Thank you for volunteering to hare a trail for Voodoo Hash House Harriers! This guide presents a few basic guidelines for laying a successful trail. We hope that this will allow you to spend less time sweating the details. If you have any questions about haring in general, finding a co-hare, specific issues relating to your trail, or if you would like help of any kind, the Hare Raiser and other members of MisManagement are ALWAYS available to assist you. We want your trail to be great, so please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are always hare-raising, so once you have an idea for a trail, check out the calendar on our website for open dates as well as areas where we have recently hashed. (We don’t want to keep visiting the same places!) It’s best to know the general area of your trail before you reserve a date to hare. “Hares Needed” is the magical phrase you are looking for– click the link to fill out our trail form. The Hare Raiser may periodically post on Facebook to recruit hares for specific dates as well. If you have any questions email voodoohash@gmail.com.
HARE RESPONSIBILITIES Haring is damn fun, and it is at the heart of what hashing is all about. If this is your virgin trail, you must have an experienced co-hare. If you need help finding one, contact the Hare Raiser for help. As the hare, you will need to supply:
- Knowledge of the proper use of trail markings
- Flour (at least 5 lbs per hare for a well-marked trail)
- A six pack (hares get to keep their $1)
- A beer hare (preferably one who knows where they are going) with a vehicle large enough to transport bags and the caskets to Beer Near and On-In. The beer hare is responsible for bringing ice and trash bag. They can present the receipt for ice to Hash Cash for reimbursement.
The hash provides snacky-foods and the communal beer caskets (coolers).
HARING CHECKLIST
- Select a neighborhood
- Find a Beer Near and End Circle location. Both should be in safe locations where we won’t disturb the neighbors.
- Draw a preliminary map
- Choose a nearby bar for Pre-lube and On-After (optional)
- Recruit your co-hares and decide on your theme
- Choose your date and request or sign up for trail
- Scout (preferably multiple times)
- Finalize route and confirm with co-hares
- Purchase flour/chalk/whatever you need to lay trail
- Give your co-hares and/or beer hare the map
- Show up on time, hares should be away between 6:45-7:00 PM
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES/SUGGESTIONS
- Check out the Chalk Talk page for descriptions of our most commonly used trail marks.
- Don’t be stingy with flour! A 5lb bag at Rouses is less than $2. It is better to have too much than not enough.
- True trail is generally 3-5 miles long, please make it clear in the write-up if your trail is significantly longer or shorter than that.
- In your trail write-up, make sure to indicate how close On-In is to the start of trail. A-to-A trails start and end at the same spot. A-to-A+ trails end in easy walking distance (within 3ish blocks) of start. A-to-B trails start and end in completely different locations. If your trail is A-to-B, take into account how the pack is going to get back to their vehicles at the end of the night (and be prepared to hear about in circle).
- If the trail involves moderate-high shiggy (high grass, briars, mud, water crossings, etc.), put it in the trail write-up so that people can prepare.
- Anything else is fair game (as the hare, you get to make the call so do what you want).
- There is no substitute for experience, so get out there and DO IT!