I was walking down this old logging road to my spot one morning about an hour before light. It is light enough from the moonlight that I' m not using my flashlight. I see something small and white moving on the trail ahead of me. First I figure its a piece of paper or some kind of trash blowing in the wind. Then I realize its not windy today. I freeze and grab my light out of my pocket and turn it on. It' s a small animal black and white SKUNK oh no and he is only about 15 yards ahead of me. He stops and turns and looks at me and I' m thinking I have my treestand and a pack on my back and I' m carrying my bow and I' m not sure how fast a skunk can run. Then he just turns and starts walking down the trail away from me.

I keep my light on him and start following real slow keeping about 15 yards behind him. I really want to get to my tree before light and I still have a good ways to go. He is walking real slow and I' m thinking hurry up you little stinker or at least get off the path. He stops and looks back at me so I stop. He starts walking away again so I keep following. This goes on for a couple minutes then he stops again, so I stop. I' m still keeping him in my light because I dont want to loose track of him. He starts walking away again so I keep following. Then he stops again and turnes around and CHARGES me. I must have stood there in shock with my mouth open for about 1 second. By now he is only about 7 or 8 yards away and coming fast.

After that everything happened in a blur. First you should know that I fear no man or beast. I wildly twirled around and blindly jumped off the trail right into a patch of stickers getting helplessly tangled up and I dropped my light. But you better believe I held onto my bow. By now I figure the skunk must be right on top of me so I let out a tremendous roar like a bear. Anyone around would have probably said it sounded more like a scream of terror and panic. Scared every deer for a half mile.

By the time I picked up my light and got untangled I realized that I am bleeding from my face and my arms but at least I dont smell any skunk spray. Never saw that stinkin' skunk again.

It was getting light by the time I settled into my tree.