Gravel road, limited parking available. BYOP and extractor.
As my K9K8 nickname indicates: I love dogs! I grew up with 14 different dogs and have had 4 dogs of my own. My first vocation was as an engineer; once a geek, always a geek. As a second career I switched to dog grooming. I like to claim that I have had hundreds of pets, but only a few are 24/7. I’ve since retired from both careers. Both science and animals have enriched my life. All my cache hides will have something to do with the dogs I’ve known and loved.
The name of this cache comes from the song Hunting Girl by Jethro Tull. Download it and I’ll give you yet another earworm. The song is about fox hunting on horseback. When I was a teenager I was lucky enough to be a member of a local Bucks County fox hunting club. Now Bucks County isn’t rural enough anymore for the sport. Also, all of my dogs have been breeds from the Sporting Group – they are all Hunting Girls.
Fox hunting is a long established sport originating in Europe. In the United States organized fox hunts rarely kill the foxes they chase. All hunters are on horseback. The foxes they seek are natural indigenous animals, not released on purpose.
Fox hunts are managed and controlled by the Master of the Hounds. The Master of the Hounds controls the pack of dogs using horn signals. The Master is accompanied by honored riders called Whippers-In who help keep the pack of hounds together and round up hounds that have strayed from the main group. The Master of the Hounds and Whippers-In wear red coats to identify them.
The pack of Fox Hounds used in the search for foxes is usually comprised of 20-40 dogs. The Fox Hounds are the fox scent chasers. Fox Hounds are often accompanied on the hunt by one or more Jack Russell Terriers. The terrier’s job is to chase the foxes out of their dens when “they go to ground” (i.e. hide from the riders).
Although now an antiquated sport, I thoroughly enjoyed galloping across the Bucks County landscape as a young girl. This cache has been intentionally hidden close to a horse farm that specializes in rehabilitating injured horses.
Always keep your guard up when geocaching or socializing with animals of any kind.