask what was going on and once again got no response. I sent another message on Monday and still got no answer. I just figured I wasn’t welcome. And now the Grand Master is asking me when I’m going to arrive? Well, fuck it. Changed clothes and headed out to Hot Zone a few minutes before it was time to hit the trail.

I paid my 3500 pesos ($70) and got ready to head out. Guenter was once again the Hare, but I was pretty familiar with the territory so wasn’t too worried about getting fucked over on a fucked up trail.

The second half of the hike was also slated to be 3K and it went up the mountain and on to the familiar My Bitch trail. Guenter’s trail went down to a creekbed/waterfall that I’d done once before and swore I’d never do again. But I knew a better way to go and that’s what I did.

Made it back to Hot Zone a little after 4 p.m. We had a circle and all the virgins had to wear a diaper on their head for the duration. Our food arrived promptly at 5:00, wings and potato salad from Sit-n-Bull. Then another brief circle to prepare for Phase II of the Bundok.

I’ll need to be discrete discreet in my description of those activities. All the Hashers are randomly given a key to a room at a nearby short time motel. So we can, um, take a shower. The rooms do come equipped with “software” that each individual is free to utilize in any manner that pleases them. Or not at all. Of course, whether the software actually works is also an individualized undertaking. This was my third Bundok and the first time I maximized the capabilities of the software to my ultimate satisfaction. The shower was refreshing as well.

A knock on the door shortly before the hour was up meant that it was time to head back to Hot Zone (we were on the roof, not in the bar) for our final circle and after-action report. Apparently, a good time was had by nearly everyone in attendance. I know I was Charmed.

Oh yeah, here’s this year’s version of the coveted Bundok shirt.

So, that was that. Another day in paradise with a dash of the unexpected to spice things up a bit. Back to my normal routines now. Long (for me) walks yesterday and this morning and I’ll do some darts out on Baloy beach this afternoon.

It’s all good.

Sorry I was unable to post here yesterday. Sometimes life intrudes and not always in a bad way. More on yesterday tomorrow. For now, let me recap the events of Monday’s 27th Anniversary of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers.

I guess a good place to start is with what I got at the finish–the traditional anniversary Hash shirt:

We had 75 in attendance which is about triple our usual pandemic numbers. We took two truckloads out to the starting points, one for the long 8K and the other for the 5K trail.

And that’s pretty much how the day went. I was snockered by the end and triked directly home at the conclusion of the circle.

So, that made two Hash runs in a row and it turns out that yesterday I did an unanticipated third–a Bundok run. That’s the “men only” Hash. I’ll tell some of that story tomorrow and some can simply not be disclosed due to the “what happens at the Bundok, stays at the Bundok” rule.

See you there!

I’d say we pulled off a damn fine Hash trail yesterday. Came in at around 6K with two hills, or one hill and a street walk for the lazy ones. Got good feedback from most of the twenty or so people who did the hike. That’s always gratifying.

As one of the Hares, I was out marking the trail in the morning prior to the noon start. It took a little over two hours. I then went home and showered up and headed over to the On-Home at Queen Victoria a little after 1:00. I was surprised to see Leech My Nuggets already there. So, he did the entire trail in about an hour and fifteen minutes. He’s fast, but that’s still impressive. The next arrivals were at least twenty minutes behind him. As usual, I’ll recount the day through photos (some mine, some Scott’s, and some from Hashers on the trail):

I woke up this morning again and that’s always a good thing. Especially when you are treated to a view like this one:

The morning wasn’t perfect though as I noticed Budai had somehow injured her paw.

So, this is my lazy Tuesday. I forego trying to get my steps in and just focus on getting my grocery shopping chore achieved and then taking it easy. Turns out I’m pretty good at that last part.

With my shopping done I came home and realized it was time for a nap. I was gonna say no rest for the weary but I rested just fine thank you. I did wake up hungry though, so I ventured out to Sit-n-Bull to see what they might have on offer for the daily specials menu. Some good choices today and after some dithering, I selected the Salisbury steak.

Alright, that takes care of my comings and goings today. Here’s the report from yesterday’s Hash.

Actually, it had rained most of the morning as well. Stopped a couple of hours before we started. That made for a lot of puddles and creeks flowing higher than normal. I knew before I left I’d have wet shoes before I was finished.

The starting point was in San Isidro which from Barretto is most easily accessed via Alta Vista. In fact, my house is technically within the jurisdiction of San Isidro. So, a group of us met up at my place to make our way to the start together.

So, we went around the mountain rather than over via the highway arriving at our On-Home venue, Hunter’s Jo Inn, safely.

Next week I’ll be the Hare along with Pubic Head and Blow My Pipe. We’ve already got a general idea about the path we will lay. Of course, it will once again be the best trail ever!

Stay tuned!

Yesterday’s Hash turned out to be a relatively pleasant hike, especially when you consider what usually lies in store for you when Guenter (Vienna Sausage) is the Hare. But this time one of the assigned Hares was tasked with doing an “easy” trail for those of us who prefer not to risk life and limb. Bum Burgler did a long (around 7K) but mostly flat trail on which the biggest hazard was muddy feet from walking across two rice paddies. I’ll take it.

Pubic Head and I actually walked to the starting point rather than riding in the Hashmobile. So that added a couple more Ks to the mix. We ran into Leech My Nuggets who was also walking to the start along the way. When we reached the beginning of the trail, Leech took off to get a head start on the difficult course. The two trails reconnected near the end of the hike and Leech passed me on his way to the On-Home. I asked him how he liked the hard trail and he shook his head and said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone wound up injured. Damn, coming from Leech who I reckon does the second hardest trails in our kennel that’s really saying something. Of course, I learned my lesson long ago and won’t even consider doing a Guenter trail again. I hope none of my fellow Hashers wind up learning that the hard way.

As it turned out, out of 20+ hashers, only four took the hard trail. I guess you might say people voted with their feet yesterday. Good for them. The three other than Leech didn’t get back to the On-Home until almost an hour after everyone else. But they all made it safely, so that’s the good news.

Let’s go to the photos, which are of course featuring the easy trail:

Then it was on up one small hill and into Alta Vista then on to Queen Victoria for the Hash festivities.

At the conclusion of the Hash, I staggered meandered across the street to Mango’s and put something in my belly besides beer:

Thanks for coming along!

UPDATE: Damn it! I really try not to use the same title for a post more than once. I usually check before starting a new post but got lazy today. Now I see that I used “between a rock and hard place” back in August 2015. Ah well, if I didn’t remember probably no one else does either.

or Hash a trail. More on that in a bit.

Grocery shopping day and as usual, a mixed bag Royal. Coke Zero finally in stock, but none available in the 24 pack case. So, I pulled two dozen individual cans off the shelf. Pretty much cleaned them out again. Still no frozen fruit, but I did find this long-unseen item:

Although I wasn’t able to buy frozen strawberries, I scored some fresh ones from Baguio. Iline has a friend who brings them down once a week. A bit pricey at twenty bucks for two kilos, but what are you gonna do.

That pretty much covers today’s “adventure”. Yesterday was Hash day…

We did something a little unusual and not really planned–two separate trails. The Hare’s had some challenging ups and downs in store for the group, but some of us weren’t in the mood for that kind of adventure. What made it unusual was there was about an equal number doing the “old man” hike as there were doing the actual trail. I felt a little bad for the Hare’s who had invested a lot of time and effort in laying out their chosen path but it occurs to me that maybe having a harder and easier trail to choose from might be a good option for our future Hash hikes. For example, Guenter is the Hare next week so I already know I’ll be looking for an alternative. Anyway, it all worked out fine yesterday.

And that was how the day went down. Well, except for the me getting drunk part. But I don’t remember much about that. I’m pretty sure I had a good time though.

Are you back for more? Alright, let’s get to it.

My lazy Tuesday shopping day. Royal is STILL out of Coke Zero. Three weeks now. I was able to clean out the local 7/11 which will get me through the week, but damn. [My Grammarly app says no comma after week, but I like it that way.]

After completing my shopping excursion I took an abbreviated nap. Abbreviated because during my slumber the power went out and without a fan blowing on me it didn’t take long to become a sweaty mess. So I decided I may as well take a walk to the vape store on the far side of town. I completed my purchases there, then headed over to Sit-n-Bull for lunch.

Right about the time I was finishing up my meal a big thunderstorm blew through. Lots of lighting and heavy rain, then the power went out. I sat there for a while waiting for things to calm down, then finally just said fuck it, paid my bill and headed out.

Damn, there was a six-inch deep river flowing where the street used to be. As I was wading my way back to the highway a beggar accosted me for money. I gave him 50 pesos and then he asked for more. WTF? I was not a happy camper to begin with but I let his ingratitude of my generoisty get the better of me. I’m ashamed to admit that I blasted him with some choice curse words. I need to do and be better than that.

So, that’s my day up to this point. Now, about yesterday’s Hash. It was a Günter trail so I was expecting the worst and was prepared to deal with it by shortcutting his trail at the first sign of trouble. The first climb of the day was steep, but not too long. So far, so good. I was on familar terrain and had the new girl Hashers and one other guy with me at the back of the pack. When the trail took a turn down into what appeared to be a creek bed, I said no thanks! The girls were happy to keep it easy, the guy kind of wanted to follow the trail. I told him to go for it, but he didn’t want to do it alone so stayed with us.

My plan at this point was to circle back to the four corners intersection on the My Bitch trail. But before I got to that point I was surprised to see that Günter’s trail was once again crossing our path. It looked sane enough so I opted to follow it and see where it might lead. And it really wasn’t bad at all. Still, when we got back down and his trail began another climb, I wasn’t feeling it. Unfortunately, I no long had a clear idea where I was. I looked for alternatives but finally had to concede that going up as Günter intended was the only option. Again, it wasn’t that bad a climb, and the down, while steep, was manageable. But when he started a THIRD up, I told the group no way I’m doing that. It was vaguely familiar and I knew it was going to suck big time to go that way. I also knew where I needed to go from here (back to my subdivision) but wasn’t exactly clear on how to get there. I led us to one deadend, then retreated and took another path. Eureka! I found the way and we made it back On-Home safely. I’d call that a successful afternoon!

Here’s some pictures from the trail:

And a good time was had by all!

Well, best trail this week at least. When I Hare my priorities are that no one gets lost or hurt on trail. Secondarily, I want the Hashers to enjoy the hike. I think me and my co-Hare accomplished all that. Yesterday was the first time I’d gone out ahead of the pack to make sure the proper trail markings were still in place. By all accounts, it was a well-marked trail.

I left an hour ahead of the appointed noon starting time and three newbie females came along with me (my helper Gina and two of her friends). I was surprised to be passed by two runners shortly before I reached our On-Home location at 12:40. I asked them if they had taken a shortcut and they denied it. The also said they didn’t start early. Well, I’m sorry but I don’t believe you could cover that terrain in a mere 40 minutes. Turns out they fessed up to having missed the final down/up that we had added to the trail. Rather than turn around they just kept going which significantly shortened the journey.

Leech My Nuggets is one of the fastest Hashers around and he didn’t make it back until after 1:00. He too had missed that same turnoff but went back when he realized it. He told me that once he saw the turn he was surprised he’d missed it initially because it was heavily marked. I think the problem was that everyone is so used to going straight on that portion of My Bitch that they just blew on past the turnoff and then kept going. Oh well, that’s how it goes sometimes.

A relatively small group of Hashers (22 instead of the usual high thirties) for yesterday’s run. I’m guessing the On-Home being at Derelick’s scared some folks away. The last time we were there someone called the police on us for having an “illegal” gathering. Sure enough, the police showed up again based on a neighbor’s complaint. They just told us to “hold it down” and practice social distancing and then they left us. Still, it was a buzz killer.

Twenty Hashers showed up at the designated location at the appointed time.

And that was a few steps closer to getting back to some kind of normalcy. I think next week we’ll even order up some ice.

And so it goes. I’m having some folks over to the house tomorrow afternoon. Went out today to buy some stuff to accommodate guests. More on that next time.

I haven’t touched a dart in way too long, but this cracked me up anyway:

I’ll be back!