Trailing course with John Rhyder - Woodcraft School
Last week I had a fantastic two days on a trailing course with John Rhyder - Woodcraftschool.
A small group of use meet at Midhurst and travelled down to trailing venue (woodland area) a few miles away. John started things off with an informal chat and some reinsurance that we would not be doing any team games and following 'instructor' created trails! Already I was warming to both John's style of teaching and the course!
We spent two days 'trailing' - that is following track and sign of mostly fallow deer through mixed woodland and small open spaces. The format for the course followed the methodology devised by the 'cyber tracker' programme. This was a training course but on an assessment the style and method of 'trailing' would be the same.
Before I went I though I had an idea of what 'trailing' was. However what we did was quite different and something better; We started on quite difficult sign on leaf litter following 'sign' that until the weekend would not have had the knowledge or confidence to consider as a 'trail'. The dry conditions did make the two days challenging but in many ways that was great because I have the skills and confidence to get out and trail animals on substrate that I would not have considered before. Over two days each person had a chance to go on 'point' and under Johns tutelage, as open group discussion and through developing strategies follow trails and learn how to 'reconnect' with them if they disappear.
Next year I have booked onto the 'track and sign' cyber tracker assessment and will also have a go at the trailing assessment also when the next one is on.
Brilliant course and well worth the cost.
Last week I had a fantastic two days on a trailing course with John Rhyder - Woodcraftschool.
A small group of use meet at Midhurst and travelled down to trailing venue (woodland area) a few miles away. John started things off with an informal chat and some reinsurance that we would not be doing any team games and following 'instructor' created trails! Already I was warming to both John's style of teaching and the course!
We spent two days 'trailing' - that is following track and sign of mostly fallow deer through mixed woodland and small open spaces. The format for the course followed the methodology devised by the 'cyber tracker' programme. This was a training course but on an assessment the style and method of 'trailing' would be the same.
Before I went I though I had an idea of what 'trailing' was. However what we did was quite different and something better; We started on quite difficult sign on leaf litter following 'sign' that until the weekend would not have had the knowledge or confidence to consider as a 'trail'. The dry conditions did make the two days challenging but in many ways that was great because I have the skills and confidence to get out and trail animals on substrate that I would not have considered before. Over two days each person had a chance to go on 'point' and under Johns tutelage, as open group discussion and through developing strategies follow trails and learn how to 'reconnect' with them if they disappear.
Next year I have booked onto the 'track and sign' cyber tracker assessment and will also have a go at the trailing assessment also when the next one is on.
Brilliant course and well worth the cost.
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