Into the woods

They cross frozen streams and pine forests, navigate past barbed wire and "No Trespassing" signs and brave snow banks and torrential downpours. It's Sunday afternoon, and the Princeton Hash House Harriers (PHHH) are off and running.

The group sets out on a three-mile run through the forest every week, following a series of chalk "hash" marks on trees. From students to professors to community members, it is an eclectic group of people yearning for adventure that joins the "hash runs."

In more than 1,000 runs over the years, no two hashes have been the same.

"There have been some run-ins with angry homeowners, but we've never lost a hasher permanently," said organic chemistry professor Maitland Jones, nicknamed "Geezer" by fellow hashers. "And no one's spent the night in jail — but it's been very, very close on occasion."

Jones is the group's unofficial leader, having run in Princeton's first hash 25 years ago. He has participated in 600 runs since then.

Some of the hashers are recruited from Jones' organic chemistry classes.

"At one of his first lectures, Professor Jones mentioned that there was a link to his hashing website on his orgo website. I thought it sounded kind of fun," said Jessica Aisenbrey '05, who has hashed for three years. "I really like running and being outside, so one of my friends and I showed up one day."

Not your average run

The day before the hash begins, one member heads out to mark a trail across woods and roads. The person, known as the "hare," marks trees, telephone poles and even snow with colored chalk.

This job of setting the trail rotates among members each week.

At 2 p.m. every Sunday, the hashers gather in the parking lot behind 91 Prospect St. to pay their $2 dues. They then drive to the start of that week's trail and start running.

There are currently about 10 members who show up every week. That number drops to four on days following snowstorms and grows to 30 on summer days, according to Alex Magoun, five-year hasher and executive director of the David Sarnoff Library in town.

Due to the devious nature of hashing trails, larger numbers are advantageous. The more hashers there are, the easier it is to spread out and find the correct trail.

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"At every branch point, the trail will go in one or more directions," Jones said. "There's no way to tell which way to go unless you're lucky or have good intuition."

Last Sunday, following the trail was easier than usual due to the recent snowfall. Whenever the group got lost, they simply looked for the "hare's" footprints from the day before.

The hash ends when members reach the finish and find a "treasure" of food and drinks. Last week, this treasure consisted of chips, hot sauce, Hershey's kisses and a pack of Yuengling Black and Tan's refrigerated under a blanket of snow.

New members are initiated by drinking a concoction of whatever drinks are on hand while members sing a drinking song.

Whatever the initiates can't drink, they are supposed to pour over the back of their heads.

Last week's end-of-the-hash celebration got so rowdy that a community member called the local police station to report possible underage drinking, according to the officer.

The police officer arrived just as the hashers were packing up and, after asking a few questions and giving them a halfhearted warning, left the group with a bewildered look.

Run-ins with authority

That isn't the only time the group has had to answer questions.

One hash took members across private property, where they were confronted by a police officer.

During the questioning, one member argued with the officer, who told the hasher that he was "this close to going to jail," according to another hasher who preferred to remain anonymous.

The officer gave the group "a helpful lecture on exercise in the public domain," the anonymous hasher said.

Most of the time, trespassing incidents are accidental.

"I usually look at topographic maps before heading out, but they're not really good at showing private property," said Forrest Bradbury, an Electrical Engineering graduate student.

However, one hasher set a trail in May of 2000 that deliberately went up Charter Club's "fire escape, through the living room, and down the other escape," Bradbury said. "There was some yelling."

Though memorable, run-ins with the police and angry homeowners are infrequent. More commonly, hashers drive to small-town locations in New Jersey and Bucks County, Pa., to explore new areas of forest.

One of David Driscoll '05's favorite hashing spots is what he calls "the Sea of Broken Toilets," a woodland area off of Route 1.

It is "quite literally a vast wasteland of porcelain shards," he said in an email. "I had never before seen an eggplant-colored toilet basin, and I hope I will never again . . . It's a very dangerous place, sharp pieces of toilet."

Why hash?

Hashing offers a blend of running, drinking, socializing and merrymaking that members say they can't find elsewhere.

For University students, it offers an outlet from regular campus life and a chance to spend time outside.

Caleb Howe '07, who joined last year and hashes every week, largely enjoys the sport because of people he meets.

"Anyone who's willing to be a hasher is always very interesting," he said. "Half the fun is having these incredibly bizarre conversations with people that you would never expect to have after running five miles through the woods."

Princeton's hashing scene is one of hundreds across the country. Hashing began as a diversion for British expatriates living in Malaysia in the 1930s, and has since spread around the world.

Aisenbrey hashed in Tokyo last summer when she was teaching English through the Princeton in Asia internship program.

She hashed with a group of about 70 Japanese citizens and British and American expatriates.

"There are not many woods around Tokyo, so we went through a couple rice paddies, which was kind of neat," she said. She has also hashed in Washington, D.C.

Different groups have different reputations.

Howe, who hashed with a group in Boston, said that they were one of the more drinking-oriented hashes.

"I think we ran about three miles, but took three hours to do it because they kept stopping to drink," he said in an email. "Princeton is a very running-oriented hash."

Over the years, the Princeton hashers have formed a tight-knit group. Each member has a witty nickname within the group as an inside joke — Driscoll, for example, is known as "IHOP," which stands for "I hash with old people."

The group has even bought new running shirts bearing the slogan, "No rest for the weary, no mercy for the stupid."

For those who love adventure, Magoun said, hashing is worth a try.

"This is extreme sports without bungee jumping off a bridge," he said. "If you're looking for something to clean your blood after Saturday night, this is for you."