Tracking: Dirt Time is the Key
Tom Brown Jr.Recently, my Washington State Tracker
Association went on their first mock tracking rescue mission. One of the members
laid a trail across the landscape, then the association was called out to find
this lost person. Within 7 hours, trying to follow every track and shred of
evidence, the association found the person they were looking for. When the news
reached me, I was elated, not only because they found the person and followed
every track, but in less than a year have grown from people who could hardly
read the ground to a viable lifesaving force.
Unfortunately, some members of the association
were not as pleased with their tracking ability as I was. My next trip out to
Washington was filled with complaints that they were not satisfied and wanted
more instruction to help them move faster. I explained that in a life and death
situation, it would not be important to follow every track like in a practice
session, thus expediting the find time. Still they weren't satisfied. Then I
asked if they had mastered everything I had taught them in the classes. Of
course the answer was no. This brings me to the essence of this article.
There is no fast and easy way to learn tracking
nor is there any substitute for dirt time. In my tracking lectures I give much
information that has taken me years to learn and study, thus giving the tracking
student an edge. No longer is it necessary to study the beginning points so
thoroughly, since the lecture takes many years off of the student tracker's
learning time. Tracker students begin at the point that took me at least ten
years to get to, yet they do not always fully realize this.
Dirt time is essential and no matter how far
advanced we get we must spend time, each day, on our hands and knees.
This is the only way we can increase our tracking speed and learn to read the
tracks. There is no easy shortcut in tracking, only a dedication to the mystery
of the track, and to practice time each day. Unless this practice time is met,
it would be very difficult to show the students any advanced techniques or
skills. The students must master the fundamentals.
We have devised a course now that combines
Nature Observation and Advanced Tracking. It is geared to give the student much
needed dirt time. In this week long course, the student will work out his
tracking problems, search for more information from the tracks, trails, and
landscape, and learn to see more of his environment that once escaped his
senses. Unlike the standard courses, most of the learning time is spent in the
field, practicing techniques of tracking and nature observation.
Take heart, Washington Tracker Association; I
appreciate the dedication and sacrifices you have made to make your association
what it is today. I am very pro d of you, and quite a bit jealous of the speed
at which you have learned to track.
If any student in other parts of the country is
interested in joining or creating a Tracker Association, please contact me for
details. Tracker Associations are organizations set up to find lost people,
promote the skills of tracking, and work together as a unit in a true sense of
brotherhood.
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