2013-12-14 50 11

Location

The hash is on the county road between Jena-Kunitz and Golmsdorf.

Participants

Manu
Reinhard
Bergie
GeorgDerReisende
Jens
Juja
Juja's favourite ninja

Plans

I will hitchhike to that place, arriving there at 4 pm, and want to wait there for friends.

Also Jens, Juja and her favorite Ninja might make it to the Saturday meetup - by bike, of course...

Expedition Manu, Bergie and Reinhard

Reinhard had his company christmas party on Friday evening and came home only 9 pm which was too late for Manu and Bergie to still be awake and travel to Bergie's grandma. Thus, they all stayed in Jena and since Reinhard luckily looked up the weekend's geohashes before he went to sleep, the next morning he could tell his two girls to accompany him to the geohash, before heading on to Erfurt. Manu quickly agreed and Bergie was plunged into her winter clothes before she could oppose. Sun was shining, but it was a little below freezing point, when they cycled to the hashpoint. Of course, they knew of the roadwork (actually, there wasn't any work for months, only a closed road) going on between Kunitz and the hashpoint, but Reinhard had easily passed it a couple weeks ago. This time, the party was overtaken by a construction site vehicle right before they reached the site and since it was officially prohibited to walk or cycle through the site, they initially hesitated to continue. When Reinhard started to pass the hoarding, the workers even honked, and made the chicken-hearted hashers to choose their 2nd option of taking a little dirt road detour up the hill, which lead back to the road right behind the construction site and close to the hashpoint. They then found the exact spot, attached the hash marker printout to the hash tree (The hashers had read about Georg's plans and were quite sure, that Juja and Jens would also visit the point, so chances were good that this time a marker could really be seen by others.), took some photos and continued to Golmsdorf and from there back to Jena, before changing to the car and driving to grandma.

Photos

Small offroad detour for group No. 1.

Coordinates reached.

Bergie and Bryce waiting for us to ...

... attach the marker.

Group photo of the early hashers.

Expedition Juja, Jens and Georg (partially)

Still one and a half week until Xmas. Actually the hashpoint books were closed for this year. I (Jens) had more expeditions than ever before and Juja had reached her personal goal of bike kilometers for this year just yesterday. So it was a good time to sit on a couch, eat Xmas cakes and wait for a couch potato to come (or not).

But then today’s point was that near and easy to reach, that it was impossible not to go there. And as special bonus, we had the option to meet GeorgDerReisende, who had advertised his attendance for today. So we started half past 3 to on our bikes to go to the point. The way was well known to us and the point lay directly beside the street. No mud path was required to get there. Half way between Kunitz and our target we saw a lone hiker on the street. It was Georg. Perfect timing. So we continued the last some hundred meters in a group of 4 (including Juja’s Ninja).

Now we still had to pass the only complication that was part of today’s expedition. There must be a complication, otherwise it’s no hashpoint expedition. It was the construction site on the street, 200 meters before the point. It’s a remnant from the heavy rain in spring. The street has been closed since then, at least for cars and cyclists that do not ignore traffic signs. But some weeks ago the difficulty level had been increased by construction workers that liked to dig holes. But not difficult enough for mud proved geohashers. We left our bikes at the entrance of the construction site and went on to the point. There a surprise was waiting for us. A note left from another expedition, that has been here before. We still do not know who left it there, but the internet will tell it to us soon, I think. We took some photos, Georg left another mark, made of chalk instead of paper and plastic. Then we left the place, Juja, her Ninja and I for the Xmas cakes mentioned above while Georg continued traveling …

Photos

Räbe and Davey found the note from Manu and Reinhard

Juja and Georg working on the perfect 0m shot

Leaving our sign

The internet was here

Expedition group photo

Georg the traveler continues travelling

Expedition GeorgDerReisende

I left home at 9:15 and waited at the national road 7 at Kaufungen from 9:48 to 10:36 and got a truck directly to Jena. The truck driver had to make a stop for 45 minutes, so I arrived at Jena-Löbeda at 13:58. From there I walked to the tram and with a short stop in the city I continued to Jena-Zwätzen, where I arrived at 15:25. Then I had to walk, because to Jena-Kunitz is no bus on Saturdays. After some meters I saw a traffic sign informing me, that the road to Golmsdorf was closed and I wondered, how far I could walk and if I could reach the hash. The shown detour was 17 kilometers long, the direct way is about four km. But as many roadworks there is a possible passage for walkers, so I continued on the direct way. After crossing the river Saale I reached the crossing to Golmsdorf and some another signs told the geohasher, that the road is blocked. But I went on. On the road I was called from behind, I turned round, and saw three cyclists appearing, and one of them asked me: XKCD? and I agreed. Then the tree bikers dismounted and we four went on to the hash.

After some meters again we found a roadblock. The local geohashers told me, that in the early year a rain had washed the road away. As experienced geohashers a roadblock don't hinder us, but we parked our things (they parked their bikes, I parked my rucksack), then we passed the roadblock and we went on. In between the roadwork we had to pass two other blocks, and then, about 90 meters away from the hash, the last one. We arrived at the place of the hash at 15:59. At first we noticed a sign of another geohasher. Then Juja and I, we searched on our own for the hash. After this meeting we all went to our next destinations. I wanted to send a hashcard, but I couldn't by one at Kunitz and then I noticed, that I had forgotten all adresses at home. Sorry.

Then I decided to travel home, to sleep there, and to go to 2013-12-15 52 9 on Sunday. So I went by tram and by bus to Jena-Göschwitz to hitchhike along the motorway home. I arrived at Göschwitz at 18:30 and I waited there for a lift until 21:30, but no car for my destination stopped. Instead four cars for Rudolstadt stopped, but that was not my direction. Then I decided to go to the other junction of the motorway, and there, at the petrol station I got a lift to the rest area Teufelstal, where I knew from before, that there was a shelter, where I could spend the night and I did. On Sunday morning I had breakfast, then I made a walk around the forest there and at 13:00 I started to hithhike home. I waited there for two hours, got a lift to Kirchheim, and then from the service station Kirchheim a lift to the junction Wilhelmshöhe, where from I took the bus. I arrived at home at 18:30. I thought, the two hours of waiting at Teufelstal had been too long, but with the 5 1/2 hours of traveling from there to home, I think, it should have be possible to travel home from Jena in the same time.