Intro Animal to Tracking

Difficulty: Beginner 

When:

May 16th-17th 2020 

Check-in time 9:00am

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Do you remember back to when you were a child? Perhaps it was chilly day with 6 inches of fresh fallen snow on the ground.  You spotted some rabbit tracks and I decided to follow them. The edges of the track were crisp and you could still see small particles of snow falling off the edge of the print. You didn’t know what a gait was but the distance between prints told you where it hopped and where it leapt. You watched this story unfold before your eyes and maybe for brief moments, you felt like you were the rabbit. You followed the tracks to a clearing where you saw it sitting beneath a log. It was soon joined by another rabbit which was a good thing. 

 

Every tracking experience is a lesson and something is always sure to be learned. The important thing to take away is the things we all teach in common are the things worth remembering. The things we teach differently are up to your discretion.

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What will you learn?

This course will teach the basic skills of tracking in application to animal tracking.  The skills covered in this course will cover finding sign that goes missed by most people. We will cover track identification, aging the track, measuring the gait of the track pattern and scat identification. We will cover the tools of the trade, methods for different terrain, making field expedient tools, different recording methods, and use of light, both natural and artificial.

 

Who can attend? 

This class was developed for all ages, from hunters to hikers to wildlife aficionados.  

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Take Homes?

Students will take home a tracking log, measuring tool and a Colorado animal track card.

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Extras:  At the end of the day you will have the chance to view multiple survival traps which could be use to get meat and fish in the wilderness! We want to show you how to eat like a king in the woods!

 

Length: 2 days/ 1 Overnight

OVERNIGHT CAMPING IS OPTIONAL - With prior notice, you may stay overnight at our Survival School location at no additional charge.   Campers will be required to bring their own camping gear as we will not provide you with any gear.  

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Accommodations - A large 20 person military tent with winter liner is provided for a community tent during class hours and may be used for sleeping at night.  Tent is complete with 2 wood burning stoves and a cot for each student. A portable restroom is also available on site.  Food can be stored in your vehicles or we have a large steel box that will hold enough food for all attendees. 

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Shelter/Lodging:  You may sleep in a tent you bring, in your vehicle, in a primitive shelter or share one of our military tents which have wood burning stoves inside.  If you do not wish to camp with us, the town of Cripple Creek is a short 15 minute drive from our location and Woodland Park is 30 minutes away. You will be responsible for making your own reservations with nearby hotels.  We do have a central community campfire location with a few designated camp sites but mostly offer dispersed camping.  You will be able to drive your car within 100 feet of main camp and will not have to hike your gear in for long distances.

 

Food and Water:  Water will be provided but you will need to provide your own food of your choice. We recommend quick field expedient meals such as freeze dried meals or MRE’s. They can quickly be made at our primitive camps and won’t slow down the learning process. You can also purchase food locally once you get here. Grocery Stores and several local eateries are within a reasonable driving distance.

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Minimum Overnight Gear Required:

Bring your gear with you. We do not provide you with gear unless you purchase it from us ahead of time.  You don’t need much equipment for our courses, though good equipment does speed the learning process up greatly!  You don’t have to buy our  gear to attend the course, but you need survival gear of equivalent quality.  Bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a good sleeping bag and an all season tent if you do not wish to stay in our military tent.  Sunscreen and UV protective sunglasses. 

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• Fixed blade knife (Preferably a bushcraft style knife WITHOUT a serrated edge)

• Outdoor clothing

• Boots

• Headlamp

• Overnight camping gear

• Cooking pot

• Small backpack 

Check Recommended Items List for more details!

 

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Class Specific Equipment: Students should bring a measuring device, notebook/sketch book, writing utensils, flashlight, water bottle, and snacks.

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Other Recommended Equipment: - Backpack, knife, rain gear, sunglasses, camera.

 

Instructor: Donny Dust and Jason Marsteiner

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Cost: $250