Questions For Good Trackers - Tracking The Ultimate Quarry.

[Guest]

Why not task Mantracker to find bigfoot?

http://science.discovery.com/tv/mantracker/

[Branco]

The only Squatch tracks I were on was in deep snow when I was about 8 years old looking for a Xmas tree with my father............

I would consider myself a decent tracker within the realm of a hunter, but I have never been formally schooled nor do I track fugitives and things like that. A big difference between a hunter and a professional tracker is that as a hunter I'm typically looking for a blood trail.

I can only say that it is impossible for anyone or anything to "hide" anything.........concerning their tracks. All one can hope for is to misdirect and buy time. With enough time a experienced tracker can and will track you down. He will spot if your walking backwards, walking on rocks, creek beds, etc. But time is the enemy of the tracker..........snow, rain and wind can obliterate tracks making it impossible to continue.

And the problem with a Squatch is that your quarry is moving through rough mountainous terrain at a much faster clip than a athletic man could do out for a Sunday jog..........let alone a tracker on his hands and knees carefully putting the puzzle back together. So unless the Squatch is unaware of your back trail presence and is hanging out at the cave bouncing baby Bigfoot on his knee? The deficit between tracker and Squatch continues to grow at a rate that is unsustainable until the trackway is obliterated by bad weather or other track activity.

Same goes for the hunter.........you could be following a blood trail but if the animal is not sufficiently wounded as to slow it down significantly? That animal could travel 20 miles through rough terrain, and be healing the whole time he is doing it. Most hunters will simply give up after 4-5 miles....... or bad weather, etc will obliterate the track way.

The longer it takes the less the odds get in favor of the tracker. That's why scent hounds are brought in often times, they don't need to follow a track way.........they follow scent through the terrain like a rope. I've watched my Redbones work a trackway often times being 20 feet off the track itself. They don't need to worry about shine or partial imprints, yadda yadda, they lock in and have you working the scent from weaker to stronger. Which means they are doing the task at a much faster pace than a human can using his brain and detective skills.

An excellent book on tracking:

The SAS guide to tracking by Bob Carss

Following a blood trail is not "tracking", tracking begins at the end of that blood trail.

Anyone that tells you that "that it is impossible for anyone or anything to "hide" anything.........concerning their tracks" is, to say the least,naive. Any real "professional" tracker who is not trying to sell a book or service will tell you that in a heartbeat. And if that professional tells you he never has to get down on his hands and knees to establish the countinuity of a trackway in the mountains, he hasn't tracked much in the mountains.

An animal that has been shot and bleeding to the extent that he could be "trailed" for 20 miles must be stopping at Red Cross stations along the way for transfusions.

Yeah, I think the Redbones would be to go if they would follow the scent trail of a Sasquatch. Sasquatch blood trails are pretty rare.

Since a "professional" tracker could follow any track, anywhere, anytime without slowing down to piece together the track ways, I bet tracking a Squatch would be child's play for him.

[Guest]

Since a "professional" tracker could follow any track, anywhere, anytime without slowing down to piece together the track ways, I bet tracking a Squatch would be child's play for him.

Jeepers... I wonder what the "pros" are waiting for, then. I hear there is a reality show, with a 10 million dollar bounty on one

[Guest]

Cool topic BobbyO.

I think I'm a pretty good tracker, but I'm not an expert. With deer and elk I'm close to expert status, but as far as BF is concerned I think Elbe taught me I have to raise my game considerably. I will share with you my opinion on BF track lines though, at least as I see it.

One of the things I think I've learned is BF seems to travel in a very straight manor. I've found around 18 track lines in some very remote places, and one thing seems pretty consistent. They seem to have an amazing ability to move in a straight line almost as if they have a built in GPS. I can think of several instances where I've lost a track line, took a compass bearing around an obstacle, then re-found it a 1/4 mile farther in the same direction on the same heading. Dead straight. What that means I don't know. As far as I can figure they seem to walk with purpose, or an agenda to achieve their destination in the fastest way possible. I've found several snow track lines and tried to follow as far as possible, but it also seems they will go to great lengths to get to areas where they don't leave tracks.

[Guest COGrizzly]

The tracks in snow I saw looked VERY much like the last one Derek. Except it was much much steeper and deeper snow.

A few years before I saw my tracks, a buddy and I were building a retaining wall down in Crestone, CO - the Sangre de Cristo mountains. After a few days working with his brother and this other guy, we got to talking about Grizzlies in CO. Then this guy went on to tell a story of him snowshoeing in the Weminuche Wilderness area. He said he found tracks that were linear, about 18-20 inches long, 6-8 inches wide and no "fluff" in between. He said he followed them for miles and they never broke stride, like a deer or any other animal would. He turned back because it was dark.

[Guest poignant]

One of the things I think I've learned is BF seems to travel in a very straight manor. I've found around 18 track lines in some very remote places, and one thing seems pretty consistent. They seem to have an amazing ability to move in a straight line almost as if they have a built in GPS. I can think of several instances where I've lost a track line, took a compass bearing around an obstacle, then re-found it a 1/4 mile farther in the same direction on the same heading. Dead straight. What that means I don't know. As far as I can figure they seem to walk with purpose, or an agenda to achieve their destination in the fastest way possible. I've found several snow track lines and tried to follow as far as possible, but it also seems they will go to great lengths to get to areas where they don't leave tracks.

Interesting. Headed for Homebase/Den? Sure seems like it.

[ShadowBorn]

dead winter small tracks on trail late at night freshly maid yes i have found them with toe inprints and all and followed them for a long ways.The tracks looked liked they were made by a small child with a long heel to heel spread in a straight line just like the photo's above.Summer time they are harder to follow but once you find two tracks you can use a string or a stick to find the rest.

[BobbyO]

So you have read the book? I have it and often refer back to it.

I'm actually reading it now Norse, i bought it after your previous recommendation so thanks.

I actually " track " people for a living now in both jobs i do, one " tracks " people who sometimes do their best to put you off the scent too ( i track bad guys, i'm not a Cop, but i'm not a million miles away from that type of thing ) and i'm pretty good at what i do in that respect so it's definitely very interesting to me to read the book which i can learn more about the people side of things, and as it brings animals into the game too which is something else i'm very interested in.

One of the things I think I've learned is BF seems to travel in a very straight manor. I've found around 18 track lines in some very remote places, and one thing seems pretty consistent. They seem to have an amazing ability to move in a straight line almost as if they have a built in GPS.

I've thought that for years Derek, in fact i even went as far as saving all pics of inline trackways whenever i came upon then from all over the country.

Pretty sure i could dig it out on the other computer.

Not sure if it's right or wrong but for me, it's one of the first things i look at when i see pics of trackways as i feel i've seen enough down the years ( all online admittedly ) that point towards them walking in this way, and their tracks when found tell this too quite a lot.

Derek, what's your view on them avoiding leaving tracks and even ( maybe ) attempting to conceal their tracks ?

And by tracks i don't just mean foot impressions, i mean them possibly trying to conceal any type of sign they may leave, including but not limited to actual foot impressions of course.

Just in your experiences of course.

[salubrious]

BobbyO, have you heard of Tom Brown Jr's Tracker School (http://trackerschool.com)?

[NathanFooter]

Hear in Michigan back in 2010 I was being followed at least 4 differant times all at the same spot by something at dusk, I was walking on a truck trail on the top of a slope that runs along side of this hard packed animal trail at the base of the slope bordering a thick stripe of marsh, on 2 differant events I heard 2 impacts each time at this one specific spot, so in the daylight after the second event I went back to the spot where I heard the impact sounds, I stood in the exact spot where I heard the impacts and turned right and walked down the slope toward the hard packed animal trail, when I got to the lower trail where I supected the impact sounds came from I found a small dip in the trail that was saturated with water that was now a muddy spot about 8 feet long by 6 feet wide. I stood there with this goofy smile on my face thinking ,,, He jumped over this muddy spot!! ,,,. These instances and a few others lead me to think that they do try to aviod areas where tracks can be noticed. But after that being said, I also know that they do slip up from time to time.

[Guest COGrizzly]

I think they walk in that line b/c their hip/pelvis area evolved/developed over hundreds of years, perhaps thousands to travel over heavily wooded terrain. I think their legs move out to the side first, then forward. Some have argued that Patty shows this.

Ever been really thick in the woods off trail? You have to basically "crawl" at times. On all fours.

[bipedalist]

Not foot-print kinds of tracks but I can verify the bearing technique that Derekfoot has noted on trackways as applied to stick structure alignments. Limited sample but uncanny straight lines.

Edited November 6, 2012 by bipedalist

[Guest poignant]

Ley lines?

(runs for cover)

[ShadowBorn]

If you find tracks it's either because they wanted you to find them or you are being hoaxed and when you track those tracks and that is when you can read the signs. Since tracking tracking is reading signs that a animal or a person leaves behind where it be an upturned leaf or a branch or some thing that is out of place. Any little detail that will lead to a conclusion that some thing has passed through there. I know that i am not a tracker but i am learning and that this is an art and that you are always learning.But these creatures can teach you a great deal about our forest and one thing i have learned from them is to listen and hear what the forest is speaking( If you can understand what i am saying).These creatures understand our forest and they use it to their advantage.We can be fooled by them so easely. we could be tracking them and the next thing you know it you are now being tagged .So many times I have been tracked by them and smelt them and some how they knew that i had wind them.I have found tracks in odd places but hen i look for more I could not find them . Like they wanted me to find that track ,like a tease or playing a game.But the oddest tracks are the baby bare tracks in the winter. Who in the right frame of mind let their child play at night in the snow chasing deer bare footed, No mother that i know.Especielly with at 60" - 70" stride jumping over fallen tree's with deer tracks mixed within the tracks. That is what makes it amazing and you can follow them for a long ways with out stopping with the same stride.pretty kool to see in person. These guys are atheletes and they do not stop.

[Guest]

BobbyO,

call me crazy but I think they are 100% aware of their tracks, and avoid leaving them whenever possible. I also think they're hyper aware of their surroundings and the traces they leave. I believe if they weren't, this game would be long over.

DR