Another HHH
29 August 2010 | St. Patricks
Today is Sunday August the 29th and there is absolutely no wind here in Prickly Bay, Grenada. This would be referred to as the perfect water skiing day back home in cottage country and mentioning that. . . where has the summer gone?
Yesterday, Steve and I participated in another HHH (aka: The Hash House Harriers) so called hike. Earlier that day, I asked Steve if he would like to participate and he quite frankly said "No, he was tired and his feet were very sore"... A great testament to the wonderful time we spent with Thera. However, we got a call from some of our friends and they were going, so I decided to go alone and Steve decided that he didn't want to miss out... Now, I must admit. Sometimes you should go with your gut feelings. This HHH hike was more like an endurance test. The aerobic instructor in me was evident as I encouraged people to continue and congratulated them for their accomplishments each step of the way; however in the end, most off us looked like death and concluded that they must have been trying to weed us out. I was just thankful that no one needed to be rescued.
You see, this hike was in the district of St. Patrick's which is near the north end of Grenada and we hiked, climbed, crawled and slid up and down two mountain peaks; this being a resent volcanic island the peaks are very, very steep!!! On the last hike, they rigged rope to help participants drag their way up the most dangerous of slopes but on this hike we were left to our own demise and grabbed onto roots and trees, negotiating each step along the trail; this all at a time when Toronto would have issued a "Do not exercise out doors" alert. . . 10 degrees sooner. It was hot and muggy and the air was still and thick. At the end of the hike, Steve took off his shirt and rung it out.. And I mean he could fill a cup from the sweat that poured from the cloth. The only saving grace, was that there, in a box freezer, were offered 3 for 10 EC beer ... so all was good.
As the sun fell below the mountain tops, we climbed back into the same pick-up truck that we had travelled back to town with Thera, two weeks before. This time we had 12 passengers sharing the space, so some of us (Steve and I included) sat on the side beds and held on for dear life. Fortunately, the wind rushed over our bodies drying out our clothing (I too was sporting a good contender for a "wet T-shirt contest") before arriving in St. George's.
Yes, it was another great trip home. We all laughed, shared stories and lek teenagers, we giggled about the daring feat we were now undertaking.
We where told that this would be rated as one of the most difficult hashes yet and there have been over 350 of them. They are a great way to see parts of the island you would never get a chance to see. That's if you can look up long enough to look around without falling off a cliff or into a river.