Good and bad

The title of this post pretty much sums up my first experience with the Corona Hash House Harriers here in Angeles City.

First to the good–I rather enjoyed the trail. I took the shorter version and found it to be just about right for me; one climb, a somewhat challenging creek side portion, and an interesting walk through a village of the Aeta native people. I *almost* regretted not taking the turn for the long trail until I learned later that it included a knee-high river crossing. Who wants wet shoes for today’s hike?

The bad part came after the actual Hash hike. The circle started late, and was overwrought and over long. Apparently, there is some bad blood between the breakaway Corona hashers and the original Angeles City Hash. So we had to listen to songs and commentary bashing the latter for a good portion of the circle. There were four other Hash groups in attendance (La Union, Subic, and two from Manila) and they all took turns doing their shtick, which rapidly became quite boring. And it just went on and on and on. I grew increasingly agitated because I was tired and hungry. When the circle FINALLY concluded, we had to walk up a steep hill to reach the Jeepneys for transport back to town. No fun after a few hours of drinking–I was pissed under two definitions of the word. Almost three, as I really had to pee during the ride back.

Anyway, we’ll see how it goes today. I had my driver arrive early so he can provide transportation back to town if I can’t endure another Hash circle reaching it’s conclusion. This is the big one-year anniversary event for the Corona Hash and will include an on-site after-circle dinner. Could make for a long day, let’s hope they keep it fun and interesting. Yes, I know I sound like a grumpy old man. I’m afraid that shoe might just fit.

Here are the photos from yesterday’s adventure:

The unique comfort of riding in a Jeepney.
The Jeepney in which we rode. There were three all together.
Written instructions left by the Hare. The long trail split off at about the 3.5K point. The junction wasn’t marked as well as it could have been. Some people did the long trail because they didn’t see the markers for the short trail.
And we are On-On!
It’s always nice to have some new vistas to enjoy.
The first portion was on a road…
…which gave way to a path…
…through a mountain valley.
A traffic jam at the first of several creek crossings. Jumping rock-to-rock made for some slow going…
Still waiting my turn to cross…
Once across, we followed the creek bed for quite some distance, crossing over from one side to the other frequently.
The rocky banks were indeed slippery in places.
The babbling brook in all her glory.
Buddy Fucker, Fuck Buddy, and Jessa (no Hash name yet).
One last crossing…
…then we left the creek behind for good.
We climbed back up to the ridgeline…
The entered this Aeta village…
The native children were very friendly.
Picture time with the strangers…
Burn, baby, burn! ‘Tis the season.
We didn’t miss this critical turn…
On-Down!
And finally the On-Home is in sight.
Hanging out prior to the circle…
…standing around waiting for the circle.
And at last the circle finally began. Then it seemed like it would never end.
When the circle finally did end, we had to climb a big ass hill to catch a ride.

So, there was a group dinner back in town that I skipped. Had a mediocre chicken sandwich at a sports pub near my hotel instead. As usual, I was in bed by 9:00 p.m.

Time to grab some lunch now and get ready for today’s trail. I’ll try and keep a positive attitude and have some fun. If not, I’ll bitch and moan about it here tomorrow. Fair enough?

1 thought on “Good and bad

  1. Takin’ the bad with the good, I see. The Hash is a metaphor for life. Well, enjoy whatever’s enjoyable and say “phooey” to the rest. Good luck!

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