Stalking and Movement

Introduction

As you spend more time in nature you will find that we modern humans don’t blend in so well, and more often than not we create a disturbance when we enter it. To find the reason you need look no further than how we live! Most humans moved out of nature long ago. We have set up towns and cities, and paved our streets. We wear clothing with bright colors and we move way too fast!

Lets take a trip back in time and visit some of our early ancestors. We will be invisible so we can observe without disturbing them! The first thing you notice is that they do not live in towns and cities the way we do. Our early ancestors were nomadic hunter gatherers. This means that they did not have a permanent place to live. Instead they would move with the seasons. Since Farming does not exist yet, their lifestyle was based on hunting and gathering different food sources depending on the time of year. They would set up a temporary village in a new area and proceed to hunt animals and gather other resources. As the seasons changed, or they noticed their main food sources started to become scarce, they would pack their few belongings up, and move to a new place. By doing this they would always have good sources of food and materials, and they would never fully deplete any resource. By the time they make it back to the same area after completing their circuit, the area would have replenished itself. Our ancestors lived much closer to nature than we do, and they understood how their actions affected the environment. In order to be effective hunter gatherers our ancestors had to blend into their environments. They had to be stealthy and move without making much noise. If they were noisy not only would they not be effective hunters, but throughout much our history we shared the land with large predators who would just as quickly eat us as another animal. If you are reading this now, someone far back in your family tree was a master of stealth and camouflage!

Flash forward to modern times. We now live in much larger groups in towns and cities. We have roads for cars and sidewalks to travel on. our lives are busy, and fast paced, much faster than our ancestors. No longer do we have to rely on hunting and gathering to sustain ourselves. We can go to a store and buy foods from all over the world. Because of all these changes we have forgotten how to exist in the natural world. When we do spend time in Nature we tend to move at the same speed we do when we are out and about town. Not only that, but we will also be wearing the same bright clothing that we wear while at home. When we enter nature this way we are an alien presence, and animals will flee or hide. If we want to be part of this world, we are going to need to make some changes to our behavior.

Movement

The first, and easiest change to make is how we move in nature. Nature as a whole moves slowly. We humans are on a 24 hour clock, while Natures clock is seasonal. For instance at the time of me writing this it is 3/4 past winter! You don’t need to move at a snails pace in order to blend in better while in the woods, but you need to move slower than you do in your daily life! If you move at half the speed you normally walk that should be good enough for now. Another problem with our fast, modern movements is that it makes us more prone to accidents! Our brain knows this and without you even thinking about it it initiates a secret defense mechanism that I bet you have never noticed. In order to protect our fast moving bodies our brain constantly forces us to look at the ground in front of us. That way we can see anything in our path that may cause us harm. It serves it purpose, but it also steals our awareness from everything else going on around us. So let me ask you a question, If your moving through the woods, and your moving to fast, and your eyes are always staring at the ground in front of you, how do you expect to see any animals?!?! Many times I have gone to a park a sat just off of a main trail. 9 out of 10 people will walk right by you and not notice. There are a few other ways our modern walking style is bad not only for our bodies, but limits our ability to be more a apart of nature. When we move in the “City Shuffle” not only are we moving too fast, but we take giant strides. Your stride is the distance between your steps. When we take big steps we tend to land on our heels and and then slap our toes forward as we move into our next step. This is bad for our bodies because with each step we hit with a lot of force, and it is also very loud. Many animals in the forest have great hearing and when we do the “city shuffle” in the woods, animals will flee or hide long before we see them.

The Fox Walk

Now its time to learn your first movement “form." It is called the Fox walk. Foxes are one of the most aware, stealthy creatures out there. Foxes are always looking, and listening to their surroundings. Wether they are moving slow, or fast, they do so in a way that creates a minimal disturbance. When we do the Fox walk we want to become the Fox!

Now imagine you are standing at the edge of the forest, and you are ready to go for a walk. The first thing we want to do is slow our mind down. In order to be aware of our surroundings we need to be focused and open to them. If we slow our minds down first, our bodies will follow. Now we are ready to take our first step. Instead of the big, long strides we take when walking down the sidewalk. Shorten your stride to about half the distance. By doing this we will no longer hit with those heavy heel to toe steps. When you place your foot on the ground let the outside edge of your foot hit first, then gently roll your foot flat on the ground. As soon as your foot hits the ground we want to be “listening” to the ground with our feet. If we are trying to be quiet we don’t want to step on anything that will make noise. We want to avoid stepping on dry leaves or sticks, as those noises will give away your position. When we are going slow and using our feet to talk to the ground all of a sudden our brain does not need to protect our body by constantly staring at the ground in front of us. This allows us to have our eyes up, and looking around. When we are moving slowly and quietly and are able to look around all of a sudden we will be aware of our surroundings and we will notice things we would have otherwise passed by. Since we are also being stealthy birds and other animals will not be so quick to run away from us! As we continue on our walk we want to remember to go slow, keep our eyes up, and feel what we are stepping on before we commit all of our weight to any step. These few, simple things will take us from being a disturbance in nature, to blending in! One thing to take note of. When first starting off with the Fox walk it may be uncomfortable. Your feet might hurt. This is normal. You have been walking a certain way for most of your life and that is what your body is used to. It will take a little while for your body to adjust to this new movement form.

Footwear In our modern times we have many different types of shoes and boots. Unfortunately the vast majority of them are not good for Fox walking or stalking. Shoes as we know them are a relatively new invention and have only been around for around 500-800 years. We have been walking upright for much much longer. If you study the few hunter-gatherer societies that are left you will see that they spend most of their time barefoot, or in very simple, non bulky foot coverings similar to moccasins. Much of our modern footwear has thick soles and raised heels. These are supposed to protect our feet, but studies have shown that they cause more damage than good. Many footwear companies make “barefoot” shoes these days. Barefoot shoes typically are thin and flexible, and allow you to feel the ground. Its also a good idea to go barefoot whenever possible. The more time we spend barefoot the tougher our feet will become. In the Spring and Summer I spend as much time as possible barefoot, only putting on shoes to go out in public or when I am participating in an activity where there is a potential for injury to my feet.

Stalking

The main difference between the Fox walk and stalking is your speed. The average speed of the fox walk is about a half to a quarter the speed you normally move. Stalking is much slower. Whereas the Fox walk will be our main movement form when in Nature there will be times that we need to stalk. Stalking is used to get close enough to an animal to touch it, or to harvest it with a hunting tool. We will talk about hunting in a different chapter, so for now, we just want to get close enough to an animal or bird to touch it or observe it at close range. The first thing we want to do when starting our stalk is change our silhouette. When an animals thinks of a human, it probably sees an image in its mind that looks similar to this signs we see on a bathroom door, or a pedestrian crossing sign. When we stalk we want to change our profile so we don’t look so much like an upright walking human. Bend your knees and hunch your back a little bit. When it comes to speed, we want to go super slow! How slow you ask? Approximately a minute per step! At first when you try stalking you may find its hard to do because you will be spending a lot of time on one leg. You may lose your balance and be shaky. Being wobbly and losing your balance will not help you get close to animals. Before you practice actually stalking take some time getting comfortable standing on one leg. An easy way to practice is to stand on one leg anytime you find your self standing in line somewhere. I practice standing on one leg when I am in line at the grocery store, when I am brushing my teeth, even when I am doing the dishes! I cant stress how important this is! One time I was trying to stalk a Deer. I wanted to get close enough to touch it. When I got to within 10 ft, all of a sudden the Deer looked up from what it was feeding on and stared in my direction. I just so happened to be in mid step. For 15 minutes the deer stared at me! it knew something was going on, but couldn’t decide if I was dangerous or not, so it froze. Eventually its discomfort caused it to move on, but i managed to remain balanced on one leg the whole time, while managing to keep my upper body still!

A few other things to keep in mind when you are stalking, you want to move across the landscape with as few movements as possible. The more movements we make, the greater the chance for you to make a mistake and give away your position. For instance, you only need to pick your feet as high as what you are stalking through. If I am stalking on a well worn path, my feet will only come off the ground about an inch. If I am stalking through brush, I may need to pick i may need to “high step” to get you foot over obstacles. This is also true while doing the Fox walk.

Stalking and Movement Tips and Tricks

There is much more to stalking and movement then how slow you are going, or how you place your feet on the ground. Think of the act of stalking an animal as a game of chess, you must think first, before you move. One of the reasons I love trying to stalk animals is every time you try is unique. Its important to keep a few other things in mind when doing it.

The first is to match you movements to the “ebb and flow” of whats going on around you. Any environment has a certain about of sound and motion going on. This is known as the baseline. Your goal is to make sure your movements, or the noise you are making does not exceed that of the baseline. Many years ago I loved on a farm in the midwest. At one end of the property we had a beautiful marsh that was full of wildlife. there was also a very active set of railroad tracks that ran along the edge of the marsh. One day I was sitting quietly at the edge of the marsh observing my surroundings. There was a Great Blue Heron feeding nearby, a few species of waterfowl feeding in the water, and there was even a Muskrat working on its den nearby. All of a sudden, off in the distance I heard the train coming, the train came flying through going about 75 miles per hour, towing 100+ cars. You would think the animals would flee at all the noise and motion, but they carried on as if nothing happened!! I continued to sit, as I was waiting for a friend to pick me up to go do some work on the other part of the property. I heard my friends truck coming up the nearby road which the animals also ignored. I heard him stop, get out of the truck and close his door. As soon as the sound of his truck door closing reached the ears of the animals there was an explosion of activity! the Heron and the waterfowl all took off, and the muskrat dove underwater! How come the sound of the train did not disturb the animals in the slightest? Why did the sound of the truck door closing scare them? Because the train is a daily occurrence in the marsh, while the sound of a truck door closing is not! Always remember to match your movements to the baseline!

You also need to remember that animals are many times more aware than we are. They rely on their awareness to stay alive therefore we are at a disadvantage and need to use anything we can to even the odds, which brings me to our next stalking tip. We need use the landscape to our advantage. I will rarely ever move across open ground in a straight line. instead I will move from an area of cover, to another area of cover. I will use trees, brush lines, boulders, and thickets to conceal me. You can also move from shadow to shadow. I will stop often to look, listen, and feel whats going on around me. Its also good sense to avoid “noisy” areas. Places on the forest floor that have lots of snappy twigs and dead leaves are going to be hard to navigate quietly. Before I take my fist step into a stalking scenario I will observe the area as a whole and pick out the areas to avoid, while also planning my potential routes. You can also use the weather to your advantage. On a windy day you can get away with making more noise. When a gust of wind comes you can move a bit faster and not worry so much about the noise you are making, but when the gust dies down remember to slow down, or stop and wait for the next gust. Other natural sounds like falling rain, or moving water can be great at hiding any noise you might make. When it comes to wind we need to understand that many animals have amazing senses of smell. Members of the Deer family for instance rely on their sense of smell as their primary means for detecting predators. While me may smell good to each other, we do not smell good to animals. Therefore if we want to get close to animals that have sensitive noses, its important that we approach them from down wind. Down wind means that the when the wind is blowing it is coming from the direction of the animal towards you. If you are stalking around trees you may find yourself leaning on them for rest and cover. this works great with bigger trees, but be careful with smaller trees and saplings. if you bump into them or lean on them with to much force you may cause the tree to bend and sway un naturally which could give your position away.

No matter what environment you are in, from the city, to the most remote forest there is a baseline. Anytime you remember to do so no matter where you may be, pay attention to, and understand the baseline.

The next time you are out in Nature pick a place on the landscape 100 feet in front if you. Next, analyze any potential route you can take to reach that point. Look at available cover, areas of shadow, and also pay attention to any obstacles that would be to difficult or noisy to pass.

As you get more comfortable in your stalking and movement practice, try stalking over more difficult terrain. Try stalking across dried leaves as silently as you can. Work on transitioning from crawling on your belly to being back on your feet. If you want to take it to the next level, put on a blind fold and move through the woods.