Ever hurt yourself in the woods?

[Kpete]

Erik,
Now that would be scary!  Glad you healed up.
Kirk

[JW_Halverson]

I was thinking about this thread the other day in the woods.  I was bushwaching straight lines thru some overgrown ponderosa pines following the property lines of the new place I get to archery hunt.  I was about half way around this sprawling 500 acre tract when I sat down to have a sammich and a bottle of water.  I shared a few bites with a friend's dog, thankful for her company out in the woods on a rainy/snowy day. 

I took a big ol' bite of this homemade whole wheat bread, spicy brown mustard, and thick sliced ham sammich and promptly almost did a "Mama Cass Elliot".  In a flash I realized I was over a mile from my vehicle, two miles from the nearest house, and what the heck good is a cell phone when you are choking?!?!?

I got it cleared, but by the time I did everything was a little grey and fuzzy around the edges.  Another rule I am adding to the ever growing list of things to be aware of when alone in the woods....take small bites, chew carefully. 

[nclonghunter]

I have been lucky over the years with many close mishaps that could have caused serious damage.  "BUT"  Last year after deer season I went out to take down a 15 foot ladder stand that was positioned on the edge of a flat and a steep slope. I had help putting up the stand and forgot I balanced the legs in the forks of a large popular tree (to get up higher). I climbed and unhooked the straps as I went up. At the top I unhooked the ratchet strap and the stand pulled away from the tee and at that moment I realized I was pivoting on the bottom step. I turned to grab another popular tree (of the three growing from the same trunk) but it was lighting fast. It seemed almost instantly I hit the ground on the sloping side and rolled. Figure it was a 18-20 foot drop. Once stopped I was confused and sat up for several minutes getting my senses back. No pain at all until I tried to stand and neither leg would move. Instant sweat broke out and I started checking for blood but found none. (cutting saplings around a stand can make stabbing stubs to fall on). I began pulling myself towards the stand laying about six feet away. Once I got to it I was able to partial stand using the stand. My left leg was working now, but the right was in terrible pain. I pulled the stand rails apart and used them as crutches. A 100 yards or so distance back to the truck with a lot of "controlled screaming" I was back in the drivers seat headed home. I could now skip some and got to my couch, but the pain was worse in the leg. Called my wife an hour later and went to the Prime Care. I broke my fibula bone, which resulted in a DVT or blood clot in deep muscle. Three months of blood thinners and healing I was back to jogging some.
I always tell someone where I am going, but on that day I had some spare time and "just ran out to get the stand" and no one knew where I was.
Interesting thing was I had a cell phone, but I guess because of embarrassment or pride or whatever I did not want to call anyone hoping to get back home and thinking it would get better. I hope these story helps someone to not get hurt in the future.

[nclonghunter]

Got to share a funny one. An old friend took a nice buck and was gutting it. He was bent over cutting up the center as I held the back leg. He raised up and looked at his finger and I could see some blood on his hand, thinking it was deer blood. He turned white as a ghost, then fell over onto the ground fainting for a several seconds. He got back up and we wrapped his finger with a bandanna and he finished the job. We laughed about that for many years.

[JW_Halverson]

The message I keep hearing over and over in this thread is to always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. 

I know from my own experience it galls me to have to do this, I'm a grown-ash man, I don't have to answer to anyone, right?  Well, yeah, I do.  And those of you with families have even more reasons to check in and check out.

[JW_Halverson]

Ok, this was not technically "in the woods" but it was outdoors and a lot of blood was involved. 

Three of us went out to Donny Ferguson's dam to fish for northern pike back before he drained it and ruined the best snot-rocket fishing you ever saw!  It was me, the guy that tought me to make bows, and a Regional Director from the National Wild Turkey Federation.  We got there early in the morning and the bite was ON!  And in more ways than one.  That day we boated close to 100 pike in the 4-7 lb range, it was a challenge trying to find a lure they WOULDN'T hit!

No one thought to make sure they had a needle nose pliers, forceps, hook-out tool, or even so much as a cheap-o- chinese knock-off of a leatherman tool!!!  By noon we had three inches of blood sloshing around in the bottom of the canoe and very little of it was from fish.  Our hands looked like we had gotten jobs that morning sorting razor blades from cut glass and missed the safety demonstration!  Nothing needed a stitch, but the sum accumulation of injuries by the inch would have killed lesser men!  Mighty warriors indeed.