Back to the Lakes District...

Two weeks before departing for Nepal, I joined Carlin and Kent for a weekend of trekking in the Lakes District. Jimmy also came along to go fell running (hill running). Unfortunately, his suitcase went missing so he had to go shoe shopping while we set off for our first trek.

The first part of our route was a repeat of Day 4 of our Coast-2-Coast, starting in Grasmere where we were staying for the weekend.

While the views were similar, it was definitely much drier than two years earlier. 

Somehow it seemed much easier this time as I didn’t even need my trekking poles for much of the path to Griesdale Tarn (mountain lake) at 1,770 feet (540 meters). Last time, we stopped at the tarn for lunch and then continued down to Patterdale.

This time, we crossed around the tarn and went up Dollywaggon Pike Trail, the faint zigzag seen in the background.

Locks on Trail...

We crossed several locks on this trail, including this quaint little one that is hand-operated by whomever is trying to take their boat from the canal to the lake or vice versa. 

During Dutch Nash Hash 2016, our ships had to pass through a lock in order to enter Amsterdam. It took nearly two years, but Opee finally managed to figure out a trail that would cross that lock. Unluckily for us brave runners, he failed to make sure that we had beer to quench our thirst during our long waits to cross the separate sections.

Most of us were good sports and were still smiling when we finally met up with him at the next beer break, but one hasher had a major meltdown after we got lost for about 20 minutes. It’s unfortunate that some hashers forget that hares are our friends and they’re just trying to do their best.

The trail ended near a brewery so we could enjoy microbrews outside and then folks could buy their own afterwards.

We named Kevin, an American engineer working in Amsterdam, Jesus Hickey Christ (get it: Jesus H. Christ), which was an especially apropos name.

Boaty McBoat Hash...

The following day, Opee hared again. Slippery was his co-hare for the Boaty McBoat Hash, which featured floating beer stops from Missing Link’s boat. It was another beautiful day with an excellent turnout. We started at the dock near Hard Drive’s house and headed north.

The runner’s trail went through some parts of Noord Amsterdam that I’d never been to before. We had a beer stop at this cute little bar, which unfortunately had a mean little bartender.

You just never know what you’ll see on a hash trail, ranging from this Mercedes Benz military vehicle...

...to these adorable little houses. 

Celebrate Love for All...

We had a great time watching the parade. As we walked towards the train station, we saw these adorable nymphs...

...and this big crowd of party animals.

The Westerkerk displayed their acceptance of all by flying this enormous flag.

This speaks for itself.

More Colorful Floats...

The Dutch Police even had a float...

...and there were activists, including Amnesty International...

...and a climate group. 

Gay Pride Canal Boat Parade Floats...

Although a few people tried pushing into our space, we managed to hold our front row spots for the entire parade. As always, I took a ton of photos of the floats...

...and some of the more interesting folks on the floats. 

An Impressive Opening for Gay Pride Boat Parade...

The parade started with an impressive show of Cupid on a Flyboard.

Cupid was definitely up to some cool tricks...

...and some incredible heights.