OVERVIEW & RESOURCES for Beginning Trackers
“I just think intuitive tracking is intriguing. That is part of tracking. I don’t think you can seriously track without some aspect of that.
~Marge
”
“Intuitive tracking…has totally changed my way of tracking and I look at tracks differently now. They are alive. My tracking went from black and white to very vivid colors.
~Alice”
The enthusiasm and humility you bring to tracking as a relative novice can be a real asset to “walking with the animal."
While it’s important to learn and apply practical tracking, you can begin integrating that with the intuitive from day one, learning how they can fit together dynamically. We have found that approaching a trail with freshness, unburdened by the sense of “already knowing,” will actually engage intuitive impressions that are quite accurate.
So, there is every reason to try intuitive tracking, as long as you begin with some very good, visible tracks, and perhaps seek the help of a teacher or mentor.
Below are two resources to get you started.
"How to Learn Tracking"
free pdf download available on earthskills.com
A 7-page monograph by Jim Lowery offering methods, examples & resources for learning track identification, track & sign interpretation, and trailing.
THE TRACKER'S FIELD GUIDE by James C. Lowery
3rd Edition Just Released!
$23.00 available at EARTHSKILLS.com
This essential guide designed for field use contains thorough notes and technique about track identification, and also takes you into the animal's world with extensive illustrations showing how tracks reveal speed, motion and behavior. There are also comprehensive "notes for the tracker" and "track windows" for each species, based on the author's field experience and distillation of nearly a thousand primary sources--so you can relate the tracks you find to animals' biology, behavior and habitat.
The new edition contains updated scientific names, dozens of clarifications, and improvements on its 485 photos. 416 pages
“The Tracker's Field Guide is a truly helpful work of art! Gratitude to Jim Lowery for his user friendly and inviting presentation of the complex and magical world of tracking and connecting to the natural world."
- Jon Young, Author of *What the Robin Knows* 8 Shields Institute