2024-04-27 49 12

Location

In a forest near Pechbrunn

Participants

Expedition

Finally a good hash and a free Saturday to go hashing. When planning, two points (in two new graticules for me) to stand out. This hash (confusingly in the Regensburg graticule), and a hash in Regensburg (in the Landshut graticule). While this hash is a little further away, I am confident that I can reach it inside the forest. The Regensburg hash is worse wrt. accessibility, as it seems like it is inside a field.

I decide to go for this hash first, and see from there. With little preparation, I jump into the next bus eastwards to start my ~150 mins journey to Pechbrunn. During the first busride, I realize a few things: (1) This could be another attempt at a tron public transport geohash. They are more tricky than I initially assumed (and I failed the last two times I tried), and I like that extra challenge. Most of the time, they are impossible, because I more or less have to use the same route back home to reduce on overall transit time. But today I have enough time on my hands, so I can continue down the train from Marktredwitz to Pechbrunn to their terminus ... in Regensburg. Which leads to the second point: (2) With the train line Marktradwitz - Regensburg, I have a real shot of a multihash today, if the second point is accessible.

To keep my chance of a tron alive, I disembark my bus one step early and walk the final distance to the metro stop. It's one of my main transfer stations and I know I have to enter the metro stop from the east - and my bus will already cross the metro tracks before letting us off at the terminal station (with a very convenient way to enter the station from the west). It's a trick that is quite useful, as city bus stops are very close to each other. The only disadvantage is that you need a lot of experience to get a feel for stations that could become an issue and how to avoid it.

After entering the metro from the east, my next challenge is Nuremburg main station. I've written about the station before: It has a very useful feature for tron runs, having three (different) tunnels connecting the platforms. But this time I arrive by metro. And the 'usual' path from that metro station to the main three tunnels to the platforms would cross the tracks I just arrived on. I leave the metro stop on another way and after two sets of stairs, I find myself overground and I can see an entrance to the main station. I use it and am quite sure that I never crossed my path, but I'll have to check with good maps afterwards.

I enter my train to Marktredwitz without issue. On that train I continue with my research: First, I need the train line Pechbrunn - Regensburg to get down to Regensburg and eventually get back home. To make sure I don't get screwed over by the (unknown to me) train station in Pechbrunn, I'll have to find a different path to the hash, so the Pechbrunn station is clear for my path home. If I accept a bit more of walking, I can reach the hash direct from Marktredwitz station, and then walk south to Pechbrunn to continue home. That's a plan. Also (assuming I don't care about the multihash), Regensburg is a nice station for me, as my train from Pechbrunn will enter the station from the east, and my train to Nuremberg is leaving westbound. As a result, I don't have to leave one train early (or enter late) to avoid crossing my path in Regensburg station. I still don't know how I would include the hash in Regensburg (or how to handle Nuremberg central station on my way back), but one step at a time.

When I arrive in Marktredwitz, all of my hopes of a tron hash - once again - have to end. My platform only has one exit, and I am forced to cross below the path I just took inside that train. All doors end up further up the platform that that exit, so no clever pre-positioning would have saved me. Looks like Marktredwitz is not a tron-friendly station. Noted.

Without any chance for a tron, I take the train to Pechbrunn. Even with that shortcut, attempting the second Hash in Regensburg will already make this trip take the whole day, and without the tron I'm going to try, so any shortcut is appreciated. From the station, the path to the hash is unremarkable, and even searching for the exact hash position is quick.

I return the the station and continue with the expedition at 2024-04-27_48_12.