Incorporating tracking with survival can become necessary in some instances — especially when the setting is in the wilderness.
Tracking is the art & science of finding, reading & pursuing games or men by following their tracks. And yes, it’s a valuable piece of skill — although no one is asking you to develop a dog nose for sniffing.
Tracking is primordial, having been passed down from the earliest times to now. The skill has been subjected to centuries of explorations, discoveries & technological improvements to get to us. Tracking has always been very helpful — from hunting down games to staying concealed from the enemy.
The art is a popular skill in the military, and there are even professionals assigned to the task alone. We call them scouts. It was an important piece of skill in the times before this, and then it appeared to have been phased out before it was reintroduced in the US Army in 2007.
Incorporating Tracking With Survival: Understanding the Basics
Like all pioneer skills, tracking has retained its essence regardless of the equipment that we now have. In fact, I would prefer to track without the use of sophisticated tools & all. I don’t mean, though, that you altogether avoid the use of these tools. Instead, what I mean is that you learn to track without having these tools at your disposal.
Tracking is all about observation, an art that helps you develop a keen sense of awareness in whatever situation you find yourself in (whether outdoors or urban). Besides, by continuously honing your observational skills, you develop the necessary elements to reconstruct & fully understand the happenings in a specific timeframe.
Essentially, tracking can be likened to solving a puzzle. You need to first collect the pieces & then match them together to form the complete picture.
Technically called track traps; easy terrains are surfaces on which tracking is easy. They include muddy, snowy, or Sandy terrains on which footsteps are easily made. On the other hand, there are difficult surface terrains for tracking too. Surfaces like craggy slopes, pine needles, fresh prairies, rocks & so on make tracking hard.
An observation that is easily made on a particular soil (especially one rich in humidity) can become very difficult too on other surfaces.
The challenges of tracking include being able to:
- Wisely observe your immediate surroundings;
- Find information from any situation you find yourself (common questions involve determining if there are signs of urbanization where you are or signs of fresh vehicle or person passage);
- Identify the tracks that you should follow;
- Interpret tracks accurately; and
- Follow them correctly without getting lost.
When you get to this stage, a critical question to answer is “why should I do this?” and this is because there is a very thin line between life & death when tracking.
Applications of Tracking in SHTF Scenarios
Whatever you do or are in an outdoor setting, be it backpacking, surviving, hiking, or ordinary outdoor enthusiasm, the ability to read tracks will be very crucial — particularly when it comes to the worst.
Imagine a scenario where you get stranded without GPS & there’s no SOS device to use to inform Search & Rescue. This happens often. If you follow the news daily, you’re sure to read daily reports of people who got stranded when they least expected it & had to face circumstances that they never thought they would have to.
Let’s see how you can apply tracking skills to survive a SHTF situation.
Backtracking
If you get stranded & are prepared enough to know the basics of tracking & are fortunate to find yourself on an easy terrain — somewhere you can easily keep track — then you have a good chance of backtracking your movements to where you’ve gotten. This can be done by seeking out & retracing your patterns (the sole designs on your shoes).
You should realize the importance of being perfectly precise with backtracking. The slightest misinterpretation of patterns may cause you to wrongly follow someone else who’s passed the same terrain before you. Some terrains can be very easy — you don’t even have to study patterns. If you’ve honed your observational qualities at all, some surfaces will easily lead you to your starting point.
Tracking Others for a Way Out
Panic is often the first sensation that washes through you upon realizing that you’re stranded. It is hard not to, especially when it happens in an SHTF scenario where the potential dangers are multiplied by a thousand folds. However, you need to learn not to panic when things suddenly look bad. Panicking will only complicate things for you.
I suggest that you take long breaths to keep out of panic. You can also try out the 4×4 box breathing technique to slow things down.
Now, when you are calm, you have to deploy your observational skills. The following questions should be answered:
- Are there visible signs of modernization?
- Can you find any road that appears to be commonly traveled?
- Are there any sounds nearby? If yes, are they made by men? Would it be safe to trace this sound?
- Are there any signs of recent passage on the ground?
If the answers to these questions are positive, you are on your way out. All you need do is track the tracks left by those who have traveled the road before you.
However, follow tracks with care. Observe things from a safe distance before making your presence known to anyone you find.
Aiding other Survival Skills with Tracking
If despite your efforts, you find no way & have to spend the night out, your tracking skills can at least show you to a safe area to stay. You can engage your observation skills to identify a safe area where you can set up camp. When camping out on a night like this, you want to be sure you’re not exposing yourself to attacks of insects like wasps & bees or predatory animals. Also, you want to stay concealed, so you pick out intruders long before they do.
Your tracking abilities will ensure you don’t subject yourself to the mercy of everyone who comes around. They will also help you to seek out games to eat & water to drink
Conclusion on Incorporating Tracking With Survival
Incorporating tracking with survival isn’t a difficult thing. You first have to master your tracking skills, after which you practice using them in various potential SHTF scenarios. If you’re a good tracker already, you should start playing out situations related to getting lost. Doing this will equip you better if it eventually happens.