Sunday, December 28, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,787; 27 December 2014

Rumor has it... there were about 35 people at Nipples and Greg's place in spite of the early start and missing website.  The course was short at about 4¼ true trail for Eagles and 3½ for Turkeys.  Nipples scouted and set, and her trail included some nice woods, several main roads, some shiggy and a history lesson for the Eagles, who cut through the Dranesville Tavern.  Everyone made it in safely with no evidence of falls, mudslides etc.  There were four dogs – Cam, Abby, Kiley and Olaf.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and almost 60 degrees, and everyone was out on the deck with the fire pit lit.  There were breakfast foods including cheese eggs, ham biscuits, sausage balls, fruit salad, and a nice crumb cake (courtesy of Beef Strokemoff).  The Oral Advocate did well as Mufti Pro Tem and we had one 99 to the cup, Tim.

And Packing Pink Heat got renamed Mimosa Mary on the occasion of her 400th run.

Anyone who has photos is welcome to send them.  These are from the archives:





Thursday, December 25, 2014

Joy to the World

Merry Everything!
Goodwill to all -- and someday, maybe, peace on earth.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,786; 20 December 2014

Blazing Straddle heroically offered up her home (yes, we were here just a month ago) for a hash, and Spurt and Blow in the Hole offered to help out with flour.  So they all got together at eight ack emma, when it was still fairly chilly, and slathered historic downtown Herndon with floury marks, and then BStrad started her pots boiling, and by noon twenty more of us had joined the heroes as the sun struggled with cloud cover and the day warmed up to downright cool.  "Enjoy downtown Herndon," was most of the brief (plus something about a possible backcheck), and the group split almost down the middle, with eleven runners heading south and then east while nine walkers followed Ole Fud toward the TRAIN!  And the bread bakery.  Let's not forget the bread bakery.

The Jazz Swinger remembered the bakery.

The run was mostly paved, describing a fair-sized southerly clockwise loop that crossed the W&OD twice.  Despite the presence of young whippersnapper Mike, the pack stuck pretty well together.  Or perhaps because of said presence; as Rough Cut notes, the reason we have whippersnappers is so someone else can check the falses.  Not that R.C. didn't check a few falses his own self...

The first shall be last, and then catch up to the front again.

Some of the walkers spent some time in the woods, fortified by Great Harvest carbs; most stuck to the asphalt.  And the TRAIN!  Everyone eventually wound up back at the house, where Mango, Oscar, Abby and Kylie gazed hopefully at the plates of noodles and meatballs.  Okay, Oscar not so much -- he doesn't do people food.  In fact, offered one of BStrad's sister's homemade Christmas cookies, he barely seemed to notice.  Silly Oscar.  Those cookies were good.

Even more fun than trains.
The Mufti hollered his roll, celebrating Rough Cut's 900th run with raucous cheers.  Then he bid the group a fond, "See you," as he mentally finished packing for the long drive to California.  He urged everyone to extend the same respect, courtesy and attention to Acting Mufti The Oral Advocate as we do to himself... then thought that over and suggested maybe just a hint more would be appropriate.  Phoenix Rising urged O.A. to remember the 'benevolent' part of 'benevolent dictator.'  The inter-regnum begins two days post-Christmas, either in Herndon or Ashburn.  Watch the official site, and if you like, take a gander at this week's photos, too.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,785; 13 December 2014

First and foremost, congratulations to Blows and Goes for emerging hearty and well from his recent, unexpected surgery.  We look forward to his return to GFH3.

No, seriously.  Can't wait to have him back.

We do not look forward to the Mufti and BC3's departure at the end of the month, especially after they treated us to a another great hash today.  The Oral Advocate and Phoenix Rising chipped in to set trail, and it was an excellent one, plus the weather in Reston was decent for the time of year -- which means chilly and cloudy enough to make southern California look that much better, but not cold enough to require a third layer.

Actually, there may be a few triple layers in there.

So 31 of us gathered for a mutual-admiration moment masquerading as a brief, and 16 runners headed uphill, while 10 walkers sauntered lake-wards, with multitudinous dogs in tow.  The runners broke up into three chunks of turkeys, two of eagles, and one serious shortcutter.  Almost everyone got the nice bit of shiggy that brought them back to culs de sac of Center Harbor for a zig-zag On In to THE EGGS!

Turkeys on trail
BC3 had cooked up a marvelous brunch of eggs, croissants (still warm, even for the final two finishers!) and sausage.  Plus mimosas and fruit and panettone for afters, and altogether everything delicious, restorative and festive.  Gosh, it was a great meal.  Mark your calendars:  she's back in late March or early April.

Mufti roll-called, Rough Cut made 899 ("I've got to think up a new name.") and Rick made number one.  Bubbles got 'forgotten' until the Mufti started to make a fuss.  Chip Off the Old Dick bravely stepped forward, but clever Mufti saw through the ruse.  He was gracious enough to present me with CIA lotion and body mist (no, seriously -- Central Intelligence Agency skin care products) and a hand-carved nest of Christmas trees, in celebration of my retirement from the role of Assistant Associate Mufti.  Or something.  Let the record reflect that I got an entire sentence out for my speech ("I'm not even going to try to say anything.") before the hash realized what I was up to.  Ha ha!  Going out in glory!

GFH3:  "99 to the cup!"  Rick:  "I have no idea what that means."

I took a few pictures, and Queen Cobra got hold of the camera and took a boatload.  Enjoy.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,784; 6 December 2014

Rough Cut Rides to the Rescue!  Hash Hero Does it Again!  Not only did he provide a warm, dry place for 18 hashers to gather, with Easy Strider for the assist he laid a well-marked four-plus mile trail around Leesburg, with enough mud and rock to keep it amusing.  Intermittent downpours made setting amusing for our hosts, until E.S. shook both fists at the firmament and shouted, "Is this the best you've got?!"  Allegedly, they were subject to nothing worse than drizzles after that.  More news from the set:  they had to stop at a grocery store and pick up additional flour.  Imagine those two showing up in your baking goods aisle, soaking wet and squeaking clay across the floor.

Happy birthday to Dr. Pecker, PhD!
Seven runners essayed the course, six forwards and one backward (on purpose), and they mostly seem to have checked almost every false trail, so that Jeffy Lube claimed almost seven miles on his GPS.  Chip Off the Old Dick, exploring the mud with his usual commitment, wound up far behind the others, re-checking the falses and returning late, covered with glitter.  He claims he doesn't know where that came from, either.  One colleague guessed mica in the rocks; another guessed strip clubs just across the state line.

Mud plus rocks!

Over on the walkers' side, they mostly toured Leesburg, with the Mufti and Ole Fud covering over three miles, including several circuits of the train store, and barely beating the runners back.  No one got too terribly wet, though a steady drizzle ensured enthusiasm for dry socks back at the On In.  There was also considerable enthusiasm for the pizza, the Oklahoma/Oklahoma game and the Heineken.

The Mufti was of course enthusiastic over his roll call, congratulating our host on his heroics as well as his 898th run, and the former Drill Me, Fill Me, previously known as Open Wide and Swallow, on his 300th run with its concomitant new name, which is either Dr. Jaws or Jawbreaker, depending on who was shouting the loudest.  Mufti also asked, again and again, "Is anyone desperate to host next week?"  Receiving a reverberant silence in response, he invited everyone to his and BC3's place for brunch.  That's a NOON START on Saturday.

Blow in the Hole helped with the photos; thanks!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,783; 29 November 2014

HEROES!!





Per a reliable informant:  "We had 26 in attendance, only 6 of whom did not check the time and thus showed up at 3pm instead of 2pm.  Weather very kind.  Run standard Great Falls set by the intrepid Strac and the more-than-intrepid Dances with Bulls.  They found Gurr Hill at the top and took everyone down to the river on their backsides.  Leaders came in at 50 minutes, shades of Hashes of old, and most heartwarming, the leader was Easy Strider -- after over two years of struggle with Lyme disease, the old energy and drive was in evidence."

Friday, November 28, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,782; 27 November 2014 [Thanksgiving]

We are all thankful for hash heroes and frequent hosts -- especially, somehow, on holidays when they have other things they need to be doing -- Packing Pink Heat and Pickled Peter.

Saturday heroics from Ole Fud, Strac and Dances with Bulls AT 2:00 PM!!

Thankful for hash friendships (Nov 2013)

Just love this photo.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,781; 22 November 2014

With a warming trend on its way and the sun shining high from a blue, blue sky, 41 hashers convened on Blazing Straddle's house, where she was putting the final touches on chili for 35.  Whoops.  Anyway, she and Money Bitch had put all kinds of touches on a long, woodsy trail; some controversy arising over the possible existence of 'false checks,' and a rumor making the rounds that true trail was 7.9 miles.  That rumor was countered by physical evidence, but you know how it goes with rumors.

Most of the GFH3 knows the neighborhood pretty well, BStrad being a generous and frequent hostess to the group, so people who wanted to shortcut could.  One small contingent of walkers, new to the area, claimed to have gotten pretty seriously lost and walked a skosh further than desired, but they were still smiling at the 60-minute mark, so good weather and great company were apparently offsetting the impact of bruising tootsies.  The true-trail runners spent more than 90 minutes in the fresh air, and looked mighty fine as they pounded down the final hill, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, and Air Horn hardly wincing at all.

Ironman triathletes scoff at even the longest hash trail.

The final days of autumn make chili and fixins a natural choice, and the hash filled up, to the point that BStrad had to break out some noodles and tomato sauce for the handful who didn't make it to the stew pot in time.  There was also a delicious coleslaw, with raisins and almonds, and warm brownies making the rounds.  The beer was confusingly housed inside -- but trust this group to find the beer when it gets relocated.

Mufti shouted the roll, welcoming a full family of first-timers:  Abigail, Brian, Christa and Nate got talked into hashing by Bad Dog.  Per Oral Advocate, they're natural hashers, which he apparently intended as a compliment.  Erotic Equation made a special-guest-star appearance, and John, at maybe his third hash, started making noises like he'd consider hosting.  Be nice to newcomer John, everyone.  He seemed a little freaked by the idea that there's no way of predicting how many people you have to feed...

Guess who ran and who attended a flute recital.

The Oral Advocate warned the Exec Comm that Mufti and BC3 plan to abandon us for the questionable joys of southern California (warm weather, sunshine -- who needs that?) for three months beginning just after Christmas.  They promise to return, if everyone behaves.  After all, who wouldn't want to come back to all this?

Sunday, November 16, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,780; 15 November 2014

Days do not get any more gorgeous than this, with the blue blue autumn sky offering the perfect backdrop for the last of the autumn leaves and their blazingly warm colors, and the sunshine sparking off Rock Creek as it splashed over its stony bed, and the traffic light enough that the gurgle of the water was the main soundtrack for a walk in the woods.  Days do get warmer than this, of course (record lows overnight in Danville!), but as long as they were in the sunlight or in motion, the 17 hashers who made it all the way to Washington were happy as could be.

Headed for the first X!
Wait, wait -- they might have been even happier if they could have found true trail!  Though Dances with Bulls claimed in her brief that the run might be a bit long "because I can't count," she later confessed that she wanted to be sure the hash got to visit an especially beautiful spot in the neighborhood.  But they didn't!  Instead, they got up to Connecticut Avenue, ran through an X instead of exploring across the street a bit, rushed around the zoo, and somehow found the last bit of the trail, though opting for the 'strenuous' portion of the Western Ridge instead of the 'moderate' track DwB, Zipperhead and Paint in the Ass had carefully marked with highly visible, floury ons.  (Per Zipperhead, if you're not alpha, you're furniture -- and the trail was set by two alphas and a sofa.)

FRB, short-cutter division.
That, though, was just the initial clump of five runners.  Sally and Richard arrived a bit late to a new-to-them venue, and left about 30 minutes after the pack.  Sally ran much of the true trail, albeit cutting out some of the beginning and running the middle bit backward, carefully marking the checks somehow to indicate the forward direction.  This part seems very confusing.  Richard was the only runner to complete the full trail, and arrived at the On In about 90 minutes after everyone else, thanking his wife sincerely for those marked checks.

FRB, true-trail division

The walkers were cool, calm and in control, making a two-mile circuit past the zoo gates.  The On In featured good wines and great sandwiches and a roaring fire under the pavilion.  Sunshine plus a fire!  Plus the Mufti in fine voice.  Matt celebrated his final single-digit run, and A-lister Katy turned 20.  Photos here; thanks Mufti for pix!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,779; 8 November 2014

In the midst of the new construction, golf courses and townhouse developments of Ashburn there is a farm or two still, and there is a bit of unpaved road with a 19th-century farmhouse that Little Ricky Tutu and his bride (about three years, for those of you who may have missed that development) are renovating.  Kindly, they shared it with the hash today, with Bad Dog assisting on trail.  The 27 hashers foregathered admired the work done and the plans for the future, listened respectfully to promises of a friendly trail for all ages and activity levels, then ran off into the mud of the nearest construction site.

Warm-up jig

Warm-up cheer

They found about five miles -- two and a half for the four walkers -- of mixed pavement and grass; pipeline and W&OD.  Along the way, Climax Investigator came up with several ideas for nicknames:  Rubs One Out for Seth, who was fixing chalk marks along the way; Little Pokey Things for Brogue Bait, who was irked by the sticktights clinging to her extremities; Jack Rabbit, Sticky Palm and Go Long for others for other reasons.  Go Long presumably has something to do with the football that was, per Bite Me (eyes rolling), in constant play throughout the run.

Fleet feet with football
The 19 runners made it back in four clumps (fast, faster, super-fast and shortcutters) and settled down to sausage (LRT:  "Regular or spicy?"), burgers and dogs and trimmings, bedewed by Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada amongst others.  As the crisp and sunny afternoon ceded to a chilly and sunset-y evening, hoods were pulled up and coats pulled on and blankets pulled over the coats and hoods, and the Mufti started shouting.  He was moving along as briskly as the weather through that roll call until he got down into the S's, when he suddenly flinched, bellowed a warning, and announced Spurt has achieved 666.  Then he dug into the B list for Pumpmaster, whilst Air Horn sadly pondered what he had done wrong.  To rear a B-lister:  oh, the ignominy.

During a conversation about Radar's photographic perspective and the plaudits it wins from half our membership, Bite Me confessed, "I can't find most of my costumes."  Non-Radar (sorry, guys) pictures here.  Great hash!

NEXT WEEK:  NOON START in Rock Creek Park.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,778; 1 November 2014

The day after Hallowe'en; the first day of National Novel Writing Month.  There must be stories...

The story behind my 2014 punkin:  Lubbock.

Creative hash pumpkin of 2013; backstory unknown.




Lubbock + kitty = Happy Hallowe'en!




Saturday, October 25, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,777; 25 October 2014

Another gorgeous day in Sterling, following on a dry summer and fall.  Quick refresher:


This is what the woods around Spurt's house looked like in December 2012

Today, he had mapped a lovely 4.12-mile course, but decided it would be better if he could make the true trail less than four miles -- so he cut through the woods for a bit rather than send people on the paved path.  Fortunately for the hash, today the footing was more like this:


Lovely!  Of course, the eccentrics could still choose damp tootsies if they preferred.

Note Matt in background, headed for the bridge that goes above the water.

Consensus was that the trail was either "sucky" or excellent, both of which adjectives were intended to convey appreciation of an interesting, amusing and beautiful trail.  Further, it was of an appropriate length for those recovering from shoulder surgery, those more comfortable on two wheels, and for any Lyme-disease victims who felt like celebrating a warm and sunny day by being FRB.

The celebrating continued at the On In, with plenty of veggie-pasta casserole and beefy lasagna, with garlic bread and salad and cookies and plentiful libations.  (John:  "Fletcher [golden retriever] loves garlic bread."  Blazing Straddle:  "Who doesn't?")  So 13 tired runners and nine less-tired walkers managed to choke down some nourishment on the back deck.  If it looked like more than 22 hashers to you, that's because there were 31 people there -- lots of host/hare-types plus plentiful sweat-averse socializers.

The Mufti got his usual respectful silence for the roll call, more than can be said for Spurt's brief at the beginning of the meeting.  (Heh heh; actually, everyone was quiet for the brief -- except Susan...)  Spurt, Susan and Blow in the Hole got their well deserved cheers, Kim got an enthusiastic welcome to her first hash, with best wishes for 99 more, Greg made it to the double-8s, and Riley made double-1s.  And does anyone else believe that both Blows and Goes and Pulls Out Early did not stick around for the roll?

Mango stayed for the roll, and did not want to leave.

As the sun began snuggling into the treeline, Susan offered foil and plates to anyone who would take home some lasagna, and insisted everyone take home a banana or two.  If only it were possible to capture her tone -- part generous kindness, part coercion -- in the pictures.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,776; 18 October 2014

The Mufti took a photo!  Give that man a raise!


Only the crème de la crème are allowed to cross the state line to hash.

And this info from Someone Who Was There:

We had a nice turnout; 25 showed up including some new runners, friends of other hashers.  Hash hostess Paint in the Ass, with help from Zipperhead and Dances with Bulls, set a run that covered some brand new territory and kept the pack together for the entire run.

It was a beautiful day in Silver Spring but a cold front was coming in and brisk was an understatement.

Mufti was there with Mango and the Great Falls car pool, chauffeured by Drill Me Fill Me.  Phoenix Rising, as per, ran the trail backward, but broke slightly with his usual technique by turning around partway through and coming into the On In with the pack. 

The hares used 15 pounds of flour and some of the runners claimed to notice a lot of back-checks and Xs.  Zipperhead invoked the heretofore unknown 'heart surgery waiver,' which allowed him to put down a lot of one-dot-to-nothing's.  Paint in the Ass announced that she had lost her keys scouting the run and offered whoever found them the old locks from her house for free!  Unlike a particular hash from the mists of decades past, no one had to break into the house for the On In.

Paint in the Ass hopes to send photos; until she can she shares this link to one of her son's productions.  It is well worth a look!



Not Silver Spring, but almost as good.


Dances with Bulls, Paint in the Ass and Zipperhead?!??

Friday, October 17, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,763.01; late July 2014

This just in from Book Club Babe:


Abrogating their responsibilities to the Home Hash, Packing Pink Heat, Pickled Peter and Walks on Water joined B-listers Feels the Burn (the former Ghanarhea), Book Club Babe and Goomba at the Brussels Beer Odyssey hash.  Nipple Knocker apparently actually bothered to do a bit of running, and so missed this photo op.  Or possibly is having a little nap down amongst the shoes of his amis.

Monday, October 13, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,775; 11 October 2014

From Valiant:

A combination of the noon start time and the morning rain resulted in the lowest turnout this year.  We had only 18 stalwart hashers, including the host, evenly split between runners and walkers.  The rain stopped before the run began, and the the hash set off on a relatively short but challenging course, which included some virgin territory, stream crossings,  and several muddy stretches near the river.  All arrived back within slightly more than an hour, with no serious mishaps to report, not counting the usual confusion about markings.  There was enough food for 50 and enough beer and wine for 60.  It was warm and dry enough to gather outdoors. Valiant showed off his new pool side pergola, and the Oral Advocate both called the roll and audited the Mufti.  Some of the old timers recalled the origin of their nicknames.  The front field was empty of cars by 3:30pm.


Archival Valiant
Archival Phyllis


FOR NEXT WEEK:  Please wear red, white and blue in celebration of GFH3 hash #1776!


Saturday, October 4, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,774; 4 October 2014

First off:  The hash starts at NOON next week.  That's NOON.  Please tell your friends.

This week, the hash started at 3:00pm, or somewhat earlier for those who like to take a bit more time on the trail.  The late venue change caused only minor confusion, and most all of the day's 34 hashers were at Mufti and BC's place, basking in the sunshine, within a minute or two of the start of the brief.  The brief informed us that the Mufti and his associate, the Oral Advocate, were responsible for a four-mile trail, and no one was responsible for another couple of miles worth of false trails.  The Mufti, however, took full responsibility for the Nationals loss of Friday, when O.A. had kindly shared tickets with Our Fearsome Leader, which mistake he did not make for Saturday's game.  Which is apparently tied at the top of the 17th inning?  Is baseball different now than it used to be?  Is there a 17th-inning stretch?  Go, Nats!

Synchronized stretching.

Anyway, the run won applause from the 22 runners (and only seven walkers!  This is a serious running club!), who divided themselves into two groups according to tendon springiness while tunneling their way to Lake Ann, bypassing numerous culs-de-sac and returning circuitously to the On In via Reston Parkway and the North Point shopping center.  Walkers Beef Strokemoff and Queen Cobra were entrusted with Oscar and Mango; a high honor indeed.  Everyone was back in an hour or less, which is one way you win applause with this group.  Or you can complete the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Ironman in 2.5 hours less than your target time.  Hoorah, Bite Me!

Talk about tendon springiness...

Another way is to feed them well, which BC3 did with a magnificent spinach salad full of tomatoes in many colors, artichokes and other exoticisms.  It was an excellent embellishment of Papa John's usual fine effort.  There was enough variety in the beer tubs to tempt  Phoenix Rising to join the group very late, with his racing duds still on under his civvies.  Folks began trickling away by 4:30 or so -- perfect weather or not, autumn afternoons can get chilly.  And if you are driving a drop-top Cobra, the temperature is a concern, even if the Mufti has just begun the roll call.  If only Queen Cobra's driving her namesake roadster past the group just as Mufti shouted her name had made it into the pictures -- but it's hard to snap photos while cheering and clapping...  Thanks for shutter-assistance, Knipple Knocker!

Yeah.  That, too.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,773; 27 September 2014

Nipples:  "What kind of a person sets a backcheck five on the turkey trail?"  Phoenix Rising:  "Heh heh heh."  Pause.  "At least it was downhill coming back."

Plus, the backcheck was only about halfway up the very long hill..

Although the funnier bit, arguably, was Air Horn beginning the brief with the announcement, "We ran into a few problems on the trail."  Specifically he, setting eagle, and PhR, setting turkey, ran into someone else's marks:  a whole bunch of floury arrows pointing some other people some other way through the Great Falls woods around Riverbend.  Luckily, the outlaw arrows had no cross-hatches, and were not paired with any kind of checks or other deviousnesses, so the hares wrote "GFH3" at frequent intervals on their overlapping trails and hoped for the best.

Another funny bit, actually, was when A.H. said turkey trail was about five miles.  Ha ha ha!  Eagles had a true trail of about six and a half, although Knipple Knocker reported 7.9 miles on his GPS.  Devon probably got more, as between outlaw arrows and Malaysian jetlag, she meandered a long way off trail and didn't make it On In until the search party was forming.

And Spurt is running again!  Welcome back!
Gorgeous weather ensured that ten turkeys and eight eagles (there were only 16 runners, but Blow in the Hole and Bionic Babe, after starting as eagles, mystically and abruptly evolved into turkeys during a moment of inattention, and thus count twice) plus ten walkers, all enjoyed their various excursions and came in smiling.  And kept right on smiling when they saw the big pot of turkey-and-chicken chili (hot sauce on the side, as A.H. did not want to make six different chilis at various levels of spiciness to suit all tastes) and the large pan of barbequed chicken.

The Associate Mufti was enjoying a Nationals win, and the Mufti was... Anyone know where the Mufti was?  Anyway, the roll showed up, so the Assistant Associate Mufti called 34 names (several people showed up late to eat and drink and camaraderie), with no birthdays or double numbers or other excitement.  Nonetheless, everyone in the photos looks pretty happy.

She's smiling in there somewhere.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,772; 20 September 2014

The hash opened its fall/winter season with the Mufti's announcement that the next four weeks are already dibsed by eager hosts and hares, and then Spurt and Bad Dog (as proxy for Little Ricky Tutu) and maybe someone else created a foofaraw in competing for the one remaining October date.  The lesson drawn by Our Fearsome Leader?  Sign up now for a November slot!  Easy Strider:  "Isn't November usually the most popular..." [drowned out by chanting]

Controversy!  Is this the best weather ever, or was the Anniversary Hash the best weather ever?
Today was the perfect day for hosting, which is why Flowerkraut picked it.  The skies over Great Falls were balmy and blue, and the temps perfect for shorts and t-shirts with a light sheen of sweat, plus one kimono.  So 15 runners followed myriad pointing fingers to the creek, jogged downstream to the turkey/eagle split and mostly chose the eagle.  (Bubbles, briefing:  "True Turkey trail is about three miles; the Eagle about four, but it feels like five.")  There was some fairly tame shiggy and bushwhackery, and maybe a bit of new territory -- certainly terrain that Phoenix Rising hasn't trodden in many years.  Plus, an abandoned tent and a seemingly abandoned truck, and a backcheck five at the very end that brought Nipple Knocker in just behind the FRBs.  Isn't he good to find the nice backcheck for everyone?  The walkers braved the creek and strolled down to the Potomac, and found it looking hale and appropriately pastoral.

Oh, if the Marine Corps knew what he was doing with that training...

The On In offered beer in cans -- Flowerkraut loves Simpler Times -- plus Black Box wine and a bottle of bubblesy, Caribbean-style ham casserole (black-eyed peas for vegetarians), salad with tomatoes from E.S.'s garden, watermelon from same and oatmeal cookies warm from the oven.  The 24 hashers who'd managed to figure out this whole Saturday-afternoon-time-change thing basked in the sunshine from the redwood deck, counting critters spotted:  one fox, one turtle, a black snake, many deer, and approximately 7,000 cobwebs, with which pretty much everyone was festively festooned.  Also a frog, on which Matt, or maybe someone else, almost stomped.  You must not step on frogs!

No one's used to leaving the hash before sunset, and Flowerkraut likes people to stick around.

The Mufti had much to celebrate in his roll call.  Blow in the Hole made it back to the Hash, since no one schedules music-history classes for Saturday afternoons.  Paula made 55, ooh.  Todd and Candy made #1, although as their "Got Shiggy?" shirts made clear, that's #1 for the GF, not for the H3.  Perhaps they will become regulars with us, as they once were with the Okinawa H3 -- but they've got a lot of hashing options in the DC area.  If you take a look at the pictures (thanks, Irene and NipK!), you might quite reasonably think nothing could get better than the GFH3.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

GFH3 Run #1,771; 17 September 2014

Drill Me, Fill Me had the house, the pool and the weather for a great hash, but his surgery schedule got in the way of setting a great trail, so Pickled Peter and Phoenix Rising showed up with their flour bags.  PhR had a route planned, "but Pickled Peter wanted to do something shorter."  And, per PhR, they set PP's route.  Everyone say, "Thank you!"  The fun backcheck nine at the very start of the run was his idea, too!

The last shall be first, except Nipple Knocker, who shall just be first.

There were several permissions required for the route, which wended its way down Springvale, into the woods, over to Utterback, back into the woods, up Buttercup, across a field and back into what one hasher termed, "real shiggy," which required bent-down running, and then up Springvale and home again, almost all 20 of them, well before sunset.  A well-set trail, with a handy built-in shortcut, that kept the main pack nicely bunched.  The 14 walkers enjoyed the warm, sunny evening with a variety of different routes, including a Valiant Tree Walk option.

Everyone enjoyed a buffet of Chinese food, the pack nicely bunched to debate what was pork, what was chicken and what was tofu.  It was all delicious.  Beverages were plentiful, and the pool inviting.  Not inviting enough to overcome the chill of a late summer night, so its waters remained unmolested, but at least one of us was seriously tempted.

Hot or cold, lit or not, everyone loves to sit around a fire.

The Mufti called the roll, welcoming back Amanda and Alex, celebrating the tardy return of Air Horn after an absence (without leave) of two months, and leading the cry for Peter's number one.  (Peter, an experienced global hasher, approved the Great Falls version.)  Mufti somewhat more decorously led a cheer for the very special guests:  DMFM's parents were kind enough to join us.  (We also got a daughter, Young Fud.)  Finally, Our Fearsome Leader raised an imperious hand and declared the spring/summer GFH3 hashing season over, announcing that it had been the best spring/summer hashing season ever.  He invited everyone to join him Saturday at Flowerkraut's at 3:00pm for the opening of the fall/winter hashing season, which he predicted would be the best fall/winter hashing season ever.  We can hope he's right -- but when is he ever wrong?

Photos right here - none yet from Radar, but this one from the Mufti.  Thanks!

"A Colorful Group of Walkers"

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Photos from Radar!

Our Hash Flash, Radar, took and published his photos most every week (you can see them here) for about nine years, and then got to feeling a bit burned out by it all. He still takes them, he just got fed up with the publishing part. But now he's back! He's forwarded a bunch of photos, including for two hashes for which we previously had no photos: the Jeff Schwartz Memorial Run on 13 August, #1,766, and Cocked and Loaded and Queen Cobra's hash #1,762 on 16 July.

He also provided additional pix for runs 1,768 (Bill comes back), 1,767 (those people are not all naked, they just look like they are), 1,765 ("a little longer than I meant it to be"), 1,755 (Cracked Pot's undeserved Death March), 1751 (Mufti's 1,500th and BC3's 500th), and 1,746 (Valiant's birthday, Paula lost & found).  You can tell the new photos from the previously-posted because the new ones are way, way better -- and focus on women more.  He says he can't help it.


Thank you, Radar!