Chiang Mai Saturday Hash House Harriers
Drinking and Running Since 1991
Hash Trash 1539 Grand Master – Skid Mark Haberdasher – Hot Nipples
Historian & Awards Master – Superman Hash Cash – Titty Smoker
Joint Master – Just Cumming Beer Monster – Deep Throat
Religious Advisor – Chuck Wao Hare Raiser – Bushy Tail
Deputy Beer Monster – Sheep Shagger On Sec.– Stumbling Dyke
Run # 1540
If you want a run set in the forest way down in San kamphaeng , call Sloppy & Son, trail makers of distinction, Est. about 10 years ago.
As you’ve probably surmised, Sloppy Rod was the hare for today’s run with young Kevin making his haring debut as co hare. The location being beside a lake in the forest about 15 km down the San kamphaeng road from Promenada. We are now almost into December and consequently the Rainy Season is becoming a distant memory with the ambient temperature becoming decidedly cooler in the mornings and evenings. So many congratulations to our illustrious RA, Chuck Wao, for guiding us through the Rainy Season of 2020 with the minimum of disruption due to rain. There was hardly an occasion where we had to resort to shelter. An amazing record, I’m sure you will all agree.
About 25 of the usual suspects gathered round for the hare brief. To be honest, the only point of note was Sloppy kept emphasizing, ad nausium, the fact that a circle is made of 360 degrees. This is a point that would bear particular relevance very early into the run. Mary Poppins ‘sniffed’ the trail and we all set off into the forest past one of those Heath Robinson looking constructions , you come across from time to time, that are used to launch rockets to appease the spirits of the rice fields.
It wasn’t long before we came to the first circle check and the runners set off in various directions in quest of the trail. After about 5 minutes of fruitless searching and growing angst, Titty Smoker recalled Sloppy emphasizing the fact that a circle has 360 degrees and decided ,correctly, to follow the route we had taken into the forest from the A bucket. I don’t know if this kind of circle – where you back track along on the trail you approached the circle – has a name. If not, I would like to take this opportunity to name it a Switch Back Circle. Maybe it will take off.
We all made our way back to the A bucket and found our way on to the correct trail, but not without many expletives and oaths being uttered in regards to this act of utter skullduggery on behalf of the hares. Titty Smoker – with his astute, out of the box, thinking – led the pack once again into the forest, but obviously from a different angle. It was at this point I left Square Rooter for dust We initially had to negotiate an area of shaggy, but soon found our way onto a decent trail. We carried on for about 500 meters and were confronted by a dam wall that needed to be crossed which in itself wasn’t too difficult. But the steep slope that had to be descended to reach the dam wall was another kettle of fish. Everyone made their way down the slope with the utmost diligence and care as the consequences of a miss footing could have been calamitous
The trail took us through the green lush forest, down a slope and onto a paved road, past a few yappy dogs and another lake or two. Again we entered the forest encountering many circle checks as there were so many trails crisscrossing the whole area. We continued through the forest for about 2 km ,or so, which led us to another paved road where I met Superman and his entourage doing the trail in reverse. This totally confused and disorientated me for a while, but a bit of logical thinking, I soon realized what was going on. We then came to another one of those switch back circles and then kept on a paved road for about 1.5 km taking us up the side of the dam at the A bucket.
I clocked up about 5.5 km for the whole run. I personally thought it was a great trail with lots of beautiful scenery to enjoy along the way. We could enjoy the majesty of the mountains without having to endure their precipitous properties as Sloppy had managed to keep the run more or less flat. Another important fact was that everyone finished the run in daylight with the darkness setting in very early these days. I think plenty of mushrooms were collected although I didn’t get the official count A very good run guys and an excellent debut run from Kevin.
OnOn Stumbling Dyke….