The Loudoun Hunt

December 2002

Hunting Diary

The wind picked up suddenly just before we set off. Drawing the territory from a different direction in hopes of making Charlie act differently. Cast into the wooded cover behind the trailers back toward the driveway. Hounds found and carried across the drive into the paddock with the burro and draft horse. The burro started braying and headed the fox turning it back to the left. Hounds faulted swinging left handed and cast forward picking up the line but it is spotty.

We pushed along John Wolford Road toward the next wooded spinney but the scent seems to have shut down. Continued to draw down toward the swampy area with hopes of reconnecting on this fox but it has gotten away.

Picked up and moved back south to the big woods at Fox Glen. Cast hounds along the west side of the cover drawing south and around. Hit a line but it faded almost immediately. Continued around the field toward the Devil’s Den and the snowy river coop. Hounds opened beyond the coop and swinging out into the field back into the cover and then down to the creek bed turning south. The fox changed direction three times in a matter of minutes and then went away.

Jumped down into the Devil’s Den and pursued hounds along the creek bed toward the old Hutchinson homestead. Reacquired the line in the swampy ground along the creek. Up to the old barn the line faulted casting left it freshened and seemed to track along the length of the creek toward Milltown Road. Swinging left handed toward the hillside the line gave away completely drew back along the thicket at the foot of the hillside. Charlie had gotten away.

Crossed the creek and cast right handed in the cover above the Hutchinson homestead. Hounds found and pushed the line along the creek toward the small pond by the new livestock shed, only to suddenly turn nearly 180 degrees and come back, too strong to be heel. Charlie had switched back suddenly and then made a beeline along the length of the fence line adjoining the hay field next to Guggenheim’s. Hounds have the line but it is not hot.

Continue down the length of the field crossing into it at the bottom by the creek over the coop and toward the woods with the L set coops. The line freshens in the woods and hounds are off head straight for Mrs. Lights’s. The hounds cross into Lights’s, turn right handed and head to Vertz’s.

Parallel to the show ring field the fox swings in a big circle left handed back down to the creek and into the bottom of Fox Glen. It comes out at the Punch Bowl field following the spring line up behind the house, cuts right handed back to Devil’s Den, down to the creek and along the creek toward the old Hutchinson Homestead. Hounds own this line the fox has made three big turns and cannot shake them. So it straightens out and makes a run for Milltown Road. Charlie ducks under the roadbed at the bridge crossing. The creek is up chest high but fox and hounds find a lip along the bank and streak under the bridge. We are in hot pursuit crossing under the bridge where the wire has been washed out.

Hounds carry on into the big woods on the east side of Milltown Road and put the fox to ground in the woods by the creek. One and a half hours after putting Charlie up we put him to ground. Horses, hounds and riders are well spent. Pick up the pack and call it a day.