Dang..i read boathands story and it reminded me of one forgot..an i mean..it was bad..i was bowhunting corps land probly 10 years ago..beavers had made a dam across a slough and i looked out across what i thought was just dead weeds matted over mud…i took a step out on it..an it was solid as a rock..i thought..oh yeh im good.. i tore out walkin…i took six or sk steps an i realized i was bouncing i thought..surely i aint on a log..boom..the end of the log broke out from under me and i fell through that mat in about 10ft of water totin a hoyt,ol man climber, and a backpack..the treestand like to have got me killed cause it got pinned to the log and it was holdin me under…i got the straps off tho an pulled myself up above the water…this was like december.. i held on to the log an got my stand on too of the mat and I crawled up on it an used that ol man like a snow shoe for my body…i dropped my bow an it was layin on top of the mat where i fell through..if i hadnt come back up in that one hole id have probly drowned tryin to get another hole made…I crawled back to the bank an i think i laid there for about an hour soaked to the bone and absolutely exhausted …the water was freezing but it was an abnormally warm day an it was like 70 degrees..i got my crap together an went to the truck an went home…that was the worst experience ive ever had an im real lucky that stand didnt sink me down there in the mud