Ah, the humble and often mis-called tracking stick. Perhaps as much as nine years ago we ran the first tracking course in the UK, using tracking sticks to BCUK members at Merthyr Mawr( Sorry about spelling). I have spent ten years researching the tracking stick, and joined the US Border Patrol in Arizona and California to explore the Step By Step Tracking Method as taught in the 70s and 80s, by Jack Kearney , Joel Hardin and Abe Taylor.
I found that the tracking stick is something of legend, but not used by experienced trackers to find the next track.
However the stick is a valuable training aid,giving students the security of knowing that the track is somewhere inside an arc of the stick.
I think this is where confusion creeps in. I think that people see the use of tracking sticks as still being in nappies, and getting rid of your stick means that you have come out of " tracking nappies"
It is true that once you have got a handle on spoor rythym,compression shapes and knowledge of your target the tracking stick is not used. In fact it can have a detrimental effect of pulling you back out of the zone.
For me , the tracking stick is my weapon, my defence in areas with dangerous wildlife, its good for bashing through brambles and nettles, but I also use it to re-set vegetation once I have passed through. Importantly in mantracking I use it to mark left/ right tracks as I track without coming out of the zone. marking tracks is essential , just in case you have to carry out lost spoor procedure, and to stop spoor contamination.
I love all my sticks, each one has its own personality. My Irish Blackthorn bends like a boomerang in wet conditions( very spectacular in Borneo). My acacia stick is mellowing with age, my raisin bush reminds me of wylie bushman, but also getting four of the best! My walnut is just the best, but not robust enough. Wolfie gave me a very nice hazel stick, with a beautifully crafted handle , with a brass compass in-set.
All my sticks are personlised, with carvings, including " the continous arrow", the silver feather, and self made adornements following designs taken from my collection of original viking jewelry.
A few years ago, I had one of my tracking sticks stolen in Kenya. I had freshly oiled it with linseed oil. I went down to a lake, and then pushed it into the mud, whilst I stalked a stunning croc, to get a good shot( photo) same buzz as hunting, but you dont kill it. I had moved a couple of hundred meters, and saw elephants coming towards me. They stopped, one female picked up my stick and walked off with it. Linseed oil is obviously very attarctive to elephants. It did make me laugh, because at the top of the stick was a circle of silver, that would have endured the digestive system of the elephant and be deposited some where out there in bush. So if you are ever in Kenya tracking, keep your eyes open for a lump of silver.
Tracking sticks are companions. Most hunter gatherers carry a stick......once you have got yourself a good stick, a compass is a very useful tool.
Obviously if hunting or tactical tracking then carrying a stick is not possible.
