The Loudoun Hunt

January 2003

Hunting Diary  

Cast hounds in the cedar grove below the kennel. They struck immediately, sharp and hard. Scenting is very good. The fox ran parallel to Thomas Mill Road , crossed the power line high up on the hill and dropped down to the 15-acre woods. Hounds are right on it pushing hard.  

At the top of the hill, above the 15-acre woods hounds fault.  We cast forward toward the double creek crossing. Hounds find the line at the base of the hill near the pond turn into toward the pond staying to the east circle around it up through the pine grove. They fault at the top of the hill by Laycock’s and the Hume Woods.  

We cast down the length of the Hume Woods finding the line again. Hounds drive hard down to the power line, dwell at the coop and then break out into the field. The line breaks up in the open field. We cast forward toward the hedgerow and the creek. Hounds pick up the line again and push over the creek toward Harrison ’s field with the motor cross track.  

In hindsight the fox only ducked in and come out again crossing the field cattycorner towards the Laycock farm lane. However, it seemed at the time that hounds had the line by the spinney in the middle of this field. We cast forward toward 704, right toward Canby Road and then left down along the creek. We made this good and realized what had happened.  

We picked up and went back to the last spot hounds spoke in the adjoining field. Casting forward across the field the fox now has a good lead. Scent is good and the hounds pick the line up again.  

We hit the farm lane and the line faults again. On instinct alone we cast across Canby Road instead of in the field where the corn is off adjacent to the farm lane. Hounds pick up the line and streak into the woods down to the creek and out the top parallel to Canby Road make straight for Digges Valley Road .  

We have the fox up on its feet again, pushing it hard through the woods up to Digges Valley Road . Hounds were driving so hard we are certain they crossed Digges Valley Road up by the power line. Three or four couple are over that side and there is no voice coming from behind us.  

Given how hard they have driven this fox we elect to go forward and cast into the Diggs Valley Woods. We are well into it when it is clear the fox did not cross the road. We circled back to make sure the fox had not turned a hard left. It never came over the road.  

Back over the road we cast hounds into the woods along the cornfield and by the stone house. Sure enough hounds open sharp driving straight over the yard into the next wooded lot and out into another cornfield.  

Charlie is viewed turning hard right and making a beeline for the creek. The fox crosses the creek and is running hard over the open field. The wind is blowing straight on its nose  just as the fox gets to the hedgerow in the middle of the field the wind stopped and the fox turned hard right along the hedgerow. It ran down the length and the cut back left up the hillside and went to ground.  

For one hour and ten minutes we pressed this fox, all the 11-½ couple are at the mark. We blew to ground and called it a day.

Submitted by T.J.