The runs are becoming more and more urban and there is nothing we can do about that

When I first started Hashing, this sort of technology wasn't available to us. I never really had much of an idea about how close our runs were to a bunch of houses and what not because the runs were positioned, mostly, so that we wouldn't encounter them.

So it is nice to see the overhead view so we can see exactly how crazy close to civilization we are on these things.

The Hare (the person who sets the trail) this time around was "Suckit" and he is one of the longest standing members of the CMH3. There were some accusations of him being a bit lazy on this trail because it was mostly on the road, which is rare for us, but to be fair to the guy he sets a lot of trails for us, and we can't be too picky. Unless you are willing to do it for him we gotta take what we can get.

It was perfectly timed at about an hour walking and perhaps a bit faster if you were running with the FRB's (front running bastards).

The starting point was a winner because these constructions sites are normally perfect for us to park and sit around in a circle. Suckit checked beforehand to make sure the construction crew was there or not because if there is one type of person that is definitely going to harass you it would be the security guards at these sorts of things that desperately wish they were police officers but lack the qualifications to do so. They LOVE to flex their muscles and pretend as though they have some sort of authority for some reason but thankfully the one dude that was there left us alone because honestly, we were not bothering anyone and we definitely were not going to invade the site and steal tools.

Although most of this was on road, we did get some nice trails and I think that is why Suckit chose this location. it was easy enough for him to scout in one day but there was also some dirt paths that will eventually be paved in the future and that being the case, this actually could be one of the last years that this area has any nature at all. Chiang Mai has always been a nice mix of urban and jungle but just like any place that is growing very fast, the jungle and farms get relocated or cut down to make way for more cement and houses.

While these side roads tend to be very hot when we first begin, the sun is starting to set by the time we are done and this is a nice cool down. The best part of it all is that there are very few cars out here and the motorbikes that we encounter are normally farmers who are very surprised to see a large group of foreigners wearing bright-colored and silly clothes in their neighborhood. They are normally pretty happy to see us and are fine with us being there. it is important that they feel this way because we are almost always trespassing on our runs and we almost never ask for permission to be there. We haven't had many problems because as I have mentioned many times in the past, we pick up a lot of garbage while we are doing our runs.

This way we can always pretend that this is what we are there for and honestly, it isn't really a lie. We always pick up all of our trash and then several other bags of litter at all of the run sites that we go to.

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sometimes i get a bit sad when I see these places because this now stripped land used to be lush rainforest jungle and now it is just completely stripped in order to make way for more development. Chiang Mai has always kind of prided itself on preserving the nature despite a high population but each year the government seems to allow a little bit more and more construction. If they keep this up Chiang Mai will be no different than every other cement covered area in Thailand.

Combined with the still-happening burning of undergrowth and some of our runs can be quite depressing. This sort of burning is illegal and the government always promises to do something about it but they never do. Our air quality is really terrible this time of year because of it.

Maybe I am being too depressing about all of this. The runs are still good and this is still a great place to live. There are just things that could be done to improve it but the bureaucracy that exists here never really does anything. I guess we just have to roll with it and keep on Hashing!

On On!

Come join us on runs in the future! I full schedule can be seen on our official website