I thought I was gonna die this year when a tree came over and landed against the tree I was in. More of a close call then survival story.
I spent a night in the Maine woods dragging a deer out. Not much of a survival story as much as I was tired and didn't want to walk out in the dark, or walk back in the morning. It was cold but bearable, and actually I slept pretty well.
It was around 7:00 am when it occurred to me I was in a life threatening situation. My twenty years of woodsman ship was going to be truly tested. Panic can set in when it hits you that you could die, adrenaline also kicks in, fight or flight. Your mind races with thousands of crazy thoughts, "what will my wife do when she finds out?" Or "I can't believe I made such a dumb decision. Trying to keep my mind in check was nearly impossible. Every passing second the pain got worse. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath and thought, "Focus Joe focus, analyze the situation" My situation was dire. I was 23 feet up a tree in my climber. The pain was excruciating, and influencing my thought process. Realizing I was not going to be able to climb down. The thought crossed my mind, "should I just jump and hope for the best?" I slowly shook my head and said to myself, "No I'm just panicking" I had my cell phone, but I knew that I was going to be over before rescue could get here. I needed to get myself out of the situation. I looked down over the railing of my summit viper..... I couldn't take it anymore, I dropped my pants, sat on the Front rail of the Viper, and released my pain inducing excrement all over the forest floor. With the pain gone relief set in, I survived. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not hunting/fishing related, but, um, well read/watch it for yourself... http://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-survived-days-lost-grand-canyon-describes-ordeal/story?id=46316018
Not much of a survival, and a story I keep for myself but…. I shall share the knowledge. A few years ago, I was climbing up a tree, bow & bag on my back. About 15ft up my platform decided to drop leaving me supported with only my arms fully extended “dip” position, and the seat, no lifeline, harness etc. As I pondered my fate and the fact that my first son was due in a few weeks, I had to figure out how to get down. I had to first drop into a pull-up position under the stand, not easy from the aforementioned dip position. Still, somehow my safety rope attached to the platform had come undone and I could still not reach, I am 6ft tall. I wrapped my legs around the tree best I could and “released” the seat from its bite on the tree in order to drop it lower, I got about 2 inches and had to rethink my process. Here comes the fun part. Since I was not dropping at a decent rate, I decided to hang in the pull-up position, release the seat from its bite and get a new bite into the tree after a little descent, American ninja style. I may have only dropped about 2 feet, but the freefall feeling was enough to rethink the cost of a safety harness. Eventually, I was able to get to the platform and get down. I hunted from the ground that morning That was the last time I ever got in a tree without a harness, my son was born the next day. Seeing my son born will always be more valuable than a $100 harness. That is the first time I have told anyone that story, not even my wife knows. Had I not been in the shape I was or had plenty of “experiences” in the Army, I would have panicked and been a statistic. Now, if we want to talk about stories like Swamp Stalkers, I have plenty. RIP Hanes. That is why I carry plastic grocery bags to the stand, makes a decent tree toilet if you get it right.
I some how survive every off season, it's a miracle the depression and thee stand withdraws haven't killed me every year for the last 16 years.
