A Hash Monday with the twist of my participation as one of the Hares. We marked the trail yesterday morning so that freed me to do a Baloy Beach hike today. The Hash trail is around 7K and probably a bit more challenging than folks will be expecting from us aged Hares. I briefly considered doing the trail again with the Hashers, but I’m not feeling up to it. Hence my beach walk.

Here are a few photos to give you a glimpse into what passes for my so-called life. I ain’t complaining, it could always be worse. And might be soon if I ain’t careful. More on that in another post.

And now for the Baloy walk:

Feel free to Relive the walk here:

I’m not sure what’s going to happen next in my love life, but this isn’t too far-fetched:

Alright, more updates tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

That pretty much sums up yesterday’s Hash trail. Leech My Nuggets was the Hare and he did not disappoint, providing a challenging and well-marked path for his fellow Hashers to follow. In an unusual twist, Leech did the hike with the Hash group despite having done the Hare duties earlier in the day. Well played!

Some photos from the adventure:

I’ll be one of the Hare’s next week.

A pretty nice Hash trail yesterday. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but don’t they all? A mix of street walking and hill trekking made for a nice ride overall.

And that was pretty much it for yesterday’s Hash. A friend and blog reader, Maria, made me some personalized coasters.

I handed some out to my fellow Hashers and they seemed to like them too. Thanks again, Maria.

I also left a few coasters with Pearl to use at her food place. Spreading the joy this holiday season! We also enjoyed a nice lunch together today. I’ll post about that tomorrow.

Saw this meme on Facebook today and had to agree with the sentiment:

I’ve got some darts in my immediate future so I’d best get prepared for that endeavor.

Stay tuned!

I only did a small portion of yesterday’s Hash trail in deference to my ailing back. The pain is not quite as sharp today and as of now, I intend to do the group hike tomorrow, even if that means gritting my teeth in agony while I walk. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

So, in COVID prevention news, we no longer have to wear those dumbass face shields in the supermarket. I was so pleased heading out to Royal for my shopping excursion this morning without one. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I was asked for my vaccination card by the security guard at the entrance. WTF? I ain’t go one. It was right at opening time and the guard indicated the vaccine requirement wasn’t in effect yet, so I was able to enter the store. I was pissed because it is a stupid policy and especially because there had been absolutely no forewarning. Idiots.

At the checkout stand, I cashed in the points on my Royal rewards card figuring I might not be back anytime soon. That was good for twenty bucks off my groceries. As I was leaving I went to the customer service desk to get clarification on the vax policy–specifically, I wanted to know if applied to all the stores on SBMA (the old Navy base) or only Royal. I didn’t get a clear answer on that, but I suspected it will be SBMA-wide. All the manager could tell me was they were waiting for “the memo”. Well, I just saw on Facebook that people have been turned away this afternoon from both Royal stores. And someone posted this showing that the restriction is indeed SBMA-wide:

So, I’ll be doing my shopping elsewhere for the foreseeable future. You know, I’m actually not anti-vaccination. I just don’t need one since I’ve already had COVID. And if this shit they are forcing on people actually worked, those of us who are unvaccinated wouldn’t pose a threat. And the more they try and force me into getting jabbed, the more I’m inclined to resist. I’ll make up my own mind about when or if I want to be shot. Honestly, it won’t surprise me if immigration starts requiring proof of vaccination to renew your visa. What a crock this all is. I think only about 35% of the general population has been vaccinated, I guess they can eat cake.

Alright, let me share some photos from my abbreviated Hash yesterday:

Now to find out if my bad back will impact my ability to throw darts. Well, at least I’ll have an excuse if I play poorly, legitimate or not. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Well, I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down

I am happy to report that everyone survived yesterday’s Hash. No one was injured or irretrievably lost. That’s always been my goal as a Hare. As expected, the feedback from many of the Hashers was they were surprised the trail was so difficult with a couple of notorious shortcutters serving as Hares. Mission accomplished in that regard as well!

Having marked the trail on Sunday, all that was left for us to do yesterday was to give the last-minute instructions to the Hashers and send them on their way, then wait for their return. Pubic Head (Scott) and I hung out at the Hideaway bar for a couple of beers to kill the time. The place was almost full on an early Monday afternoon. Griff, the new owner, even bought us a beer, which was nice. Scott (a Navy vet) told me a little of the history of the bar and I was surprised to learn it existed back in the old days when the Navy was here, albeit with several different names/owners over the years. Anyway, it was a nice way to spend an hour. I’ll factor this recent experience into my bar rankings next time I update.

Our On-Home was at Blue Butterfly. When we arrived some Hashers were already there, although none of them had done the whole trail. Leech My Nuggets was the first runner to complete the entire course, which is not unusual. It wasn’t a long trail (just under 6K) but those two big climbs took some time. The last person back was in at around the two-hour mark.

I also had a fine time at Blue Butterfly. The gals were all looking good, and I latched on to Joean (her spelling, not mine) who was friendly and sweet and who kept my beer bottles full. I’m going to maybe have to start visiting BB more often.

Here are some more pictures from the trail and On-Home:

Anyway, it was a good Hash day. Started drinking early though and after the Hash had a couple of more at It Doesn’t Matter. Then on the way home had the trike driver take me to Jollibee for a burger and a sundae. Fuck the diet!

Thanks for reading!

A good Hash yesterday. Almost pleasant, in fact. The Hare, Leech My Nuggets, is known for his difficult trails, but this was easy enough to seem almost out of character for him. Sure, it had several hill climbs, but nothing long, steep, and hard. Of course, our “sane” group did some modifications, including eliminating one of the bigger climbs. But despite being notorious short cutters, we actually added distance to the Hare’s route by walking the 2K from Alta Vista to the trailhead.

Lots of photos to share. I’m even featured in quite a few of them as the other Hashers did a lot of the photography. So, let’s get to it:

And so concluded another Hash Monday. It’s good to be alive!

I’m no Frodo, but yesterday’s Hash trail would have been better suited for a Hobbitt. It’s funny in a way because I had that thought on trail and then one of the other Hashers made a similar comment to me.

It was a surprisingly short trail with only one big up and down. The climb wasn’t really steep, but it was long and meandering. The part I really disliked was going through sections that were so overgrown and jungle-like that I had to bend over a lot as I worked my way up. Had I been Hobbitt height it would have been much easier.

We started and finished at Hunter’s Jo Inn in Calapadayan. Pubic Head (Scott) drove so I was able to avoid the dreaded ride out there in the Hashmobile. Unfortunately, he lost his car keys while we were hiking the trail. Luckily, another Hasher found them. The keys apparently fell out of his backpack in one of those “bend over while you walk” parts of the trail. Anyway, I got a ride back to Barretto with him, so it ended well for both of us.

To the photos then:

After leaving Hunter Jo’s, I had Scott drop me off at It Doesn’t Matter for some more beer drinking and tomfoolery with my fellow Hashers. A good day all things considered.

Yesterday’s Hash trail was surprisingly difficult. The Hare, Leech My Nuggets, had described the first climb as “only a hump”. I was expecting an easy hill but was reminded that some people call getting fucked a hump. So, yeah, that was quite a humping we had there. The alleged purpose of the hump was to avoid the flooded rice paddies in the valley. We accomplished that for the most part but there was still plenty of water flowing along the way. Well, I don’t suppose a walk in the park would be a proper anniversary Hash, now would it? Happy 28th to the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers!

Actually, they aren’t. But more on that another day.

Whoo boy! Earning my keep as the assistant to the Beer Meister meant lugging ice chests and cases of beer down the stairs at the Alta Vista clubhouse at 0730 in preparation for today’s Subic Anniversary Hash. Already sweating like a pig and haven’t even started the trail yet. Will be leaving for that adventure at 1100 so wanted to get in a quick post while I can.

Yesterday’s outing with the Angeles City Corona Hashers was a bit of a fiasco. My group shortcut the first crazy climb and avoided a dreaded creekbed walk that featured ropes to enable climbing over rocks. No thank you! What was surprising was as we were walking the remainder of the trail we encountered several groups of non-short cutters walking the trail in reverse. It seems they took a wrong turn at the top of the first climb and just winged it from there. Oh well, shit happens.

I thought the hike as we performed it was pleasant enough, around 4K and no major obstacles to overcome. I was surprised to find out that the Corona Hash Grandmaster, Egghead, paid for all the beer and food for the Hashers in attendance. That set him back a pretty penny for sure. The Pub supplied the tacos and they were excellent. The only problem for me is when these events commence so early in the day I’m wiped out before the sun goes down. More of that in my immediate future I’m afraid. I’m sure the other Hashers would tell me to “suck it up, buttercup”, so that’s what I’ll do.

A few pictures from yesterday’s outing:

That’s all I’ve got time for this morning. A report on today’s Hash tomorrow!

I don’t want to downplay the gravity of the situation, but yesterday’s Hash trail did not result in my downfall. It could have been pure luck I suppose because the going got steep on the downhill run, and yet I somehow managed to keep my feet despite the efforts of Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards to undermine me. If you get my meaning.

Anyhoo, for the most part, I enjoyed the trail. We started on the familiar backstreets of Barretto, did a challenging but moderate climb I’d done before, and then took a new way down that I reckon I will never voluntarily try again. Finished with a stroll through Marian Hills, then up to Alta Vista, and concluded our hike on Baloy Beach at our On-Home venue, Da’ Kudos.

Hopefully, the photographs will tell the story better than I can:

A pretty good one, all in all.

The outer edge of the typhoon passing to the north did wind up hitting us pretty hard last night, but it was too late to impact the Hash. In fact, the overcast skies and breezy conditions during the day kept it much cooler than normal and made hiking the trail all the more pleasant. It was a Leech My Nuggets trail, so it did feature a couple of climbs but they weren’t outrageous and I managed just fine. In fact, our “sane” group, notorious for shortcutting, wound up doing the entire trail. That’s very rare for me. I was also surprised at how strong I felt while hiking–no shortness of breath or other fatigue issues. All I can attribute that to was my day off on Sunday. Perhaps I do need to give it a rest a little more often.

Here are some photos from the hike, taken from several sources:

And that’s the way it went down.

We got it done. Not to perfection or even to my complete satisfaction. I guess you might say that goes with the territory when laying a Hash trail. Sometimes it gets a little Hare-y. Okay, I’ll stop.

It happens that things get lost between what you intend to do as a Hare and what actually happens. We scouted the front half of the trail last Wednesday and had a pretty good idea of where we were going to go. Our efforts on Friday to walk from the endpoint to a logical rendezvous with the front part of the trail were not as successful as we hoped. That meant we were winging it more than I like on Monday morning. We made a wrong turn once and had marked that trail with powder and paper before realizing our error. Did our best to erase the mistake, but I heard from a couple of Hashers they had followed the faux trail. I hate when that happens, but at least they were able to recover and retreat back to the true trail.

The descent we wound up doing was not at all to my liking. Very steep and very slick, and worse yet, it ended up in a creek bed. I hate walking through creek beds. Especially in rainy season. The rocks were covered in algae and slippery as hell. I told my fellow Hares I wasn’t happy with putting the Hashers through what we had done, but it was too late to do anything about it. I was expecting some negative feedback at the Hash circle but I was surprised again. The gung-ho die-hards like Guenter really liked the trail. Leech My Nuggets said he thought it was the best trail of the year. I told him I didn’t think so, how about that going down to the creekbed? He laughed and said, “I was surprised to find that on one of YOUR trails, but I rather it enjoyed it.” I confessed that I had been overruled by my fellow Hares about that route, so the praise belonged to them.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well. No one got hurt and no one was irrevocably lost. Those are my goals as a Hare and they were achieved. Here are some photos to enjoy:

Alright, those are the photos taken while we were laying trail. Here are a few taken by the Hashers later while hiking the trail:

And a few shots from our On-Home venue at Hunter’s Jo Inn in Calapadayan.

Hope you enjoyed the trail.

I’ll be one of the Hares for Monday’s Hash, along with Scott and Jim. So we took the Wednesday Walkers along on a little trail scouting expedition yesterday. We are starting out from the Waltermart on the far side of Subic town, climbing a mountain, then working our way back down to the On-Home venue in Calapadayan. Going to be around 6K once it is done. Of course, one of the aspects of scouting is finding the best way to go and we had a couple of detours and dead ends along the way. Jim is going back out on Friday to work out the kinks and then we will mark the Hash trail on Monday morning.

What I especially like about this trail is that we rarely Hash this far out, so the experience will be new for most of the Hashers. I know I enjoyed seeing some different views as we worked our way up and over the mountain. Here’s what the area looks like:

Another good day on trail. Should be a good Hash on Monday.

That’s how it felt on yesterday’s Hash. What started out as a few sprinkles turned into a deluge that went on and on and on. The hardest rainfall I can recall hiking in. The downpour lasted for the first half of the trail we took, and it was a steady, but lighter rain, the rest of the way. It did stop prior to the after Hash On-Home activities, so there is that at least.

My “sane” group of Hashers actually took a longcut at the beginning–walking the 2K or so to the trail start rather than ride in the back of the Hashmobile. We had a map of what the Hare had prepared, and we planned to do one or two of the hill climbs he had laid out. Of course, the rain washed those plans away. Along with nearly all of the trail markings. Chalk and powder just don’t stand up to torrential rain. When we reached the designated start point you could barely make out a faint chalk arrow. The Hare, Leech My Nuggets, is one of the best at marking a trail. So we knew then there was no trail left to follow. We were already soaked to the skin anyway, so we just continued on and found our own path. Wound up doing 6K which was a challenge given the conditions. All the Hashers who rode out in the truck pretty much just turned around and walked back when they couldn’t find the intended trail. Oh well, just one of those days.

Given the wet weather, I had to keep my phone bagged up in plastic as did the other photo takers. Pubic Head got a few at least:

And that’s the way it was. I guess I should just count my blessings.

More to come tomorrow.

Monday’s Hash was a real throwback for me. I actually enjoyed the trail and didn’t even find it necessary to shortcut. The best thing was not dragging ass, breathless and light-headed, during the hike. Maybe taking the day off on Sunday was not such a bad thing after all. The trail was only 6K, but it had two climbs of moderate difficulty. What I liked best though was a good portion of the trail was first-time territory for me. It’s good to see something new for a change. Let’s do the photos, shall we?

A chance to Relive the hike if you’d like:

It was a good day for feeling good on trail. I was the last one back (again) but I don’t care. I was too busy enjoying myself to be in a hurry.

And that’s the skinny on this week’s Hash post.