Australia Day run

Ocean Park to RHKYC

Hares - Indy and Octo

Writeup - DHL

Pack - Bobbledick, CUTR, Lost x 2 (in Space and Translation), Hanna Montana, Screwtop, Marcel, Freerider, Hopeless, Kannot Finish, Macau Drunk, Crackpot, visitor North American Man Boy Love Association

LIT FB photos

Pack had a good turnout for Indy and Octo's A-to-B Australia Day run. Leaving Ocean Park, the pack worked our way up and over the highway near the tunnel mouth. Still wondering where we might be going, the pack continued up. Road, stairs, road, and then finally a turn to leave the roads behind and ascend a very long patch of stairs up to Black's Link.

Left on to Black's, and then Screwtop and I see Hopeless ahead, excited to point out a giant wild porcupine on the trail. Screwtop invites the porcupine to pose for a selfie with her, to which the porcupine proudly poses with spines out. Screwtop reconsiders and takes the slightly safer pic of the porcupine alone. Fun fact, Hopeless later says he saw four wild animals out on trail-- the porcupine and a boar I remember, and maybe a snake and something else.

On to the Whimps / Rambos split. Rambos go up an old, beaten up stairs and trail to get up onto the ridge of Mt Nicholson. Rambos are rewarded with some nice views of downtown HK on one side and South Island on the other. Down through a nice patch of not too crazy shiggy and then stairs to rejoin the Whimps back on Blacks, again heading toward the north. Dropping off Blacks, we head down down down to Stubbs Rd. Leaving Octo's relatively well marked first half of the trail, the FRB's get slowed down dramatically by a combo of poorly marked trail and multiple checkbacks. Good job Indy on bringing the pack back together again!

After descending through a last bit of urban shiggy, we come out on the streets above of Happy Valley Racecourse. At this point, thanks to Indy's (mis)marking, I was the FRB with CUTR close behind. He is much faster than me on the trails, but on the roads, I've got a shot at keeping up with him. So for a full 3k of downhill and then flat road running, CUTR and I sped ahead, egging each other on with frequent lead changes at every Indy mismark or checkback. Hitting the last stairs to go up and over the highway, CUTR pulls away for good, and then it's On Home to B, the HK Royal Yacht club, and the nicest showers I've had yet on the LSW.

Second fun fact: My first ever LSW run was exactly one year ago, same hares, same Australia Day run, same finish at the HKRYC, but with a trail that was about twice as long as last year. Well done Octo and Indy.

11.30km 90mins