Trackers PDX Blog

Bear with me. When we track, we are looking for patterns we find familiar: footprints, birdcalls and alarms, a worn trail. They are reflections of the forest's past… and sometimes it's future. I just finished writing a post-apocalyptic children's novel. Three hundred forty-five pages about the four Trackers guilds: Rangers, Wilder, Mariners and Artisans. In this fictional world, tracking and survival are far more innocuous in the lives of our characters than this modern day. Our heroes refer to…

Recently a writer for the Oregonian's outdoor section visited our Wilderness Immersion program. The article's focus was tracking. He managed to frame much of what Trackers tries to relay about the skills very thoughtfully. Here's a quote... Tracks,…

We once had a bear that wandered our backyard. His trail was very familiar, like family. He's long passed, dying old and meeting his end by a local trophy hunter. David (my tracking life partner) and I were very sad. Knowing an wild animal like you would your brother or sister is not all that strange. In fact, it's fantastic. You get to experience…

Tracking is the art of following an animal or person and finding it. Back in the day tracking had one primary goal: feed the family. Today it plays a role in everything from naturalist education to ecological surveys. Many modern tracking schools present trailing, following and finding the animal, as a penultimate skill. They claim it is…

The other day I posted this picture on Facebook and asked what animal or animals made it. I've done blogs about tracking before. Always attached to the tale was a picture perfect print in snow, sand or mud. It struck me that in doing so, I've not properly represented the possibilities of tracking. When you first say "tracking" most folks…