Hiders: KF6GQ Don and KD6LAJ Steve
The Great All American Memorial Day All-Night Hunt story
By Don KF6GQ
I went out into the Leona Valley about three weeks ago to see if
I could find a suitable place to hide. I was looking for a location
that would not be a direct shot to the start, but offer a bounce off
the mountains to the east, ie. Mt. Baldy. But as I looked, it was
obvious that most good spots are on private property. I did find what
could be a suitable spot on a microwave tower spot near Lake Elizabeth.
If we set the antenna at 90 degrees the side lobe would be pointed at
the start. The major lobe would be in the direction of Mt. Baldy. But,
it was obvious that when it all started, the beam had to be turned to
110 degrees, and that made a direct signal to the start. I heard that
the bearing from the star was 15 degrees, close enough for the hunters
to go up the 14 freeway. Oh well, so much for the deception. The top of
this mountain is mostly made up of either chaparral or foxtail grasses
which made sniffing a fun endeavor. The plan was to set up several
min-T’s up on top then set one mini T out in the desert to the north.
This was to fool the hunters into sniffing for the one out in the
desert up on the top of the mountain.. This might had worked better, it
the hunters had cooperated, in going to the main T first on the
mountain, then sniffing for the other T’s on the mountain. Out of the 6
official teams only three did it this way. And because the sniffing on
the top of the mountain was so appalling ,that nobody was going to
sniff for long at the top, before deciding that a trip to the desert
was in the offering. I think that the only one to try was Deryl, N6AIN
before reluctantly given up, and going down the mountain and searching
elsewhere. Three teams went around or came in from north of the
mountain, and lucked into the Snake T which was the weak T out in it
desert. At each of the T’s was a small package of elder gifts for our
newest “over the hill” gang. Happy birthday to Scott, Tom & Steve
(LAJ). All of these hunters are or will soon be “over the hill” at 50
years. Congratulations! We had at the top, snacks, chips or cookies,
but most of the teams chose the cookies over the chips, because they
where, Orieo Chocolate Cookies. We think that even though the hunt was,
in the short and easy category , it was enjoyable to most of the
hunters. We where also glad to see Jippy out on his first hunt after
his challenging, recovery from the surgery. Good to see you Bob.
Looking at the results, I have declared the winners of this event, the
team of N6MI & K6VCR. Hope to see you on your hide.
Don KF6GQ
Results: