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Joel Hardin Professional Tracking Services 

News and Events

Preston "Pres" Funkhouser Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2008

Congratulations to Preston “Pres” Funkhouser. During the “Train the Trainer” event this past weekend (January 2008), the program blessed Pres with the coveted Sign Cutter certification. Pres is action oriented and a “get it done” guy. He is a no-nonsense serious tracker and tracking trainer who has traveled extensively during the past ten years with and for this program. He has tracked crime scenes investigations and missing person searches. And, he has engaged in military tracking training. Pres brings to this certification a vast amount of experience from all tracking arenas; but, most importantly, he is one who will not back away from or hesitate regarding any issue or situation. He always can make it work somehow.

The modern world demands that our program designate those with the unique ability to resolve and find success with all types of missions as Sign Cutters. In past times, Sign Cutters were individuals whose single minded purpose was the pursuit of one or two individuals to wherever they might be found regardless of time or destination. Times have changed significantly and the needs and responses today that call for Sign Cutters are as varied as life itself. There is little relationship to the Sign Cutters of the past other than the deep devotion to the unique knowledge and application of tracking skill.

Pres is retired military intelligence and has the experience of having been a military attaché, combat, and Special Forces Commander. He knows how to handle people and how to manage time and energy for success. He has been an active tracker with this program for fifteen years and is an active member of SAR responding to all types of missions, managing most.

We look forward to working with Pres in this new position and to his finding new ways to help the trackers and this program.

Read about all the JHPTS "Sign Cutters"

Letters and Comments

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS - Tracking skill comes with practice, patience and experience.

The following letters are from students who share experiences or thoughts from along the trail.

TRACKING SUCCESS

From David Hake on July 09, 2004
You just got to love it when tracking pays off!

Last night I received a page from our Sergeant in charge of SAR and he told me there was a search going on in Rocky Mt. Park for an overdue 80 year old Park Volunteer (a volunteer for many, many years). They had SAR teams looking for him throughout the day and even three Dogs from our county with no luck.

I received the page at Midnight and he wanted me to see what I could do before the next operational period group arrived at 5:00am. All other searchers were pulled from the field and they let myself and Scott Evans (another tracker from the team) do what we want. Other then a few trail block rangers, we were the only ones in the field searching for Walter.

Walter was known to hike with ski poles and a searcher found "One" ski pole hole along a trail about a mile away from the PLS and they thought we should work that instead of going to the PLS because there had already been many searchers on the trail of the PLS. We said we would rather go to the PLS and see if we could pick up something going off trail at the switchback just 1/4 mile north of the PLS. We found some sign that lead off the trail there and worked it. Scott found the first identifiable track. It was a standard old Vibram sole pattern and it matched what they thought he would be wearing. There was a drainage just down from the switchback and even back at ICP we thought that it would be a place to check. No one at this time had been down it! After seeing sign go off, Scott wanted to hasty down the drainage using attraction but I wanted to work the sign to see if it was a searcher or Walter. We continued to work it and saw that it went left then up, stopping at piles of trees, then back down, then back up as if he was trying to find the trail again. Eventually it started heading down and more consistently as if he had given up on finding the trail and started to panic.

Since we had it narrowed down to one drainage, we decided to hasty down it with horn in hand. We finally got a response! Then we couldn't get another one for the next 5 minutes! We were beginning to wonder if we were hearing things or if another team was in the area. It was about 5:20am and ICP said no one was in the area so we continued to work in the direction of the yell. Finally, he respond again! We zoomed in on him and found him cold and hypothermic, wet, missing one shoe, and cuts and scrapes from falling down but alive and ok! He said he lost his shoe a looong ways back! I back tracked him and found a place were he had fallen about 50 ft. away and there his shoe was! I later found another place were he took a good fall.

Joel, thanks for all that you've taught me! It's paying off!

Dave Hake
Fort Collins, Colorado

Note from Joel: Dave Hake an experienced tracker of the JHPTS program. This year he attended the five day 1SRG pre-conference tracking training event at Red Lodge, Montana. On returning home he had the opportunity to use his tracking training to save a life. An official tracking report of this incident was submitted to authorities to accurately detail the basis of the decisions and actions that resulted in tracking and locating the missing subject.

A Tracking Perspective…
by Kevin Deckert

Twenty two years ago in an parking lot at Mount Lolo, Kamloops I remember meeting Joel Hardin. with only a vague idea of what was to unfold.

Anticipation was present in all the search and rescue members present. No one understood the path we were about to follow both physically that day and throughout the years to come. Of the many present that day only a determined few pursued their goal. They came to learn how to track. How to follow the minute bits of sign left by a person as they walk. Some learned what they wanted to learn the first few days and as such did not return. The patience, determination and dedication required seemed almost insurmountable.

As time passed I observed, I learned, I grew, I challenged what I thought I knew. I watch as a man with true gift and skill at tracking strove to find ways to teach others his craft. Tracking so often used in the histories of man all but forgotten outside of a very few specialties.

To track is an incredible skill, To teach an acquired gift. To teach another how to track is a lifetime challenge. I now know a growing list of dedicated men and women who have stepped forward and followed the sign left before them.

More than the act of following tracks it becomes a mind set. A way of thinking, a way of interpreting problems and solving them.

Learning to track becomes a skill of everyday use. Enduring patience, and observation of minute unnoticed details. A focus of the mind and body. It is both a physical skill and an art. One needs to be both practitioner and artist. And above all be willing to dedicate a lifetime to it. So step up, step forward, follow tracks.

Learn a skill that will always benefit you and be of great benefit to others.