Gold Creek snowshoeing (The better experience)

Snowshoeing at Gold Creek

By Jason Hall

This was such an awesome field trip to Gold Creek, which is located just passed
Snoqualmie Pass. The group of us were to be snowshoeing for several hours,
led by Thomas Murphy, and we would be looking for and following tracks that he would point
out to us. We went on 02/23/2018 and when we got to the site there was plenty of snow
already there, perfect for snowshoeing. However, things only got better after being there
for several hours because it just started to dump more snow, which allowed us to see
fresh animal tracks even better, but it did fill in some old tracks so the beauty of the snow
was the only real positive part, but above all else thankfully it wasn’t raining.  I took the
following picture of a set of tracks from the outing:

As a group we were able to determine that these tracks were made by a Snowshoe Hare
because of the front legs actually leaving their tracks behind the hind legs. This is because
the hare hops, and so it lands on its front legs and then puts its hind legs in front and pushes
off. Another determining factor was that if it had been a larger animal the track would have
been far more indented so the lightness of the track led us to believe snowshoe hare.

All of the tracks we found that day were mainly smaller animals with the exception
of a coyote we tracked:

This coyote we later discovered was itself tracking a snowshoe hare. We infer it is a
coyote because it walks foot in foot almost, this way it is able to stealthily approach any
potential prey. The way that these animals moved and the tracks they left help us understand
their different mechanics of locomotion. The Washington State DoT must be heavily involved
in these things because whereas the wildlife is in danger by crossing the people driving are
also in danger for exactly the same reason. So in order to alleviate most of the problem these
wildlife corridors were put in place so that the wildlife in the area could safely move from
one side of the highway to the other. Which surprised me actually because I didn’t think
organizations like the DoT gave a damn about wildlife. So tracking must be used for the
an obvious reason and that is to see if the wildlife in the are is actually using the corridor.
Because no tracks, no animals and if they aren’t using the corridors
then there needs to be a new system to aid the animals in using these corridors.

So overall this experience, with respect to the corridors, really changed the way I think
about society and how they may view the local wildlife. Sure there is constant construction
and an ever changing world but there is still someone people out there looking out for the
animals, the little guy in this situation. Also these corridors that have been put in place will,
in the end, help save money and reduce traffic, even if it’s minutely. The less animals crossing
the highway, the less people have to make emergency maneuvers and less accidents
because of said maneuvers and then, in turn, less traffic. The most interesting thing I learned
is that when tracking an animal it can actually provide more information backtracking the animal. Finding
out about what it had been eating, where it went to the bathroom and things will ultimately
help you identify the species you’re tracking if it is not immediately apparent like the snowshoe
hare.