November 3, 2007

• I Survived!

  I've had one week at my camping and hunting excursion and I have survived.  There was a couple of times that I didn't know what would happen, but I'm here to write about it and that means it went well (?)!  I camped out in the pines under the stars and a very bright moon on most of the nights.  One night was so unseasonably warm that I didn't even turn on my Mr. Heater Portable Buddy nor my Mr. Heater Big Buddy!  They're both on the same page of those search results.  When the night temps hit less than 29°F, then I had my little Buddy on with the lowest setting.  I also have a sleeping bag with a -10°F rating and that helps (never had it zipped up all the way).

  The Ditch

  I came upon a ditch, about 15' deep and about 8' wide, that I didn't even know existed.  It was running parallel with a powerline right-of-way.  I was still hunting (hunting where you move so slow that it's like standing still) and I was supposed to be at the powerline around dark.  The woods were deep, the underbrush thick, and the darkness had started to set in even before the sun had completely set for the evening.  Then I found the ditch.  I also found a deer trail going down into the precipice that looked like Mountain Goats had been there.  The Mountain Goat in me said that I could go down one side and up the other.

  I carefully made it to the bottom of this ditch that was lined with large rocks and a small trickle of water running around them.  I was pretty proud of my accomplishment.  I looked up and remembered the years that I used to jump an easy 8' with a running jump.  I could jump almost 7' without a run.  I'm not really up on jumping now, especially when jumping over a ditch lined with large rocks.

  The climb up the other side was a little harder than the climb down.  It wasn't any steeper, but gravity was not aiding me on the way up.  I stopped on the deer trail where I could reach out about a foot and touch the level ground.  If you like figuring angles, then my feet are touching the ground, I'm standing straight up with my hands out from my shoulders about 5' from my feet, and my shoulders were a little over 1' from the edge.  If you can't or don't want to figure, that is steep.  I think it was a 77° angle on my inclinometer on the other side.

  Then my foot hold gave away.  I tossed my bow onto the leaves on the top as I toppled over backwards like the tower of Babel.  I grabbed for a small tree, leaving 4 of my 5 fingernails embedded in the tree as they didn't hold.  My fanny pack softened that blow, slightly, but I started the descent faster than a rolling stone, and I was gathering no moss.  After about a 10' slide completely upside down with my head coming closer to the rocks, my left leg caught a 3" sapling in the bend of my knee.  I stopped abruptly, then looked down at the rocks that were about 12" from my head.  I didn't have to turn my head to look down because I was literally hanging upside down by my leg.

  While in this upside down position, I thanked God for that small sapling that saved my head from busting some rocks, or maybe it would have been the other way.  The next prayer was asking how I get out of this position.  A short struggle, which seemed like hours, and I had righted myself and climbed back up to the edge.  This time I didn't admire the edge but climbed out of the ditch and picked up my bow.

  There were 2 deer standing on the other side of the powerline.  I think they were laughing at the silly human that thought he was part Mountain Goat.  Then they flagged me and ran in the woods.  I had to laugh, too.  Until I really realized that even though I was only about 200 yards from my brother and my Dad, they would have had a hard time finding me if I had hit the bottom.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been that night.  So, another whispered prayer of thankfulness.

  It was time to wipe off the sweat, leaves, humus, and head for my hunting partners.  What a story to tell them, or should I?  I did, but made it sound less hazardous since my Dad can be worrisome.

  That was Day 1 of the hunting escapades.  

  Successful Hunting

  Yes, I saw 11 deer that day, but I didn't shoot any.  Most were too far away, some were just too little, and two were making jokes at me.  My measure of success does not mean that I have to KILL something.  To me, success is being able to be out in the wilds, and in this case, survive!  I enjoyed the day; that is success!

  And more escapades to follow!

  The FogWalker takes his oldest son out to eat at a Mexican restaurant....the first really cooked meal in a week....and it's the son's birthday...

  • 6:22 pm
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