1350 Guam Hashes

Yesterday was the Hagatna Hash House Harriers' 1,350th Hash on Guam. A hash has taken place on Guam every week for twenty six years. I was on hand for the occasion. It was my third hash. We began the hash at the southeast corner. It was my first time to that region. The drive from Hagatna to the start point took over 30 minutes. While the distance was far short of 30 miles, driving on Guam is a time consuming affair. There is always traffic and at no point on the island does the speed limit exceed 45 miles per hour. We parked at a school that was recently closed by the Attorney General for numerous health code violations including a large rat infestation.

This type of school closing is an all too frequent reminder of Guam's completely dysfunctional department of education. Everyone knew that this run was significant and had made arrangements to camp out and following the hash. Unfortunately, I had to work Sunday and could not stay the night. Although the hash was not as daunting as last week which involved climbing ropes down the sheer 50ft cliffs of two waterfalls, it was nevertheless challenging. The trail included many dead ends which we fell for at one time or another. After about two hours of jungle running, river crossing, hill climbing fun, we emerged near the beach wet and tired. The on home was set up for camping with mowed grass, several large tents, and torches.

For this special occasion, there were additional activities prepared (for which we had paid $14 more than the standard $6). After the standard camp fire ritual there was catered food and even a DJ! I drank bottled water as everyone else consumed mass quantities of beer. I waited for the catered food to be served before I drove back to Tumuning. Although I was disappointed that I was unable to camp out with everyone, I did enjoy the celebration. Hashing is certainly one of the best discoveries I have yet made on this island.

It appears that I will work on Saturdays in my new work schedule, making it extremely difficult or impossible to hash in the not too distant future...