smoking, and crazy

[elkoholic]

Literally. With our archery opener less than two weeks away I decided to pack a ladder stand over a mile up a mountain to what should be an excellent spot. One of the issues is we are under a Stage II fire alert and there is so much smoke in the air from the large number of fires burning in the northwest that you can almost stick a fork in it. The other issue is that my wife says a man in his sixties should not be packing a 100+ pound stand miles into the mountains and I must be crazy. Well, I might be crazy but since I will be concentrating on elk for most of September and not sitting in the stand til October I was running out of time to get the stand set and the surrounding area prepped so that it is ready for my first sit. Yeah, I guess an old man should not be carrying and setting up a stand by himself, but there is only me and as long as I can, I will. As for the fires, I am hoping we do not burn up, they do not close the forest or delay opening the season, and my lungs can handle the smoke well enough to let me get out there. As for the stand location, it is on the edge of an old clear cut where there is a level bench. Further up the slope (about 400 yards) is another old clear cut. There is a heavily used game trail connecting the two cuts and just inside the lower one is a faint (buck?) trail that parallels the edge. The furthest trail is 22 yards from my stand and the closest is 17. The deer that live in the area seldom if ever see humans (only the crazy ones) and I am hoping some big old mountain buck ambles past when I'm sitting there. Now if only the weather would change and we get some rain, or better yet, snow. Hopefully in two weeks I will be chasing elk and by the beginning of October drawing back on an old buck.

[Ravin R10 man]

and not coughing from the smoke...lol

Good luck sounds like an awesome spot!

[Maine Hntr]

Good Luck, does sound like a nice spot. Crazy how mother nature has a little something different for all the different areas we live.

[Tominator]

Sounds good. I remember one day after I got done hand digging a 100 yard trench for a drain tile, and sending a picture of it to my friend as he let me borrow his survey transit, I told him "I'm getting too old for this." He replied "I'd rather wear out, than rust out."

[wtnhunt]

Man Dave, you really should invest in a lighter ladder stand. lol. I have a few heavy stands, not sure I would drag them by hand that far. Sounds like a great spot. Good luck with the deer and elk.

Sounds good. I remember one day after I got done hand digging a 100 yard trench for a drain tile' date=' and sending a picture of it to my friend as he let me borrow his survey transit, I told him "I'm getting too old for this." He replied "I'd rather wear out, than rust out." [/quote']

lol. Heard that quote on Dr. Poll the other day. Yeah, think last time we/ I rounded up cows I told the wife I was getting too old to chase them on foot. Seems everything wears out quicker these days.

[CamoGuy]

Man Dave, you really should invest in a lighter ladder stand. lol. I have a few heavy stands, not sure I would drag them by hand that far. Sounds like a great spot. Good luck with the deer and elk.

I was thinking the same thing. The Ameristep 2 man ladderstand that I have for me and my son to share is only 65 pounds. I was looking at some single person ladders for him to use when we split up and the Ameristep 16 foot Recon was only like 48 pounds. With that said, I hate carrying anything heavy, so I use super lightweight hanging stands.