The Hiders wanted a spot that would provide for an easy direct signal to the starting location from a high point where the hiders could set up a day early and camp out. Old Grove Truck Trail Lookout was chosen. An easy dirt and paved road up Palomar Divide Truck Road just before the High Point Look Out led to Old Grove Truck Trail.
9 T’s where placed. We wanted this to be an easy hide (so long as the hunters made the correct decisions and trusted a good bearing from the start). With that in mind, three T’s where hidden along the 215 and 15 with the rest all being placed one after the next on Palomar Divide Rd, a partly dirt and partly paved road, that would have led the hunters straight into the main T.
The first T was hidden along the 215 at Murrieta Hot Springs Rd. in the parking lot adjacent to the freeway near the Harbor Freight. One we thought would be an easy T which proved to be very challenging. The second T was placed at the water site along Rainbow Canyon Road with the next T placed on Lilac Bridge just past the 76. The idea was to get the hunters to drive past the 79 and make them wonder now which side of Palomar we were on and why we were dragging them so far south. If the hunters had a good bearing from the start that they could trust, then they would head back up the 15 to the 79 and around the back side of Palomar Mountain, as this was the shortest milage and correct decision. If they were unsure of their bearing or equipment, then taking the front route along the 76 to rule out the front side of Palomar might seem prudent but would cost them allot of mileage.
The plan didn’t work out to well as the T on Lilac turned out to be an orphan and could not be heard from Rainbow. Although another hunter drove that route and went right past it, they never located it. A hunter team from San Diego, N6SZO and KE6PHB, who decided to participate by starting from the south and where the only one to find that T on Lilac.
The rest of the remaining 5 low power T’s were placed along Palomar Divide Rd. To make things even easier, two of the micos were placed within 5 feet of each other. Even so, many hunters missed these or only found one and had to come back for the other.
The hiders placed the T’s in order on our way out on Friday and as we got to Old Grove Truck Trail, it was determined that the condition of the trail was allot worse than when I had last drove it and not sutable for a Prius type vehicle. As we knew that at least one hunter would be in a sedan, we decided to give him credit for the main so long as he made it to the last T in rout.
Milage recorded for those who drove straight from one T to the next on Palomar Divide Road, with really no way to go in any other direction but straight up or down, was interesting as it was not the same from hunter to hunter from T to T. There was a discrepancy of at least 10 miles. Perhaps some hunters did some back tracking. Weather was fairly hot and the hiders regretted not having brought the misting station. WA6RJN unfortunately had a flat on the way up Palomar Divide Rd. and ended up quitting afterwards. APRS was very helpful as the hiders where able to see that he was stuck in one location for a while and determine there was a problem. Had it been in another location without an out and back road, then we would have been able to locate him easier to provide assistance due to his APRS being on and working. Of course, there is the added benefit of being able to laugh at those hunters who drove up the front side of Palomar and went in wrong directions, but we assure you that safety is our primary concern when requesting APRS usage. 😊
Congratulations to N6MI/ AE6O for finding all the T’s except for the orphan. They are the winners and get the privilege of hiding in November.
