It had not rained in several days, and I knew the road would be OK. I got the stand strapped down in the back of my truck and brought the chainsaw and my two-gallon sprayer along. It was midday and very hot, but the woods were shady and somewhat cooler. I stopped at the first tree, which was only a sapling but still needed to be removed. It hung over in the road and had a tangle of vines attached. I pulled on the sapling and it broke free, but I still needed to cut the vines that held onto the limbs. The other tree across the road was just ahead. It was a dead pine. The chainsaw was needed for this one, and it made short work of the pine. I cut the tree into sections that could be handled and threw the pieces to one side of the road. I walked back to the truck and drove on. The bad mud hole was just ahead. The ruts were full of water, but I held to one side and straddled the ruts. I rolled on into the opening, then stopped in front of the pine where my stand would go. I unloaded the metal ladder stand and pulled it into the edge of the tree line. I looked the ground over and decided where the bottom of the ladder should go, to be able to position the seat on the best spot against the tree. The stand is a two-man stand and has a large seat. It was heavy and difficult to balance when I started lifting. Every attempt I made was fruitless. When I lifted, the top-heavy stand would roll and pitch to one side. Finally, I gave up after much sweating and aggravation. I would need to regroup and make another plan. In the meantime, I could go ahead and spray some of the small gum tree sprouts that had come up since we bush hogged the opening. A few days later, I went by the hardware store on the way back to the club. I got a 50-foot nylon rope and a 4-inch screw in "J hook." I brought along a 16-foot aluminum extension ladder. This time I had a plan. It was early morning and much cooler. The road was still open, and I had no trouble driving in. I unloaded the ladder and retrieved the rope and hook from the truck. I leaned the ladder against the tree and extended it to about the right height. I climbed up and screwed the hook into the side of the pine at about 15 feet from the ground, then went down, got the rope and tied one end to the top of the stand and went back up the ladder to the hook. I ran the rope through the hook and let it hang to the ground below. I got down and walked the end of the rope back to get a good angle, then looped it around a small tree. I got in front of the small tree and took the rope in my hands and tugged. The stand moved, and I put my full weight into it. The stand started up, and I did not stop until it was standing. I tightened the loop around the small tree and went over to the ladder of the stand. It didn't take much effort to get the stand settled against the tree and position the ladder properly. I got two ratchet straps from the truck and went back up the ladder to fasten the stand to the tree. The straps were tightened, and the stand felt rock solid. I got down from the extension ladder and climbed the ladder of the stand and sat in the seat. This would be my view. There is one leafy limb that needs to be trimmed to improve my visibility across the opening. I was very pleased. Of course, I could have gotten someone to help me put the stand up, but I wanted to do it myself. It just took a little extra effort. Now I need to go back, put out some corn and install a camera. Then wait for the deer season. It will be here soon, and I'm almost ready. Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.

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