---
title: "This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble"
description: "True reader stories from the field."
date: "2017-11-07"
modified: "2017-11-07"
authors:
  - name: "Outdoor Life Staff"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/outdoor-life-staff/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/this-happened-to-me-timber-tumble/"
categories:
  - "Survival"
---

# This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble

![This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/UIP5WC2JDAYHOHVUP6CJNSIYSI.jpg>)
*But 30 to 40 mph gusts shook the spruce, and after three hours I decided to climb down. Tony Shasteen*

Send your own story of a close call while hunting or fishing to THTM@OutdoorLife.com, and you could receive a free copy of our "This Happened to Me" book. THTM has been a fixture of *Outdoor Life* since it first appeared in 1940, and we've since compiled some of the most harrowing, hair-raising misadventures readers have ever experienced in [a single volume](<https://amzn.to/2zDuvTk//>). If we run your story, we'll send you a copy. You can pore over the 183 pages of this action-packed book knowing you're in good company.

## Timber Tumble: Tim Swart, Oostburg, WI

![This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/5JN6YVWYRWTVQNDJYGFVQAAKNQ.jpg>)
*The opening day of deer season was very windy. I hiked a mile into the woods and climbed 40 feet into a huge spruce. Tony Shasteen*

![This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/TD4HBNCHYVGLQOUGFMH77VYWQA.jpg>)
*I'd just begun my descent when a blast of wind hit the tree. A second gust struck, and the tree began to fall while I was still 40 feet up. I hung on for dear life, but halfway down, the old spruce hit another tree and jolted me off! Tony Shasteen*

![This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/QYZHNVDEAGQ2MYFK5DBAUTX7WA.jpg>)
*I fell to the ground, landing with a painful thud. I looked up to see the tree toppling right toward me! Tony Shasteen*

![This Happened to Me: Timber Tumble](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/ATLAVG35X5GVSN6MFESILFQAXM.jpg>)
*I rolled sideways and felt the earth shake as the tree landed. I’m still amazed I walked away. Tony Shasteen*

**Read Next: [How I Survived A Double Grizzly Attack](</how-i-survived-double-grizzly-attack/>)**

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