My First Run (pt. 2)

To set the scene, about twenty minutes before I got into an accident with a lawyer from the Justice Department. I had to talk him down and jump in a cab to get to the start of the run I was responsible for leading. I was already late, and when I arrived everyone was waiting around impatiently and some people were starting to get upset. I jumped out of the cab, grabbed my bag of flour and the three of us, me, Dave, and Ben, started running. Together, we ran up a short set of steps to the ridge top, but then we split up. Dave and Ben went straight down the hill on some farming trails. I cut across the side of the hill on a path made out of recycled railroad ties. I took a short cut because we only need one person to go over each section of the run, this allowed us to finish the whole thing faster and avoid getting caught.

Dave and Ben ran down the hill all the way to the bottom, before coming back up some stone steps to the 200 ft. Silver River waterfall, still in beautiful form. Dave’s day finished right there because he was in charge of the beer check – a special treat for our group, the China Hash. Some other hashes have a beer check every time they run, but we only have them once or twice a year. I though the spot was special enough that people would really enjoy a cold drink there. I found out later it was a big hit, all the drinks went quickly. Dave even made a video of some of the people coming up the stair just before the stop. (I’ll see if there’s a way I can put it up here.)

Ben took over laying the trail after the waterfall/beer-stop. He went up a few more stone steps before the trail evened out a lot. That’s also where my railroad-tie shortcut met up with the real trail. I had already gone ahead to mark a different section. Ben moved through this flat part quickly. It was a great elevated forest trail overlooking a stream on its left side. If the weather had been a little drier, this section would have been nearly perfect. It was shaded from the sun, so not too hot. It was wide, so not too restrictive. It was flat. All those factors make for some fun and fast trail running. But, because it was at the bottom of a valley, it was muddy. I say that only makes it more exciting.

That section led us up to a “bridge.” Just after the “bridge” the trail split for the Short and the Long. -- Sometimes the hare will plan to possible routes. One is longer or significantly more challenging for more intense participants. One is shorter for those so inclined. -- Ben was responsible for marking the Short route with flour leading back up to the mountain ridge. For the first time that day, at the beginning of the Long route, I started marking. I went off the trail straight into a stream. The stream quickly shrank and the trees and vines reached in from banks. It was slow going, but I knew anyone who followed would have to contend with the same obstacles. After several meters going up the stream, it opened into a broad pool. Ahead was 6+ft. stone wall with the streamwater running down the side. I put my bag of flour on top of it and climbed up. From head to toe I was soaked and muddy. From there I was able to skirt the streambed taking small stone staircases up from one deserted paddy to the next. Someone probably farmed here 10, 20, or 30 (100?) years ago. Then it was back into the stream, but it shrank as went uphill. I spent about twenty minutes following the stream up as high as I could. Then I found a section of jungle that we had all worked to clear the week before.

That section wasn’t too long, but I remember how much work it was to make it passable. Dave and I took turns with my cutting tool – a one foot steel blade on a two foot wooden arm. Ben was armed with a hand saw. I offered it to him before we left, but I was skeptical of how well it would work. He swung it around like a madman and it really did the trick. Dave and I always stayed thirty feet away from him, but I have to admit he was effective.

[I’ll have to stop here, but I should be able to finish next week.]