Seeing Every Track
23rd October Posted by Tony Deis on Oct 23, 2009 in Tracking Many people start start out looking for animal tracks in sand or mud. Its absolutely critical that a tracker move beyond that simple substrate, finding sign not only in clear ground but through salmonberry, oak leaves, hemlock needles and meadows. Its easy to attune your eye to perceive patterns over moss, leaf debris and other more common ground. Now I'm not talking about some magical sight that causes the concrete to radiate a fox print like some fairy touched glowing golden compass. Training your vision takes a long time, hard work and literally getting to know one square patch of ground like it was your best friend (literally your best friend). I once had a student do the following exercise as part of a monthly tracking course. After one class he went home and proceeded to diligently practice this in his lawn. 4-weeks later, at the next class he shocked everyone including himself. No one could keep up as he not only chased hard deer hoofprints through the meadow but seemed to find and correctly identify every soft footed animal from raccoon to skunk. He didn't develop some magic superpower overnight, it actually stemmed from directed study and focus. Here's how you do it...
See if you can find the column you made the day before. If not, you might want to note each column and row with more sticks. When I first tell folks that's what it takes, they often can't fathom how. Why can't I just give them some kind of trick or new piece of wisdom that instantly changes how they see the world? Well, in tracking there are no tricks, there are only ever evolving relationships. Tracking is understanding and moving through the natural world in an intimate way. Its building a deft connection with that one piece of earth. Its like your courting dirt. Its saying, "I give you my time. I sit down and really see who you are." Maybe this sounds goofy to talk about leaves and grass as friends but the ramifications are profound. Tracking is always embracing the world by turning off judgment, hopes and wishes to always be cultivating healthy perception of needs. It means starting by simply seeing. BTW, this exercise is great for also learning how to age tracks. Free taster days... Learn more about our full-time immersion programs. Join us for a day with Tracker instructors. TrackersTEAM Immersion Taster October 25 Ride the Umiak on the river and learn about our TEAMS Immersion or Master Degree Program. Trackers Permaculture Taster November 1 Work with author Toby Hemenway and designer Leonard Barrett to learn more about the winter garden and our 1-year program beginning in January.
Tags: tracking, seeing tracks,
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