That was the word Wayne gave me. Just thought maybe Dale would like to tell everyone himself. :smile:
Hello everyone...well, exactly two weeks from the accident I was back in the tree. However, it was not in a lock-on...lol. Two days before I knew I was going to be able to hunt I bought a Lone Wolf sit-n-climb. Using that for my first time out was a little difficult on my leg but I was pretty comfortable in it and felt safe. Saw plenty of deer that night (Oct 1st) and it felt good getting back out there. The rest of the weekend I hunted using the climber. The following weekend we went out that Sat morning and decided to hunt out of a set I already had hung. By this time I received my Life Line systems from HSS. Now, I still had to climb the tree that morning in the dark to initially hang the Life Line system. Needless to say I death gripped every tree step as I climbed. Once to the top and prior to climbing into the lock-on I had a brief moment where I froze. I'm not going to lie...I got scared, and got scared quick. I knew there was going to be a mental hump to get over just didn't expect the flash backs that entered my head. It took me about two minutes of just being still and calming down before I climbed into the stand and very quickly attached my harness to the tree...lol. Then I attached the Life Line system and dropped it down to Larry. Sure I have the memories of that morning, but once we got settled in and the hunt began I was perfectly fine. Once it was time to be done that morning I attached my self to the Life Line and then climbed out. I can't even begin to tell you what peace of mind that system brings when your ascending or descending in the tree. Then this past weekend we hunted Wayne's farm and he has ladder sticks so those are a breeze but strapping in is the first and last thing I do now. You can ask anyone who has hung stands with me, I am a tree monkey. I would shimmy up, down and all around a tree with very sure feet. I never did anything stupid...but I never really gave much thought of things going bad when I was confident in the equipment I was using. Now I found myself overly cautious even in stands that are brand new and with new equipment because I am living proof that anything can happen. I think what feels the best is when I'm sitting in that stand I think...the one passion I am driven to do and be successful almost killed me, but it didn't, and I am BACK!
Thanks again to everyone that sent prayers my way and checked up on me. I appreciate more than you'll ever know!
