I attended another Joel Hardin Professional Tracking Services class this weekend where I received my first certification that allows me to now be called out on law enforcement and SAR tracking operations. After a gruelling 2.5hr oral examination before the board of directors that is.....
But the class was beneficial in other ways than getting certified. First off, seeing Joel in action is pretty amazing no matter how much you see it (and I havent seen it all that much quite frankly...only being in this game for 1.5yrs so far...). But it really is amazing how Joel can categorize sign and understand different variables that allow him to piece the puzzle together. One important lesson he taught me this weekend I will share below.
Aging is a term often used among trackers, whether it be animal tracking or human tracking. Aging is one of the most important pieces of evidence a tracker has at his disposal. It allows you to understand when the sign was made and what has happened since it was made. Being able to properly date sign is critical in a law enforcement or SAR incident, because if you are chasing a track that was made six months ago but your subject went missing 2 days ago, it doesnt do you much good!
Herein lies the rub. Because as important as aging is, it isnt always the easiest thing to pick up on. By running experiments on different vegetation - ie, cut a blade of grass and watch its healing process over a few days to see how long it takes colors to change, chlorophyl to dry up, etc., you can get a good appreciation for how to age. But Joel's lesson to me this weekend was a big step above that.
Our sign was made on a dirt road that was pretty fine grits of dirt and sand. It then meandered across grass and into the woods. There was tons of other sign in the area that was not our subject, so proper aging was critical to stay on the right path. The footfall was pretty distinct on the road. In fact, we could even read the "ISTANT" on the sole of the shoe from the words "OIL RESISTANT." Joel showed us that on the imprint of the lugs, you can take a FINE weed and poke the lug.
If it breaks off in a clump, like cookie dough, then it was made when moisture was in the air, which allowed the granules to clump together like cement.
If it breaks falls apart completely like powder, it was made when there wasnt much moisture in the air, and there hasnt been any since it was made.
If it breaks off but the inner parts of the lug imprint are powdery, it was made when there was no moisure in the air, but since the time it was made, moisture has been in the air. This was the case with our track. What that told us was that our track was made between the hours of 12PM and 4PM the previous day. We knew that because the morning dew didnt dry until 12PM. Then we had 4 hours of very dry air before the humidity rose and the evening dew was cast on the natural state starting around 4PM.
Another interesting fact is that with a small magnifying glass, you can actually take a cross sample of the lug imprint (keep in mind we are only talking about a clump of dirt that is 1/4 of an inch big)...every dew cycle will leave a paper-thin sheet of crystalized residue on the track. If you look through the magnifying glass, you can see the number of days old a track is by the layers of glossy sheen!!!
It was truly amazing and a very useful weekend. Tracking is a truly wonderful skill to have and it is a very satisfying activity. It is not voodoo. It is not limited to a few sage people with the skill. Everyone has the ability to see sign and track. But as Joel will tell you, "What isnt looked for isnt found." I encourage everyone to take a look at tracking as a great first-responder activity if you want to help out your local SAR and law enforcement teams. More info on Joel's program can be found at:
http://www.jhardin-inc.com/web/
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