Woodlife Trails

Even though there have been a few downpours, the temperature has remained in the 20c’s and when the sun does come out, it is really warm. It’s not surprising that there are still quite a few butterflies and dragonflies about. The large red has followed me around since late June, and they are still flying about usually in tandem. The damp ground provides ideal conditions for tracking and the last couple of weekends but especially this weekend I’ve spent some time with my nose in the dirt (or ‘dirt time’ as trackers put it).

I made a tracking stick at the bushmoot and it’s been drying out nicely. Recently, I cut notches in it to make measuring easy and to save taking a ruler or tape measure with me. I think I’ve already said that although certainly not an expert, I consider tracking a skill that I haven’t lost over the years. I used to practice regularly enjoying the challenge of identifying prints, following and identifying trails and examining feeding and kill sites. I even achieved minor local celebrity status when I assisted in searching and finding a ‘missing’ child.

My old house backed onto acres of National Trust woodland in Surrey. A neighbour’s kid decided to go walkabouts and the report stated that he was lost. As dusk approached, I helped organise the police search (as I knew the area like the back of my hand). I managed to pick up a small footmark and making a number of assumptions based on ‘if I were a kid’ we caught up with the youngster. I guessed that he was on his way home which made the track easier. My assumption was right. He actually wasn’t lost at all, appeared to know exactly where he was and was indeed on his way home. He’d just lost track of time as they do.

I didn’t know about tracking sticks then and it might well have assisted. The idea behind the stick is simple. There MUST be a print (however faint) somewhere on the ground once you’ve measured and marked the length of the stride on the stick (by moving the elastic bands). Put that mark on the last easily visible print and the stick will show you where the next print is. All you have to do is find it. A better desciption is here if you want to know more. There’s also a link to animal tracking on my links to the right.

It helps to know what your track feeds on, its habits and usual paths a trails. I can see how some trackers like get into the mind of the subject. This is the more spiritual side of tracking and it comes back to the “If I were a …what would I do.” There are several books on tracking. Apparently some of the best are by Tom Brown, but I’ve not read any as yet. The one I’m using at the moment is Animal Tracks and Signs by Preben Bang.

The prints around the area I were I was tracking today came down to Muntjac and rabbits, although I’ve previously seen badger and fox tracks. Once the track leads into the wood, it’s extremely difficult to follow with leaf litter and ground debris. Spiritual tracking takes over here with the help of runs, trails and feeding signs. I rarely have any luck following a track to its conclusion in other words actually spotting the animal. It’s fun trying though.

I finished my outing today by setting up my tarp and bivvi bag. It looked like rain so I set up the tarp close to the ground. After lunch (back to using the SA Trangia) I couldn’t resist climbing into the bivvi bag and having a snooze. The Thermarest is so comfortable; I didn’t feel any lumps or bumps underneath the bivvi bag at all. A definite A1 purchase. No wonder I fell straight to sleep.