Tracking
One of the reasons I came back to the second year of Explore was to improve my outdoor skills. One of the skills I wanted to work on, which actually was not part of any class in Explore 2, was tracking. However, throughout the year I had the chance to work on my ability to track both in the back yard of Camp Bighorn, and also on the various trips we took.
In particular, our 21 day backpacking trip in central Oregon provided some really good opportunities to practice tracking. One day, I was in the position of pace setter. This meant I walked in front of the group and controlled the hiking pace. The only people in front of me were the scouts, who provided the practical navigation. My job was to follow the scouts at a decent pace. Everyone else just followed me.
The ground was slightly wet that day, which made for really good tracking. The terrain was fairly rugged. The grass was pretty high and there were tons of bushes and some trees scattered around. These provided just enough of a challenge for my skill level in tracking.
So I decided to track the scouts. I could still see them, which helped me travel in the correct general direction. I would walk for a ways with my eyes glued to the ground watching for footprints. Then I would glance up and make sure I knew where the scouts were. I was having a lot of fun.
I was having fun, that is, until one time when I glanced up and the scouts were no longer in sight. My heart skipped a beat as I realized I had no idea where they had gone. My duty as pace setter was to follow the scouts, and now that just got a lot harder. I didn’t know where they were. Everyone was trusting me to lead them in the path of the scouts. I didn’t like the way this situation was shaping up.
At this point, I decided I had to go on, and the only way to do that was to continue tracking them. However, now it wasn’t just for fun. I had to track for real. Still, because the tracking conditions were very favorable, I was able to follow the scouts’ trail fairly well. Eventually, we caught up to the scouts and successfully finished our hike. It ended up being a very valuable learning experience and increased my confidence and skill level.
Life, Prairie | Garrett Boon April 25, 2009
By Mom, June 4, 2009 @ 6:47 am
Hey, I like the new format! Very cool!
Love you! Mom
By admin, June 4, 2009 @ 9:59 am
Thanks mom, it is a work in progress.
By AChrys, June 4, 2009 @ 6:05 pm
hey G$ tracking is the best huh