2023-12-28 49 11

Location

In a forest near Eschenbach

Participants

Expedition

I've previously mentioned that I like to use geohashes as an excuse to take some weird train I always wanted to take but never had a reason to. Today's expedition is one of these.

There's a once daily train from Zirndorf all the way to Hersbruck. Usually, you have to change trains twice - in Fürth and in Nuremberg. I always wanted to take that train - it not only has this unusual direct connection without changing trains, it also behaves differently between Nuremberg and Hersbruck - stopping much less than the usual service between Nuremberg and Hersbruck, but having an extra stop (and terminating in Hersbruck) compared to the faster, inter-regional lines leaving for Regensburg, Hof or Marktredwitz.

I can reach todays hash easiest from Eschenbach, a bus stop with service starting in Hersbruck. It even has a reasonable connection in Hersbruck to this special train with approx. 25 minutes. So up I am at 6:44 am to take this very special train today (never minding the fact that of course it would be slightly faster to take a different route, but what would be the fun with that?)

While waiting in Hersbruck, I consider if today could be another successful Tron hash: I like public transport Trons, but they are usually hard to pull of. But today, I can make use of the fact that Hersbruck has two distinct train stations on two distinct lines - one on each side of the river Pegnitz. I'm currently on the right side of the river, so I could plausibly find a way to connect to the left side train station, and get reasonably close to Nuremberg without crossing my own paths.

I do some research while waiting, and I develop a plan: If this bus to Eschenbach does cross its own path on its way to Eschenback (something that does from time to time happen, for example in 2023-10-18_49_10), I can walk down to Pommelsbrunn station on the left bank of the Pegnitz, and take the train to Ostring, where I have to find _some_ way through Nuremberg south of the main rain link until I can connect on my usual bus 70 home. All plausible, but I'll never know for sure. I decide to at lest try.

This decision doesn't hold long. My bus 446 does make a detour and does cross its own path. Well, no Tron for me then, let's focus on the main goal and let's get the hash and extend my hashing spree. When I arrive in Eschenbach, I walk towards the hash. It's a small path carved into a reasonably steep hill and after a few minutes I'm no longer cold. It's hilly out here - at least compared to some other hashes I've done.

The footpath levels out after a while - or at least is way less steep - so when I need to depart for the hash I don't have any major obstacles in sight. 50 meters. 30 meters. I do seem to walk directly towards the hash. But I can see a fence, and if the hash is inside, I'll be unsuccessful. 20 meters. Still some distance to that fence. 10 meters. The hash is outside, but not by much. I get my closest ready ~5 meters from the fence. I'm lucky, for now. I record proof and plan my way home.

With Tron no longer an option, I have two main plans: I could either continue as planned to Pommelsbrunn. Pommelsbrunn has hourly service to Nuremberg on the left bank of the Pegnitz, with many stops in between. Or, I could backtrack towards Hohenstadt, one station after Hersbruck on the Nuremberg-Hersbruck-Neuhaus line with also hourly service to Nuremberg, probably a bit faster due to less stops. I don't know the scheduled departure times for either of these two stations, but as Hohenstadt is closer, I deiced to take that route.

I'm approximately 200 meters short of the perfect connection in Hohenstadt: I can see the train pulling into the station when I'm still 200 meters away. It's not a big station and I can already see the signal indicating cleared for departure when the train stops. There is no way to catch this train now. I'm going to miss it by a minute or so, and I wait an hour to get the next one. Well, I've been lucky once today, I can wait for the next train.