Stupidest thing you've ever done in the woods...

R

Racerx2oo3

Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
174
What have you done in the woods that had the potential to needlessly put your life in danger?

I'm not proud of mine mainly because it could have really gone a bad way. Last year my wife, 2 children and I went camping with friends. It was a nearby state park, but very secluded and a small campground. We set up camp while the kids played around camp. The only other camp next to our was occupied by a single camper and his dog. Guy seemed like a decent guy, talked to his dog, but I didn't think it was that odd at the time. As we turned in for the night I could hear the guy next to us listening to music, he had headphones on, but had the volume up so loud that it was easy to hear the music. Suddenly he starts having these bizarre one-sided conversations with himself. Diatribes about the government and talking nonsense. Then he starts talking to the dog telling it how much he love it and that it's the only thing that understands him, how he'll never let it leave and that he'd kill it before he would let it leave. Getting stranger and stranger all the time. So I told my wife, let's just load the kids in the car and head home (About 1 1/2 hour trip), leave our stuff and come back in the morning. So I head out to talk to the other family we are camping with and let them know the deal. The husband downplays it, and says the guys been drinking and he probably a little out of it. At that point I should have done, what my instincts were telling me and got out of Dodge, but I didn't want to look overly paranoid so against my better judgement I went back to the tent and had a restless nights sleep (the guy finally quieting down a couple hours later.)

In the morning we went by the ranger station (unmanned at night) and explained what had happened the night before the Ranger came by and talked to the guy who was all calm and normal "Yes officer, no officer". The Ranger went back to the ranger station and found that this guy had several complaints lodged against him at other campgrounds and he came back and told him to leave. At this point the guy becomes a crazy man, yelling and screaming how the goverment is out to get him, destroying his own campsite and throwing his own items into the fire. The Ranger waited and escorted the guy out of the campground.

Everything worked out ok. But it could have gone really bad, and I gambled not only my own life, but that of my wife and kids.

Sorry for the long post....
 
When I was a boyscout i was demo-ing how to chop with an axe and the head came flying off and stuck into a tree a few feet away from my Scoutmasters face:eek: . Foretunately my totin chip wasn't taken. Whenever I recal the event I remind myself why I spend loads of cash of QUALITY gear.
 
lol. I remember when I was in the boyscouts I was collecting fire wood. So I climbed up on a downed tree and started sawing on one of the branches whilst sitting on the main trunk of the tree. Was about 6 feet off the ground. Next thing I knew I was laying on my back on the ground. Still can't remember falling. Fortunately, I didn't land on the saw or anything but it sure knocked the wind out of me.

Since then, I've generally preferred to get my firewood while keeping both feet on the ground. ;)
 
Walked over an ice covered log, over a creek, in Jan... Luckily I was only about a mile away from home; but let me tell you that was the longest mile I've ever ran!
 
I was horse camping, it was the second day, we were about to stop and let the horses have some water, so i loosend my girth on the saddle and was about to jump off when another horse spooked, sent my horse flying, next thing i know im sitting upside down under the horses belly........the rest didnt go well...for non horse people you dont loosen the girth until after you get off.......i lost a good saddle, alot of my pride, but thank god not the horse
 
haha, the stupidest?? well I have done this many times, But thinking a find is going to hold the branchs in front of you, you hope he will but never does. Is it that I am the only on that holds branchs for other people so they dont get whiped in the face :D lol
 
I have recently added a bottle of Iodine to my PSK after reading Cody Lundins book. Good idea on the face of it however....
I was on a hike the other day and so far into it felt discomfort on my lower back and backside. I thought it was just my clothing or something rubbing and ignored it.
I later found out that the bottle of Iodine had all leaked out,gone through my bag,clothes and onto my skin. To cut a long story short I have burnt all my backside and my skin is now peeling....take care with that stuff !!!!
 
The stupidest thing I ever did was camp next to some Nosey Jerks who wouldnt let me talk to my Dog in Peace:mad: They were probably govenment agents sent to ruin me, They told the ranger on me but I showed them, I trashed my campsite and destroyed the evidence :rolleyes: :confused:
 
Some 30 years ago I was hiking off trail on Mt Baldy near Los Angeles. I climbed up a dry waterfall about 15 feet high above a rocky base. At the top, I found myself in a kind of dry wash, which I proceded to try to go up. I was on pea gravel over rock. It was a slope and after a couple of steps I found that I was sliding back toward the edge. I couldn't control my slide. It was like trying to walk on marbles. I spreadeagled myself on the ground and dug in my fingers and toes of my boots. Got enough traction to stop.

Shouldn't have been off trail in the first place and I should have looked at the ground before starting up that wash. Bloody near killed myself. Dumm Scheisse!
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
The stupidest thing I ever did was camp next to some Nosey Jerks who wouldnt let me talk to my Dog in Peace:mad: They were probably govenment agents sent to ruin me, They told the ranger on me but I showed them, I trashed my campsite and destroyed the evidence :rolleyes: :confused:
Click to expand...

ROFLMAO

1. A couple at a publc park with a nature drive was approaching a black bear and taking pictures. I warned them not to get between her and her two small cubs which were up a tree they were nearing. Both of them got very upset with me. I warned them not to get excited around a mother bear. They got more upset. I left, but using hindsight, I stayed in that situation way too long.

2. Flipping my canoe on the flooded Buffalo River. Trying to find dry wood on the inside of branches while shrivering was not easy. I should have waited for the current to slow down.
 
I would have been about ten or eleven years old and me and a mate decided to go for a hike up this mountain about 500 metres from the main road which had properties/houses backing onto the base,took us about half a day to get to the top,when we got up there we said what are we gunna do now so being a stupid kid instead of admireing the scenery we started throughing rocks over the edge,got bored with that within 10 mins and start rolling the biggest boulders we could find over with no care what was below, We head back down but instead of following the track/trail decide to climb down the face, I got about 10 meters down and fell about two meters and landed on a ledge half a meter wide my mate above me went straight back up I sat there for about 20 mins before I got the balls to move,went back up and followed the track, Anyway in one day I had put my life in danger and others below, I was a stupid kid and learned a lesson could have been much worse, I have nightmares about it to this day.
 
About ten years ago, going canoeing on the Mohican river. Usually a calm, low river with places you have to get out and drag the canoe in the hight of summer. Took a longer trip than usual, and they started my up river (I had not been up river before). On the way to the canoes, I notice big, black storm clouds to the North. I ask, should I still be canoeing with a storm coming in? Answer; storm is too far to the North to be of any effect.
Get to the canoe, start down river. Not ten minutes after getting into the canoe, rain. No biggie, I think. About 10 min later, flash flood. River is easily rising a foot a minute, and I have a flat bottom canoe. No control. Smash sideways into a submerged tree and flip. Thank God I had my vest on! I manage to get to the river's edge and use a tree to pull myself out. Spent I don't know how long sitting there, watching canoes, beer, paddles, coolers, and all manner of stuff float down the river. If I think conditions are not promising, or have a bad feeling, I don't go anymore!
 
Years ago, my wife and I went to stay at a B&B in North Conway, NH. There was good hiking everywhere, so I decided on a Mtn. to try. My wife, being pregnant at the time, did not go.

Now, I thought I was the great hiker and all, so I had my Timberland boots on, and a sweatshirt. I did have some water and stuff in my day pack, but probably not very well prepared.

It was Late April, and fairly nice out, so I started out. Well, about halfway up, the snow started to come down, and conditions got pretty slippery and nasty. I managed to summit to the fire tower and headed back down.

I was extremely lucky, because:

1. I never told my wife where I was going
2. I was not geared up for the change in weather. I was sweating pretty good, and did not have the proper clothing. Luckily it wasn't that cold.
3. I was hiking alone.
3. I never saw a soul on the trail the whole time. If I had gotten hurt, I would have been on my own to get help.

That was pretty stupid on my part.

Glenn
 
There were about 25 of my family mambers, (Cuz and aunts and uncles and friends) out deer hunting on our family land.

I was with the younger guys, so we would all line up and walk as a line into the woods to drive the deer out the other side where the old men stood with their bigger guns.

as I walked my line in the deep cover, I saw some TP (bathroom paper) attached to a tree.
I thought it was a dropped marker from an airplane and went over to get it to show my dad later.
The TP seemed tied to a branch, and as i reached for it I stepped in a pile of $hit.
I didnt understand?,
Whats the deal with this?

I kept walking as we all drove the deer ahead of us and i saw yet more TP sticking to branches. I walked over to look and yes, more and more $hit was always with the hanging TP.

Thats when I got it.
"Oh, thats to mark where not to walk!"
It seems thats the common way to "mark the pile" in my family that i didnt know about.

3 days later when we all packed up and loaded the cars ,.I looked back and saw that the woods was filled with stringers of TP blowing in the wind...
 
While deer hunting, I was walking down a path when a puff of dirt kicked up next to me, and a few seconds later I heard a bank.
I turned and noticed a huge buck on the summit, so I put my scope on the deer.
Another puff of dirt and delayed bang.

I drew a bead on the deer, and noticed another hunter on a hill behind the deer.

It took me a while to realize what was happening, but instead of immediately taking cover, I started waiving my arms and yelling.
It took me a few moments before I took cover.

I just couldn't believe that someone was shooting at me, and it took me a while to appreciate the danger I was in.
 
one time I was with a family deer hunting party and there was one kid who had one of them cheap assult guns made in China.
He had two 15-round clips duck taped to each other with it.

Im in the woods with dad pushing any deer out the end where there were guys posting.

BANG!
My dad yells over to me that this first shot was from a guy off to our far-left.

BANG!
Now dad says that this new shot was from right in front of us to our near-left.
This means that the kid with the assult gun was next to shoot at this deer crossing in front of dad and I ...

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!...............a moment when all was calm......then.....
BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!
All around dad and I the grass was singing.. it sounded like angry bees were going by...rounds were bounceing off of rocks and screaming into the air!
I dove behind a tree.
Dad just stood there and cussed...

later when we walked out of the woods we walked over to where the kid was with the China assult gun.
I asked, "How many deer did you hit?"

"I missed"

I could not believe this,
"You just shot 30 times at the same deer, more shots that I have taken in total in 20 years of hunting, and you missed?"
 
Fonly im that friend of yours lol What i like to do is pull on the branch as far as i can before let it go lol. Had some of my friends layed on the ground. I thought it was sooooo funny, untill they nailed me.
We all read about Tarazan right. Well where i lived we had lots of trees so we hang ropes and would jump from one to another. It was a blast doing it up high in the trees and we could get going fairly fast. Thats untill a FRIEND of mine pull the rope up so here im flying high in the trees with nothing to grab. Landed on my head, i was out for over 30 min.
another one i just thought of. I were chopping a tree when i seen one that i liked it was hanging over a small cliff with another tree laying right next to it. so i walked on one tree and started to chope the other one. At some point i started to lose my ballance. Moving my hands to gain my ballance back i ended up hitting my head with the axe. I did finish chopping the tree when i got back my friends looked at me with eyes poopinng. My face shirt pants were covered in blood.
Oh here is another one dont you ever ever try to steal honey from bees during the day where there are more then 20 bee hives in one place. They have radios and would call all the 20 hives to come out and play with you. The next day could open on one eye half way.

do you guys want me to go on??????
 
I deer and duck hunt on a farm that also has a few cattle. The land owner / farmer made it clear that coyotes and dogs were not wanted on his property. I had not seen any but he said there was a pack of seemingly wild dogs that had killed a couple calf and he said if I ever saw them, shoot first ask questions later.
I was sitting in the duck blind when on the other side of the bijou two deer chame running by at full steam. I thought to myself, THat's odd... then about 45 seconds later a mangy dog came by right on their trail. my mind went into action and I stood up with my 20 ga and shot. The dog was about 80 yards out and I knew i couldn't kill it from there, but at least I could get it off the deers trail.
I knew id' hit it when it whined and pulled a hard u turn. I cracked open my shot gun and was reaching for two more shells when I heard " where the hell are you??" The fellow was out for a stroll with his dog and I shot it. He was tresspassing and had no right to be there but he was pissed anyway. I felt terrible. Offered to pay vet bills, but he came to his senses and got out of there before anyone "official" realized he was on the wrong property.
 
When I was a kid, back before anyone had heard of paint-ball guns, my cousin and I occasionally had BB gun shootouts. They were fairly low powered BB guns and we kept the range pretty long, but we're pretty lucky that neither one of us ever lost an eye.
 
Deerslayer, sounds like the other guy was the one doing something stupid in the woods. . . seems like you were doing the right thing.
 
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