When the conditions are right, animal trails can often be seen at a distance, and, even before you get up close to observe a single track, much can be deduced from answering a couple of key questions.
Are the tracks in a straight(ish) line of what appears to be single tracks? If so, the animal you are tracking may have been “direct registering” its steps.
Direct registering is when a walking/trotting four-legged critter places its back foot directly where the corresponding front foot had been. This “track in a track,” or “two tracks in one” (if you will), appears to be a single track.
This walking style is efficient in snow, grasses, and most habitats, and is used by wild dogs and cats.