The Tracker from Tom Brown Jr.

[Piney Boy]

Recently found the above titled book at Barnes and Noble and haven't been able to put it down. It has a litany of interesting outdoor experiences in the Pines as well some informative pieces on animal tracking. Anybody familiar with this or Mr. Brown's school?

 

[grendel]

He moved to Florida. I think his field guides are very good,"Tom Browns field guide to nature observation and tracking" will change the way you see nature if you practice the techniques.His guide to edible and medicinal plants is great also, I have tried some of the herbal remedies with good results. I can also find plenty of food if I have to. If you spend a lot of time in the outdoors it is important to have good field craft skills, his books have the knowledge you need. Some of his stories however require hip boots if you know what I mean.
Anytime you start fooling with wild plants as a source of medicine or food you better have your sh#t straight! There are plants out there that we have all walked over that can kill you dead with a very small dose.
One of the lessons in his books involved staking out a one foot square piece of ground in the forest and then lying down on your stomach with a magnifying glass and observing your plot for an hour. It is amazing how much is going on in there!

 

[woodjin]

If you search Tom Brown jr on this site there are some old disscussions concerning him. As Grendal eluded, it is important to take everything he says with a grain of salt.

Jeff

 

[Piney Boy]

I hear you Jeff, but so far I've enjoyed the flow of the book, even if its a bit sensational. Seems the man really knows wilderness skills even if his life stories are a bit, shall we say embellished.

 

[BigRedEye]

I think Tom Brown is full of bs.

 

[Teegate]

They certainly are embellished, and I have some serious issues with his book, but that does not mean he is not good at tracking or for that matter teaching.

And BTW, I posted an article in the Newspaper section a while back where he had moved his offices from North Jersey to Waretown. So he is still active in the New Jersey area I believe, even though he did mention as grendel says that he was moving to Florida.

I read that book when it came out and have not pulled it out to look at it again. I think it was the arm lifting up out of the fire that did me in. At least that is how I remember it.

Guy

 

[woodjin]

I hear you Jeff, but so far I've enjoyed the flow of the book, even if its a bit sensational. Seems the man really knows wilderness skills even if his life stories are a bit, shall we say embellished.

I read The Tracker, The Search and I have at least one of his survival books. Yeah, it does make for good reading in a fictional sense, He is very very full of himself though. I realized after living in the pines for a bit that his stories were bs and I began to question some of his survival teachings because of that. I have crossed referenced his information with other survival books, as I have quite a few, and he is mostly on the up and up there, although he does get a little too extreme at times in my opinion and he makes things seem easier than they are. This guy allegelly spent a year in the pines in a loin cloth and didn't get chiggers.....in fact, I don't think he even mentioned chiggers as I recall. I think if I spent a year in the pines in a loin cloth I'd be thinking about chiggers alot. Oh wait, I remember, he used mud to keep them away. That is all it takes, a little mud. He must be super human.

Jeff

Jeff

 

[piker56]

He must be super human. Jeff

He must be. In one of his books he says he knocked holes in a block building with his bare hands.

 

[BEHR655]

Oh wait, I remember, he used mud to keep them away. That is all it takes, a little mud. He must be super human.

Jeff

Jeff

Hmmmm......... I think that if you were able to keep the mud caked on pretty good it might work.

Steve

 

[Piney Boy]

Hmmmm......... I think that if you were able to keep the mud caked on pretty good it might work.

Steve

I can't say I've ever been TOTALLY caked in mud, but I have been mostly immersed in it for a more then a couple of hours. It not only kept the bugs away and does mask scents, but also keeps you a bit cooler.
I find my favorite way to keep bugs away is to be covered in woodsmoke, it smells good and keeps critters away.

 

[grendel]

Jewel weed seems to keep most things from biting...insect wise anyways. I have spent a winter night in a debris hut and slept very well. I have also made a fire with a bow drill. In fact when I was in practice I could get a fire going within a half hour using just a knife.It is good to have skills if you go outdoors often. As far as the chiggers, what do you suppose the Indians did? They must have stayed in and watched TV during chigger season.
I think Browns books are excellent for learning how to get in touch with the outdoors,and to learn survival skills. I also think he is full of sh#t, as far as all the Indian spiritual crap. Like most things in life you have to be discerning.

 

[woodjin]

To stay completely covered in mud for any length of time once you have left the swamp is not realistic, 10 yards of walking through leather leaf will scrape all that mud off. Also once the mud dries it falls off easily. I seem to end up pretty muddy pretty often, for some reason, but it is usually on the outside of my clothes. I suspect the indians used mud alot but probably also washed off frequently in the rivers. Also, I am not a historian on Lenape tribes in the pine barrens, but I recall reading that few tribes actually resided in the barrens permenently.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

To stay completely covered in mud for any length of time once you have left the swamp is not realistic, 10 yards of walking through leather leaf will scrape all that mud off. Also once the mud dries it falls off easily. I seem to end up pretty muddy pretty often, for some reason, but it is usually on the outside of my clothes. I suspect the indians used mud alot but probably also washed off frequently in the rivers. Also, I am not a historian on Lenape tribes in the pine barrens, but I recall reading that few tribes actually resided in the barrens permenently.

Jeff

Right on Jeff, right on. You obviously know the difference between fantasy and reality.

 

[Ben Ruset]

but I recall reading that few tribes actually resided in the barrens permenently.

Jeff

None of them did. Unless you count the reservation at Indian Mills.

 

[woodjin]

None of them did. Unless you count the reservation at Indian Mills.

Probably 'cause of all the damn chiggers