Hare: Ding-a-Ling

Pack: Qutie, Mango, Liberace, CoTD, CoTD Guest, Radio One, Imbiblio, DRAM, Geriatric

For the first time in 2 years, restrictions on gatherings have been relaxed to allow gatherings of up to 12!! Thank goodness a pack of 9 showed up to make sure we would remain legal. No more would we have to separate into groups of 4 or fewer! Instead we tested the law by making our way to the BBQ Pits and the start of the run. Legally closed and being a law abiding group of 12 and under in number rather than age, we wouldn’t dream of using the BBQ pits, so we parked the start on the path. Would have been dangerous to sit around the BBQ pits.

The scene now set, the hare gave us the briefing – An easy trail marked in Chalk, standard markings, Wimps and Rambos, ~6.5K for both. Back the way you came and down the hill.

We set off down the road we had walked up and across the traffic lights. Leading the pack I managed to find the first check and having checked straight, found the trail down a set of steps and on to a slope maintenance platform. On to another check I once again found myself at the back of the pack by again checking the wrong way. The trail made its way along some light shiggy to Fu Kin street, here yet another check found CoTD leading the pack up a small hill. the trail turned right before the hospital and down a residential street where it came down some stairs and through a public housing estate to a service road.

We managed to find a check but failed to find any markings. Say what you will of the hare (and much was said at the time): he did succeed in keeping the pack together. After a good 20 minutes searching for trail in a pattern my GPS reliably tells me looks like this:

Myself and CoTD decided to take a chance on a paper trail that the hare neglected to mention. Finding a check at the end of this short section confirmed the veracity of this paper trail being the one we were supposed to be on. What followed was a good 5 minutes of screaming “TRAIL!”, alerting the rest of the pack, and the entire Hin Keng public housing estate that we were finally back on trail.

From here the hare lead up to and along the catchwater – Section 5 of Wilson trail. At the 6.5K mark we found the Rambos/Wimps split. The wimps continued along section 5 while the rambos started going up and endlessly up. In hindsight it was only 100m vertical but by the time we reached the top we were 7K into a 6.5K run. A hell of a view was had at the 7.5K run when we passed Amah Rock. From there it was a straight shot down the hill, back to the catch water and down to home finishing 8.5K into a 6.5K run.

Remarkably, bar the red lantern, the whole pack managed to return home within a 5 minute window, the wimps arriving moments before the Rambos. It does make one wonder if the faux pas of not mentioning the paper trail was in fact all part of the hares’ dastardly plan to keep the pack together? (It wasn’t). The Circle was formed at 9:30, as per the instructions of the GM. Down downs were given to the hare for poor communication and Liberace – calling at a check while being the pack leader, Mango & Imbiblio for finding the paper trail, following it halfway up before turning around and saying no markings & Quite for failing to describe his affair with Mangos villages friends dog last week.

Sadly, no OnOn this evening as the aforementioned BBQ pits are not legal to use until this week.

Are You?!?

– Liberace – at the rambos check, as the FRB, leading the pack

Oh, did I not mention the paper?

– Ding-a-Ling, after failing to mention the paper during the briefing