Tung Chung

Hares - Lost in Space, Indyanus

Hashers - Comes Up the Rear, Lost In Space, Gobi Lo Ho, Octopussy, Winky Twinkie, Blow My Tits, Indyanus, Foot Fetish, Junko, Luisa, Pipe Rider

Write-up - Gobi Lo

I had half a mind to give this a one-sentence run report: "Please see run write-up of LSW #1761, held 12 years ago on 10 Nov 2010" here but I thought there is some poetic justice to me taking up scribe duties again for this memorable run so here is a proper write-up for us all!

12 years ago Catch of the Day and Come into my Tunnel set their World War II losers run. This time Lost in Space set his World War II winner run. But winning in any department, he did not do this time sadly.

With autumn finally in Hong Kong I was looking forward to the LSW hash so I got to the run start early-ish only to see Indy all by her lonesome self next to a LeaveHomeSafe check-in booth (for those entering the tennis courts at the park). Indy mentioned that the "walking" group who consisted of Foot Fetish, Luisa and Junko have set off at 6pm and I was the first runner to turn up so far. After a quick set of instructions of - "I think there are a few splits? But definitely one Rambo / Wimps split for sure! Some checkbacks I think. Some open checks" she pointed me along Tung Chung Waterfront Rd and off I went, happily delighting in the low humidity.

So that was the only two minutes of joy I felt during the entire hash run that evening because once I got to the junction of Yi Tung Rd it was an open check with 6 possibilities. I checked them all out (all wrong choices), with the right trail across the road, a checkback, then up on the overhead bridge, to the roundabout, back to the pedestrian / cycling path (almost back to Tung Chung MTR), another check and then finally the turn into Wong Lung Hang Rd. After 4.21km I finally got to the Rambos/Wimps split. That's when I made the silliest decision all week - I should have known it's going to be a long run but being stubborn, I decided to go on the Rambos split.

Now you may know that I do a lot of river scrambling adventures on the weekend so I do know the Wong Lung Hang Road area pretty well. I know that there is a relatively big mountain ridge at the end of the road (part of the Sunset Peak range) but I was optimistic - I thought Lost in Space would be sensible and lead us up some cute little hill and back down again (his warning of a bit of an uphill that goes so high, high, high was clearly brushed away by the same stubbornness in me).

Trail took me up the road to a construction site area, and I was soon greeted with the village dogs barking ferociously at me. I was still all alone at this stage but I ignored the dogs and trudged up until the left turn up the drains, then more drains and up until the trail. I was starting to get happy again to have the earth under my feet and the stars above me but the shiggy started getting kind of ridiculous. I had to double back multiple times at junctions because the shiggy was so dense and the hell bank notes / markings were not placed liberally at junctions. Then it struck me - we are on the same bloody hill that Catch of the Day and Comes into my Tunnel set 12 years ago!

Cursing under my breath, going up and up, getting more scratches on my scratches, I actually recalled what I wrote for #1761 about the shiggy - "Shiggy so dense and blind that you couldn't even see the ground in front of you. Shiggy so pure that if you fell to the side you would fall on cushions of shrub." Clearly this mountain of shiggy is still very healthy with shiggy. I don't know if I'm going soft after 13 years of hashing but the scratches started to hurt so I decided to take off my running t-shirt and put it in front of my legs as a "skirt" to protect myself from getting ripped as I moved through the shiggy. It's so ridiculous, isn't it??

Then the downhill came... which is basically still the same "steep descent with drops over loose dirt. No foothold, no dents in the path". I thought of Foot Fetish, Junko and Luisa who set off at 6pm and knew there was no way they would have done the Rambos route because if they did, they would still be here and I would have bumped into them. I was also secretly glad that Gangbanger is no longer in HK because if she was, and did the Rambos, she would have been so unhappy with the downhill...

Apparently Octopussy, Blow My Tits and Pipe Rider started the hash run together and very sensibly, Blow My Tits and Pipe Rider wanted to do the Wimps. However, Octopussy insisted on doing the Rambos and so in exchange for tagging along with her, Octo had to sing "Stand By Me" while they were heading up the hill. I'm sure BMT and Piper Rider wished they didn't do the Rambos no matter how beautiful Octo's voice is!

The trail finally took me down a cluster of graves, down the steps and onto Tung Chung Road. A left on the roundabout and into the Shek Mun Kap village, more checks, then back to Yu Yung Rd. Of course it was another 4 km of concrete running but by then I was just so glad not to have to run with my t-shirt wrapped around my legs!

On home to Lost in Space looking rather contrite, and Indy looking rather amused. Foot Fetish, Junko and Luisa were already enjoying their beer and softies, and listened to my tales of the legendary shiggy with palpable relief that they did not do the Rambos route. While the run was a little intense I know it's still tremendous effort for Lost in Space who is a last-minute hare, so thank you! I hope to see you again soon, Lost in Space. I promise I won't chew your head off. On On!

Down downs by Octopussy

Hare (LIS) - for recceing the trail from the plane so being a bit off with approximating the distance

Co-hare (Indy) - for only co-haring for the wimps and being too overexcited and giving too many checks after the Rambos rejoin and increasing their temperature levels

Indy - for pouncing on LIS to set a trail as soon as he stepped out of the plane

LIS - for being a great sport and spending his holidays recceing and laying trail.

Pipe rider and BMT - for yelping and cursing on trail as their legs were getting scratched. That's why one needs to wear leggings as per Octo who learned her lesson after the last time she did this run 12 years ago

Pipe rider to Octo - for making Pipe Rider, Winky Tinky and BMT join her on the Rambos when they both had stated early on they didn't want to overwork themselves

BMT to LIS - thought she might already be ready to strangle somebody with being so scratched up and then seeing the sign HTFU...

Pipe Rider and BMT - LSW for the elderly as they were sharing stories about their failing knees and what procedures they need to correct them

Pipe Rider for having the eyes of an eagle and seeing a tiny baby snake that was the size of a worm

WT for loving LIS so much he will visit him twice in October when he goes to Taiwan twice

Octo - for having to pacify WT, PR and BMT by singing 'Stand by me'

LIS - for talking about the double ribbon as meaning steep section but actually there were plenty of steep sections way before that with no double ribbon warning

Indy - for saying please be kind, be nice to LIS as he's doing a big favor to step in fresh off the plane, then saying 'but I have nothing to do with the Rambos trail or designing it... I just laid trail on the wimps and followed LIS' lead' in other words I wash my hands of any responsibility for this trail.

CUTR to LIS - next time I'll lend you my hedge clippers while you lay trail

CUTR to the Rambos 4 for not marking checks (they thought nobody would be out there running the trail alone so late, so stopped marking after a short while)

LIS - for having his threshold raised due to joining hashes in Taiwan with their way crazy trails hanging from razor thin wires and dangling over sheer cliffs. So this Tung Chung trail in comparison was soft, short and safe.

All the LSWers - for being like marshmallows, as in the past, in the days when LIS was regularly haring and hashing in HK only 5 years ago, the hashes were tough and rough... today's hash was normal for those times... now we cannot take much shiggy, distance or height. We bathe our legs in milk and need them silky smooth so we can step right off the hash trail and onto a Vogue or GQ fashion shoot.

Thanks to the hares despite our whinging we actually enjoyed the challenge, adventure, once in a while, and awesome views of Tung Chung and the full moon.

13.58km