VPT Online: VOJ #308


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VPT's Outdoor Journal #308

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Tracking with the Benoits

Woodcock Banding

Ropes Course
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Tracking with the Benoits
Tracking is one of the most challenging ways of hunting deer in the big woods of northern New England. Deer are few and far between in the North Country and tracking them, sometimes over several miles, is not easy. It's physically and mentally demanding, and lots of things can go wrong. Many trackers get discouraged and give up early on a deer.

But for those who stick with a track, there are special rewards that come with the diligence needed to pursue their quarry over several hours or even days. For many hunters it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to bring home a big buck after a long track.

Host Lawrence Pyne spends a few days with the "first family" of tracking, the legendary Benoits of central Vermont.

Related Links:
Benoit Brothers DeerHunting.com Whitetails.com: Deer Tracks

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Woodcock Banding
Woodcock are beloved by bird hunters and bird watchers alike, but these fascinating little migrants are nonetheless faring poorly. Human development and maturing forests are steadily eating away the thick, brushy habitat that woodcock require, and their numbers are likewise declining. In the last three decades, there has been a two to three percent decline each year in the number of American Woodcock in the East.

One area where woodcock are doing surprisingly well is the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Vermont, where biologists are capturing and banding woodcock in order to better understand their habitat needs. Host Lawrence Pyne joins Scott Williamson from the Wildlife Management Institute on a nighttime woodcock banding operation at the firing range in Jericho.

Related Links:
Pennsylvania Game Commission: Woodcock Ugly Dog Hunting Company U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Migratory Bird Monitoring	VOGA: Vermont Hunting Guides, Services and Information Wildlife Management Institute

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Ropes Course
Solving problems in a group can be especially gratifying as you work to overcome an obstacle that looks impossible. A team-building exercise like a ropes course can not only get a group outside for an afternoon, it can help them understand more about those they live and work with as they solve problems to reach a goal.

There are many types of challenges on a ropes course. "Low Elements" happen close to the ground and consist of challenges like getting your entire group from one point to another. During the course of the exercise, the group must work together using their individual strengths and personality traits to get through the obstacles.

In the "High Elements," people face individual challenges up to 40 feet off the ground. These can involve such things as walking rope bridges, walking a tightrope and jumping from the top of a telephone pole to grab a trapeze bar. Though the participants are harnessed and on belay lines for safety purposes, it is still a challenge to for them to force themselves to make it through and surpass the goals put out in front of them on this course.

Host Marianne Eaton joins Olympian Doug Lewis of Eliteam and members of the VPT staff for a challenging and insightful day on the ropes in Waitsfield.

Related Links:
Eliteam Green Mountain College: Geoffrey Leydic Memorial Ropes Course Petra Cliffs: Challenge Course	UVM Outing Club: Adventure Ropes Course Vermont Leadership Center

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