Gathering on a bright, sunny, mild day in November, the Athens County Amateur Radio Club (ACARA) foxhunters held a slightly postponed fox hunt. The fox, Carl Denbow, N8VZ, prepared more than fifteen clues to his location, which was just 300′ outside Athens County. This both narrowed and expanded the search in all directions except for across the Ohio River into West Virginia, which had been ruled out.
The fox was found by veteran fox hunter Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, and his wife Vickie, KC8MAJ, who traveled as a team when the 1pm start time coincided with the end of church services today. The pair arrived at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the old Centennial Church, just north of Frost, Ohio in Washington County. Coming in second, approximately ten minutes behind was Kirk Groeneveld, KC8JRV, who had tried to second-guess the Fox’s initial clue and chose a starting point in Hocking county. Kirk explains that thereafter, every one of his decisions took him in the wrong direction and kept him from direct routes to the Fox’s den, despite the clues becoming more and more clear and specific. Good job to Carl for writing good clues to follow.
There is no date announced for the next Athens County Fox hunt, but discussions are being held on altering the format to allow more people to participate and make the hunt more fun for all involved, whether hunting or listening in on the frequency.
Kirk Groeneveld, KC8JRV (with minor editing by Eric McFadden, WD8RIF)
