28th Annual New Years Day Trail-of-the-Hare CHEDDARHEAD Hike & Party

Dec 27th Addendum added by Charlie:  The actual START Location for the 2017 Cheddarhead has now been posted by our AH4 friends - see Directions below, and for a zoomable Map & Satellite view of our meetup spot, click the blue & green "Event Location" icon above. The event is always a "Go," and lots of fun - Rain or Shine.
Dec 30th Weather Update:  The latest Decatur "spot forecast" for Sunday afternoon expects low-50s,with an 80% chance of showers but no more than about 1/4 inch of total rainfall expected.  Wear appropriate warm but lightweight clothing and bring/wear some personal rain gear such as a poncho or umbrella. When we reach the big outdoor Dinner Party our hosts will have plenty of canopy tents, etc. for our extra rain protection if needed.

IN A NUTSHELL:  This will be the 8th New Years Day in a row that a fun-loving group from the Atlanta Outdoor Club will take part in this amazing outdoor "Rain or Shine" event.  We're excited about doing it again, so please join me (a.k.a. "Dirty Limerick") and more than 100 of my friends in the Atlanta Hash House Harriers & Harriettes (AH4) for their 28th annual "Cheddarhead."  It's a blast helping one another follow the "trail of the hare" which leads us to a big outdoor all-you-can-eat-&-drink dinner party.  The Cheddarhead should "fill the bill" If you're looking for something festive and wildly different to ring in 2017 and perhaps ease you out of a hangover from the night before.  It always gives us enough aerobic exercise to compensate for all the delicious food & refreshments we consume at the Cheddarhead party (and the night before!) and to keep “resolution guilt” from kicking in!

No funds are collected by the AOC for this event.  Just register below to add your name to our AOC "subgroup" - then on New Years Day if you decide you'd still like to participate, simply bring $10 in cash to chip in to the AH4's "hash cash" volunteer.  This covers your fair share of the bountiful Wisconsin-style food, wide variety of liquid refreshments and nice door prizes.
  After a brief welcoming ceremony at the Start, we "harriers" (a.k.a. "hare chasers" or "hashers" - usually 100 or more of us) will help one another find and follow the trail of the AH4 volunteer "hare."  The lead harriers at the front of the group will yell "On-On!" back to us as we spot successive baking-flour splotches and chalk marks, confirming that we're indeed on the hare's tricky 3- to 4-mile long trail.  After a couple of hours and an interesting variety of terrain we should all arrive safely at the "On-In" party area - usually the back yard of one of the veteran AH4 hashers.

WHEN & WHERE? At 1:30 PM our AOC subgroup will join the large crowd of Hash House Harriers at their publicized "START" location.  This year it will be the free parking lot between "The Comet Pub & Lanes" and the "LA Fitness Center" along Church Street, about 1 mile north of downtown Decatur.  For a zoomable map or satellite view of this meetup spot click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon above.  The Lat/Lon coordinates of the lot (for that icon map and below) should be correct as your "Destination Address" for GPS, etc.  Note also the easy-to-follow verbal Directions below.

SPECIAL NOTES about THIS EVENT and the SPORT of "HASHING":  Think of the "Cheddarhead" as a New Year's Day "counter-resolution celebration!"  To enjoy this wild & crazy annual event it helps to be adventurous, thick-skinned, and irreverent about social norms.  As we help one another follow the "trail of the hare" we'll occasionally find ourselves in unusual outdoor places or situations such as the tricky creek-crossing pictured above.  This big event is always a go, rain or shine - another reason we assign it a "D3" difficulty level even though its walking/jogging portion is not as long mileage-wise as our typical AOC D3 hikes.  You newcomers to "hashing" should be forewarned that you may be taken aback by the racy nicknames, song lyrics and general rowdiness of this so-called "drinking club with a running problem."  For more on the history, culture and worldwide popularity of the good-natured sport of "Hashing" go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers

WHAT TO BRING, EVENT TIMETABLE, etc:  The custom is for each participant to bring to the Start location a small Duffel Bag of dry Extra Garments including extra Shoes & Socks - and if you like, a light foldup Chair.   (See more below in "Recommended Items to Bring.")  Between 1:30 and 1:45 please look for me at the Start (Charlie, wearing an "Atlanta Outdoor Club" T-Shirt and "Dirty Limerick" beaded hash necklace) .  I'll mark you present on our AOC subgroup roster, help you register with our AH4 hosts, introduce you to some of my longtime hashing friends, and help you load your duffel, etc. onto their provided truck or van.
  At about 2:00 the Cheddarhead's founder, "Public Enema," will call our motley crowd to "hash attention!" for a mock-formal welcoming ceremony which may feature our recitation of the hilarious "Wedge of Allegiance" Cheddarhead Creed.  A few minutes later we'll set off together following the hare's trail.  We'll take at a fast-walking and/or slow-jogging pace usually along a fascinating sequence of forested urban trails, powerline easements, residential streets, highway underpasses, etc.  Don't be surprised if there's a creek crossing or two - so please heed my advice about spare dry clothing.  Feel free to walk or jog with me and other experienced hashers during this "follow-the-hare" part of the festivities in case you're worried about staying "on trail."  Along the trail we'll enjoy at least one refreshment "pit stop" in anticipation of the big dinner party at the trail's end which usually lasts from about 3:30 till 5:30 PM.

"CHEDDARHEAD"  PARTY STYLE & HISTORY:  The annual Cheddarhead New Years Day event gets its name from the fact that its founder, a veteran Atlanta H4 hasher known as “Public Enema” and his "partners in crime" are from Wisconsin. (See some of their comments about its history in the NOTES section below.)  At the big party and outdoor cookout they provide delicious all-you-can-eat Wisconsin-style food and refreshments - usually including charbroiled brats, blackeyed peas & rice, "poutine" (Canadian-style french fries & gravy), salad, beer & soft drinks, and a wide assortment of munchies & desserts.  If you like fried mozzarella sticks you’ll love their breaded deep-fried cheese curds - fresh each year from Wisconsin and prepared onsite at the party.  One of the "Cheddarheads" - a good friend of mine named "Oops" - usually drives a truckload of premium bottled beers down from Wisconsin specially for the event.  Also several kegs of various high quality beers are tapped. There’s lots of friendly socializing plus nice door prizes, bawdy drinking songs, and obligatory “down-downs” of small cups of beer for “notables” such as the hares, “rule violators,” and newcomers to the sport.  (You may request your non-alcoholic drink of choice for your "down-down" in lieu of beer.)  Please plan to imbibe in moderation, esp. if you’re driving.

POST-PARTY FREE SHUTTLE: Beginning at about 5:30 PM some of our Cheddarhead hosts will offer complimentary shuttle rides back to the Start parking lot for hashers and their gear.  After we reach our own vehicles it will be appreciated if some of us can take the time to provide the same short shuttle (typically only about 5 minutes from the Party back to Start) for other partiers who may still need a ride.

OPTIONAL EARLY-EVENING BOWLING PARTY!  After the afternoon excitement many of the Hashers will regather at the bowling center for a few friendly games (near our parked cars at the Start location) and everyone is invited.  It's inexpensive if you decide to take part and usually begins each year at about 6:00 PM.

FOR the AH4 OFFICIAL NEW YEARS DAY 2017 “CHEDDARHEAD" ANNOUNCEMENT ARTICLE click on our following link. Note added by Charlie on Dec 27: The final fully edited version and Start Location has now been posted.
http://www.atlantahash.com/?page=events&n=1871

WANT to TRY OTHER HASHES?   Just show up at any of the Harriers' year-round follow-the-hare events.  AH4 and the dozen or so other Metro Atlanta "hash groups" jointly offer several local events per week and post the free "Start" parking lots on their websites a couple of days prior to each event.  Everyone who decides to do an advertised hash just shows up at the posted Start and chips in for their fair share of the refreshments & snacks that await the "harriers" at the end of the hare's trail.   Here's the link to a concise "summary table" of the various Georgia hash groups' websites:  http://www.OnIn.com/hhh/#georgia_hashes

THIS YEAR'S convenient "START LOCATION" is the free Parking Lot adjoining "The Comet Pub & Lanes, at 2619 N Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30033 - actually fronting on Church Street near the LA Fitness Center - about 2 miles SW of the I-285/ Stone Mtn Fwy interchange.  Our vehicles should be safe here until we return via the free shuttle rides discussed above, after the big party.  For a zoomable map or satellite view of this meetup spot click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.

Directions from I-285 or Stone Mtn Freeway in east metro Atlanta:

1.  From the I-285/ US-78 interchange in east metro Atlanta take US-78 West (the Stone Mtn Fwy) westward about 3/4 mile and merge onto Scott Blvd (avoiding the N Druid Hills Rd exit).

2. Continue westward on US-78 (a.k.a. "Lawrenceville Hwy" or "Scott Blvd") about 1 more mile and get in one of the left-turn lanes at the Church Street traffic light.

3.  Turn Left onto Church Street and go about 0.6 mile, crossing North Decatur Rd en route

4.  Note the large Parking Lot on the right side of Church Street (beyond the N. Decatur Rd traffic light) and turn Right into it just past the "Sycamore St" junction.  Look for brightly clad "Hashers" (as in the above photo) and park near them, between the Comet bowling center and the LA Fitness center.  Look for me (Charlie, a.k.a. "Dirty Limerick").  Bobby and I will introduce you to our friendly AH4 hosts, their "Hash Cash" registration volunteer and other members of our "AOC subgroup.". 

LAT/LON COORDINATES of BOWLING CENTER'S PARKING LOT: You GPS and Google.com/Maps users may wish to augment the above directions by entering this as your "destination address":  33.79055,-84.287

BELOW ARE ANSWERS to a few "CHEDDARHEAD FAQs" from the following 2009 online article: http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/running/on-on-hashers-are-drinkers-with-a-running-problem/

The Cheddarhead
There’s hashing, and then there’s the Cheddarhead, which could be the most creative hash in the Southeast. Take your standard "run-drink-run-drink" afternoon and throw in nearly 200 participants, 60 pounds of fried cheese curds, polka music, bowling, bratwurst, and more beer. Blue Ridge Outdoors talked with the Cheddarhead’s original founders, Dave Paul (a.k.a. Public Enema) and Derald Loomis, about the art of cooking cheese curds, light public nudity, and their obsession with running and drinking.

How was the Cheddarhead conceived?
Hashers as a group are very irreverent. It’s such a peculiar sport or lifestyle. You’ll only find a certain number of people who want to run through the woods, hollering, drinking, and getting bloody. Irreverence is a key aspect of hashing, so we wanted to play on the New Year’s resolution. Everyone wants to be healthy in the New Year, so we went in the opposite direction. We eat as much high fat food as possible and drink as much beer as possible. I mean, how ridiculous is it to eat cheese curds and run? I love it.

What is a cheese curd? 
It’s made during a process that involves separating milk into whey and blobs of curd cheese. They’re little blocks of cholesterol. People who worked in the Wisconsin cheese factories used to bag these little blocks up and take them to their local pub and eat them as a snack. We have 50 or 60 pounds of them shipped down for the run. They come right off the line, so they’re really fresh. If they’re not fresh, they’re not good. Of course, we fry them in a deep fat fryer.

Has the Cheddarhead grown over the years? 
The Cheddarhead started with 40 or 50 people. It was a very manageable group. Now, we get about 200 people, and Johnsonville Brats came on as a sponsor this year. They heard about the run, liked the idea, and gave us a whole bunch of brats. It’s definitely a big deal now, with all the cooking, and the logistics. Last year, we had 176 runners even in the cold weather. That’s the power of cheese.

Lots of great Food, Refreshments & Door Prizes!  Simply pay $10 in cash to the AH4 "Hash Cash" registrar in the START parking lot and give him or her your name.  Our "hasher" hosts expect no advance guarantee of anyone's participation, but if you find that you can't join us please cancel your AOC registration, since we'll likely have a wait list of other AOCers who would like to be part of our "subgroup."