Run # 1924
Date: Jan 9, 2023
Weather: Dry and cold after a few days of crappy rain
Hounds:Sleeping Booty, Pubic Housing, Just Kristin, Luxury Box, OOzing, WIPOS, WHO, Just Pat, Hym Wrng Gye, Just the Tip and Basket
Hare: Hairy Kirschner
It was Dave Matthews Birthday, but nobody but the Hare gave a fuck. We were to start from Emma's Pub, 130 Mansfield Ave, Norton. I parked beside WHO at 6:05 and watched OOzing pull in. He asked if the Hare was inside. Not knowing, I walked over and found him and WIPOS enjoying a beer. Soon most of the pack was enjoying a beer, on the Hare as we harassed the bar staff. It neared 6:30, so we joined LB, PH and a few others outside, who did not partake in the Hare's prelub inside. No chalk talk was given and I could hear JtT complain about it, as we ran south on Rte 140. Just as soon as we left the parking lot, however, the Trail Marks were laid out with X's, O's, 3 dots and a B on the pavement.
The first check was found at the intersection with Freeman St. The pack split up here for a bit. Many crossed the busy roadway. As I made a right onto Freeman, I soon had LB running back towards me. I asked if she saw anything and she said no, but that she didn't go very far. Looking back, I watched as most of the pack decided to cross Rte 140, and I saw a truck towing a trailer at a pretty good clip come very close to hitting the last few to cross. I decided to continue on Feeman and was soon joined by the Hare so I ran off in earnest. Soon most of the pack was passing me, and at the intersection of Young Ave, just Pat asked if I knew where we were going. I said I thought we'd be taking a right into the Leo G Yelle conservation area. He agreed and we followed the FRB's along the narrow trails to a power line. As I made a right onto the PL, LB was running back towards me again, and said she didn't see any marks...AGAIN! I turned around and saw the pack making a right on trails that seemed to run parallel to the PL, so I continued straight on.
I could hear the pack off to my right for a bit, but it grew more faint as I continued on without seeing any flour. It was a perfectly good power line trail, so I was sure the Hare would intersect it in due time. I started hitting puddles, then running streams and soon I was in the middle of a pretty good sized swamp. The Hare had posted a picture of some water, and promised we'd be getting wet, so I pressed on, alone with no sounds of the pack, getting deeper and deeper into the muck. Eventually, the water got so deep and, not hearing the pack, I decided to turn around. I had misjudged the distance I travelled, so when I arrived at the spot where I saw the pack leave the PL into the woods, there was no trail nor any flour. Thinking I had gone too far, I turned around until I hit water and realized I had not gone back far enough, so I turned around again. At the first trail that went left, I went in about 75 feet and did not see any marks, so, thinking there was another entrance, I turned around for the 4th time tonight. Just as I was about to enter the PL, there was a flour mark on the backside of a tree, so I turned around again and followed the trail to the Beer Stop.
The pack saw my headlamp and OOzing called "OnOn!" As I neared them, I turned off my light and tried to sneak in. This never works, and as I stumbled and fell on my ass in the dark, they sang the AssHole song. A few songs were sung, but we were soon back on trail, as the kitchen at Emma's would be closing at 8'tirdy. Back to the start, it was short and sweet. We circled up beside a couple picnic tables and gave the Hare a lot of shit for a very shitty trail. He drank and sang his version of 'Sweet Nell'. Backsliders were next and OOzing cast a few questions that had them stumped. In the end they got them wrong, mostly, and had a DD. Hashit was next, and despite some really good suggestions like LB for leaving an old man in the deep dark woods, or Just Pat, OOzing, WHO and WIPOS for GP. It should have gone to Rusty for deciding it was too far to drive, "like he had something better to do, Hahahaha!", but unfortunately it fell on my shoulders. After religion, we went inside for some crappy sandwiches and beers before heading home. The Hare was correct, this was a shitty trail.
Basket
