Sunday November 1st, 2015
As the tracking apprentices learned about pressure releases this past
weekend, we could almost hear the wise words of Yoda saying, “Patience you must
have my young padawans”. After constructing a 10 foot long by 5 foot
wide tracking box on Saturday, we were ready to embark on using the giant
sandbox to look at tracks. Alexis shared his passion and knowledge of
pressure releases eloquently and enthusiastically. We also had “The
Science and Art of Tracking” by Tom Brown Jr. in hand. We learned
how turns, changes in direction and sudden stops cause pressure against the
wall of a track. The pressure is released as cliffs, ridges, peaks,
caves, plates, fissures and explosions in the substrate. The second
pressure release study looked at what happens to the substrate as a result of a
change in forward motion. The apprentices walked, ran, and jigged
across the tracking box to get a better understanding of how speed influences
the appearance of a track. We created waves, disks, dishes and
explode-offs in the sand. We were helped out by both a cat and a
dog, who were somewhat obliging in letting us analyze their tracks in the
tracking box. Alexis shared a quote by Stalking Wolf on page 34 of
The Science and Art of Tracking, “We first must learn the simple language of
the tracks, which teaches us to hear the voice of the animal, and soon, through
the voice of the animal, we begin to hear the voice of the Earth.” The day also
included a little sand castle construction and much merriment.
Written by Tamara Anderson - 2nd Year Earth Tracks Tracking Apprentice
No comments:
Post a Comment