W7EAT Winter Bunny Hunt... Nov 19, 2011

This blog is a re-post the photos of the ARDF Hidden Transmitter Bunny hunt that was held near Eatonville, WA on Nov 19, 2011.   The photos were originally shown at www.kr7w.org - which no longer exists. 

Al, N7OMS on the hunt.

After the monthly W7EAT South Pierce County Amateur Radio Club meeting breakfast gathering in Downtown Eatonville, we headed out to the hills above Alder Lake.  We were greeted with almost three ft of snow to find the 4 and sometimes 5 transmitters that "Huntmaster Bob", K7MXE, had hidden before the pasture area became a winter wonderland. [Note:  the 'sometimes 5th' transmitter was the one that didn't transmit on a regular basis.  Cold temp?  Low battery?  Dunno].

Huntmaster, Bob K7MXE

Rich KR7W (on the right) observes Chuck AC7QN trying to figure out what Huntmaster Bob has planted for us to find.  Note:  We are wearing our ORANGE (and safety green) cuz it's deer hunting season in these hills.

At this point... is when I figured out that the rules of the hunt had changed again.
"Wait a minute Bob, that's not what you said before".

Back at the Tailgates to socialize, some non-participants came out to cheer us hunters on.  Lorraine K7LJN, Stan K7DKK.  Hunters- Rich KR7W (back to camera again), Alan N7OMS.  1/2 of Huntmaster Bob K7MXE is seen on the right.

After a break... the hunt continued on.  Huntmaster Bob included a bit of 'trickery' in this hunt.  He hid a dummy antenna close enough to the radiating antenna to fool some of the hunters.  This resulted in a conflict where two hunters were disqualified.  

Ousted from the game for breaking a rule that hadn't existed until this last minute.  Just like working for a large corporation that practices TEGWAR... aka The Exciting Game Without Any Rules.  Corporate America in the snowy bucolic hills above Alder Lake.  Who wudda thought?

A late comer hunter to the party, Casey WW7CH (left) chats with Chuck AC7QN in the Tailgate area.  Hot coffee was a welcoming break.

It turns out that somehow Casey WW7CH was the grand prize winner of this hunt.  The mystery of how he found all of the transmitters in such a short time still lingers.

This Hidden T - Bunny hunt was the most fun of all the hunts I've participated in.  I think it was the nice people and unique hunting environment made it a great outing for me.  So, Bob, when the heck is the second annual W7EAT Winter Bunny hunt?

He is still snickering about this hunt...

Also, it was fun to dig out these photos and re-post them for all to see.  Us Old folks love to reminisce, don't we?  

It really was a pristine winter wonderland.

End of this blog entry.  Best Regards,

Rich kr7w