On the Trail
Translation details
Model:mistral-medium-2604.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”Under the conditions in which we live, tracking over long distances by natural signs is usually impossible. We must create artificial trails. The simplest are colored scraps of paper, scattered along the marching route. At first, use more eye-catching scraps—red or yellow—then green, blue, etc.
a) The patrol leader lays out the trails, each about 10–20 paces apart. One scrap is placed visibly on the ground, another hung on a bush, a third on the opposite side of a tree trunk, and so on. Sometimes the trail follows a road or path, then veers off into thickets, gaps, etc., only to return to the original route after some time. Trails are laid out over a distance of 1–3 km. The patrol leader then brings the patrol near the start of the trail, explains that the first sign is 10 paces away, and gives the signal to begin tracking. No one may track independently; anyone who finds a trail must notify the others to save them from fruitless searching. Moreover, establishing the direction of the trail makes further searching easier. Eventually, the patrol reaches the announced sign marking the end of the trail. The scraps must be collected. This way, the patrol leader can see how many of the scattered trails were missed and who collected the most.
The paper scraps should be 6–10 cm long and 1 cm wide. Instead of scraps, colored threads or cotton (more difficult trails) can be used, or agreed-upon chalk marks can assist.
b) Similar tracking can be organized as a competition between several patrols. For each patrol, a color of scraps and a chalk mark are assigned, e.g., for Patrol 1: blue scraps and a cross; for Patrol 2: green scraps and a circle; for Patrol 3: brown scraps and a squiggle. All colors should have the same intensity, meaning they should be equally easy or difficult to spot.
Three Scouts set out and scatter the trails. At first, they walk together, then separately but close to one another. At a certain point, they split up, each taking a route of equal length and heading toward a visible distant meeting point. Upon reaching it, they walk together again, only to separate once more after a while. After covering several kilometers, they hide and mark their hiding place with three scraps placed together. Each Scout should have the same number of scraps, lay them out roughly the same distance apart, and pass through terrain of equal difficulty for tracking. The paper trails should be interspersed with chalk marks. The leader accompanying the Scouts ensures the trails are laid out correctly and fairly.
Half an hour after the departure, the three patrols set out from a point about a dozen paces away from the first trail. The patrol that finds the hidden Scouts not in the shortest time, but by collecting the highest percentage of the scattered trails, wins. If the tracking is timed, usually only the fastest one tracks, and the rest blindly follow. It is good to place the hiding spot on a hill from which the tracking patrols can be seen.
During tracking, it is forbidden to touch another patrol’s trails, nor should one deliberately lead another patrol to their own trail for personal gain. The exercise is exceptionally engaging.
c) Three patrols can also track in the same way, not necessarily each having three different trails.
There is only one trail, but each patrol sets out separately every 15–20 minutes. (Of course, the trails must not be collected.) In this case, however, the terrain should be chosen so that the previous patrol is not visible to the next. The last patrol collects the trails.
Organizing such tracking is easier.
A variation of the described games can be the announcement that, upon reaching the destination, a description of the route taken will be required. This forces the trackers to pay attention to the surrounding terrain, interesting features encountered, changes in direction, etc., while simultaneously following the trail.
d) Tracking can be combined with another game, such as setting ambushes, of which the trackers are informed. Along the trail, individual Scouts hide. The trackers must not only follow the trail but also detect these ambushes. A hidden Scout, called out from a distance of, say, 30 paces, becomes a prisoner, as does the tracker if called out by the hidden Scout from 20 paces.
Prisoners continue to participate in the game (it is difficult to interrupt it halfway)—some keep tracking, others wait in ambush for the next patrol. After the exercise, it will be clear which patrol suffered the fewest losses, which can be considered in the evaluation.
Source scan: Polona / National Library of Poland, marked “Public Domain”. View scan — PDF pages 124–126.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Zygmunt Wyrobek, Harcerz w polu: zabawy i gry terenowe (1946)
- Printed pages: 118–120 / PDF 124–126
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 118
- Read the source text: hwp-052