I'm on a 3 day search field skills course with mountain rescue and Donald C. Cooper is one of the teachers. He wrote Fundamentals of Mantracking with Albert 'AB' Taylor. Today we've concentrated on search theory and tomorrow we are doing tracking. Super interesting.
Mantracking
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Tracking is one of my favourite subjects and skills. Milk him for information. It’ll be great fun.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We've been told to bring a stick for measuring, which we will put 2 o-rings on for spacing, a tape measure, and a mirror for manipulating light. We have also been given a copy of his book.
I don't know sorry, he did briefly talk about a few things which he said went into more depth on the search management course so i presume so
You know what, I was frantically rushing around trying to find mirror 8am this morning, I ended up having to pinch my girlfriends small makeup mirror. I totally forgot that I actually have a mirror compass
I think he’s made a career out of it. The Field Skills & Search Managers course have been available to MREW teams for many years.
Interesting.
Some people here will find the notion of a tracking stick somewhat , archaic and non-essential.
A folding mirror compass is a key tool for tracking. Using the whole thing. Much better than a mirror on its own. Be interesting to see if he uses it to its full potential.You know what, I was frantically rushing around trying to find mirror 8am this morning, I ended up having to pinch my girlfriends small makeup mirror. I totally forgot that I actually have a mirror compass
Also, cut your finger nails dead short if you don’t already. So there’s no overhang at all. If you have a bit of white showing at all over the fingertips of the first two fingers of both hands. File them down as much as possible.
This is a 3 day course in which tracking is a small part of it, so I'm not sure how much detail we're going to go into. I'm looking forward to it though, although he did say we are going to spend a number of hours on our hands and knees tomorrow, and it's currently pouring down with rain, and tomorrows not looking much better
Perfect for tracking.This is a 3 day course in which tracking is a small part of it, so I'm not sure how much detail we're going to go into. I'm looking forward to it though, although he did say we are going to spend a number of hours on our hands and knees tomorrow, and it's currently pouring down with rain, and tomorrows not looking much better
Does he like to get playful!
When checking depressions. The very tips of your fingers are good for checking the feel of tracks Not the pads. The very tips. If there is any nail in the way it reduces sensitivity. You can tell the age of the tracks and weight of the target this way far more accurately. If you cut your nails before tracking your fingertips are far more sensitive because that part has been protected by your nails for a while and reduced the sensitivity. It’s like wearing shoes for weeks and then taking them off. Your feet are super sensitive. Some serious trackers keep their nails long till they are called on to do some hard tracking.
It takes experience. But if you’re asked to check depressions for firmness, you’ll be way ahead of everyone else with longer fingernails that are using their finger pads instead of the very tips at a 90 degree angle. Think about when you leave your nails too long and then cut them. How sensitive and funny your very tips feel when you touch things with them for a short while. Same principal.
EDIT. And in rain. To check for saturation and moistness/water pools gathered in those depressions.
EDIT. And in rain. To check for saturation and moistness/water pools gathered in those depressions.
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wasn't there a famous case of a guy with almost the same initials (who never got found)
You need two sticks really if for just one target. One for gait. And another for the measure of the print. That’s deeply important but never taught. You cut that second stick to the length of the full print then you can tell who’s is who when tracking. Multiple targets. Multiple sticks. It’s a skill like art. And encompasses many things like geology, metallurgy environmental knowledge and a gazillion other things. You can teach it, you can learn. But like art. You can see it, or you can’t. And there’s a gazillion other levels in between that factor into the effectiveness of it all. You need a forensic mind. It is forensics.
Oh don't get me wrong.
I'm a believer.
Just I know others here are not.
Just wondering how that will be sitting with them
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