Spent last weekend doing Bob Cooper's tracking course.
Very enjoyable and learnt some useful techniques. The instructors knew their stuff and were keen to share their knowledge.
Held at a fenced marsupial reserve 20mins from Perth CBD. There were 12 participants, all like-minded individuals and keen to learn
Day one morning was spent tracking myself for 20 paces into the bush, then swapping and tracking other participants for varying distances, initially without and then with the aid of a tracking pole. We then used jump tracking.
What I realised is that well meaning helpers who flood a missing person scene trying to help can kill someone and track fouling is a cardinal sin!!
In the afternoon we tracked some of the instructors through pretty tough bush.
The following day we had a scenario of a bogged vehicle with a number of occupants that had gone off, the day finished when all of the victims had been found. No re-supply all our water and kit carried.
We were in teams of 4 and rotated through flanking/lead tracker and comms.
Initially the tracks were on sandy trails and there were discarded items and notes very so often, the tracks then moved into harder bush areas with lots of leaf/sheoak litter. Messages from increasingly confused and disorientated victims had to be interpreted. Occasionally we lost the trail and had to use skills to re-acquire sign. It was very satisfying to do this thinking you had lost the trail. As the sun came higher and then overcast, the lighting of any spoor became quite difficult. Luckily the day before one of the instructors had showed us a technique for side illumination using a green torch; I didn't have a green torch, but my white torch certainly helped on a number of occasions.
In the end I tracked for 8.14km and spent 6 and 3/4 hours doing this.
Very useful course and keen to practice more. I could recognise sign at the end of the weekend that I would have otherwise missed and have the heel pattern of the person I was tracking burnt into my mind!!
Highly recommended.
Very enjoyable and learnt some useful techniques. The instructors knew their stuff and were keen to share their knowledge.
Held at a fenced marsupial reserve 20mins from Perth CBD. There were 12 participants, all like-minded individuals and keen to learn
Day one morning was spent tracking myself for 20 paces into the bush, then swapping and tracking other participants for varying distances, initially without and then with the aid of a tracking pole. We then used jump tracking.
What I realised is that well meaning helpers who flood a missing person scene trying to help can kill someone and track fouling is a cardinal sin!!
In the afternoon we tracked some of the instructors through pretty tough bush.
The following day we had a scenario of a bogged vehicle with a number of occupants that had gone off, the day finished when all of the victims had been found. No re-supply all our water and kit carried.
We were in teams of 4 and rotated through flanking/lead tracker and comms.
Initially the tracks were on sandy trails and there were discarded items and notes very so often, the tracks then moved into harder bush areas with lots of leaf/sheoak litter. Messages from increasingly confused and disorientated victims had to be interpreted. Occasionally we lost the trail and had to use skills to re-acquire sign. It was very satisfying to do this thinking you had lost the trail. As the sun came higher and then overcast, the lighting of any spoor became quite difficult. Luckily the day before one of the instructors had showed us a technique for side illumination using a green torch; I didn't have a green torch, but my white torch certainly helped on a number of occasions.
In the end I tracked for 8.14km and spent 6 and 3/4 hours doing this.
Very useful course and keen to practice more. I could recognise sign at the end of the weekend that I would have otherwise missed and have the heel pattern of the person I was tracking burnt into my mind!!
Highly recommended.
