You may come to tracking for any number of reasons – teaching, biological research, hunting and survival, search and rescue, or the general curiosity we all have about our natural environment. After you’ve taken a beginning class and have done some field work, you’ve begun to see some fantastic possibilities with your new skills.

But undoubtedly you also see limits: The point of contact with the animal through its tracks could be more vivid, more extended.  And that brings us to the concept of the “complete tracker.”

“Complete trackers” develop an eye to spot tracks where others would not. They learn how to approach a set of tracks so that they can confidently interpret and visualize the animal’s motions. They know how to relate the tracks to the landscape around them and to the animal’s behavior.  And, they carry themselves alertly and unobtrusively, allowing them to learn the maximum about their environment.

From watching thousands of tracking students over the past twenty years, we can tell you this. Tracking will bring out your individual gifts (such as determination, analysis, or intuition). And it will also demand that you discover and develop hidden talents.

Our curriculum is designed very specifically to make you a “complete tracker.” Beyond Basic Tracking, its cornerstone is Advanced Tracking. In it, we explain the elements of being a well-rounded tracker (“Tracking and the Four Directions”), and you get a lot of practice in tracking on challenging terrain, in track interpretation and in quiet alertness so that you experience what we explain.

The Dirt Time workshops supplement this with practice that varies with each unique class. There are opportunities to follow trails, learn gaits and track patterns, study track reading, and understand the biology and behavior of animals. The Nature Awareness class emphasizes quiet observation, stalking and camouflage. Finally, many trackers find the Earth Philosophy series to be invaluable since it takes you very deeply into awareness skills that the Lipan Apache scouts depended upon – the source of our own training through Tom Brown, Jr.

Don’t hesitate to ask us how this curriculum can fit into your particular needs. We hope to see you in a class!