Early season hunting is about patterns and food is the main attraction. I wouldn't sit in a stand until I had done some long distance scouting and figured some things out. I consider long distance scouting,glassing specifically, just as much a part of the hunt as actually sitting in a stand. Save those funnel/pinch pt. stands in travel corridors for the pre-rut/rut time frame. Concentrate your early season hunting to the afternoons unless you have specific knowledge of A. where their feeding and B. where they bed.
Dan