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!