This is the forty-eighth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.
Chapter 48: Tracking and Stalking.
"The aim is to illuminate and reveal the alluring world." - Enos Mills
When the mountain men of yesteryear were operating high in the mountains in pursuit of the pelts that would fund their enterprise, they had to take their surroundings into constant consideration to stay alive. This included everything from being able to find animals to hunt and eat, knowing where to locate friends or enemies, or being able to find a lost pack animal after a storm which gave them the ability to transport the hard won furs for trading and the all-important tools of their trade. Being able to identify tracks and trails at a moments notice would quickly identify the mountain man who had honed his or her craft. Learning the different tracks and the way people and animals tend to travel and being able to tell how old the tracks were or where the person or animal was heading was often one of the first skills that a greenhorn would need to learn when arriving in the mountains. That is, if they wanted to stave alive for very long.
After learning how to identify and follow tracks, the next essential skill they would build upon was learning how to stalk close enough to close the final distance quickly and quietly to provide a sure shot. We often think of Leave No Trace as being a contemporary topic and skillset, but for the mountain men of yesteryear it was often the difference between life and death. The mountain men of the past had to be able to move from place-to- place to locate and trap the beavers and other pelts, especially as each area they were in became trapped out. This meant that the mountain man would need to approach any new area with much trepidation, using the tracks and trails observed during the approach to provide as much information as possible. Only then would they cautiously move or stalk into new areas.
One of my favorite activities throughout my childhood and even today is following a fresh set of tracks to see if I can locate and lay eyes on the animal or person that left the tracks behind. This process is of course easiest after a fresh snowfall or in newly muddied conditions, but it is not impossible to track even the smallest animal if the modern-day mountain man is knowledgeable of what to look for. One of the other reasons I really enjoy this activity is that it does not just focus on the visual skillset or telltale signs of the tracks, but also uses the other senses to fully engage the tracker to tell a story in real time of their surroundings. Listening for an animal or person moving in the brush or picking up a faint smell can give a final clue to the location of the desired goal. One of the other things that makes this process so much fun is that it is almost always a moving goal and will keep changing the rules of the game constantly; it is a non-stop challenge of problem assessment and solving. When I finally got to the end of the tracking portion and I believed that I would soon lay eyes on my target, I would switch into stalking mode so as to not cause the animal alarm which could result in the quarry continuing to move away from me. If I was actively hunting for food, how close I had to stalk towards the animal would often depend on the tool I was using to hunt with. To this day, heaven on earth is represented by a quiet snowshoe hike on freshly fallen powder with a multitude of tracks to follow.
In the outdoor profession it can often seem like the game is constantly changing. To me, this is one of the reasons why I chose this profession, as it provides non-stop new challenges and opportunities to problem solve. This can, however, become a burden or problem if this never ending change results in the program or the staff member feeling like they’re always playing catch up to an unknown end game. Sometimes keeping up with what is going on in the outdoor profession is an easy task, similar to tracking a deer in freshly fallen snow, it can be accomplished at almost full speed and get you to the goal with little fuss. Other times, keeping track of the direction the program is heading is nearly an impossible task, such as trying to follow a Pika's track across a solid granite field.
Even getting close to the goal or end objective by following as closely as possible to a plan is no guarantee of success. The final few meters of closing the distance when stalking becomes imperative to make sure the objective doesn't go running off into an unknown distance. This final part can be the most difficult part of any journey. Setting and achieving a goal, even a small one, can be a very daunting task indeed and leave the ill-prepared mountain man lost and hopeless.
As an example, Raven Adventures and Training has been many years in the making, following tracks and trails all over the country, from one adventure to the next, all to obtain the knowledge and good experiences to arrive at the end fully equipped and prepared to conduct the best programs possible. Just this past year, as the final pieces of the direction of business came into focus and great diligence was given in approaching cautiously, the economic world was turned on its head and now the end goal is as far away as it has ever been. It could even be said that in many ways I missed my shot. As a result of financial conditions, I have moved my family to a place where getting back into a position to attain my final goal will now require much more tracking and trailing to open new opportunities and objectives. It will certainly not be easy, but this Modern-Day Mountain Man is always up for a challenge.
It is very important, as outdoor leaders and professionals, that we do not provide moving goals or targets for ourselves or our programs if it can be helped at all. It is important to retain the ability to adapt and be flexible in short-term operations, but overall the objectives should be clearly stated and known. The inability to clearly see intentions and purpose will become a stumbling block for both customer and staff, and will put them in a position of not being able to track the trails we are wanting them to closely follow.
In many respects tracking and stalking real animals is very similar to designing and operating programs or leading others in God’s wondrous creation. We must often stop and observe our surroundings and conditions very closely, utilizing all of our skills and awareness to make sure we are heading to the happy hunting grounds and not onto the path of an unknown enemy or obstacle.
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