Run	Date	Hare(s)	Description	MapRef	1:50000	1:25000	1:10000	More
942	2020-03-01 11:00	Old Faithful and Bambi	West Harting Down - Compton	SU773169

On a bright chilly St Davids Day we returned to West Harting Down where the foresters are treading the fine line between thinning and Wind Throw, resulting in a disaster scene in some parts.

One of our JM's, the one that identifies as female, was sporting a brand new broken arm, achieved while not skiing on a skiing holiday when she should have been Hashing with us.

The hares had deployed lolly sticks at selected checks or falsies, collect a stick and get a prize, it was hoped that the expected competition would instil some running from the pack, for a change. Thus we sprinted off North West up the shale access track, sheltered from a cold wind by the fir clad slope of Park Copse above.

The steep up hill tram lines to our left, created by tree eating tracked behemoths, provided several false trails. Flash was the first to rise to the challenge of one of these, being rewarded by a lolly stick for the effort. Unsurprisingly, one of these paths was the true trail, so the pack made a clamber West, steeply up, over tree stumps and mangled branches with a mild pine sap scent on the breeze.

The climb stopped at the path along the edge of Grass Piece, Kinky one way, Snake Charmer the other, the rest stand and watch. Kinky gave one premature toot on the horn before picking up a lolly stick and heading back to play catch up with the pack.

North now and a bit of a slog up Booker Down and West into The Rough where a most of the strung out pack falsely headed towards Hampshire on the Sussex Border Path. Time for the rest to catch up and for a solo Sonic to explore a down hill option and find a lonely lolly stick.

Finally we found the blobs towards East Sussex on the SBP and headed gently down hill into Round Copse, a narrow path with calf tearing thorns requiring attention to every stride.

Just where this path takes the plunge down to Foxcombe Farm we ground to a halt, the pack unable to find the deer track North West over a dense leaf litter, weaving through fallen trunks to emerge at Ye Cross Dyke.

Here we gathered for a spontaneous "say cheese" moment before turning South West, over the gentle crest, into the open and the teeth of a frigid breeze.

A short dog leg around the water tower through low brush along the remnant of a bike track gave us some respite. Another hiatus, near the Tower, until Two Ferrets Fighting spotted the secret entry South to a wonderland of ancient yews leading down the slope to Harehurst Wood.

It was not obvious that we were well on our way back to the chariots, and as the hour came and went the odd moan was apparent from the usual suspects.

Climbing East, and back in the bit of Booker Rough, Bika chanced upon the skull of one of his relatives, impaled on a stick, face to face the resemblance was remarkable. Unfortunately later DNA tests proved that the skull was from Aragorn's great, great, great, third cousin.

We arrived at the On-In via the winding path just above Nightingale Bottom after a lengthy one hour and forty minutes of lolly stick hunting.

At the circle attention rounded on a single miscreant, Kinky, who had taken a very tempting shortcut, losing the gamble with our one armed bandit JM.

When it came time to swap the lolly sticks for chocolate, surprise surprise, Mini Cheddar was holding four of the ten that had been collected, not bad for a little person wearing wellies.

Then Old Faithful charmed the ladies by presenting each with a bunch of daffs.

Despite Prancer already being banned, we retired to The Barley Mow to sit in chilly sunshine in the garden and watch Pancsi also try to get banned by forcing the patio doors to get at some beer.

On On ! Bambi

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