Cache Don't Carry

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Next, my friend fashioned a makeshift (and, I must admit, rather shaky) ladder from some fallen boughs . . . he simply wired a few rungs to two parallel poles. Then Jeff lashed two 4- to 4-1/2-foot-long limbs together at right angles, to form an "X" that would serve as the main support element for the platform.

With that done, up the tree he went again (this time using his ladder!) and — wielding a small axe — chopped a horizontal notch around one side of the trunk, about four feet down from the top of the stub, into which the cross would fit snugly at the juncture of its two members. Jeff bound the wooden brace assembly in place and — to strengthen the trusses — ran wire from the four ends of the cross to a point just below the post's top, where he wrapped the metal strands tightly around the trunk several times.

With the foundation securely in place, Jeff made a raftlike floor by carefully wiring nine birch poles — each one about 4 inches in diameter and approximately 4 feet long — to the surface of the horizontal cross. He placed the "floorboards" as close together as possible, and notched the two logs adjacent to the trunk so that they'd wrap around the main stem. Then, to further brace the members, he lashed yet another stick of birch across the top of each end of the planking. His last deck-building step was to trim the lengths of flooring with a saw, cutting off any protruding ends so that the final product was an almost symmetrical 3' X 4' platform . . . plenty big enough for our needs.

Now came the finishing touches. Again using his axe, Jeff stripped the trunk of bark from about chest height down to the ground. Then, just above the pared area, he wrapped two flattened five-gallon gas cans around the pole, end to end, and nailed them in place. The barkless surface and the metal bandage would discourage squirrels and bears that might be contemplating a climb up the tree . . . and, to be sure of dissuading such critters, Jeff went on to pound several nails part way into the wood above the cans, saw of the heads, and file the protruding shafts down to form sharp points. (This protective measure isn't always necessary . . . but remember, in many cases the contents of a cache can spell the difference between survival and disaster. Some trappers, in fact, go so far as to hang huge fish hooks, or even mosquito repellent in pressurized cans that will burst if bitten, from the posts supporting their supplies!)

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