On-On

true trail

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At chalk talk, special mark: "H", as for home invasion. At end of chalk talk, right from the GetGo, this trail was going to be in 'Hood Style: the hare scribbles an arrow and says trail starts here, with the arrow pointing to a fence. People start climbing and jumping over fence. Only half succeed. Many renounce and see there is an alternative route. Just Mark shows his military training style in getting over this urban warfare obstacle. Run is around a few blocks, with reclaimed residential lots by East Liberty Redevelopment Group, a non-profit that has been active in the 'hood, like, for example, convincing Whole Foods to set up shop here. We're following the FRBs, and all of a sudden, around a corner, three white guys, dressed in street clothes, are talking to a seated black man with his hands tied behind his back. We're right where the action is. A few more blasts of trombone sound, and we're almost back to the hare's house, in a house that the hare is renovating. First beer stop. Some paint ball shooting in the basement. The paint ammo is in a glass jar, and Purple Princess mistakes them for candy and chews one of them. After several turns in paint ball shooting, the pack is on back on trail. Sherpes leaves trombone, and switches to bicycle transportation. Marks lead to Black St, uphill to where there used to be a public housing project that got demolished a few years ago. We had a hash here not that long ago, it was hared by Windy Pops, a naive welsh PhD student who didn't care about the neighborhood crack houses. At the time, the local residents asked us "who U running away from?" when they saw us running. This time, no such curiosity: we're a known entity, they know us now... right adjacent to cemetery shiggy, a parked van with beverage tank... second beer stop. Pile of gravel is good overlook spot for a few. Num Nuts finds a bicycle in the shiggy. Pack is restless, on on into the cemetery, grassy fields, shiggy, woods and vines, trail is lost, and indecicive hashers don't want to get to close to fenced perimeter and never see marks that continue across the fence, so finally, technology on trail is used to voice-connect with the hare to obtain a resolution on where true trail is, and once relayed, the pack is back on the trail AND force-through the perimeter, crossing from the Land of the Dead into the Land of the Living. A check on the bottom of a dirt road and a false below that forces people on a steep slope to reach the street by crawling under a reticular urban obstacle, then shiggy on a corner, and emerging into a Extreme Makeover Home Edition went bad project overlooking the Lawrenceville Upper Ward. Beer stop #3. Some of pgh finest showed up asking us for credentials, at which someone responded "just a bunch of sweaty runners". On On back on trail, a false down below on city steps, back on top, a few criss-cross in residential streets, and a final beer stop in a residential driveway. From there is On-In, KGB borrowing Sherpes's Gary Fisher bike that carries the history of having been found while laying trail on the Hill District while laying trail in his inaugural hare trail. Back at base camp, we're relieved that our vehicles are still there, intact, no glass damage, apparently Mexi-Pad is well known in the 'Hood, and the boys took good care of our belongings. Or maybe it was Hung Like This fashion attire, with gold chain and bandana that "gelled" well with the locals. After munching tacos and sitting on barrels around what is not a campfire, but two kegs, Circle is opened and three new boots are shown how the Down-Down ritual is performed. Three pimps. Autohashers. Cyclists. Prodigals. Trombonists. Lost & Found collectors. Paint Ball mistaken for Candy. ... and an attempt was made to name Just ... but there was no karma, and it was delegated to a future date (but we know he likes to play with balls of fire, that's his Facebook picture)