Dealing with snakes and other dangerous wildlife while on the trail!

[DSmith]

Afternoon ya'll,

What ways do you guys deal with snakes (if they are irritated) and other dangerous wildlife while on the trail or when at base camp? Just thought I would post and hear some feedback.

Bonus Question:

What is the craziest or most dangerous situation that you have gotten into on your adventure?

[tmountainnut]

Afternoon ya'll,

What ways do you guys deal with snakes (if they are irritated) and other dangerous wildlife while on the trail or when at base camp? Just thought I would post and hear some feedback.

Bonus Question:

What is the craziest or most dangerous situation that you have gotten into on your adventure?

Snakes are one of the reasons why i bring trekking poles. Walking around them is always the best option, and using the trekking pole as a target if they're going to strike. Luckily, the number of snake deaths per year in the US is very low.

[AdventureMyk]

Rule #1, learn what snakes are in your area and which ones are poisonous. At least in my area (east TN) there are only 3 kinds that can hurt you and those are easy to identify and rare to encounter. The rest you can play with and once they realize you aren't trying to eat 'em are pretty casual.

Rule #2, realize that even the dangerous snakes don't want to bite something too big to eat. They will only do so as a last resort if they are cornered or you pretty much step on them. They will hiss and make a break for it before they strike 90%+ of the time. Remember, you are ginormous to them and they haven't got a lot of self defense options. If a fifty foot tall snake slithered into your home how would you typically react?

Rule #3, use common sense. If something big and aggressive is in the way, say, a bear, either back away and leave it alone or shoot someone in the kneecap that is easier prey for it. I don't suggest the latter myself. It's hell on friendships.

Seriously though, even the few encounters I have had with bear popping up in the middle of the camp sites have led to nothing more than fun stories. To go with your craziest situation a friend and I were camping along a riverbank in the Cascade mountains (area east of Seattle). We woke up around sunrise, wandered the roughly 50' to the river, rinsed off, etc. Turned around and saw momma bear sitting in front of the tent while her cub was happily playing inside and ransacking everything. It wasn't being destructive, just curious. Scott and I looked at each other, at the rather large momma bear and the conversation went something like this:

"Scott, where is your rifle?"

"In the tent... with the bear... Where is your .40?"

"In the tent... with the bear... What do we do now?"

"Besides arm the bears? Where is the camera? This will be awesome!"

"In the tent...with the bear..."

About ten minutes (time seems to vary by memory) passed before the cub had it's curiosity filled and left. The mom did the closest thing I can explain to shrugging her shoulders and wandered away with it. It was as if she was just saying "Kids, what can ya do?"

The only thing that cub did even among the air mattresses was destroy a roll of paper towels. It didn't even touch the food we pulled out for breakfast. Plenty of muddy paw prints were all we could capture on the camera but that morning is one I don't think I will ever forget. I did learn that the bears here in the Smoky Mountains are quite a bit smaller and generally more casual.

[Bobo Uzala]

Give snakes a wide berth and always check out rocky crags and outcroppings in the sun and heat. I came across 2 ten year old rattlesnakes on top of Sullivan Mtn two weeks ago. They were hanging out on a rock shelf right below where someone would sit and dangle their feet.

Here's a fun camp prank... place a piece of long rope under your best buddy's tent after they set it up. When they're in the tent, slowly pull the rope until you hear screaming.....

Edited June 24, 2014 by Bobo Uzala

[AdventureMyk]

Scary thing, Bobo, is that I wrote such a scenario in one of my books. Hiker wasn't aware when she tossed her legs over a ledge for that perfect shot what was on the other side... I'm sure it has happened in reality but it wasn't fun in the book either.

I always check around the base when I'm sitting not just for snakes but spiders and their minions as well. There aren't many around here that can do major damage but a bite is a bite and usually in the less comfortable places.

[DSmith]

Myk: That story actually had me in tears because I was laughing so hard.

Bobo: nice shot by the way! How'd ya pull that one off without pissing one off haha

[AdventureMyk]

D, you should have been there. We were trying not to laugh so loud that the bear would get mad!

I took a hike last weekend to Virgin Falls and while I crashed the night in my Hennessy Hammock my young lady friend spent it in the Eureka Solo tent beneath me. I was awoken early in the morning to some rather large screams as she back-paddled her way out of the coffin-like shelter.

"It's inside, it's inside it's inside!" she was screaming... Apparently she thought the spider was on the outside of the mosquito mesh and then it was inside. I figured it was probably a typical spider. No big deal. After thoroughly pounding her sleeping bag and such and taking it all out we couldn't find it. It wasn't until I stuck my head inside and realized it had been right above where her face had been watching us that I realized it wasn't exactly a normal spider. It was also a fast little sucker...

Enclosed you will see why she went from half misty-eyed to wide awake in .004 seconds and why I certainly think her getting a wee bit upset at my laughing was justified... I'm sure I'd have done a bit of clambering out of there, too and spiders don't bug me!

For reference, pic #3 is an Osprey Aether 85 liter backpack... and yes, it's that big a spider...

[Dogwood]

If I experience irritated wildlife I FIRST always ask myself "am I the cause of the irritation?" Too often humans go into the outdoors having a human centric view of things taking themselves out of the negative wildlife/human encounters equation as if they occur without factoring in their behavior. I approach all my hikes by FIRST knowing I don't hike within a bubble. My knowledge and behavior determines how these encounters unfold and if they occur at all.

[rig]

Here in the UK we have one venomous snake, the adder. We get quite a few of them locally, but they usually scarper when they hear you coming and are rarely seen. Few people get bitten by them, although I did hear a report of somebody getting bitten earlier this year, but heard that the victim came through OK, spite reacting to the aniti-venom treatment.

Not being used to snakes, I was quite scared when I walked in Tasmanaia, where every snake is poisonous and the Brown Snakes aggressive too!. When I did see snakes, I backed off and gave them a very wide berth. I also took to talking to myself as I walked and making a lot of noise and I never listened to music, etc while I walked. Habits I maintain to this day!

Like tmountainnut, I too like the idea of carrying trekking poles partly as a means of defence, not only against any snake that I might get too close to, but also to deal with dogs, which are a far more likely threat for us. Overall, however, I like the idea that we are visiting the animal's domain and that we should play by their rules, not the other way round.

[Bobo Uzala]

DSmith, verry carefully! Considering the snakes were in the crags and right behind me was a cliff with a very long drop-off of unknown distance. Not the best place to set up a tripod

Bobo: nice shot by the way! How'd ya pull that one off without pissing one off haha