Snake Gaiters

[CalebJ]

I'd try a local 911 call first if cell service were available, but yes - a PLB use under the circumstances seems totally reasonable to me.

[Five Tango]

I'd try a local 911 call first if cell service were available, but yes - a PLB use under the circumstances seems totally reasonable to me.

Thanks,that's what I'm thinking as a child's body weight is so much less than an adult I would think it would be much more serious of an emergency.

[rmitchell]

When doing trail maintenance I wear leather boots and OR two layer gaiters. Mostly to keep dirt out of my boots and to protect my shins from a ricocheting swing blade. Hiking is low tops trail shoes and lightweight single ply gaiters.

I have seen probably a dozen or so timber rattlers and a couple of copperhead snakes. Most often the rattlers do not rattle unless they are startled.

There may have been more copperheads that I didn't see. They are very well camouflaged. One of the copperheads I heard leaves rustle and had to carefully look before I finally saw it stretched out immediately to my left. It had crossed the trail in front of me and stopped just off the tread way. I took it's picture and went on my way leaving it were it stopped.

When working on the trail I try to make a point to use a tool to move the foliage before stepping off trail or reaching into brush.

The only near miss that I have had was hiking an overgrown AT south of Buena Vista. Deciding not to stay at Punchbowl Shelter I had pushed on looking for a stealth spot to tent.
As it began to get dark I intentionally did not turn on my headlamp so that I might spot an open space off trail. There were small frogs or toads occasionally jumping from the undergrowth. I was wearing low top hiking shoes, shorts and no gaiters.

Just after crossing a footbridge a patterned thick bodied snake struck at me from the left. I jumped backwards with enough force that my gatorade bottle came out of the bungie attached to my pack strap. The snake crawled off to the left. I foolishly reached down and picked up the water bottle.

I'm not sure if it was a rattle snake that didn't warn or a water snake. My heart rate jumped so high that I had to sit down at a bench at the Brown Mountain sign for the African American settlement site to calm my self.

The snake could have bitten me if it wanted so I suspect it was just a warning. I turned on my headlamp and proceeded much more slowly from there until Brown Mountain Shelter.