Heading off into the bush

Washing the mud off at the end

Looking for the trail

The finishers

Dave and Tom

So cool, just so cool

Cold beers at the finish

Village

Before the start

Yesterday we bushwhacked and slid our way around the Saturday Grenada Hash. It was great fun and a top muddy outing that included steep slopes, streams, beer, dancing and an opportunity to meet a few more boaty people and swap information and tales.

Dave last did a Hash in Grenada in 2005 with Nick and Lisa and still has the t-shirt which he proudly wore, holes and all. As we drove out as passengers in a minibus taxi, the rain was sheeting down in heavy five minute bursts. Grenada is very lush, green and hilly, so the trails for the Hash were getting a good preparatory dousing in rain water, making them deliciously muddy and slippy.

My guess is there were about 100 people who headed off up into the bush following small piles of shredded paper that marked the trail. Occasionally the trail would split, one specifically laid for runners, another for walkers, then they’d join back together. We did a mix of the two. Dave has had a lingering cough / chest infection for a while which has been difficult to shift. The Hash would be a good test of his recovery.

He was fine and spent a good chunk of the time helping other people up and down particularly slippy sections. An American lass from Chicago was most grateful he was there for a descent where a hand-line had been pre rigged as an aid. Ironically, the slower folk get a worse deal, as the majority of the Hashers will have passed though already so the terrain is more trodden, more cut up and therefore more slippery.

The last section brought us down though the bush towards a welcome stream and the pumping reggae music at the bar marking the end of the trail. After a quick wash to remove the worst of the mud, the chilled beers were calling.

Looking around there were a sea of smiling faces and tales being regaled of experiences had. An award ceremony, dancing, food and beers then ensued. It was gone 7 and dark by the time we clambered back into the minibus and headed back to the town of St George. Still time however for the driver to stop at a rum shop on the way home.