My most recent book, "A Handful of Hard Men" is a great read about the SAS and the battle for Rhodesia. The book has lots of great discussion about tracking and counter-tracking used with great success during this war. I know a lot of us track game, and some of us may be trained to track humans, how many of us have been trained and practice counter-tracking techniques. Since a big part of my plans include slipping over the mountain into wilderness if the world gets too crazy, counter-tracking is very important. One thing the book points out is that counter-tracking at best buys you some time if you are being followed by an experienced tracker.
My military training and experience in tracking and counter-tracking is decades old and my experience was all in a different environment. The northern boreal forests and the "tundra" that I live in is completely different. In this environment, if you make a track, someone could follow it a few years later. I am familiar with common counter-tracking tactics such as not silhouetting yourself, camouflage, backtracking, using game trails, not making noise or creating odors, etc. But these techniques might not be adequate in my environment that is so difficult not to leave your mark. Bear and moose trails abound, and these trails are often the best way to get around. But they don't always go where you want to go, go through areas trackers call "honey buckets" or over terrain where you are silhouetted. Going off these trails mean you are easily leaving traces that my last for years in the tundra.
What are your counter-tracking techniques? How do you counter-track in the snow? How do you train? How do you know you are effective in your techniques?
My military training and experience in tracking and counter-tracking is decades old and my experience was all in a different environment. The northern boreal forests and the "tundra" that I live in is completely different. In this environment, if you make a track, someone could follow it a few years later. I am familiar with common counter-tracking tactics such as not silhouetting yourself, camouflage, backtracking, using game trails, not making noise or creating odors, etc. But these techniques might not be adequate in my environment that is so difficult not to leave your mark. Bear and moose trails abound, and these trails are often the best way to get around. But they don't always go where you want to go, go through areas trackers call "honey buckets" or over terrain where you are silhouetted. Going off these trails mean you are easily leaving traces that my last for years in the tundra.
What are your counter-tracking techniques? How do you counter-track in the snow? How do you train? How do you know you are effective in your techniques?