If you pay attention, you can learn to spot the signs of birds up ahead by watching, listening & getting to know the birds in a more personal way. Cats take a few steps then pause, look, listen before taking a few more steps. "If you need to mask your scent to avoid detection, try rubbing dry dirt or sappy leaves all over your body. Blindfolding completely removes the element of sight. Natural Navigation Techniques: How To Not Get Lost In The Woods, How To Stalk Animals (And Not Get Caught! When you spot a bird up ahead, you can either wait for it to move on and let you pass (usually this only takes a few minutes), or if you’re more advanced, you can gently communicate with body language your intentions to pass. I already alluded to this when we talked about keeping your senses up. What are your favorite strategies for walking silently in the woods? Start by letting your feet breathe every opportunity you get. 104. Walking barefoot is the most quiet choice, but is usually too painful over rough terrain for most people. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you connect deeply with nature in your local environment: I always recommend new visitors start by watching my free training video ‘How To Read The Secrets of A Forest‘. Years of misuse had built some habitual ways of using my eyes that always seemed to pull my attention towards the centre of my visual field, ignoring the other 95% of what my eyes were attending to. All the home learning products in my online store come with a money-back guarantee and cover unique aspects of the holistic deep nature connection journey from bird language & naturalist intelligence to mindfulness & goal-setting. With all of this, the best results come from long-term practices. From their personality & emotional state, to how mindful or aware they are of the surrounding environment. Notice how much further you can hear & sense things happening nearby when you aren’t causing a wall of sound with your footfalls. References. My goal is to share these life changing skills with YOU! With few exceptions, the only time you can truly walk quietly in the woods is when the woods are quiet--when the forest floor, damp with rain or melting snow or … I’m the author of multiple courses & ebooks about bird language, naturalist training, observation skills & outdoor mindfulness. Survival Tools Wilderness Survival Camping Survival Outdoor Survival Survival Prepping Emergency Preparedness Survival Equipment Bushcraft Edc. Watch Where You’re Walking. Staring at the ground gives a sense of fast results because you’re using your eyes to pick and choose the best spots to step for optimal quietness… but the losses are too great for this to be a good strategy. Eventually your feet will be capable of comfortably walking on a every variety of surfaces, even running on cold gravel without discomfort. Soft-soled shoes or light boots will make the least amount of noise in the forest. You will move differently across a patch of snow than you would walking on gravel. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Going barefoot enables your feet to conform most naturally to the forest floor. Share on Facebook. Mossy rocks also muffle the sound of your footsteps. I would imagine that a good part of silently walking through woods in order to close in on your prey with your bow, is to pay attention to where you step. I'll skip the masking your scent and disguising your appearance parts and just give you the silent walking part. Hold your finger there until the urge to sneeze passes. Your feet are designed to softly absorb the impact of any sticks or rocks that would normally snap while wearing shoes. It’s all about how to make amazing observations in nature. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. If you’d like to learn more about bird language, I have a short series of videos that will introduce you to some core concepts in the Bird Language Adventure series. Yes, at first it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. I even know people who simply wear socks (if you don’t mind ruining an old pair). Always practice blindfolding with the help of a “spotter”, or possibly in a place that you know very well with your eyes open. Xema, I've also read most of Tom Brown's books. Most people have very underdeveloped sensing abilities with their feet simply because they’ve spent almost their entire life wearing shoes. If you feel a coughing bout coming on, try to hold it until you can mask it with a louder sound – maybe the person you're following will toss their pack to the ground to rest, or you hear a group of riders on horseback approaching down the trail. While moving in the dark, you accidentally made some noise. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 63,321 times. Knowing how to walk silently and move undetected is a skill that many people have failed to take the time to learn. My 11th video, how to walk quietly in the woods will hopefully show you how to be more stealthy while stalking, hunting, or playing capture the flag:) All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. A dense fog blanketed the woods and cast a ghostly aura around the fox. You miss the grouse & other birds that call out alarms and give away your location. [ November 1, 2020 ] Solo Overnight Building a Shack In The Woods Part 1 and Bacon Ham Egg and Cheese on Toast Survival Tips and Guides [ November 1, 2020 ] The South African Rolex Robbery Survival Tips and Guides [ November 1, 2020 ] wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. This. I do a whole lesson about birds & stealth in my online bird language course. But, it’s important to resist this urge and train yourself to keep your eyes up. Treat your feet with the same care & attention you give your eyes. This just comes from your own knowledge of the forest, what kinds of plants and surface conditions to expect in different landscape types, and keeping your awareness up to see what’s coming ahead. You should be used to hearing me say this by now . This will immediately reduce your noise level by a huge amount. Since then I’ve been passionately seeking tools for helping modern humans develop razor sharp natural instincts. Watch where you walk. Disclaimer: In this tutorial, I'm going to try to teach you how to read a version 1 qr code. In this environment, the norm is to commit your momentum without paying any attention to what you’re stepping on. As long as you don’t violate the bird’s comfort zone, birds will respond to your body movements, eye contact, overall energy… and circle around you. Then when you eventually bring your eyes back, it’s like having a whole new sensitivity that you didn’t realize was possible. The best thing is to integrate silence & mindful walking with your everyday nature awareness routines. Click here to get a sneak peak at my instincts mentoring program. If you’re looking for the easiest way to start really honing your outdoor instincts and nature observation skills… try the Nature Memory Journal Program. You’ll really come to understand your true level of balance & walking mastery (or lack thereof) by blindfolding. A big part of being able to walk silently in the woods starts with having a strategic understanding of the landscape. Go slow and use the balancing techniques in tip #4 so you don’t impale your foot on a stick. When you stare at the ground, you miss the deer up ahead. When trying to move silently, if you have anything on you that jingles or jangles – get rid of it. Learning to walk quietly will allow you to get close to the beautiful animals you want to observe, maybe even close enough for a memorable photograph. The ideal method is simply to go barefoot. Then feel forward with your left and find your footing before transferring your weight and repeating. Slow your pace and think about each step. It’s well worth studying this skill if you really want to master the art of moving silently in the forest. Here, Wes Siler shows you the fox walk. 02-11-2009, 01:04 AM. The good news is that it’s not that difficult to learn how to move through the woods without making a sound. I would encourage you to practice blindfolding yourself… or even to go out at night sometime. You’ll really come to understand your true level of balance & walking mastery (or lack thereof) by blindfolding. If you need only walk a short distance over noisy surfaces, throw a piece of cloth over the surface to walk on. Notice how much quieter you are both externally & internally. You’re so focused on what’s happening 3 feet ahead that you lack awareness of the big picture so you troupe into the middle of a noisy thicket rather than walk on the soft conifer needles around the edge. Learn how different environments produce different sounds. Last Updated: November 5, 2020 First of all, you must have good balance, so take a semi-squat stance to lower you body weight. If you’d like to learn more about bird language, I have a short series of videos that will introduce you to some core concepts in the, Practice being still when the forest is quiet. Moving quietly in the forest is one of the more difficult nature awareness skills to master, but it’s also one of the most rewarding because it really removes a lot of the barriers to exploring the deepest levels of connection with a landscape. Survival Skills. Practice slowing all your movements down by 50% and take a few steps. It’s a very meditative experience, and if you’re really doing it properly and honestly using your feet to feel the ground, it’s TOUGH. ), 6 Excellent Nature Awareness Questions To Ask Outside, 12 Easy Ways To Navigate Without A Compass, How To See Animals: Easy Wildlife Viewing Techniques, Nature Awareness Journey: How The Forest Can Change Your Life, 22 Nature Connection Activities For Sharing Nature With Beginners, How To Spend More Time Outside (And Make Every Minute Count!). Boots or shoes with light, flexible soles make the least amount of noise in the forest. Plant your feet so you feel balanced. The more you practice walking silently at a slow pace, eventually you’ll find you can speed up again while still maintaining that silent movement. If you are too quiet you may startle a bear, which can create an extremely dangerous situation. Take three or four careful steps, then pause and regroup before continuing. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. This helps to ensure you’re balancing movement with open sensory awareness. And I highly recommend you take an approach that doesn’t involve pain! It’s also one of the best ways to deepen your relationship with nature. One of the most important tips I can give you is to simply practice slowing down. Most people rely too heavily on their visual sense for keeping balance. For now, let’s see the techniques you might use if you need to walk silently. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. When I first started developing my sensory awareness I noticed it was very difficult to stay in peripheral vision for long periods of time. This article has been viewed 63,321 times. The more balance you have, the more flexibility of step & awareness you’ll have. Rest assured it is absolutely possible to walk silently and even navigate long distances through the forest completely without your sense of sight. However, if your goal is to be as quiet as possible, that’s the opposite of what you should be doing. Here, I’m not talking about the sticks or rocks immediately in front or below you… I’m talking about the big picture of the forest type you’re exploring. Also, learn to “see” and feel with your feet, too — which is a skill you’ll develop over time. November 4, 2020 by admin 0 Comments. This is why it’s important to train your balance. Go slow and use the balancing techniques in tip #4 so you don’t impale your foot on a stick. This video shares lessons that will forever change the way you look at trees & forests. You could master all the above skills for moving quietly in the woods, only to scare a grouse out of the thicket, and suddenly the whole forest knows you’re there. It stands out against the background noise and has the feeling of fight or flight. Crouch low and bend your knees, then walk slowly and carefully with your body balanced low over your center of gravity. Enlightenment comes thru nature, mindfulness, compassion. If you just do anything just once, the effect will be less… But each time you practice, you will see progress! They all have alarm calls that can betray your location in the blink of an eye. Eventually, you’ll get to know how your movement requires different speeds & levels of difficulty depending on what kind of surface you’re walking on. As long as you don’t violate the bird’s comfort zone, birds will respond to your body movements, eye contact, overall energy… and circle around you. As you practice techniques for walking softly outside, you’ll find yourself feeling more peaceful & internally quiet, while externally your senses become very sharp, leading to amazing encounters with plants, wildlife, and moments of awe/beauty in nature. Imagine spending your entire life blindfolded… That’s what happens to feet when you constantly wear shoes or boots! There are even techniques for running while causing a lot less noise but I highly recommend you walk before you run . Imagine spending your entire life blindfolded…. The pines are a much better route simply because the substrate is naturally easier to walk silently on. So what does it say when you can’t walk in the woods without causing a huge disturbance of noise & frightened wildlife? Then match the timing and speed of your movements to the background ebb and flow of the noise level. I adopted the technique for moving through the woods silently, but never to the point where I could stealthily touch a deer. wikiHow's. Treading carefully helps us to avoid attracting unwanted attention while minimizing the chances of scaring off prey as well. Walk slowly. Technique #1: Tip-Toe In the course of a normal day, most people step heel first, then roll to the front of the foot. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. You can use leather moccasins, water-shoes, or any thin/soft-padded shoe like Vibrams. Walking a ridge or hill side gives you more bare ground, since the wind tends to sweep leaves down the hill. Fast, inattentive walking works in the city because everything is flat, but if you use the same walking techniques in the forest, everybody is going to hear you coming. Most people never learned how to walk silently in the woods, but this is a basic naturalist skill that has very tangible effects on your personality, emotions & overall level of mindfulness. The pines are a much better route simply because the substrate is naturally easier to walk silently on. Bring an animal companion to distract the sentry. Sometimes you don’t need to be completely silent in order to pass like a shadow in the landscape. I first practiced this on a grassy lawn. Would you like to join us? Whether you're indoors or outdoors, you can consciously walk over materials that help you move silently instead of creating extra noise. You’ll be able to cover distance with the wind, while still being very tuned in and very quiet. The cloth will muffle most of the noise. I encourage you apply these techniques over and over again in order to gain gradual improvements. Moving soundlessly is much more difficult when you're walking on crunchy gravel and leaves than it is when you're moving over soft grass or dirt. Walking silently through a forest floor covered with dried, brittle leaves takes patience and care. If you’ve ever tried walking barefoot in the forest, then you probably noticed there’s an immediate instinct to slow down (to avoid hurting your feet). While it is possible under certain conditions to move quietly in the woods wearing big hiking boots, the best results will always come from having appropriate footwear. If you want to enjoy nature with causing as little damage to the environment as possible, there are techniques to employ. With Halloween just around the corner, there’s no better time to learn how to walk silently through the night like a ninja. And one of the games I’d play with myself was attempting to emulate the silent walking of those nearly mythological Native American warriors. Walk toe to heel with your knees slightly bent, keeping your weight primarily on your rear leg until your lead foot has rolled from the toe back through the heel. It’s normal to feel a bit of warmth & gentle throbbing or tingling on the soles of your feet after walking barefoot… But if you feel pain, you’re probably over-doing it. Ninja Tactic 2 : Walk Over a Piece of Cloth. The last thing I’ll mention is a super helpful training exercise for all the above skills. To walk silently, assess the terrain and determine which path is the quietest. There are times when it’s actually quite easy to blend in with the overall noise level. If you ever need to look down, the best strategy is to stop first. It can take months or even years of consistent effort to build up the strength of your soles. They tell you when you’re about to snap a loud stick or tumble some rocks down a hill. Share your videos with friends, family, and the world. Most people are used to walking on flat city landscapes and concrete sidewalks. June 22, 2020 by admin 0 Comments. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Pay attention to the length of time that elapses, then use that same amount of time to adjust your own steps – put your own foot down a split second before theirs will touch the ground. Fox Walk - How To Walk Silently Through The Woods - YouTube Continue reading. So, if all you do is slow your walking pace by 50%, you will instantly notice dramatically different results. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Share on Pinterest. Zippers are another ite… Observe the ground you are about to pass over and pick a path that’s as free as possible of noise makers like dry leaves and snapping twigs. Slowly shift your weight onto your foot, listening for any crackling or crunching noises. he more balance you have, the more flexibility of step & awareness you’ll have. But each time you practice, you will see progress! Start practicing in the forest, and give your feet lots of time to adjust. That’s a mistake. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Walk-Quietly-in-a-Forest-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Walk-Quietly-in-a-Forest-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Walk-Quietly-in-a-Forest-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid130306-v4-728px-Walk-Quietly-in-a-Forest-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":306,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"485","licensing":"