I survived the Hash trail yesterday—at least the part of it I did. But to my credit, I did the hard part. My hill-climbing stamina has been fading rapidly, and I was somewhat worried about doing what I knew would be a challenging ascent. I thought of excuses to avoid the trail, but in the end, I decided I’m not ready to be a quitter. I’ll get up that hill or die trying, I told myself. I hadn’t gone far when I questioned that decision, because the long climb was an ass-kicker. Still, I hadn’t been out this way for a long enough time that it felt fresh and new. And because of that, I was able to overcome the urge to bail out and shortcut back down since I wasn’t sure which way to go. I plodded onward, but knowing there was a second climb in my future, I decided I had done my duty with the first half of the hike, and once we descended to Rizal Extension, I opted to do a road walk back to the On-Home at Bella Monte. The length of my version was about the same as the Hare’s trail (around 6K), but I avoided another hill. That’s my story in words; here are the photos:
And that’s the story of this week’s Hash. I won’t be attending another Subic Hash until December. I’ve got some travel plans coming up.
From the August 2015 LTG archives is the post I made about my 60th birthday. And here I am having made it to 70. And now, let’s see if I can live to write the 80th-birthday post.
Today’s YouTube video discusses the realities of life for the majority of Filipinos. Yes, it is not paradise for most. This video is focused on Manila, but I see similar poverty on my walkabouts. It’s sad to view the hardships so many endure. Still, I’ve never ceased to be impressed by the locals’ resilience and ability to maintain a positive attitude and a friendly nature.
Let me leave you with a smile or two:
And there you have it. Changing things up some today by attending the weekly RSL meeting. It starts at 2:00, which isn’t in keeping with my kind of schedule, but there is a raffle drawing worth 99,000 pesos, so I’m making an exception with the hope of getting lucky. And the proceeds go to the RSL’s charity projects, so it is good to support that effort. Beer will be served, so everyone is a winner.
Congrats on another sort-of Hash. Then again, most of your Hashes are sort-of Hashes, what with all of the shortcutting (or flat-Earthing, I guess, if distances are similar but terrain is different)—more of a “Ha!” than a “Hash.”
At least, you managed that one hill.
That video you’d shown of the guys who did the 80-km walk was remarkable for how different the sights seen along the way were from what you normally photograph. Not better or worse—just different. I second the notion of trying some version of that route. You could do it with a “chase car” that doubles as your place to sleep for the night if no local lodging is available. You could also walk 20-ish km per day, then drive back to Barretto to sleep, waking up super-early the next morning to drive out to where you’d left off, and picking up the trail from there. 20K a day means an 80K route in only four days. Then again, I saw the extremely short distances for some of the segments listed on the video and realized that that must’ve been because of how tough the terrain was. But in my experience, there are always multiple trails going in generally the same direction, so I’m sure there are easier options out there for roughly the same route. Contour maps are key for planning this.
re: that “Solve 50% of Your Problems” meme
God, that’s some creepy AI shit. Uncanny valley. Look at the beard texture. Yikes.
in the “We don’t need no stinkin’ chairs ” picture , who is the white woman in the middle ? Is she just a visitor ? I’m still getting that same warning about being directed to another web page , but it has not asked if I’m human.
Terry, I’m not sure about the white woman, other than she does stand out in a crowd of Filipinas. She was a Hash virgin this week, and I noticed her in photos of a weekend running event, so maybe she’s a tourist.
SiteLock does a daily scan and keeps finding and removing malware. As of this morning, I’m supposed to be clean again. We’ll see how long that lasts. Thanks for sticking with me while we get this sorted.
Speaking of the RSL: any updates on Flano and that other mad Ausie who shot up the Gum Leaves & Crazy Horse ménage à trois?
Our thoughts are with you re: Mo’s demise. Was he been laid to rest in the Cementerio Hebreo, Manila North. I think his birthday would have been this month as remember his Scorpio bar hops was another way of getting the pesos coming from the simps in a few years back – even a centavo if it was going. HeHe. Did the old pimp actually make it to to 80?
Kevin, I’d say more of a Frank Sinatra…I do the Hash My Way. For me, I want to enjoy my hikes, and I try to stay within my limits. That’s how I keep it fun.
Yes, I think I could do a 20K-a-day trek, provided I had somewhere to take comfort (and have a beer or two) when the hike was over. It could happen!
HaHa! I didn’t pay much attention to the AI graphic in that meme. I come for the punchlines! 🙂
Aloysis, no idea about Flano. Gum Leaves is now called Wombat and hosts a “male entertainment bar,” which, to my knowledge, no one goes to.
Haven’t heard anything about Mo’s final resting place or a memorial service. He was born in November and died a couple of days after his 84th birthday. Just so you know, the bars were a hobby for Dave. He retired rich after a career in medicine and as an executive with the Siemens company in Germany.