If you ever want a laugh like none other, just get one of your buddies to put a full Tyvek suit on and then have him cross a barbed wire fence!  Laughing can’t get any harder than that!  😉

On an elk hunt several years ago, Hunter, Many Steps, Edjukateer (then Cherry) and I were trying our best to somehow coax, or otherwise, get a big bull to cross over onto our hunting area out of a no hunting posted piece of ground.  We had tried nearly every trick we could and when they finally did show on our property, the shots were muffed in one way or another.

This particular day we found fresh snow, and it was pretty deep snow at that, when we woke up.  So, we decided to wear our snow color camo to help disguise us.  Who else but Edjukateer (Cherry at the time) would have a Tyvek suit.  I’ll have to admit, when he put it on and went out into the snow, he virtually disappeared.  The suit was exactly the same shade of white as the snow.  While the rest of us sort of looked a pale blue against the snow.

We were high on a ridge when we spot a lone bull about a mile up the drainage and very close to an old fence.    We checked out all of the terrain and picked out features that we should be able to identify once we got up to about where he was bedded.  Then off we went in hot pursuit.

Arriving at our parking spot, we spoke very softly in whispers so as to lessen the impact of our being there on the big bull.  We knew we had to be very quiet if we were to get close enough for a shot with our muzzleloaders.  So away from the ATV’s we headed.  About 100 yards up the hill we came to the old fence.  Hunter, Many Steps and I crossed without a hitch.  We were standing there with a foot on a lower wire pushing it down, and hands on an upper wire pulling it up and Edjukateer (Cherry at the time) was trying to get through the opening.

Perhaps he was a bigger man back then, or perhaps he should have picked up a smaller Tyvek suit, but any way you looked at it, that fence was loving that Tyvek.  As he struggled and became more and more entangled in the barbs of that there fence the funnier and funnier the scene became.  We were all trying our darndest to be quiet, and if you have ever tried to laugh out loud and be quiet at the same time it has to be one of the hardest things in the world to do.

The three of us were laughing so hard without making any sounds that our faces were as red as beets.  Tears were coming out of our eyes and running down our cheeks.  And still not a sound could be heard.  Edjukateer (Cherry at the time) had his head down so I don’t think he ever saw the three of us laughing.  He was so caught up (literally) and we were so much laughing that we couldn’t help him at all.  It was about all we could do to be holding the wires like we were, let alone help unstick him from the barbs.

With a big pull, jerk, lunge and/or combination of all of those things, over onto our side of the fence stood Edjukateer (Cherry at the time).  His Tyvek suit took quite a hit with that maneuver and it was rather shredded.  Lots of clothing underneath could be plainly seen.  It was then that he noticed we were laughing and he joined in!  Now if that isn’t a funny sight just in and of itself, there stood 4 grown men, with red faces, teeth showing , tears running down our cheeks and heads bobbling with the laughter caught deep inside each of us.

Once composed (5 minutes or more later), we split up into two groups of two and went looking for the elk, which probably watched us the whole time and decided red against white didn’t look like something he wanted to have too close to him.  All of him that was found was a bedding spot and hoof prints getting the heck out of there.

Thanks Edjukateer for the lesson on crossing the fence while wearing a Tyvek suit.  You made our day!

Bears Butt

May 24, 2011