Fear No Shiggy in Atlanta

It's been an incredibly busy week in the hashing sense, so I've got several different hashes to comment on, almost all in Atlanta. I'll try and be brief just because I'm on borrowed computer time here at the hotel.
After attending the S.L.U.T. trail on Thursday, I balanced out a decision to attend a Darkside/Southern Comfort hash on Friday. To break it cleanly, SoCo hashes are known for their ultra-shiggy (practically class 4 hurricane level) and Darkside hashes are generally 10+ miles in length.
I know this is read mostly by hashers, but for those uninitiated to our slang, shiggy is basically anything you probably wouldn't normally run on. Off the beaten trail type terrain. In Las Vegas that's dry creek beds, desert shrub, marsh/wetlands, drainage channels, etc. Here in Atlanta it's similar except for the lack of a better word, shiggier. Briars, briar vines, waist deep swamp, etc. Throw in the abundance of ticks this summer and you better have your DEET!
So, back to the Darkside/SoCo trail. It took roughly a mile to a mile and a half to hit shiggy, but it was like rushing into the ocean to meet a wave half-way. It started with a slide down a hill in thigh deep shrubbery and dead leaves, grabbing onto branches of nearby trees for support. It continued to weave in between the trees once we got to the bottom before leading us right to knee deep creek water running through concrete tunnels under... whatever they ran under.
Trail was marked mostly in strips of toilet paper (flour would have been useless once we got in the jungle) and wove us for miles through the backwoods of Atlanta. The few times we broke out from the trees we were running through extremely run down apartment complexes (Hareline half-jokingly suggested a kevlar vest with the usual flashlight and whistle) where more apartments were vacant with broken in doors and windows than occupied. Then it was back into the jungles of Atlanta.
About 2 or 3 miles in, while going through a tunnel of waist deep water (reddish brown and foul smelling) my headlamp popped off and was lost (like hell I'm going to try and retrieve it).
About a mile and a half after that we reached the first water stop and I went from the middle of the pack to the back end (there were... 7 or 8 of us), sandwiching myself between Skin Flute Pie and Dain Bramage so I could visually feed off of their lights.
Without a light of my own, I continually got caught in brambles and briar vines, resulting in scratches and cuts on my legs that seem to be staying. Cool!
We finished after roughly 10.5 miles and 4 hours of hardcore hashing trail. The hare, Richard Calamari (Squid Dick), did an excellent job of laying out trail. We were rarely off trail and never felt lost, which is a plus anytime a hash goes over 6 miles in general.
The circle was done mostly in the SoCo style. As a first timer I had to do a down-down from a shitty beer that was left in someone's car for 6 months (temperature flux) and the only song they sing is Zulu Warrior.
I arrived back at Pumpt'kin's place at roughly 3 to 3:30ish in the morning.

The next day was the Atlanta H4 (Hash House Harriers and Harriettes), with a trail laid by Portugese Water Dog and Diaper Dan.
Through a combination of being beat to shit by the previous nights trail and a 100 degree day, there wasn't much in me to run this. I ended up walking the majority of trail and hanging with the middle of the pack, coming in last to the Beer Stop (not Check out here, they call them Stops). The DFL walkers had found a map of trail on trail and shortcut to the end before even the FRB's got to the Beer Stop.
After the stop, I followed Camel Toe and Coffee Bean down a long tunnel, only to get circle jerked at the end and brought back to where we went in down a different tunnel. We took a creek down the road a ways before exiting onto the road.
I fell behind in the creek and when I got on the road I couldn't see anyone. Found an abandoned part of trail (they decided not to lay that way and switched direction but didn't erase the flour) and looped myself back around into another circle jerk back to the BS... yay (no, there wasn't any more beer).
I re-traced my steps (minus the big tunnel circle jerk) and finally saw flour about 30 yards away from the mark exiting the creek on the side of a tree across a parking lot.
I got back on trail, and followed it for another mile before getting off trail again on an unmarked turn. By then PWD was driving down the road looking for me. I got in and autowanked to the end.
Circle was entertaining and brief as we all had to get ready for Pine Lake H3's Prom From Hell that evening.
PWD gave me a Goodwill Suit he bought that didn't fit him (or me actually, the 40 in. waist was actually a 32, the best I can squeeze is a 34).

Prom From Hell that night was a lot of fun. Drink, dancing, drink, pictures, drink, Flabongo, drink, food, drink and drink. The usual!

Sunday was Black Sheep H3's trail. Much like SoCo, Black Sheep is known for their ultra-shiggy. And to be quite honest, the hares Colonol (sp?) Clit and Little Willy even out-did Squid Dick on the Darkside/SoCo trail in terms of shiggy. I learned the term "hamster tunnel" where the briars and vines are so entwined with the trees that you have no choice but to squeeze yourself as small as possible while navigating the trail. We ran down creeks, over briar patches and into swamp. Trail was probably 90% in the jungle and compared to DS/SC, poorly marked on the second half. To top it off, it was during the day and a brutal six and a half miles. More scratches, but since I could see what/where I was stepping, I was largely able to circumvent anything too gnarly. Though I did get a major slice on the back of my achilles from one briar vine that refused to let go. I should mention that there is poison ivy absolutely everywhere, enough that you really don't take it into too much concern while hashing. You may wear long socks and tights to help with that and the briars, and the ticks, but it's an inevitability. Just bring some 91% rubbing alcohol and wipe down with it at the end of trail. It must work because while I did every trail in running shorts and short socks, I haven't contracted ivy poisoning at all.
For the most of this trail I was in the middle of the pack with Lost and Fucked, Vegetative State (who gave me a ride from Pumpt'kin's) and Skin Flute Pie. The FRB's were long out of sight and sound, but apparantely were adjusting the trail TP to better mark it for us in the back.
We all hung together extremely well, going into a waist deep swamp where I discovered the danger of underwater logs, resulting in a nasty bruise on my outer thigh (oops!). You also have to be careful of Pungee Sticks, the trees that beavers cut down which can be extremely nasty to fall upon.
Trail was lost in the swamp, we circled back upon ourselves, before finally finding marks that led us to under the 404... on the wrong side of the water. Somehow the hare lost part of his pre-lay, and didn't connect the trail he was laying from the On-In to the trail he had laid.
Lost and Fucked called the hares from under the bridge while Vege and I scouted ahead for possible trail. Meanwhile the DFL's caught up and Dain Bramage zenned across the water to the other side, where she found trail. We crossed over in time to run into Little Willie who was sent to come fetch us.
Circle at Black Sheep was probably the most entertaining of all the Atlanta area hashes. Complete with ice sitting, long down-downs and a rule that the hares have to bring a new song to circle. Little Willie and Colonal Clit arriving with a trail rendition of Old McDonald.
I was also presented with Kylie, the Hottest Chick in Copenhagen, to bring with me overseas and present to the Netherland's hash. Apparantely Hugh Heifer and CB&T picked her up while at Interhash in Perth, Australia. Now the little "bird dance" squawking robotic chicken needs a ride home and I've been charged with the task!

Monday was the Moonlight Monday hash, which included a reportedly excellent and low grade shiggy (ivy, water) trail that no one actually ran. The hares laid too close to a Wheelhopper (another area hash) trail that was set a couple weeks prior, everyone arrived at the first check and found the wrong trail to follow. Eventually everyone either went back to the start, shortcut to the end or was out for a REAL LONG TIME. The hares were damn near DFL's to their own hash. We finished at a pizza place and had circle whilst sitting at our tables eating. The hares, Doggystyle and Pippi Longcocking.

Tuesday was Two Four Tuesday, a 4 mile trail with 2 beer stops. Here Man Cruiser actually made me look in the other direction so he could beat me to being FRB to the end. What a racist bastard! We had on afters at an excellent bar where I found they had Delirium Tremens on tap. Came out to find everyone pissing on my car wheel in turns... Wankers.
I give thanks to those who didn't because they kinda saw the line, I give the finger to the pissers.

Wednesday morning I washed my car, went and got my oil changed and then watched the sky open up and heavy rain killing my $8 car wash. Fuck. It's time to get out of Atlanta.

Special Thanks to Pumpt'kin for putting me up at her place, Vegetative State for the ride to the hash, PWD for the suit for Prom From Hell (though fuck you for pissing on my wheel, what do you need, tweezers to handle that thing?) and Skin Flute Pie and hashers Lauren and Harris for doing several of the gnarliest hashes with me including Blacksheep and Darkside/SoCo.

I arrived in Augusta, GA Wednesday night, too late to hash (traffic took me an hour and a half to get out of Atlanta), but caught up with the group at the third beer stop. Attended circle where we saw a hasher get his 69th run in and I mentioned that he could do his down-down upside down like we do in Vegas, it was a hit!
Met some great hashers out there, crashed at ---can't remember names at the moment, will edit this--- and left the next day for Savannah. Couldn't find out the hash information, so I skipped over to the 95 South and started heading to Jacksonville for their Sex On On In The City event this weekend.