Marking the Scrub Trail

I knelt down beside a cluster of fresh tracks pressed into the pale, packed sand of the bush path. They curved right past a thicket of scrub toward a low eucalyptus hollow. Instead of guessing my way back later, I plucked a sturdy stem of dry tussock grass and tied a neat hitch knot around an exposed notch on the nearest wooden trail peg. The marker held firm, pointing cleanly back toward the coastal ridge. With the line secured and my bearings set, I took a closer look at the prints—definitely a little wallaby that hopped through here just minutes before me.