Tracking Adventure

Whitetail Tracks

   Buck tracks in the mud. Simple enough. But what emotions a tiny scene like this can stimulate. Does your heart race, your spirit soar? Hunters have been trying to explain their passion for at least 10,000 years, probably a million. Check out the paintings on cave walls in France and etchings on rocks in Namibia. Animals. Antlers. Horns. Spears. Bows. Hunters. While artistic renderings have come close to capturing the magic we feel, so have poems, short stories and novels -- but close is as close as we'll ever get. Each hunter alone knows what's in his heart, what stirs his passion. But only vaguely. Don't believe me? Then ask a hunter how he feels about this controversial interaction between humans and animals. You might hear about family bonding, escape to the real world, intimate connection with fellow creatures, response to atavistic urges -- you might get a puzzled look or stoney silence. Regardless ones gifts for expression, it's nearly impossible to explain humankind's passion for hunting. You might as well ask a wolf or cougar why it loves to hunt. But it's easy to feel. Just seeing a deer's track in the mud can bring hope and joy, regret and pain to the hunter's heart. We might not be capable of articulating it. But we know it. # # #