The hare had learned his lesson from the last time he had set trail at this spot, and didn’t put his beer where it could easily be found.  And it was a beautiful day: the deer flies were out, the ticks were in the grasses, Basket missed the start, no bimbos, and critical marks were defaced by dirt bikers. Hash of the summer!

Trail started out from the first parking lot by the handicapped access dock, and headed straight into the woods east. The pack was together as they came out into some fields, where a check sent them in all directions. Finally, trail was found at the Moosup river, crossing at Spencer Rock. Briefly they went south and then crossed the river again, this time, thigh deep, and back to the trail they could have just taken at any time. There were no laggards slow enough to catch on and miss the crossing. Not even Bondo. Ha, ha!

Parallelling the river on trail, the leaders began to draw away. Fortunately, they found the right (left) path at the next check, and descended the hill back to the river. What would happen next? They crossed the river again. Trail skirted dangerously close to some homeowners, but none had time to load their shotguns. Flexi, Just Pat and Just Nick led, soon caught up by Oozing and Donkey Punch.

They came to the bridge. Guess what? Back across the river, this time waist high. Up the hill they went, crossing the trestle trail, then downhill again. Finally, trail turned west. It paralleled the trestle trail for a while. WIPOS followed the hare and skipped this part, simply proceeding west on the trail. The others came out, far ahead.

A crucial check mark had been torn up by some dirt bikers. The lead pack just carried on, and was soon approaching the RI-Conn Airstrip. The hare, having a good chuckle, re-marked with an arrow. Trail bushwhacked north along the shore of the pond/swamp south of the actual pond. A check led to the dam between the two and the beer check. The beer was moved into the swamp side, so that the songs would not bother the non-hashers swimming at the nearby beach.

Things were looking up. But then a figure could be seen making his way towards the group. They hid in vain. But at least it was Fuwangi. Basket was still searching for backtrail at the first parking lot.Silly Basket! The beer and snacks were enjoyed, a few choice songs were performed, and once finished, they continued across the dam to the beach parking lot. A disheveled Basket was encountered. His tales were ignored. They proceeded back to the cars, and circled up, in the pond.

The pond proved to be not quite as refreshing as hoped. The water temperature was close to that of a Korean bathhouse, and the circle became quite a sweaty affair. Ratings for the run: no pavement, no Basket, four nice stream crossings, lead pack lost, and some reasonable shiggy, were powerful and only offset by the pond temperature, the lack of bimbos, and the eventual appearance of Basket. Total: +0.69. Hashit of course, went to Basket. The On On On was at J.C.s near exit 6-not-6a.