Martin,

Good words, I am a road deputy and recently had to go searching through the woods for a lost hunter. I received the call around 2100 (9pm) it was cold (38F) and raining off and on. This one does not end well as most do not. It was not because of his fitness level or physical problems, it was his educational level and common sense. He hunted with a tree stand and used a single point harness to make sure he did not fall. Well he did not fall very far just enough for it to constrict his chest where he could not breathe. My official investigation cause of death was positional asphyxia. My night ended around 0430 cold, wet and letting a wife know that the father of her children would not be coming home. If you hunt with a tree stand use a full harness not just a lanyard around your chest and keep your knife on you just in case, (I would rather have a broken leg from cutting myself free then the alternative). His was in the bag on the ground he just lowered.

So in conclusion practice what you will be doing, learn about safety (the suffocation hazard about those harness have been known and advertised), and use a little common sense (knife on you not in bag). Sorry I will get off my soapbox now. As Martin said I do not mind pulling you out of the woods (in any condition), I just do not like having to explain it to your family in the end.