Session 4: Noises In the dark

This being my fourth outing, with some trepidation I decided I would bring Cino. I also decided that since the dogs spend most of the time in the car, the CRV would be a better choice than the Prius, since at least he can stand up, turn around easily, and I can leave the trunk window open.

I got to the location early, and as usual, was uncertain whether I had found the right place. There were two pick-up trucks parked there, but neither had any dogs in them. Instead there were two guys in camo hanging out, incongruously with a carafe of red wine and two wine glasses. Of course I went up to them (to check the name of the location). It turns out they had been hunting (hence the camo), but had been unsuccessful. I was concerned that hunting and dogs running loose do not go well together, but the hunting was only permissible before 5 pm. They were hunting doves. Well, I was quite glad they had been unsuccessful, really.  They said they were going to hang out until they had finished their cigars and the wine. I guess they were then going to drive home. Well, at least I was not going to be on the road at the same time as them in their inebriated state.

Gradually the others arrived, a good haul, probably 8 people and their dogs. First off, obedience: So I got Cino out of the car, and he was certainly a bit confused. For one, we don’t walk after dusk very much, for two, we never do obedience in the dark, and never in the dark and outside. Still, he did not acquit himself too badly.  I did the drop on recall using a 40 ft line, but unfortunately it was more like a 20 ft line, since it was all knotted up. Note to self: make sure it is free of knots next time.  Well, that was it for Cino’s activity that evening, but not mine.  He was going to have to get used to being in the car by himself for hours at a time, and this was a good place to start.

For the first time, I was part of the search party (well, I accompanied Don and his K9 Weaver).  Alan went off to be the subject and when he called to say he was in place, we took off. Don has been doing this for a decade or so, and Weaver is about 9 years old, so also very experienced.  Don used a combination of his map and a GPS device for navigation. The area was bounded by a road on one side, a creek on another and a drainage on a third.  Once we found the drainage on our left we walked more or less straight towards the creek. Don gave Weaver the “find” command, and she went bounding through the woods between five and ten yards away from us. Once we got to the creek, we walked back along a track parallel to the one we had just taken, about 15 yards away, and then turned and did the same thing for a third time. About an hour had passed, and we had not found Alan. Don was concerned that Alan was not in the specified area, so he called him on the two-way radio and asked him his location. He then asked him to blow his whistle, so that we could find him even if he was not in the right area. Weaver did eventually locate him. Her method is to find him, bark, then come back to Don, then go back to the subject and bark again. Despite Don's misgivings, Alan was in the right area. We had stopped a little short of the creek, otherwise we might have found him sooner.

Then it was my turn to be the subject. Don and Alan headed back to base, for Alan to get Zed and then to come and find me. This time I was not being “placed”, and it was entirely up to me to decide where to hide. Exhilarating!  I had already decided I would place myself inside the drainage. It was quite steep on both sides, and Don had explained previously that it can be difficult to find people in those areas, since in the dark you can only see the opposite side to the one you are walking on, and scent tends to pool at the bottom, depending on wind conditions.
I had been paying a lot of attention to the directions we had been heading in, and using the moon as a partial guide, especially since the compass I had was not very good.  The moon was to the north of me, the road (and base) to the south, and the drainage to the west. I needed to turn west (left) and walk slightly uphill for about five minutes, keeping the moon on my right, then I should find the drainage. I was actually somewhat surprised when I did!  Since we would then be heading back to base, I decided to go further south along the drainage, so it would be closer to walk back later that night. Also, I was looking for somewhere at least moderately comfortable to settle down, and somewhere where I would be difficult to find. I found a ledge at seat-height, with root branches for arm rests. It seemed a good spot, so I got myself comfortable (sort-of) and turned off my headlight. I then got to wondering whether the drainage area was popular among rat families. Certainly there were a lot of scuffling sounds. I realized that the rock I was sitting on had space underneath for little critters to nest. Or maybe even snakes, but I decided it was too cold for them.
It was a long wait. It did cross my mind that maybe I should have picked somewhere where I would be easier to find.  I saw headlights after about 45 minutes, but they passed me by. Then after an hour the headlights came back, and Zed found me, so I thought Alan would appear in a few minutes, but it was not to be. It was after another half an hour that Zed appeared again, and this time I radioed Alan to let him know. Zed had decided not to indicate that evening.
By the time we got back to base, most others had left. It was about 1 am, and the debrief was brief, so I was in bed at 2 am. Much better!