• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Climbing a tree with vines

B

Boost_e

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
Messages
7
Just had my first ever hunt from the Saddle and the tree I decided to climb had three big vines running up the trunk but not quite attached to the tree (probably not a good choice for my first time using sticks and saddle). In order to keep good connection to the tree, I decided to pass my linemans rope UNDER the vines so it would make contact directly to the tree. As I got higher, this became increasingly difficult because the vines were tighter to the trunk. I managed, but it was a struggle.

So my question is... On a tree with vines, do I need to pass my lineman under the vines, or is it OK to just toss my linesman over all the vines?

Thanks!
 
Brambles? Green vines with sharp spade like thorns?

If so, I have found that taking 3 minutes to snap them versus pulling them works great. You can almost roll them up like multiple power cords.

Where I’m at the best trees have brambles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Oklahoma33 said:
Brambles? Green vines with sharp spade like thorns?

If so, I have found that taking 3 minutes to snap them versus pulling them works great. You can almost roll them up like multiple power cords.

Where I’m at the best trees have brambles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

We call “thorny smilax” brambles in OK.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I try to avoid trees with vines. Have had a couple of encounters, and while things originally looked "ok" at ground level, they usually got worse as I went up the tree.
 
Oklahoma33 said:
Brambles? Green vines with sharp spade like thorns?

If so, I have found that taking 3 minutes to snap them versus pulling them works great. You can almost roll them up like multiple power cords.

Where I’m at the best trees have brambles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thick woody vines. No thorns. Honestly (and I would try this at anything other than on the ground) they are thick enough to support my whole body weight.
 
Maverick1 said:
I try to avoid trees with vines. Have had a couple of encounters, and while things originally looked "ok" at ground level, they usually got worse as I went up the tree.
Click to expand...
Avoiding trees with vines was the name of the game when using my climber. That’s actually One of the primary reasons I got in to saddle hunting and climbing sticks was specifically to climb trees with vines. SOOO many of the trees around here have something growing on/up them that it’s nearly impossible to avoid.

these are think woody vines. Can confirm it got worse as I went up! Fortunately I was at hunting height before it got too bad. I’m very Curious to hear what kind of encounters you’ve had - near falls or dangerous situation?
 
Vines kill trees. I'll climb viney trees, but I confirm fresh leaves up top first. Where I hunt is stupid thick with thick woodsy vines, and accidentally climbing a dead tree that vines passed from another tree up top to choke out is one of the scariest moments I've had.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
 
Most of my vines I get on central Oklahoma are poison ivy, some of the vines are 6" diameter. So, yeah, be careful on

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 
I just preset a nice basketball size oak covered with poison ivy this afternoon. The largest vine was forearm size and several index finger size. I wear throw away rubber gloves after pulling them off and wash twice with lye soap and twice with alcohol, but usually still get some blisters. My body reacts horribly to this stuff but I WANTED A LINE in that tree. :)
 
Cotton-Eye said:
1” thick poison ivy vines are not uncommon here….
Click to expand...
Now you all got me questioning myself... I was almost certain this stuff wasn't poison ivy, but now I'm unsure.

Don't poison ivy vines have a sort of "fuzzy/hairy" appearance? Lots of little roots shooting off and digging in to the tree? These vines are free dangling at the base with little or no roots connecting them to the tree. More of a "wrapping" vine. They have of a flaky almost tree-like bark on them.

I've attached two pics that have the vines in them. One has a good close up of the vine, and the other you can see the same vines on the the neighboring tree. It really doesn't identify as poison ivy to me, but as I stated above... I'm no expert in identifying this stuff.
 

Attachments

  • vine 1.jpg
    vine 1.jpg
    469.9 KB · Views: 32
  • vine2.jpg
    vine2.jpg
    427.4 KB · Views: 32
Boost_e said:
Now you all got me questioning myself... I was almost certain this stuff wasn't poison ivy, but now I'm unsure.

Don't poison ivy vines have a sort of "fuzzy/hairy" appearance? Lots of little roots shooting off and digging in to the tree? These vines are free dangling at the base with little or no roots connecting them to the tree. More of a "wrapping" vine. They have of a flaky almost tree-like bark on them.

I've attached two pics that have the vines in them. One has a good close up of the vine, and the other you can see the same vines on the the neighboring tree. It really doesn't identify as poison ivy to me, but as I stated above... I'm no expert in identifying this stuff.
Click to expand...
It sure don't look like the poison ivy we have. Not poison oak either, I think you are good. We have oak, ivy, wild grape, wild cucumber, and a little bit of Virginia creeper. The Virginia Creeper has 5 leaves and could be what you have there? Poison Oak and Poison Ivy are my worst enemies but the stickers on Wild Cucumber are hard to remove and get pretty sore.
 
Still Kicking said:
It sure don't look like the poison ivy we have. Not poison oak either, I think you are good. We have oak, ivy, wild grape, wild cucumber, and a little bit of Virginia creeper. The Virginia Creeper has 5 leaves and could be what you have there? Poison Oak and Poison Ivy are my worst enemies but the stickers on Wild Cucumber are hard to remove and get pretty sore.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the reply. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top