Track aging experiment

[Motivated]

So I've been listening to a lot of podcasts while working out lately. I decided this morning to do the experiment that I believe Dan was talking about. I made cheap little "deer hoof" out of scrap wood and went out to the backyard to make my own fake deer tracks. It is certainly not perfect, but it's a start. I plan to observe these on a daily basis and see the changes in the prints over time.



I placed a few in different types of soil, some in areas that are in direct sun and some and shaded areas. Some will have sprinklers running on them every other day. I like the idea of seeing the tracks age in different conditions.

It was also interesting to feel what kind of pressure I needed to apply to get to a certain depth of print in different soils.

Direct sun, firm soil, five minutes old



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[Tufrthnails]

Cool idea post pics as they degrade!

[Edcyclopedia]

Let's name your experimental hoof.

Hoofio - a cross between Pinocio & Fabio!

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[Motivated]

One hour old. Conditions are mostly sunny, 86 degrees at 69% humidity.



I can see the drying of the small dirt clods, mostly between the two front impressions. Also in the bottom-left impression the small stick that was holding a dirt clod before has dried. The clod fell into the bottom left impression.

You can also see I mowed the grass and it threw grass clippings over top of the whole thing.

If there are other observations which I miss, please feel free to add.

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[VilasCo]

This experiment is true dedication to getting your Ph.D in deer tracking. As a new guy on this site I am amazed at what others come up with. Great stuff.

[Motivated]

Thanks VilasCo, but it was not really my idea. I really like what tracks can tell you, but I need to get better at aging my tracks. Last year I was after a particular deer. I don't get many weekday hunts so every time I went out I was constantly looking for his track to find out if he was still alive.

I saw this one in early November mud. It looked fresh to me. I believe he stepped on a small stick which was sitting on top of the mud. I thought it was interesting, so I took a pic.



That track was at least three days old, because I found him rotting about ten minutes after taking that pic.

Here's his hoof.



I believe tracks age much faster in the heat than in thick mud kept at about 40 degrees. I am just looking to learn more and improve with observation of deer sign.

Dan has doen a great article on tracks. Worth reading a few times. I need to see it and mess with it myself, so that's why I'm doing this.

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[Motivated]

2.5 hours old. Conditions: sunny, 88 degrees, 60% humidity, 3 mph wind.

The center section is beginning to dry from the top down, not just the clods.

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[Motivated]

4 hours old on initially wet, firm soil.

Conditions now: 90 degrees, direct sun, 56% humidity, wind only 2 mph

Notes are below.



The grass in the top right impression no longer appears crushed but has pulled away from the dirt and is now standing upright. Top center section is drying out to about the depth of 1/2 inches and beginning to crack. Larger clods are beginning to dry out. The impressions are still moist on the inside surfaces.

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[Motivated]

5 hours old. 91 degrees, 55% humidity and thunder cracking in the distance.



Drying of the upper center section is extending down into the middle portion. Other than that, not too much change in the last hour. Overall, it seems to be changing quickly in the heat.

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[Jackson Marsh]

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[KLEMZ]

This is the kind of stuff that speeds up the learning curve...thanks for posting this!

[VilasCo]

Thanks for sharing all this data. Could you determine the cause of death of the buck you found? In case you haven't read the book, Big Bucks The Benoit Way is one I read annually. The Benoits are tracking machines

[Motivated]

6 hours. Same conditions but no rain yet.



Last post of the day. My wife just came home from a 9 day vacation. I was keeping kiddos alive. She deserved a break and I'm paying it forward.

I'll try to take a picture before the sprinklers go off tomorrow morning before work.

The Benoit books are some of my favorites, without question. Serious respect for that family.

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[Stanley]

Good stuff.

[JoeRE]

Excellent idea Motivated!

I highly recommend doing something like that to anyone who wants to learn a lot more about tracks! You would be amazed at the differences in tracks as they age over several days, you can even see how the edges start to dry and things pressed into the track change in just a few hours in Motivated's pics.