Long N’ Hard’s hash had finally come to fruition and with some help from JustCarol and JustHelena we all gathered at the Apex Ski Resort. It was great to see some returning members from the past such as Justina and Trotsky (JustDave). We even had Fartacus from the Saipan Hashers join us! He actually hashed years ago and now lived in Penticton but had heard of our club and wanted to see what our group was all about. After a quick chalk talk the hare briskly headed out and we danced up and down to keep warm in the bitter cold. I can’t even remember a blessing of the hare, which could be a first!
Anxious to be away from the din of the snowmobiles, the pack made it about 50 metres before hitting their first check. Long N’ Hard had chosen flour & Gatorade to be her marking material. Unfortunately, when she had tested it the temperature was much warmer and the colour worked well. Today you got a dingy brown if you were lucky. She managed to lure most of the pack up a very steep hill and sucked us into a backcheck. Not bad for a rookie hare! Continuing on up and around we came to the ‘SA’ check. The envelope produced a touching store of an Indian maiden named Snow Angel who loved to make angels in the snow and we were instructed to do the same. Trotsky cleverly drew an angel in the snow and then pointed at it while the rest of us thrashed in the snowbanks like a bunch of moshers at a Green Day concert.
Not long after, Trotsky scavenged a gas container for future use. More back checks, the group was starting to spread out now and Justina, Fartacus and Stinky were moving so fast they blasted past the Bailey’s check! Let me explain, this was no mere circle in the snow, this was a FULL bottle of Bailey’s in the snow with an arrow pointing at it. The remaining hashers greedily gathered around and sucked back the remnants of the delicious liquid. Stinky finally came back, but was a bit vague on where the FRB’s were, if he had called them, and generally if the sky was blue. Some time later we happened upon the aforementioned FRB’s who had scouted all further possible avenues to the next check. There were a few drops left in the bottle for them to slurp up.
The last challenge we faced was a narrow trail alongside a sandpit. A light snow crust hid a hard ground surface and Trotsky managed to overturn but saved the Bailey’s bottle. The rest of the group cautiously made their way downwards and soon glimpsed the hare in the distance. The two of them had been waiting for about 15 minutes and were turning white in the dimming light. We circled up and downdowns were issued to the following:
Hare (and co-hares) – For arranging this on such a cold day, in snow! Back-checks, markings that didn’t really show in the snow… I could go on…
Justina and Fartacus – Managing to miss the Bailey’s check due to their incredible speed and agility.
Trotsky – Dangerous mishandling of the Bailey’s bottle while traversing the sand pit.
Goatbag and Shunty – Shunty for trying to sprint on snowshoes and Goatbag for egging him on by matching pace.
There were more but the R.A. was suffering from brain freeze at that point so perhaps others can fill in the blanks.
On-on!
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