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Thread: snake bit

  1. #1
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    Default snake bit

    Just saw my first rattler of the 2012 season. It was about 3' 6" and pissed as hell to see me on the trail. I backed up about 5 yrds or so, and gave it time to calm down and then move off the trail.

    After seeing it on a trail down here in the south land, what are the general feelings about the probability/possibility of getting snake bit, especially by something posionous, e.g. rattler, on the AT?

    I'm especially interested in the possibility from the Neel Gap to Fontana section.

    Thanks much.

    P.S. Any spotting info is also useful to get an idea of where they being spotted.

  2. #2
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Just enjoy the moment - take pictures - its called seeing nature....while outside....what fear?
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  3. #3

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    In the winter there under the rocks,in the summer there on top of the rocks.Some hike for years and have never seen one....including me...and I look for them,congrats.

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    No fear here. More of a curiosity and poll type question. I realize they are seen less often further north on the AT, but down here in the south land they are as common as squirrels, so just curious (with all the bear discussion) if any folks are also seeing a lot more early rattler/diamondback activity. I was also interested if this has ever interfered or been a factor on an AT hike or if there have been any bites. I haven't seen much discussion of it, so just curious.

  5. #5

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    Just be sure to have something on your feet at night when you get up to use the privy, so you don't step on one. Otherwise you should be fine unless you provoke one.

    gum

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    No one has been bitten by a venomous snake while hiking the Appalachian Trail.
    The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
    You never know which one is talking.

  7. #7
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    Ticks are more of a worry than snakes, hence the annual report of someone having to leave the trail because of Lyme disease.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnnybgood View Post
    Ticks are more of a worry than snakes, hence the annual report of someone having to leave the trail because of Lyme disease.
    And rattlers eat the mice that carry the ticks that would otherwise eventually land on you. Rattlers and all snakes are your friends. As long as you don't piss them off unnecessarily...

  9. #9
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    No one has been bitten by a venomous snake while hiking the Appalachian Trail.
    Uhh, what do you base this on? I'm pretty sure that people have been bitten, although perhaps not many thru-hikers. I have not heard of anyone dying from a snakebite while hiking the AT, however.
    Last edited by Kerosene; 04-02-2012 at 16:15.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  10. #10
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    In mid-May of last year on the downhill from Wesser Shelter to NOC two guys ahead of us encountered a small rattler on a narrow section of trail. It had been holed up in the rock wall on one side, and wouldn't move until they pushed it aside with a long branch. They left a note for those of us behind them. My daughter was very anxious about passing the "snake den", while a young guy that caught up to us did everything he could to try to see it, including getting down on his knees with a flashlight to peer into the designated hole in the rock. I told him that I wasn't going to carry him to town if he got bit.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

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    In the Quarry Gap area of the AT in PA there are signs that say that the timber rattlers are protected. I was up there with a group of about 25 women and told them "That sign means that if you get snake bit I have to kill you and save the snake."
    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

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    Well then to better answer your question, your eyes must fall about ten feet ahead and check the sides of the trail - spotting comes from lots of practice.

    The snakes are taking advantage of sunning on rock or maintaining body temp under rocks and actively eating mice at night... mice & chipmunk use the trail to move back and forth and that brings the snakes to the edge. It is not uncommon in PA to have the black racers right across the trail like sticks. Rattlers prefer rock outcrops. Having a Jack Russel out in front is a treat.... Something I have seen first hand.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by JustADude View Post
    ...I realize they are seen less often further north on the AT, but down here in the south land they are as common as squirrels,....
    Uh, I have news for you - they're quite prominent "further north." Granted, you won't see them in Maine or New Hampshire but PA, NJ, NY - sure you will. My buddy who thruhiked in '04 saw one big rattler - in Massachusetts on Mt. Everett.

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    the biggest risk of a bite is stepping on one. theyll usually let you know theyre around, and here in NY ive come within a foot without any reaction, and Im sure ive probably come close many othr times without knowing it.when youre on open rocks and ridges, be creful where you place your hands, and as WOO suggested weatch 10 feet in front of you as well as the areas adjacent to the trail as they like to hang out waiting for mice.

  15. #15

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    At least rattlers sometimes give you a warning. Copperheads couldn't if they wanted to. Chenango, Mariano, and I saw one last fall in Pa. It was small and very sluggish because of the cold. Blended in almost perfectly with the fallen leaves.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  16. #16

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    There was a guy hiking just ahead of me that I ran into as I crossed into New Jersey. Not so odd comparatively. A few days ahead on the Trail he wrestled a rattler to impress a girl -- after about 30 minutes of wrestling the snake bit the heck out of him. He made it into the local newspaper when they had to come out and take him to the hospital. Moral: Don't use snakes to impress a girl. Use money (this learned from taking a group pic of all the women in my neck of the Trail at Fontana Dam -- they didn't say cheese to smile for the pic -- they said "Men With Money").


    Datto

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    Just saw this big copperhead on the Mountains to Sea trial today in the Wilsons Creek area. He was so sluggish he would not move off the trail so I took my hiking pole and gently moved him down the hill before taking the picture.

    North Harpers Creek Falls trail 266 024.jpg

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kerosene View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    No one has been bitten by a venomous snake while hiking the Appalachian Trail.
    Uhh, what do you base this on?
    Gotta be based on a better source than this one--

    Quote Originally Posted by JustADude View Post
    ... down here in the south land they are as common as squirrels....
    RainMan

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    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

    [url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]

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    After 50+ years as a hunter, angler, hiker, camper, police officer, rescue squad member, and veteran the only people I've ever met who were bitten by a poisonous snake were people who were screwing with the snake in some fashion- either handling or trying to kill it. My father was bitten by a non-poisonous snake when he was a teen while swimming a horse across the Clinch River here in Va herding cattle. It really doesn't happen that often.
    "You're a nearsighted, bitter old fool."

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    There are no diamondback rattlers in the mountains, just timber rattlers. But a rattler is a rattler.

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