The Tracker

I read Tom Brown Jr’s The Tracker many, many years ago and it is still one of my favorite books. It’s mainly about Native American teachings and tracking animals, but really teaches you how to become one with your natural surroundings.

One very important thing I learned from this book is the concept and development of ones “splatter vision” which is a practice that should be developed by anyone interested in birding, hunting, or wildlife observation.

From the first chapter of The Tracker:

The first track is the end of a string.  At the far end, a being is moving; a mystery, dropping a hint about itself every so many feet, telling you more about itself until you can almost see it, even before you come to it. The mystery reveals itself slowly, track by track, giving its genealogy early to coax you in.  Further on, it will tell you the intimate details of its life and work, until you know the maker of the track like a lifelong friend.

I recommend this book for anyone, of any age, who is interested in tracking and observing animals in the outdoors.

About the book’s author
Tom Brown, Jr. began to learn hunting and tracking at the age of eight under the tutelage of an Apache elder, medicine man, and scout in Toms River, New Jersey, and is the author of 16 books on nature. Recently, he was the technical adviser on The Hunted, a major motion picture starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro. In 1978, Tom founded the Tracker School in the New Jersey Pine Barrens where he offers more than 25 classes about wilderness survival and environmental protection.