The Porcupine Run
Hare: Wolfgang Druba
We gathered at the “usual run site” (Ulu Yam football field) and were ushered into parking to one side so as not to interfere with another hash who were also using this run site. (Methinks the Hare has a cunning plan here!)
At 4.30 ish we start – straight though the stream to get our feet wet immediately.
We follow the path as it winds up and left. Just after we come to a junction and the paper takes us further left to Check No. 1 The trail has to go back to the right as we are nearing the edge of the oil palm estate. But no - the check was broken forward and further left taking us parallel to the Genting Road. Soon we come to Check No. 2.
We cannot go any more left without crossing the road (and we even checked there).
It has to be a back check or to our right. Well, we spent a good 20 minutes checking all over the place. Yours truly went about 200m (I counted it!) off to the right along the terraces to no avail. I must have disturbed a pair of porcupines as first one and then ten seconds later another came running just in front of me. (If I was Chinese I would have caught them and taken them home for supper!)
Back to the run – eventually the check was broken by Mr Huge Murray – amongst the secondary jungle and only 30 metres from where I had been earlier!
I think check number 3 was broken quickly and forward as when I got there all I saw was torn paper. Up and down and up again to Check No. 4. This was a clever little back check that held us up for another 5 minutes and brought the pack back together.
Now we were going round to our right – still following the edge of the estate but going through the undergrowth until we hit the abandoned barracks / chicken farm / Japanese soldiers hide-out??? Trail now takes us onto a tarmac covered path and back into familiar territory. The paper, however, goes off the path to our right – back into the bamboo jungle and we loose track of where we are heading. Was this a circular check? (Check No. 5) I am not sure as people kept appearing back on the tarmac road from out of nowhere. We knew the direction of home and moved along that way.
At the bottom of the hill we re-join the oil palm and commence the home run-in. But what is this – paper from another hash? Is this is there just to confuse us or just to confuse them or both or neither or whatever. Anyway our paper did not go straight home but took us up to Check No 6. This was a bit pointless as we are almost home, but it did mean that yours truly could overtake the front runners and almost come home as the FROP.
In my opinion this was a very clever run in an area which was already well-known to many of us. The checks held us together. There was a good mixture of oil palm and jungle. Lots of hills though none too great. The FROP was home in approx 1hr 25 (and this despite the lengthy check No. 2). And apart from the deliberate intertwining of the papers at the end we did not interfere with the other hash nor them with us.
The On On was held at the “usual” restaurant (Lucky Like) and a good feast was had by all who stayed. Copius amounts of the amber nectar were consumed and a great day’s hashing drew to a conclusion (unless you went to the Triple On….).
Scribe – Heartbreaker.
Posted by onsec at May 6, 2005 09:42 AM