2008-10-21 53 14

Tue 21 Oct 2008 in 53,14: 53.1782010, 14.1805686 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Participants

• relet

Expedition

Name three things that geohashers like: Hashes, Achievements, and Stories. Here's my story.

Name three things that geohashers despise: Fields, Scales, Thaw. Oh, and Ditches. There'll be plenty of that.

Yesterday was the fifth day of my consecutive hash, and I really meant to stop there. That was until hash o'clock and that south western corner hash. Having just cycled 70 km and feeling it, I did not realistically plan to go there by bike or train. Furthermore it was raining (as Danatar also experienced). So, once again, I asked Carlos¹ out for a ride.

The hash lay some 120km from Berlin in, according to the satellite version, a field. Near a road. I expected it to be a bit boring. But night hashes never really are. So I left at 8pm, driving north east, and reached the hash about half past nine. To be precise, i reached the road that was closest to the hash. And given that Eastern Germany has a long history of socialist collectives and pooling fields, fields in this area can be huge. I had a good 1.5km to walk along the edge of the field².

Now, to be precise, there were two fields, separated by a ditch, pointing in the general direction of the hash. I wasn't sure whether to take the left or the right side. I decided for the left, and started walking. I did not realize how long the walk would be, as I hadn't looked on either the scale of the map or the distance displayed on the screen. Instead, I was musing about the contents of the field. If anyone can identify what grows here, I'd be happy to know. First and foremost, it was wet with thaw. And growing high, meaning that my trousers and sleeves got soaked. And my shoes, as I again opted for the comfortable shoes, instead of the walking boots.

When I finally looked on the screen, I still had half the way to go. And it became clear that the hash would be on the other field. Should I walk back? No, I went on. Finally, I discovered some animal traces leading into the grass towards the ditch. I followed them, and to my surprise was able to cross to the other side. The other side was planted with low, dry plants. I could have been here and dry at the same time. I continued along the edge of the field to the closest point, then crossed a few meters towards the hash. I celebrated, quickly, as some rain started to fall. I jogged back the 1.5 km through the dark, along the edge. Woo. Success. Drove home.

That's virgin graticule, and the completion of my minesweeper hash. One graticule to go for the Brandenburg regional.

¹The carsharing car, in case you haven't followed it. ²I never bring a flashlight. The backlight of my screen usually suffices and is less noticeable.

Tracklog

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=66966 - lucky number?

Photos

tbd.