There is an amount of distortion to tracks at times but you won't have enough distortion to account for the growth of the track yet retain fine detail.
The tracks I referred to earlier were made in dry dust over a fairly firm base. There's no mud. There's no sliding, no smearing. Obviously no melting of snow. So how do you account for tracks that are 3 inches longer than the longest "toe shoes" available at the time yet retain massive fine detail which is visible in the photographs I took? Its not quite to dermal ridge level of detail but the creases at the toe joints were clear and crisp.
In this case, distortion of tracks? <<LAUGHABLE.>> Not merely laughable but so clear it makes the person suggesting distortion look like an absolute imbecile.
MIB