Tips on How to Move Silently through the Woods

Tips on How to Move Silently through the Woods

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The ability to move silently through the woods or backcountry is one of the most important skills to develop.  Treading carefully helps us to avoid attracting unwanted attention while minimizing the chances of scaring off prey as well.  The good news is that it’s not that difficult to learn how to move through the woods without making a sound.  The bad news is that it takes some practice and concentration to get the hang of things.  Here are a few tips that you can use for practicing as you develop this important skill.

Find Bare Ground

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The first thing to look for is bare spots on the ground or areas with damp grass.  This will minimize the chances of walking on and crunching leaves or cracking twigs as you take your steps.  Try to seek out well-worn trails, ridge lines areas that have thick, moist grass that can absorb sounds as you move. 

Using Body Weight

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When we walk, we’re not only using our feet, but we are also distributing and balancing our body weight as well.  How we are postured and how we position our feet as we take each step will greatly reduce the amount of noise that we make while walking.  For example, if you are walking on a rocky or gravelly surface, crouch down and take each step so that your heel hits the ground first.  Then, gently place the outside of your foot on the ground before rolling it out as you complete the step.  This will minimize the amount of rocks or debris that you disturb while helping you to control your balance as much as possible. 

Step by Step

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Another important technique is to look at the next step you will take before you move forward.  This will allow you to avoid accidentally placing your foot atop debris or objects that will make noise.  It will also help you to decide how to take your next step, whether to walk on your heel or toes as the case may be.  This is hard to explain, but once you’re in the field, it will be very easy to adapt your steps according to the surrounding terrain.  The trick is to be mindful of each step you take so you can choose how to move forward as quietly as possible.

Breathing

Believe it or not, a lot of people place a heavy-emphasis on our breathing as we walk, and for good reason.  Breathing through the nose while walking produces more noise than breathing through the mouth.  Controlling our breathing also forces us to take in the moment and be able to measure each step more carefully as well.  Finally, breathing also helps us to balance ourselves properly in order to minimize our noise footprint. 

What to do When Following Someone

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Aside from following the techniques described above, a key element of successfully following someone or something is to match their cadence.  Pace yourself so that your steps hit the ground at the same time as theirs.  This may seem simplistic and obvious, but it is a vital technique that escapes the minds of many.  However, being out of step with the target is one of the easiest ways to arouse suspicion, give away your position and create an unwanted response. 

These are just a couple of ideas to get you thinking more about how to walk stealthily in the woods.  However, there are dozens of different techniques out there that are worth learning about as well.  Mastery of this skill may take time, effort, patience and place some strain on different parts of the body as you re-learn habits and develop proficiency.  However, doing so will pay big dividends in the future if you’re in a situation where every step matters. 

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