Michelle and I ventured out for a drive on Easter to capture our Grizzly Backyard as the Migratory birds are now finding their way back and the snow is slowly recessing to replenish our fertile soil. I could not help but drive past the hunt site I will no doubt spend the majority of my time on this grizzly hunt season. Pictured here from the road because I do not have permission to hunt this neighboring property is an old Indian Trail Tree. It sits along the same trail that runs through my hunt site.
Do you see the tell tale elbow’s on this tree as it was manipulated with thong and tie down? It also has manicured evidence that is rather recent in the terms of the era’s this site stretches back into.
This photo is a nice close up of the eye of the Bird motiff that permeates this cache site.
This tree is unique because it points out a number of trails. It “V’s” into two distinct trail tree markers and there is a curious limb placed over the top creating a shield or King’s Trail symbol that can be seen in the negative space between its branches.
In our area here that highly suspect for micro caches and old trails these trail trees will catch your eye as you drive down our back country roads and main highways. No doubt these tree markers were utilized on the old Red River Ox cart trails that are now our major highway arteries.
You will also find these trees out in the middle of no where. Iron is usually laid down near these to give you a lay line to navigate as you hunt. Since these trees served as the corner store bulletin boards of early footpaths, there is a whole host of information to be gleaned off the barks of these trees, buried around these trees and on the trails leading from these trees.
If you don’t know your Indian trail trees, thong trees or treasure trail trees, you better make a point to bone up on them quick. This is just a great example of knowing the landscape you are hunting.
I took this panoramic to illustrate how the trail tree blends into the landscape. If you never knew trail trees existed you would never see it in this panoramic as you drive to and from your destination each day. But if you are in the know, your trail trees will begin to jump out at you as you drive your daily grind or just out driving back country roads scouting your next hunt site. Remember, we only hunt properties where permission is granted and when we hunt those sites we throw the whole Grizzly arsenal at it until we recover the story that we can share.
