[jwalsh07]

The point is, we can conclude that something walked through the snow.

That would be a vaild conclusion if the foot prints indicated walking, your first conclusion would not be.

[Modernman]

That would be a vaild conclusion if the foot prints indicated walking, your first conclusion would not be.

You're splitting hairs. Fine. Based on the distance between the footprints and the displacement of the snow, we can determine whether the person walked, ran or hopped across the snow.