"Tracking Them... Tracking Us..."

They are such beautiful, ephemeral entities... Wisps of fur and grey that we are so lucky to hear let alone ever catch a glimmer of... Their beauty is a reflection of those truly wild beings within the timeless wild places. No wonder they are such a cherished spirit animal and clan whose ways of being many have wondered over. This day I am remembering, was unusual in that late season - the conditions of the ground, such moisture, remnants of the last snow, and that cool air, made for a perfect combination of elements...

As we set out we were just beginning to sense what an amazing day this would come to be. We were simply hiking and had no initial intentions of any kind of tracking. Yet now, when we discovered their fleeting impressions crossing the trail more than once, this now grasped our attention closely. We followed what we could in our inexperience and excitement, hoping to be able to see more of what we were attempting to read. But spirits like that don't leave much sign and mostly only give a sense of their presence, and that I pondered, is exactly as it should be...

But the distinct moment that gave us such pause, that took us in real surprise, was to come near the end of this full day of wandering and followings.

Not long before we regained the trailhead, at a curve in the path among old thick trees, we came upon a different kind of layered tracks... These tracks were our own, still apparent although changed, for clearly across them and also right within them were more fresh tracks of the grey ones themselves. We were startled with this discovery, trying to understand what was represented there. Then with a dawning of awareness we became amused by what it likely meant. From the number and direction of their unique prints, there could only be one interpretation. We pondered in wonder over, at what point in this day, as we had slowly journeyed along - at what point, did our novice attempts to track them - become moments when they were now tracking us...

The shivers of excited realization experienced at that moment were from much more than the dropping temperature...

DSD