sli74
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True, true !!! I forgot.
What tracks are these
- Thread starter AndyF
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True, true !!! I forgot.
spencer
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You know, looking at DM's avatar, if someone could drag Dave by his feet, I think the chicken hat might just make a track like that.
yup, I think it's an upside chicken.
yup, I think it's an upside chicken.
griffin
Active member
Porky tracks from the website TrishandAlex mentioned:
Some wind to fill it in/smooth it out, and I think it might look very much like the track in AndyF's picture - ridges on the side included.
Either that, or it was one of those rogue cheeses from Amazing Race the other week.
Some wind to fill it in/smooth it out, and I think it might look very much like the track in AndyF's picture - ridges on the side included.
Either that, or it was one of those rogue cheeses from Amazing Race the other week.
TrishandAlex
New member
Porky tracks from the website TrishandAlex mentioned:
Some wind to fill it in/smooth it out, and I think it might look very much like the track in AndyF's picture - ridges on the side included.
Wind filling it out....didn't think of that...that's probably it.
AndyF
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There were no signs of paw prints at all.
It was too narrow to be human made unless they were walking with one foot in front of the other like some kind of a snowbound sobriety test or it was made by Lilleputians.
The terrain was generally level going at a right angle to the trail where the trail was pretty flat. Not enough slope for anyone or anything to ride. More likely something dragged.
Porcupine tracks filled in with snow and sculpted by wind seems the best guess, but the track looks too uniform. Maybe a porcupine dragging a porcupine sized sled?
It was too narrow to be human made unless they were walking with one foot in front of the other like some kind of a snowbound sobriety test or it was made by Lilleputians.
The terrain was generally level going at a right angle to the trail where the trail was pretty flat. Not enough slope for anyone or anything to ride. More likely something dragged.
Porcupine tracks filled in with snow and sculpted by wind seems the best guess, but the track looks too uniform. Maybe a porcupine dragging a porcupine sized sled?
RickB.
Active member
Blown-in or not, it looks far too uniform to be an animal, particularly a porcupine.
But count me in with the clueless
.
But count me in with the clueless
.
AndyF
New member
Here is a better picture of unfettered porcupine tracks showing the wavy pattern from their woddle.
AndyF
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Too narrow to be human, too uniform to be an animal. What does that leave? Alien? Manimal? Robot?
JeffAndrews
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A bike or motorcycle converted for snow?:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2006/12/12/ktrak-rear-drive-kit-and-ski-kit/
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2006/12/12/ktrak-rear-drive-kit-and-ski-kit/
spencer
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great, another hobby to explain to Mrs. Spencer... Thanks a lot, Jeff.
sardog1
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I have a Franklin here that says it's a bicyclist on Snowcat rims.
(If I win the bet, JeffAndrews deserves a share for jogging my memory about Iditabike rigging. And by the way, all does not always go well in that event: "Storm traps wilderness racers on Iditarod Trail.")
(If I win the bet, JeffAndrews deserves a share for jogging my memory about Iditabike rigging. And by the way, all does not always go well in that event: "Storm traps wilderness racers on Iditarod Trail.")
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Jason Berard
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Could it be a track from one of those pull behind things that have a wheel in the summer? I've seen that you can convert them to winter use with a ski.....I can't find the website.....
SteveHiker
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I'm pretty sure it was Snowpeople (a distant relative of the Sandpeople) who always travel in single file to conceal their numbers.
AndyF
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If it were a modified bike I'd expect to see two tracks criss crossing eachother unless they could keep a perfect straight line.
Sandpeople are from Tattooine and I would guess Snowpeople to be from Hoth. They are both in a galaxy far far away....
Sandpeople are from Tattooine and I would guess Snowpeople to be from Hoth. They are both in a galaxy far far away....
Jason Berard
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http://www.dixonrollerpack.com/3399.html
this is what I was thinking of....but it would need the tracks of the person it was being pulled by....
this is what I was thinking of....but it would need the tracks of the person it was being pulled by....
RickB.
Active member
I'm with sardog1. A bike track is the most plausible so far, probably with blown-in snow disguising the individual tracks. We saw 29ers at Pawtuckaway a couple of weeks ago with snow wheels/tires and they made a pretty tight line in the snow, when they weren't wiping out.
At any kind of speed, the rear wheel tracks the front very closely. You are not steering at speed, you are leaning. With wide snow tires, even a slight wobble will oscillate around the rear wheel's track and probably end up much like what you see in the picture.
I've raced in the snow, but on 35mm (max, by rule) wide tires which don't leave tracks like that
Tim
I've raced in the snow, but on 35mm (max, by rule) wide tires which don't leave tracks like that
Tim
DougPaul
Well-known member
I downloaded the full size picture, enhanced and magnified it.
The track is relatively fresh--the sharp angles along the left edge show that it is not significantly modified by sun, wind, or additional snow. (The little piles of snow in the left side of the track are from breakdown of the wall which appear to occur mostly on the outside of the turn.)
There is a linear ridge about 3/4 of the way across the track and there are fine lines evenly spaced every ~1/2in (assuming the track is ~9in wide). (The ridge and lines are parallel to the track.)
The closer part of the track is pretty uniform (although there are some slight indentations that might be filled-in boot prints), but there are some obvious indentations a bit this side of the log across the track. And right near and beyond the log there are a number of indentations. The edges of the track also appear to be less uniform near and beyond the log.
The tracks are very uniform--too uniform and too straight (the curve is long and gradual) to be made by an animal. IMO, it was made by a dragged, sliding, or rolling (uniform contact zone, such as a wheeled vehicle) object.
You (AndyF) haven't said anything about the consistency of the snow. The top few inches is obviously deformable powder, but is it soft below? Or is there a hard layer below. (I'm guessing a relatively hard layer a few inches down--see below.)
My first guess was skis--relatively narrow skis could create a 9-inch wide track while gliding. But skis would leave a ridge in the center and would not leave the 1/2in lines. (However, at least some jumping skis have multiple grooves--5 are shown in an illustration in one of my books.) There are no poling marks, kick marks, and the track width is too uniform. Skis would also not leave the marks near the log.
A bicycle like device would have to have ~6inch wide tires or tracks with a longitudinal tread, but no cross tread to leave the observed track. (Such a tire/track would be a bad design for traction in snow.) The front and back tires of a bike take slightly different paths (the front tire often wobbles a bit more than the back due to steering). Wheels would also leave slightly deeper and shallower sections in the track. I see no evidence of steering, tires wouldn't make the marks near the log, and the track depth is too uniform.
My best guess is a human dragging something man-made. If there was a reasonably firm layer a few inches down, his footprints might generally be shallow except just before the log and 3-4 ft this side of the log. (Perhaps towing tether length was ~3-4ft and he had to pull harder to get the towed object over the log.) A towed narrow sled-like device might fail to smooth the snow just on the other side of the log. (The suggests that he was moving toward the camera.) I can also see some faint marks in the track that might be boot prints that have been smoothed over by a dragged object.
The towed object would be ~9 inches wide with ~20 uniform longitudinal ridges along its bottom to leave the overall track with the uniform fine lines. (The uniformity of these fine lines is my reason for suggesting that the towed object is man-made.) But the bottom does not appear to be flat (or slightly convex) because it leaves the ridge in the right side of the track. What is the object? Why does it leave the ridge? My first thought was a log, but it wouldn't explain the uniform lines. It might be some sort of narrow pulk or sled, but that doesn't explain the ridge. Some pulks/sleds have runners. Perhaps a runner was missing on one side?
And, of course, the human would have had to walk fairly precisely so that the pulk/sled would travel over and fill in the tracks (except near the log).
Enough speculation for one evening...
Doug
The track is relatively fresh--the sharp angles along the left edge show that it is not significantly modified by sun, wind, or additional snow. (The little piles of snow in the left side of the track are from breakdown of the wall which appear to occur mostly on the outside of the turn.)
There is a linear ridge about 3/4 of the way across the track and there are fine lines evenly spaced every ~1/2in (assuming the track is ~9in wide). (The ridge and lines are parallel to the track.)
The closer part of the track is pretty uniform (although there are some slight indentations that might be filled-in boot prints), but there are some obvious indentations a bit this side of the log across the track. And right near and beyond the log there are a number of indentations. The edges of the track also appear to be less uniform near and beyond the log.
The tracks are very uniform--too uniform and too straight (the curve is long and gradual) to be made by an animal. IMO, it was made by a dragged, sliding, or rolling (uniform contact zone, such as a wheeled vehicle) object.
You (AndyF) haven't said anything about the consistency of the snow. The top few inches is obviously deformable powder, but is it soft below? Or is there a hard layer below. (I'm guessing a relatively hard layer a few inches down--see below.)
My first guess was skis--relatively narrow skis could create a 9-inch wide track while gliding. But skis would leave a ridge in the center and would not leave the 1/2in lines. (However, at least some jumping skis have multiple grooves--5 are shown in an illustration in one of my books.) There are no poling marks, kick marks, and the track width is too uniform. Skis would also not leave the marks near the log.
A bicycle like device would have to have ~6inch wide tires or tracks with a longitudinal tread, but no cross tread to leave the observed track. (Such a tire/track would be a bad design for traction in snow.) The front and back tires of a bike take slightly different paths (the front tire often wobbles a bit more than the back due to steering). Wheels would also leave slightly deeper and shallower sections in the track. I see no evidence of steering, tires wouldn't make the marks near the log, and the track depth is too uniform.
My best guess is a human dragging something man-made. If there was a reasonably firm layer a few inches down, his footprints might generally be shallow except just before the log and 3-4 ft this side of the log. (Perhaps towing tether length was ~3-4ft and he had to pull harder to get the towed object over the log.) A towed narrow sled-like device might fail to smooth the snow just on the other side of the log. (The suggests that he was moving toward the camera.) I can also see some faint marks in the track that might be boot prints that have been smoothed over by a dragged object.
The towed object would be ~9 inches wide with ~20 uniform longitudinal ridges along its bottom to leave the overall track with the uniform fine lines. (The uniformity of these fine lines is my reason for suggesting that the towed object is man-made.) But the bottom does not appear to be flat (or slightly convex) because it leaves the ridge in the right side of the track. What is the object? Why does it leave the ridge? My first thought was a log, but it wouldn't explain the uniform lines. It might be some sort of narrow pulk or sled, but that doesn't explain the ridge. Some pulks/sleds have runners. Perhaps a runner was missing on one side?
And, of course, the human would have had to walk fairly precisely so that the pulk/sled would travel over and fill in the tracks (except near the log).
Enough speculation for one evening...
Doug
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Most likely a unicycle.
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