It was a fairly small select band of Hashers who found their way out to the seventh architectural wonder of the Kathmandu valley and the Master, for once showing appreciation of the feelings of the pack, called the circle to order promptly so we didn't have to admire the aesthetic inelegance for longer than was necessary. The Hares announced nine checks with numbers 3, 6 and 8 being holding checks. Other than that, there was little further information and off we set.

Rotter led the way to Check 1 which was down in the last village on road in to the site, the route there being similar to the live hare run set by Keeled around 18 months ago. The trail continued to head north-west, following a similar route to Run 1222. I'd got a little behind at this point, having almost found the home run during the course of checking from Check 1, so took a slightly different route in to Check 2 to avoid the traffic building up in front of me, meeting Andrew, who was leading the pack, coming towards me around the check.

Knowing that the Hare was an idle sod at the best of times, the obvious direction to check in seemed to be the continuation of Run 1222, so off I set, with Andrew and Night Owl following and the rest of the pack scattering in a variety of directions (except the correct one). Not only was I heading in the wrong direction to the tune of 180°, but I then compounded the error by heading off up a side trail to the south-west whilst the rest of the pack managed to find the trail to Holding Check 3 away to the east!

With a little help from the locals and, as I eventually caught up with the walkers, Viaggro, I managed to regain contact with the pack around Check 4. This was the start of the big up. Check 5 was a little way up towards the ridge, with Holding Check 6 almost on top of the ridge, giving magnificent views to the north-east. From here we continued to climb through Check 7, then skirted around the hill to Holding Check 8 at a small temple, again giving superb views to the north and east. Sadly the Hare had not made the right prayers to the gods, or the day was not auspicious, but the mountains were unfortunately invisible through the haze.

From here it was more or less a direct route back down, passing the walkers on the way and arriving back at the On-In in a surprising 90 minutes or so. Keeled must be losing his touch!

The circle was soon called to order and the Hares called in to receive the accolades of the pack. It's amazing how opinions can be changed once a hasher has a bottle of beer in his paw. From the dogs' abuse being heaped on the Hare as the pack toiled its way up the big hill, no-one had anything adverse to say about the run once they were back in the circle! A well-deserved 9.9 was soon awarded for what was an excellent run into fairly new territory for most people.

Other down-downs were awarded to:

At this point Griot decided to wax lyrical with some wild and incomprehensible theory about the Master being baited, ending in he and Towed receiving a down-down for unpleasant personal habits. Clearly the storytelling habit was infectious as returnee Digit then told a Chaucerian tale of a nun running out of gas.

Zamila received a down-down for complaining that there was no tuna dip this week, and I'm not sure if there is much more to record about the circle other than that the Hashit was awarded to Connie for simply getting too close to the Master when he was looking for someone to award it to. An even weaker excuse than last week's twin tail pipes.

If anyone knows where next week's run is, Towed Under would like to know, as I can't remember if it was discussed or not.

Social drinking was then declared, at which point things began to go awry. Walkers Hare, Viaggro, decided that he'd had enough, and had to set off for home to take Mrs. Viaggro out for dinner. Unfortunately Keeled had left his bag in Viaggro's chariot, complete with motor bike keys. Towed came to the rescue and Keeled's transport was, with a little help, loaded into the back of the Towedmobile. Off they set but about a kilometre or so down the road managed to drop the nearside wheels into a rather deep ditch, in the process of avoiding an intransigent bus. Despite engaging 4-wheel drive, at which point Towed discovered that the ditch in which they were wedged served a dual purpose for the local populace, the vehicle remained firmly stuck.

At this point it was noted that Duckbill wasn't actually in the Towedmobile, but since this was firmly wedged in the ditch, they could not return to find her. Enter the shining Knight Howl, who had managed to capture the said pup and brought her down, with Rotter's trusty (you should know that in other circumstances Towed does not put a 't' in front - GM) Landie following close behind. By this time a substantial crowd had gathered in the hope of being able to stand around and watch. The Landie was hooked onto the front of the Towedmobile and, after only one breakage of Rotter's Rope, managed to haul the Japanese Junk out of the ditch. (Note for Jim - Rotter is looking for us to buy him a decent tow rope as we've ruined the last two crap ones that he had!)

All that remained then, after remembering to retrieve Duckbill, was to find Viaggro. This was managed as he was just emerging at Jawalakhel, keys were retrieved and off we all went safely homeward.