The headwater wetlands of northern Wisconsin’s Eagle River, especially above the chain of lakes, are teeming with life. Wolves and Bears scout the shorelines, while Beaver, Muskrat and Otter, along with a host of birds, fill the waters. Expanses of marshgrass, wild rice, and cattails blanket the shallows, while yellow and white water lilies dapple…
Tracker Training in the City
Recently two people took a group on a tour of New York City—using a map of Copenhagen. Another group toured the city by walking an algorithm: take the second left, the next right, and the next left, and then repeat. A woman hung poster paper and magic markers in public places around the city for…
How to Read a Distorted or Indistinct Track
An animal’s track will often distort when an animal accelerates or changes direction on a slippery surface such as mud or wet sand. With acceleration, the track will elongate; and with turning, it will broaden. The same is true with animals traversing an upgrade or downgrade. I’ve watched people who are otherwise fair at track…
The Problem with Seeing Too Much
While hunting, a Serval (a midsized African wildcat) may pause for up to 15 minutes at a time, close her eyes, and listen for rodents. Why would she close her eyes to listen? We can gain a clue from blind people, many of whom can actually hear a solid object in front of them. They…
Trapper vs. Hunter Tracking Styles
I remember one day about 30 years ago when I was out scouting a trapline with my friend Bob. We skirted an open field, followed the edge of a pine plantation, then wrapped around a granite outcrop before crossing a small stream and dipping down into a Cedar bog. “We’re crossing quite a few runs,”…
Dog or Cat?
I get obsessed with details. If we are out somewhere and come across a feather, such as the hairy woodpecker wing secondary feather I found yesterday, you might as well find a comfortable place to sit, because I’m going to stop and read its story. I’ll study the quill to determine whether it was molted…
My Tracking Family
Years ago I heard about a team of American Indian trackers who worked to intercept smugglers packing drugs across the US-Mexican border. The stories of their adventures on the trail had a surreal quality that bordered on the mystical. On top of that, they called themselves the Shadow Wolves. Sure, the adventures of these fabled…
Ever Tracking
The topics of discussion on the Zen forum I participate in are typically consciousness related. It so happens that there are several trackers on the forum, and we sometimes use tracking metaphors. At first I thought we might befuddle the non-trackers; however, they not only hang with this but know just what we are talking…
Good Relationships Make Good Trackers
Recently I noticed that higher-than-average number of the best trackers I know happen to be involved in healthy interpersonal relationships. I suspect it’s because when we come at our relationships sideways by enabling and speaking indirectly, or by manipulating and feeling victimized, we do the same with the animals we track. Even though we might…
Dogs Do it Better
A visiting friend from out East asked if I would demonstrate scent tracking, as he had never heard of humans doing it. “You came to the right place,” I replied. “Out here in the bush we don’t mind sniffing around like dogs–we don’t have much pride.” We had no trouble finding a scent, as the…