You're most likely to find these highways and homes on the edges of forests and fields . . . in the transition areas that offer abundant food, water, and cover.
OTHER ANIMAL SIGNS
As you're tracking, keep in mind that animals leave a whole host of clues as they pass over the landscape. Look for rubs and nicks . . . those bare spots on branches and trunks where animals have scraped themselves either intentionally or accidentally in passing. Study scat (animal droppings), because it can tell you a great deal about what a creature has been eating. And always examine likely areas to see whether you can detect scratchings or hairs.
You may also discover obvious signs of gnawing such as the substantial marks left by a beaver on a tree trunk. Remember, though, that every piece of gnawed vegetation — even tiny twigs and grasses — can help you decipher the signature of a specific animal. Rodents and rabbits slice through greenery with a clean diagonal cut, while hoofed animals clamp down and yank upward, a motion that produces a flat, serrated cut. On the other hand, members of the dog and cat families chew on vitamin-rich grasses and herbs, leaving those plants with a crushed or mashed appearance. Of course, the height of any gnawing will indicate the size of the animal (standing on either four or two feet) that made it.
FOLLOWING TRACKS
Naturally, the best places to begin tracking are areas covered with wet sand, soft mud, or new snow. Beaches, creek beds, plains, and desert areas are usually excellent learning spots, since tracks made in soft earth are typically quite distinct and easy to read. If no such area is readily available, you can study the basics by making a tracking box filled with wet sand, or by smoothing out a section of soft soil in your garden or back yard. Put a variety of bait on the "track trap", and then study the prints of the creatures that it attracts.
A tracking stick is an especially useful self-teaching tool. It's simply a smooth, straight 3- to 4-foot length of dowel — or a ski pole — fitted with rubber washers or bands that can be moved to divide the tool into sections. Use the first marker to indicate the length of a footprint . . . the distance between the first and second, the animal's stride . . . and the space between the second and third, the width of the foot. Once you've found a good track, set these measurements on your stick, and you'll be able to more easily identify your animal and predict — if you're in difficult terrain — the approximate location of its next track.
Whether or not you're using a tracking stick, there are some basic procedures that will improve your ability. First, keep the track between yourself and the source of light, as doing so will make it easier for you to see the shadows in the footprint. And for the same reason, it's best to track in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun's rays hit the ground at an angle that makes the shaded prints pop out more clearly. Also, be sure to get down on all fours and examine the track from different angles. Vary the focus of your vision to see how the track fits into the total environment. And use side-heading. . . that is, get one eye as close to the ground as possible and squint the other eye when you scan the earth for signs. (This technique is especially useful for picking up the dulling and shining effects that are created when animals walk across grassy surfaces.)
When following tracks (especially while you're in the process of acquiring this skill), try to learn everything you can about one footprint before moving on to the next. Don't be content just to identify and follow an animal. Ask yourself the "why" questions. "Why is this track here?" "Why is the animal moving in this particular manner?" "Why is it headed in this direction?"
And don't skip tracks . . . the print that could teach the most is usually the one that you "can't" locate. You'll discover it if you just remember that the key to the next mark is contained in the one you're already looking at. (You may find the clue you need to determine where and how the animal moved next by examining — very closely — the soil distortions or "pressure releases" in the track.)
Understand as well that you'll rarely come across a perfect print. Most of the time, you'll see parts of tracks — a toe or two, a heel pad perhaps — and you'll have to visualize the rest. That's why it's so important to familiarize yourself with classifications and patterns before trying to read too complicated a manuscript.
In my opinion, one of the best ways to master these basics is to watch an animal make a track, and then immediately go examine the print. That way, you'll know what the ground says (that is, what the animal was doing) before you read the message, and you can memorize a wealth of different "words" and "phrases" that will help you more easily "translate" stories later on.
Sometimes, of course, you'll look for a print and find only creases or faint depressions in a bed of leaves. If so, you can often carefully lift those fronds up and find perfect tracks in the soil beneath. Remove any debris — with a pair of tweezers — from the prints you discover before you examine them. And use a magnifying glass often. It's much easier to pick up dirt smudges or telltale pressure-related cracks in the ground when your eye is looking from behind a good lens.
Since tracks are three-dimensional rather than flat, many folks find that they're able to develop their skills by trying to follow a trail blindfolded. Before you attempt this exercise, familiarize your hands with the feel of visible marks. Then gently press and probe the ground where you think there ought to be a track but you can't see one . . . and the sensitive parts of the fingers and palms will help you find prints that may have deceived your eyes. Ultimately, your hands will be able to read the ground like a book written in braille.
Finally, you can learn a lot by simply marking each print in a series with a popsicle stick and then connecting the sticks with light string. The layout that results can be a big help to you in learning an animal's pattern of movement. (It'll also let you know when you've made a mistake and left out a print . . . because the strides and overall pattern should always be flowing and logical.)
AGING TRACKS
Determining the age of a track is an art in itself . . . and one that can be learned only through observation and practice. The main thing to remember is that all disturbances in the earth tend to become flat. However, the terrain and weather can have a great effect on just how long a track lasts. For instance, a good wind may smooth out a depression made in dry sand within 30 seconds, but a trail that dries into hard clay may last for weeks or months (or more) if it's not washed out by rain. Under most conditions, though, the peaks of a track — one made in, say, medium-hard garden soil — will have deteriorated or rounded somewhat after 24 hours. In another day, the mark may have accumulated debris, leaves, or pockmarks from raindrops. Eventually, as the track crumbles and fills or is covered by other prints, it will disappear completely.
It's often possible to get a feel for the age of an individual track by making a thumbprint in the soil right next to it and comparing the sharpness of the ridges. However, the most effective and systematic way to familiarize yourself with the basics of track deterioration is to make several thumbprints in an outdoor tracking box every 6 or 12 hours, keep a record of weather changes, and note the relative deterioration of your prints each time you return to make a new set. You can learn to age broken or mashed vegetation by the similar method of snapping twigs or tearing leaves . . . and returning at regular intervals to examine them.
I call this method "learning the wisdom of the marks" . . . with it, you'll quickly become more proficient at aging tracks. After a while, you should be able not only to date tracks to within a few hours of when they were made, but also to read stories written on the same piece of ground by different animals at different times.
PRESERVING TRACKS
If you'd like to make a more complete and leisurely study of a particular footprint, you can take a plaster casting. This is done by stirring up a honey-thick mixture of plaster of Paris and water, pouring it into the track, and letting it set (five or ten minutes should be long enough). To assure greater cast strength, pour the mix until it overflows and creates a lip around the edges. If the print is so shallow that you fear your model may crack when you take it out, you can reinforce the casting by adding a couple of twig "backbones" to it while it's still wet. Remove the preserved print by carefully digging around its edges and lifting up from below. After the cast is completely dry, clean off debris with a brush.
DIRT TIME
I've outlined the major skills you'll need to learn in order to track animals, but the knowledge that can come only with dedication and practice is more important than all the information you can possibly gain from any article or book. There is no substitute for dirt time. . . for the hours and days spent on one's hands and knees, following prints and absorbing the secrets that only those mysterious marks can teach. Still, no matter who you are or where you live, you can learn to track by simply devoting a little time to it each day. And once you become familiar with this new language, I think you'll be amazed at the abundance of stories that await you . . . many of which will begin just beyond your own back door.
COMING UP
For some tips on winter survival in the wilderness, watch for our article on snow shelters in MOTHER NO. 78.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article concludes our "At Home in the Wilderness" series (earlier portions of which appeared in issues 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, and 76). MOTHER would like to thank Tom Brown, Jr. for contributing this fine sequence to the magazine.