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Gray Squirrel (Tracking Series) COMBINED AND MOVE LbNA #14856 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:trailtracker
Plant date:Apr 23, 2005
Location:
City:Logan
County:Hocking
State:Ohio
Boxes:1
Found by: born
Last found:Jul 22, 2007
Status:FFaFFFFr
Last edited:Nov 26, 2015
Location: Clear Creek Metro Park
Bring: pen or pencil, compass, stamp pad
Difficulty: easy
Facilities: yes in many locations, but no water. There is a gas station just as you turn off Rt. 33.

***RETIRED

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COMBINED WITH "A LAMB, A SQUIRREL AND AN EASTER EGG"
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ALL BOXES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM CLEAR CREEK METRO PARK
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One of my other passions in life is to study animal tracking. It seems to be unending in the small details that can tell so much. Each letterbox in this series will hopefully share at least one bit of new information. If you collect these tracks, take time to compare them and you will learn from simply that.

Clear Creek Metro Park on off Rt. 33 on Hocking Co. 116 also called Clear Creek Road. It is north of Logan and south of Lancaster. There are brown park signs getting you there. There is a gas station at the intersection as well. The park is about 2 west of Rt. 33. Drive carefully as there is one place where a rock formation encroaches over top of the roadway around a curve.

Clues
On the north side of Clear Creek Road, after Creekside Meadows Picnic Area and before Fern Picnic Area is the Hemlock Trailhead. There is a small pull-off directly across the road from this trailhead marked as parking for fishing if desired. Park there is you can. If not park at the lot just a short distance away at Fern Picnic Area. From the trailhead sign go 25 paces along the trail. Then go 250* for 10 paces to a moss-covered fallen chimney. At the SW end, on the top surface is a pointed moss-covered rock stuck in the tile covering our little guy. ***See additional stamping instructions below before finishing!

Gray Squirrel
After you stamp in your log book, flip the actual stamp so that the pattern side is up and lay it on the paper right beside your stamped pattern. You should now be looking at a pair of hind prints on top and a pair of fore prints below. This pattern indicates that this animal is a "bounder" because it's hind feet are longer than it's fore feet. As it bounds, it's hind feet come forward in front of it's fore feet. This happens only when it is running or bounding. When it walks, it alternates like other ground walkers do. The pairing when bounding is also an indication that this fella is a tree climber. Also note, that gray squirrels have a difference in the number of toes in their front v. their hind feet. Now that you have counted 5 for their hind and 4 for their front, finish this print by making a second track right beside the first and mark in the toe nails for the missing ones on the hind prints. The tree climbing ability of these animals is also what allows them to bury walnuts...sometimes resulting in trees growing too!

Please be descrete and rehide well.