More specifically, the hash is a loosely-knit international disorganization of misfits engaged in the twin pastimes of drinking beer and chasing around in the woods and streets. Each hash has some organizing members, appropriately scoffed at for their overachieving ways. These harriers do things like call events, do public relations, learn songs, twist people's arms, and, yes, craft fine html documents.
| beer | used to entertain the hashers. hashers need lots of entertainment |
| flour | used to mark a trail |
| hashers | animals that come to the events |
| hares | hashers that mark a trail |
| hounds | hashers that follow a trail, ostensibly to catch the hares, but usually in search of beer, scenery, and, in some perverted hashes, exercize. (hares and hounds. the hounds are harriers, get it? look it up.) |
| trail | a route followed by foot (or sometimes bike), marked with flour, intended to be tricky to follow, featuring beer stops. |
| hard to follow | 1) hashers after a hash
2) a trail marked with certain conventions, including false trails, direction choices, and faint markings. |
| beer stop | stops where the pack drinks beer |
| pack | the harriers |
| names | to make things stranger, established hashers are given hash names intended to describe their dubious lineage, point out character flaws, immortalize accidents of history, or cause other hashers to laugh. |
| songs | the pack learns and sings the hash songs. |
| ceremony | a whole mish-mash of conventions that help hashers to figure out what to do next. Necessary because of "beer" (see above). |
| hash house | in the dim minds of hashers, hashing is a respected tradition dating back to a bunch of bored Brits who set trail from their cafeteria, called the "hash house". |
The LAH3 respects live hare trails, although occasionally trails are pre-laid. The trails usually involve off-road sections. They are generally 2-4 miles. The hash is mixed and open.
The LAH3 was founded in 1985, then again in 1995.
"If you have half a mind to hash, that's all you need"What should you expect from a hash? You don't absolutely have to drink beer if you don't want to. You don't have to run. You will follow a trail a couple miles long. You are expected to respect the hash traditions, especially: learning and singing songs not repeatable in respectable company, and having fun. You're likely to make a fool of yourself in public, at least by association.
If you still feel you're ready, come to a hash trailhead, look for people drinking beer and possibly jumping around singing songs, walk right up and announce "you're all a bunch of worthless wankers!"