Tracking Mysteries
Last week I focused on how far we’ve come, how much we’ve learned since autumn. This week was a lesson in how much more there is to learn.
Wednesday was, we were told, our last day of the program devoted solely to tracking under the guidance of visiting instructor Dave Moskowitz. That morning we drove out to a new site for us, a beautiful riparian wilderness area out in North Bend. Towering Bigleaf Maples stood among second growth understory along the middle fork of the Snoqualmie river. There we split up into clans and spent a good deal of time exploring the landscape, traipsing through wet woods searching for animal trails. Meanwhile, Dave and our other instructors were seeking out mysteries and setting up a quiz for us. That afternoon was spent walking from one mystery to the next, writing down answers to the questions posed to us. “What animal did this and why?” “Who’s tracks are these and what gait is shown here?” “What happened here and when?”
At first I was frustrated by how little I could answer confidently. I felt like I’d learned nothing. But I soon realized that it was only because I’ve learned so much that I was so baffled by many of the mysteries. I’ve learned enough not to make assumptions. I’ve learned how many different animals might make scrapes on a tree, leave similar looking tracks, or lay eggs in the water. Whereas at the beginning of the year I may have had more answers, they wouldn’t necessarily have been the correct ones nor had much to back them up. At this time I may not have correctly identified the species of salamander eggs in the stream, but I knew enough to recognize that they could have been frog or salamander eggs. I may not have known for sure that the tree scrape was from a deer shedding antler velvet, but I could name a variety of animals that might have clawed, gnawed, or rubbed at this height on a sapling. I was unable to recognize that the funny looking indentations in the sand were in fact beaver tracks, but I could name a whole list of animals they didn’t belong to and why.
This is the period of time in learning a new skill when our brains are swimming with information that we can’t always access at the right times, but that’s not important. What is important is that we’re inspired and challenged to keep learning. That’s exactly why tracking is so exciting- there will always be more mysteries to keep us on our toes.