The hash goes local and jungli

Yogi doesn't mince his words, and after being on a two month sabbatical studying hash psychology we should have known to expect something special on this auspicious 1450ieth hash, as he briefly briefed us on what he said was to be a 'Jungle Hash' and stressed that everybody, and especially The Fox, should follow paper.

Today's hashers came in in dribs and drabs having negotiated the Teej traffic jams to assemble in the scenic surroundings of a Vishnu temple about 600m east of Sankhu bazaar.

The pack of about 14 runners, 10 of whom were Nepali, set off with a thigh-deep ford of the Sali River and then headed over to the first holding below the huge area of regenerating forest to the northeast.

By this time, and quite predictably, The Fox, with Griot in tow, had gone astray and that was the last we saw of them until arriving back at the on-in. They apparently trotted off to some remote banjhang after hearing about the prospect of a tough jungle hash set by Yogi Hare.

And so from the first holding check the paper led through a Yogi-high cucumber trellis and then entered a dense thicket of coppice regrowth community forest and then went on and on and on and on and on via the second holding check in amongst the forest with no view and not enough room even to take a photo and still further on along the contour sometimes on a vague trail and most of the time just bushwhacking through the forest and the cobwebs as the trail became more and more jungli and the paper harder to find as Yogi herded everyone the right way until a brief respite on a rock with a view and then we dived back into the forest and on and on endlessly by a bubbling brook where the forest thinned out a bit and then down and down until we eventually emerged scratched and emotionally shattered back into 'civilisation' and some fields and houses with the sight of the tantric power place of Vajrayogini temple beckoning in the distance halfway up a steep slope that amazingly the paper only skirted but that, all the same, Hairstyle and Keeled with Bimal, Anil, Rotter and a few newcomers made a detour up to with Teej dancing by the main temple and Mukunda turned up as we surveyed the terrain we had just passed through and then headed back down and across the fields and back to the on-in in just over two hours. Yes a lot of it was a bit breathless and steep. We had been sorely tested but the runners had withstood everything that Yogi could throw at us and finished in good spirits and with a goodly thirst. The Damodar-led walkers looked as if they had had an easier time of it.

The post-run/walk gathering was marked by an amazing round and squidgy delicious chocolate cake provided by our Newari ladies.

In the absence of the Gee Ms, who was absent fasting for the male hashers, the GM awarded the customary down-downs to the several virgins, returneees and leavers who were also asked to comment on the new interim constitution.

Other down-downs went to:

By this time Keeled had drunk more than usual and somehow got roped into setting next week's hash with Roger.

And where was BigJim, again? We expect a litany of excuses as to why he has not brought his senators along. A rumour is also going around that there are a couple of crates of Sam Adams stashed in the ambassadorial store cupboard and we beseech BJ to keep them away from any thirsty visiting senators until he can bring them along to the hash.

Many thanks to Kumudini for bringing the amazing cake and to Mrs Rotter for bringing the snacks and her best carrot cake. See ya all next week when God only knows what further adversity we will have to overcome to reach the event that is the highlight of all our weeks! On-on!!