Tracking Club
A hands-on program that takes place along the sandy beaches of the majestic San Mateo County coast, novice trackers join our most experienced students and instructors for a healthy dose of the art of tracking. The Tracking Club gives each participant the simple tools they need to learn how to track and to read the landscape and interpret its subtle clues. We call it a club because people tend to keep coming back.
Tracking Meetings; (tracking on the beach, not talking in a room). Though almost all meetings are on the 2nd Sunday of the month, once a year or so one is bumped around due to holidays & local classes.
Anyone interested in tracking is welcome and encouraged, whatever the experience level. We set up a series of tracking stations run by experienced trackers to help guide you through the experience. We accommodate a variety of tracking levels and often break up into groups based upon tracking ability. This is based upon the Tracking Club model started by Jon Young at the Wilderness Awareness School.
We are currently meeting out on the coast, about half a mile south of the intersection of Gazos Creek Rd and Hwy 1. We've been meeting there for about 2 years and have had great results, seeing a very wide variety of tracks during that time, with a few regular visitors.
Here are some general directions. If you aren't familiar with the area, or don't have a good map, you might want to get directions from Google Maps or someplace similar.
We meet on the coast (Highway 1) between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Both Hwy 84 and 92 West are good routes to get to Highway 1 from most of the Bay Area. Also, there may be carpooling options depending on where you live, so if you need a ride, post a message a week or so in advance. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get there from the Redwood City to San Jose area (there's no traffic at 7am Sunday morning!).
Gazos Creek Rd is about 3 miles south of Pigeon Point Lighthouse (and about 3 miles north of Ano Nuevo State Park). Look for the road sign and a gas station on the East side. About a half a mile South of the gas station, there is a pullout on the coast side of the road with a gate. There is no parking on the coast side, but there are several parking spaces available across the highway on the other side. Pull up to the level spot about 50 feet from the road.
We meet at 8 am at the cars and WILL come to walk you out to the dunes (relax and enjoy the view & bird songs). If you come late, just follow the trail toward the beach and look for groups of people standing around looking at tracks. Please be careful when you do get out to the dunes as the trails are often very fragile.
We do ask for donations of $20 (or more if you're able) each month to help support local programs and youth scholarships through the Riekes Center Nature Awareness program. The Riekes Center is a 501(c) nonprofit organization so your donations are tax deductible.
You don't need to bring anything else, however, some folks find it beneficial to bring a few or more of the following items:
Tracking Meetings; (tracking on the beach, not talking in a room). Though almost all meetings are on the 2nd Sunday of the month, once a year or so one is bumped around due to holidays & local classes.
Anyone interested in tracking is welcome and encouraged, whatever the experience level. We set up a series of tracking stations run by experienced trackers to help guide you through the experience. We accommodate a variety of tracking levels and often break up into groups based upon tracking ability. This is based upon the Tracking Club model started by Jon Young at the Wilderness Awareness School.
We are currently meeting out on the coast, about half a mile south of the intersection of Gazos Creek Rd and Hwy 1. We've been meeting there for about 2 years and have had great results, seeing a very wide variety of tracks during that time, with a few regular visitors.
Here are some general directions. If you aren't familiar with the area, or don't have a good map, you might want to get directions from Google Maps or someplace similar.
We meet on the coast (Highway 1) between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Both Hwy 84 and 92 West are good routes to get to Highway 1 from most of the Bay Area. Also, there may be carpooling options depending on where you live, so if you need a ride, post a message a week or so in advance. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get there from the Redwood City to San Jose area (there's no traffic at 7am Sunday morning!).
Gazos Creek Rd is about 3 miles south of Pigeon Point Lighthouse (and about 3 miles north of Ano Nuevo State Park). Look for the road sign and a gas station on the East side. About a half a mile South of the gas station, there is a pullout on the coast side of the road with a gate. There is no parking on the coast side, but there are several parking spaces available across the highway on the other side. Pull up to the level spot about 50 feet from the road.
We meet at 8 am at the cars and WILL come to walk you out to the dunes (relax and enjoy the view & bird songs). If you come late, just follow the trail toward the beach and look for groups of people standing around looking at tracks. Please be careful when you do get out to the dunes as the trails are often very fragile.
We do ask for donations of $20 (or more if you're able) each month to help support local programs and youth scholarships through the Riekes Center Nature Awareness program. The Riekes Center is a 501(c) nonprofit organization so your donations are tax deductible.
You don't need to bring anything else, however, some folks find it beneficial to bring a few or more of the following items:
- An Open Mind ;-)
- Appropriate weather (rain/fog/cold/etc) gear (remember you're on the N. Ca. coast)
- Water (there is no fresh water available on this beach) and snacks.
- Field guides (especially Peterson's "Field Guide to Animal Tracks" or Mark Elbroch "Mammal Tracks & Sign")
- A journal & a pen.
- A small tape measure (3' is enough) or ruler (see through plastic is great).
- A magnifying lens.
- A camera.
- A compass.
Not everyone brings all of these things every time, but journals, guides, rulers, are all popular with most regulars. Cameras are great to record the tracks, but don't substitute for drawing them (which really gets you looking at the detail).
Sometimes it rains, but never for the full time we're there, and often it lets up and gets beautiful in the early morning. Don't let the weather beforehand keep you from coming! Just dress appropriately. Even in the summer it can be cold if the sun doesn't break through (which it usually does). As part of the Tracking Club, you are invited to join the Bay Area Tracking email list. You can visit the Welcome page at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BayAreaTracking/
Sometimes it rains, but never for the full time we're there, and often it lets up and gets beautiful in the early morning. Don't let the weather beforehand keep you from coming! Just dress appropriately. Even in the summer it can be cold if the sun doesn't break through (which it usually does). As part of the Tracking Club, you are invited to join the Bay Area Tracking email list. You can visit the Welcome page at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BayAreaTracking/
