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Algonquin Winter Tracking Expedition 2006 |
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Monday (Day 2) |
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The group gathered before
heading off into the bush for the day. There were seven of
us plus our two leaders, Dan and Alexis. |
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We didn't need snowshoes at
first, as we headed along a trail that had been packed down
before us. The forest could only be described as a "winter
wonderland" of snow-draped evergreens! |
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We stopped to examine a nice
set of Red Fox tracks along the trail. They were already
filling in with the falling snow. |
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This photo gives you an idea
of how deep the snow was! There's at least three feet of
snow piled up on this fallen tree. The actual depth of the
snow of the ground was about four feet! |
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We stopped for lunch around a
nice campfire. It wasn't very cold this week, but a fire
outdoors in the winter is always welcome! |
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Ruffed Grouse tracks. The
trail and track pattern gives this away - if you are
familiar with Ruffed Grouse tracks in snow, that is.
Ruffed Grouse have feet that are almost webbed. They have
special ridges that extend outwards along each claw, that
help them stay on top of the snow.
One technique that is used to help identify tracks that
have been covered by falling snow is to blow out the track.
This doesn't always work, as sometimes you simply end up
destroying the track! |
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Our fearless leader, Dan
Gardoqui. Dan is an excellent leader and teacher, readily
passing on his extensive tracking and nature knowledge to
us. |
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Coming out of the forest into
an open area by a frozen creek. |
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Snowing heavily... beautiful. |
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Heading back... We didn't
spot a lot of tracks today, due to the freshly fallen and
falling snow. |
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Snow stopped ... sun declining
towards sunset. This evening we were treated to another
very informative presentation by Dan. Sorry, not a lot of
photos of tracks ... as I mentioned, there weren't a whole
lot of tracks present this year. |
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