Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the fox-hunting list at 10:53 AM on August 10, 2019:
Fox hunters: get ready!
I am headed out shortly to hide two foxes in Westford. Get your gear ready for 2m and 80m fox hunting!
I will send another email in an hour or so with a clue about the location.
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Wait until 12:30 PM before fox hunting in Westford. The highly encrypted clue uses the ROT1 decrpytion algorithm.
BCDE_UFYBT_SPBE_BCDE
From: Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, posts to the foxhunting list on August 11 at 9:57 PM:
Hello Fox Hunters,
I have retrieved the 2m and 80m foxes from the Emmet Conservation area on Texas Road in Westford.
The people who found the foxes (as far as I know) are:
K1IG 2m and 80m
W1FDR 2m and 80m
If you found it, please let us know!
On another note, beware when stomping around in the woods. I actually got myself lost(!) for about 30 minutes.
* The trails in the Mass. Audubon part of the property are IMHO very poorly marked. They indicate “MAS” but don’t have any trial names. I somehow got onto those trails.
* I did not bring a trail map, but it might not have done much good due to the aforementioned. I should have brought it anyway.
* I did not have enough water for an extended outing.
* I could not tell the direction of the sun in the forest.
* I did not have a compass.
* I did not turn on my 2m radio(!). That was pretty stupid of me. K1IG was in the immediate vicinity about 20 minutes before I extricated myself.
* I incorrectly assumed that listening to the 80m fox beacon would be enough to bring me back to civilization. NOT TRUE! Without a map, the trails didn’t seem to take me back in that direction, and then the fox was out of range.
* I wish I had brought my GPS to see how many times I walked in circles. That’s typically what happens when people get lost.
* Yes, I had my cell phone.
* I almost called the fox hunters to bail me out, but then I saw a very large meadow and some houses. I walked that way and found myself on Hayrick Lane, about 1/4 – 1/2 mile away from my car.
* I suffered no injuries except perhaps to my pride.
* Perhaps a future fox hunt should be a human on the move, simulating a scared and lost hiker. Your thoughts?
73,
Andy