two years ago I was using my climber to get up a rather slick popel tree. It had rained the night before and the woods were very quiet. I guess I didn' t get the bunge cord around my right foot enough and it poped off while I was hoisting the base. I was about 15 ft up at this point and now was hanging by my forarms and the base of the stand was hanging by my left foot. Try as I may I could not get that thing to latch onto the small slick tree. As I bang' ed and clanged around I looked over to my right and there is a spike buck standing there watching me intensely. He walked from one side of me to the other, stoped his foot, snorted at me, and got within 10 feet of the tree. I thought that he was going to try to grab my bow! Finally I got my foot hooked on the side of the stand and was able to reattach myself to the base. All the while the spike just stood there. Pissed I put my safety strap on the tree, hoisted my bow up, he just looked up one last time as if to say. Got' ya. and walked away.


The next weekend I was sitting by an old apple tree near a creek on some public land. As I sat into the mid day I broke out my lunch and watched the brook trout race up and down the creek. Along came some hikers about 40 yards up the creek. The creek bends right where I was sitting and there is a narrow point about 20 yards down creek that I cross to get to my stand. These guys must not have been familiar with the area and were decked out in some very Posh hiking gear. Full packs, boots, fleece, walking sticks, etc. Where they came out was a fence line across the creek. It was only about 20' across they must have assumed that being the svelt, decked out, dudes that they were they could cross the fence and make it to the other side. The first guy starts to cross the wire holding the top while standing on the bottom. He makes it into the middle and then his feet start to get into the creek a little bit but he makes it across with little more than some wet leather on his boots. The second guy decides that he is going to use the middle strand of wire so that his boots don' t get wet. He starts across and as he gets to the middle his body starts falling back. The weight of the pack was pulling him back and his feet were pushed out in front of him. So now he is stuck hanging there in mid air. He gives one giant lurch and flips him self forward now hanging in the exact oposite direction He takes his feet off the wire and tries to catch the bottom wire but he must have had enough and falls into the creek. To his surprise he is only up to his shins in water! You could see the relief on his face. He turns takes one step and falls face first into the channel of the creek. His buddy is roaring laughing on the bank. So Polo, soaked, climbs out of the creek cussing a blue streak. After a few min Polo cracks a smile, empties his boots and they start out up the creek.