Snake Encounters while Geocaching

October 31, 2008

Has anyone else ever had a close encounter with a venomous snake while geocaching, or even bit? I had close encounter with a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (4 feet long) a couple months ago, it got to within a foot of biting my leg, thank god it missed!! Photos and video below.

Jeff

4' Long Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Same Rattlesnake Coming at Me

Coiled Up Under a Tree

Got lucky at this Cache, they were busy Mating

Non Venomous Snake on the Trail

Same Snake (Close-Up)

Edited November 1, 2008 by LUCKYSTRIKE1

October 31, 2008

I've had a couple of run-ins with rattlers while caching. First one was in a rock-filled wash in AZ. I was searching for a cache with a hint that it was in a pile of rocks with a pinkish one on top. More than half of the rocks were pinkish in color, so I was just randomly flipping them over with my walking stick and then I heard it; the rattle. I moved another rock and here was this 4-5ft rattler all coiled up underneath it. I got back up to the SUV in record time to grab my camera but by the time I got back down where I spotted the snake he was gone and since I didn't know where he went, I was gone too. I returned to that cache two other times and both times I heard that rattle and haven't bothered to head back there since.

The second was up in the mountains near my home. I had climbed a nice little hill to find the cache. When I got to GZ I spotted a small pile of rocks in a small hole underneath a little sapling. I began to move the rocks (again with my stick) and I spotted the end of a small PVC pipe cache. I then heard what sounded like air hissing out of the cache. Everytime I moved it I heard the same thing and thought maybe the cache container was pressurized from the temp change. After I moved a bigger rock out of the way I saw it; a very young rattlesnake! He couldn't have been more than 18in long and coiled up around the PVC pipe container. Using my stick I finally coaxed him away from the container and pulled the cache out. I left another large stick near the cache site for the next searcher just in case.

I have also had a couple of run ins with rather large scorpions while out caching in the desert. The last one was just two days ago and it had made a burrow right under the cache container. Nothing like hearing a 43yr fat guy scream a little and drop a cache container out in the middle of nowhere. My daughter was with me both times and she always gets a good laugh at dad when he gets scared by some little critter like that. Maybe thats why she always lets me retrieve the cache containers???

Needless to say, we all need to be very cautious when caching in areas where there are poisonous critters. I never reach for a cache with a bare hand where I can't see around the container very well and never reach into dark holes without probing with my walking stick or at least tossing in some local rocks first...

October 31, 2008

I dont have to go caching to have snake encounters. We have Brown, and King Brown snakes all around where I live. We have to warn all newcomers to keep doors closed, despite the hot climate, to keep them out. We tread carefully around here, you even have to check out the kitchens and showers carefully before use to make sure none have taken up residence.

Cheers

Bundy

1.5k · October 31, 2008

Met this little guy in the woods while doing cache maintenance with a friend.

And this young copperhead was hiding under a cache container in Maryland. This one almost got his teeth into a fellow cacher.

Edited October 31, 2008 by DocDiTTo

3.9k · October 31, 2008

Why did you have to start this thread? Now I am moaning with ecstasy every time I open this thread! Snakes, including venemous snakes, are some of my favorite creatures in the world! In fact, we have a beautiful 3+ foot female copperhead name Janey who lives under one of the stones of the stone steps in our front yard, and she has let me get my hands and my digital camera to within a few inches of her face for some up-close photos of her at times (she is a total photo ho...). She is adorable!

BTW, it is well-known in many circles that our forum poster Sioneva (aka Sionevil) is a sinister snake in the grass, but that is a different kind of snake than the reptiles which we are discussing here. :mad:

1.5k · October 31, 2008

we have a beautiful 3+ foot female copperhead name Janey who lives under one of the stones of the stone steps in our front yard, and she has let me get my hands and my digital camera to within a few inches of her face for some up-close photos of her at times (she is a total photo ho...). She is adorable!

Post them!

3.6k · October 31, 2008

DocDiTTo, how close were you to that snake? Too close for comfort for me.

I've never encountered any poisonous snakes, but there's a few caches that take you to an area that has the heaviest concentration of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in the state. For one, you have to crawl around rocks and then go into a cave about 10 feet deep with all these little tunnels and stuff. Ahhhh!

1.5k · October 31, 2008

DocDiTTo, how close were you to that snake? Too close for comfort for me.

I've never encountered any poisonous snakes, but there's a few caches that take you to an area that has the heaviest concentration of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in the state. For one, you have to crawl around rocks and then go into a cave about 10 feet deep with all these little tunnels and stuff. Ahhhh!

The rattler was about 3 feet away. He caught me by surprise as I was stepping over a fallen tree. I quickly relocated my leg before I took his picture. The little copperhead was only about 6 or 7 inches long, so I was probably within a foot or so of him... out of striking range though.

October 31, 2008

Our friend's sister was out hiking/caching with us and was operating the GPS'r for the first time. She was over-focused on watching the needle (which we warned her about) and nearly stepped on a silent, sizable Timber Rattler near GZ. Shook everyone up...she hasn't cached with us since.

3.6k · October 31, 2008

Snakes are amazing creatures. They blend in so well to their surroundings. The only poisonous snakes we have around here are copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes...or Eastern Diamondback, which I presume is a different name for the same snake.

3.9k · October 31, 2008

we have a beautiful 3+ foot female copperhead name Janey who lives under one of the stones of the stone steps in our front yard, and she has let me get my hands and my digital camera to within a few inches of her face for some up-close photos of her at times (she is a total photo ho...). She is adorable!

Post them!

Her fotos are on a data archive CD-ROM buried in my office somewhere... when I can find the time, I will find them and post a few of them here!

October 31, 2008

"... He caught me by surprise as I was stepping over a fallen tree. I quickly relocated my leg before I took his picture. "

You might'a got lucky! One of the first things I learnt in the Scouts (that I remember!) was, never step over a log....step up on it, & stomp a couple times before proceeding. The practice has paid off twice (that I know of!) in all my years trompin' around in da NC & Fla boonies.

And Vinny - Copperheads are known for not moving ie 'running'. You might'a got luckier'n you imagine, too!

~*

October 31, 2008

We see rattlers pretty often. Especially the pygmy rattlers.

Last year when my wife SwampyGirl and I were in the woods, she was preparing to visit the outdoor loo.

I looked over and told her she might want to pick a different spot to go.

When she asked me why, I pointed out the pygmy rattler between her feet.

She almost didn't need to pick a different spot after all.....

October 31, 2008

We have seen quite large specimens on 3 occasions in 1.5 years caching - more that what I am used to, but caching tends to get you outdoors. The most interesting was this one of a cobra finishing off a puff-adder for breakfast on Table Mountain (cape Town, South Africa) The two were lying there very still in a popular path. The puff adder (the short fat one) looked as if it was on the losing end. The cobra (that't what I think it is) is upside down with the puff-adder's head in it's jaw. Apparently this sort of thing does happen.

Edited October 31, 2008 by the pooks

October 31, 2008

The cobra (that't what I think it is) is upside down with the puff-adder's head in it's jaw. Apparently this sort of thing does happen.

What the heck is it lying on its back for, that's really creepy looking!!! I think that if I came across something like that I would pee my pants a little laughing so hard

I've run across plenty of snakes while caching in Kentucky, but I haven't seen any here in california. Guess the mojave greens are just a little shy when it comes to me, or it could be the fact that I cache exclusively at night

October 31, 2008

I have only encounted a snake twice. In fact I was starting to get complacent about snakes. In Nevada everyone is like watch out for rattlesnakes. But I didn't ever see them.

My first experience was at the Old Miners Cabin GCX8R4. It's Near Walker Lake, NV I was on my way to GeoWoodstock VI. I was circling the rusty car near the cabin. I went around it several times, and the last time - I heard a rock move. Looked down and there he was slithering away. I ran like there was no tomorrow to the car. DNF'ed it. The log after mine posted photo's of the cabin with crazy spiders everywhere - YUK!

The second was after I found Barrell Cactus Cache, By G.S. Troop 92 GC4AF4. I was walik down the hill and this one rattled at me. Otherwise I would not have seen him. I turned arround and ran wide and back to the car.....anyone see a pattern here?

6.7k · October 31, 2008

I see snakes while geocaching fairly often. I cache on crutches therefore I move slowly and watch the ground for holes and obstacles, so I probably pay more attention to the ground before me than the average cacher.

Not while caching but while hunting or fishing I have several times seen one snake eating another, and here in the South it is not uncommon for landowners, especially lakefront property owners, to stock their land with King snakes, which are known for eating water moccasins.

Anyhoo, while snake bites are not common, paying attention to where you are walking just makes sense.

Can you see the snake in this picture?

Here it is... would you have stepped on it?

Yikes!

Edited October 31, 2008 by TheAlabamaRambler

2.6k · October 31, 2008

Down our way we've come upon a couple of cotton mouths....we did see them and didn't get too close. A local cacher, Mausedad was struck at by a large one looking for one of my hides. We've seen mostly speckled king snakes and a few varieties of rat / corn snakes. We bought a corn snake for our daughter as a pet.....18 years later and 5 feet longer she still has him.......his name is Loveable. 18 years is a lot of mice, I can tell you.

7.3k · October 31, 2008

Well, I think that I've only seen one rattlesnake while caching, and a few garter-types. But I've seen rattlers in nature in my days before caching. And I've had numerous encounters with them in my backyard.

October 31, 2008

I see snakes while geocaching fairly often. I cache on crutches therefore I move slowly and watch the ground for holes and obstacles, so I probably pay more attention to the ground before me than the average cacher.

Not while caching but while hunting or fishing I have several times seen one snake eating another, and here in the South it is not uncommon for landowners, especially lakefront property owners, to stock their land with King snakes, which are known for eating water moccasins.

Anyhoo, while snake bites are not common, paying attention to where you are walking just makes sense.

Can you see the snake in this picture?

Here it is... would you have stepped on it?

Yikes!

That's some great camoflauge on that snake!! If a cache container had that kinda camoflauge, I'd probably get a DNF.

October 31, 2008

I see snakes while geocaching fairly often. I cache on crutches therefore I move slowly and watch the ground for holes and obstacles, so I probably pay more attention to the ground before me than the average cacher.

Not while caching but while hunting or fishing I have several times seen one snake eating another, and here in the South it is not uncommon for landowners, especially lakefront property owners, to stock their land with King snakes, which are known for eating water moccasins.

Anyhoo, while snake bites are not common, paying attention to where you are walking just makes sense.

Can you see the snake in this picture?

Here it is... would you have stepped on it?

Yikes!

That's some great camoflauge on that snake!! If a cache container had that kinda camoflauge, I'd probably get a DNF.

You mean you can't see the ammo can sitting right next to the snake?

October 31, 2008

I've only found two snakes while caching, both non-venomous. On was sitting on the cammo for the cache and left when he spotted me (he was eight inches long) and the other was under a rock I turned over (he was two inches long).

1k · October 31, 2008

Has anyone else ever had a close encounter with a venomous snake while geocaching, or even bit?

A snake encounter is what got me my nice GC "FOCUS" shirt. We were at Suwannee River State Park here in Florida hiking the 12 mile Big Oak trail and caching along the way. I saw on the trail map there was a dot on the map and the words BIG OAK near where we were. So I had my hiking stick under one arm, my GPSr and map in my hands, and looking up at the trees thinking ONE of these oaks had to be THE Big Oak. A little ways down the trail Paddler Found walking behind me yelped out pretty loudly. I turned to see what was up and she was pointing on the trail yelling "You just stepped on that!" and I looked down to see about a 5-foot snake, coiled up laying in the trail looking at my like "What the h3ll are you doing?!??!?". It was sunning itself on the trail and I stepped on it and just kept walking. It slithered away seemingly unharmed and I didn't really see what it was, I was kind of thankful it didn't strike as we were about 6 miles from any civilization. Thus, the "FOCUS" shirt. Thus me spending a lot more time looking down rather then up when hiking.

Edited October 31, 2008 by infiniteMPG

18.9k · October 31, 2008

Prairie RattleSnakes are a fact of life near many of my caches.

A few logs.....

September 8, 2004 by S&J (80 found)
Toadstool has long been a favorite spot for us- a multi million-year trip back in time at the end of a 19-mile road. We drove out to find the cache, spend the night, and to take the hike thru’ the “toadstools”. A few days prior to arriving, the area was hit with 4” of rain. The cache sat atop some woody stems, high and dry, surrounded by mud with a slimy make-up unique only to Nebraska. Travel wisely if there have been recent rains.

We went for a late-night walk to look at the stars and ended up in the sod house, a reproduction of the original that once stood here. While standing in the house, looking out the window and talking about the beauty of the desolation, we suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake. Pointing the flashlight towards the (only) door, we saw the snake, sitting on the threshold, alerting us to his presence. Altho’ he never coiled to strike, his warning was unnerving enough for us to know that we should move on. But how? The snake lay across the only exit, with our excitable dog on the other side, and us trapped in the middle of a 10’x12’ hut. It quickly became apparent that it was the light that attracted the snake to us and that it would also follow the flashlight beam. I gave the dog a very firm “Stay!” command while S ran the light along the foundation away from the door. The snake followed but the angle of the light lessened as it traveled the wall, causing the snake to travel back towards the center of the room... towards us. After a few more well performed flicks of S’s wrist the snake moved far enough from the door to allow us our “escape”. Oh! How we laughed at ourselves on the way back to the trailer.

It would be a shame to go after this cache without allowing yourself the time to explore the area. It is both awe-inspiring and mystical. Just don’t go exploring in the dark without a flashlight and a sense of adventure! S&J, and the surprisingly obedient dog, Scarlett O’Hardin

[This entry was edited by S&J on Sunday, September 19, 2004 at 9:49:43 AM.]

and....

June 30, 2005 by 4BOWS (1000 found)
WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES! WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES! We visited this cache on our way to a family reunion in Wisconsin. We saw all the signs, read all the warnings, kept our eyes open all the way to the cache and back. Never saw a sign of a snake. We stood around the car for a few minutes, got in, and as we were backing out, we heard a large "POP". We'd heard the same pop once before, and discovered it was the same as before...we had backed over a 4-foot rattlesnake. That bugger was hiding under our truck the whole time we were standing around it! Kind of freaked Mrs. 4BOWS out. We watched as the snake struggled for a few minutes, and then stopped moving. Anyway, thanks for the cache. Didn't have any books with us, so we didn't trade anything. WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!

and this nice short one...

July 27, 2005 by Downy288 (1246 found)
Came, saw snake, left. TNLNSL

and lots of log pictures....

Give them some space - its not like they are going to come and hunt you down.....

October 31, 2008

I see snakes often, thought I don't think they're of the venomous variety. Just saw one today while placing a TB. He is in the first picture below:

One I encountered last week:

And one the week before that:

2.2k · October 31, 2008

During a four month stay in Arizona I encountered three different kinds of rattlesnake while caching. I actually thought this one was fake! Several locals convinced me it was not. The cache was about 3 feet away. The snake never moved while I carefully retrieved the cache.

This one was right under the container! When I lifted the container the snake just turned around and looked at me.

I nearly stepped on this one.

And just cuz we're talking snakes, here's a nonvenomous one I saw while caching in Long islaned, NY

3.3k · October 31, 2008

I got stuck trying to run over this rattler. lol

For man's best friend, consider taking your geo-dog to a rattlesnake avoidance course. Also consider a vaccine.

2.2k · October 31, 2008

During a four month stay in Arizona I encountered three different kinds of rattlesnake while caching. I actually thought this one was fake! Several locals convinced me it was not. The cache was about 3 feet away. The snake never moved while I carefully retrieved the cache.

This one was right under the container! When I lifted the container the snake just turned around and looked at me.

I nearly stepped on this one.

And just cuz we're talking snakes, here's a nonvenomous one I saw while caching in Long islaned, NY

The first one was supposed to look like this:

October 31, 2008

I found this little guy under a cowpie early in the spring, it was cold enough that he never moved.

6.7k · October 31, 2008

I found this little guy under a cowpie early in the spring, it was cold enough that he never moved.

I don't think I want to know what you were doing under a cowpie.

October 31, 2008

A while back I though I saw a snake tread on here somewhere in the forums. It freaked me out then too.

Nobody believe's me but I DNF'ed a cache after a 2 mile hike one way not because I couldn't find it but because there was a bull snake sitting next to the ammo can. I bailed. :sad: I came back another day and signed the log book. Those extra 4 miles on the feet where well worth it. I don't know why but I just don't do snakes.

38.2k · November 1, 2008

I've run into a few rattlesnakes and copperheads while caching and I have a few caches where a good portion of finders report seeing rattlesnakes near the cache.

November 1, 2008

I found this little guy under a cowpie early in the spring, it was cold enough that he never moved.

I don't think I want to know what you were doing under a cowpie.

Never found a cache under one?

November 1, 2008

While searching for Starbrand's Ash Hollow 2, we were bringing a travel bug to the cache whose mission was to protect caches. When we got there, those duties were being taken care of by a rattler. My wife was about 10 steps behind me, and when I told her about the snake I asked her to bring her camera to me. She told me, in not such a polite way, that if I wanted the camera I had to come get it myself. Did I mentioned she is petrified of snakes? She won't even go out in our back yard in the summer, and all we have here are garter snakes. Managed to get 1 decent picture of the snake and logged a DNF on the cache.

18.9k · November 1, 2008

While searching for Starbrand's Ash Hollow 2, we were bringing a travel bug to the cache whose mission was to protect caches. When we got there, those duties were being taken care of by a rattler. My wife was about 10 steps behind me, and when I told her about the snake I asked her to bring her camera to me. She told me, in not such a polite way, that if I wanted the camera I had to come get it myself. Did I mentioned she is petrified of snakes? She won't even go out in our back yard in the summer, and all we have here are garter snakes. Managed to get 1 decent picture of the snake and logged a DNF on the cache.

I'll add the photo

November 1, 2008

Thank you!

7.9k · November 1, 2008

Plenty of snake encounters for me (Arizona is full of the lovely creatures!). I have never, ever been in a situation where I felt threatened.

I respect them, but I don't fear them.

Possibly the most potentially dangerous encounter was while going after Reef GCK893.

November 1, 2008

In a local state park (Standing Stone in TN) we found this lovely rattler just up the road from the cache. The cache is GC1C5HN Standing Stone Old Swimming Hole, lovely spot and the folks who found the cache after us saw a 'black rat snake' but they didn't post a picture.

Edited November 1, 2008 by The Unpleasables

November 1, 2008

We think this is a water moccasin, spotted in the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park on our way to The Original Swamp Cache. At the time it was not near any of the caches in the park, but there is an earth cache very close to this location now.

Edited November 1, 2008 by succotash

November 1, 2008

Came across this guy about a month ago while on a cache hunt. He was casually making his way across the trail. It's a non-venomous bull snake.

November 1, 2008

I've seen quite a few snakes while geocaching. Only one really startled me - I happened to look down to see a small copperhead coiled up right next to my foot. I was too busy running away to get a picture .

However, I did take these at other caches:

I didn't take the pictures of this snake but it was seen near a cache:

3.2k · November 2, 2008

DocDiTTo, how close were you to that snake? Too close for comfort for me.

I've never encountered any poisonous snakes, but there's a few caches that take you to an area that has the heaviest concentration of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in the state. For one, you have to crawl around rocks and then go into a cave about 10 feet deep with all these little tunnels and stuff. Ahhhh!

The concentration of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes in Connecticut is zero. What you do have is the Eastern Timber Rattlesnake. The closest population of Diamondbacks to you would be in North Carolina. They are two totally separate species.

Edited November 2, 2008 by edscott

3.6k · November 3, 2008

edscott, thanks for the clarification. I thought they were the same.

November 3, 2008

Boy did reading this thread Saturday morning ever turn out to be prophetic. Maybe even an omen!

Had an errand to run in town - went after a wayside cache recently published. Ol' Blue pointed me to rear corner of a park gazebo/stage at top of a steep riverbank. So I'm back there, with most of my weight on my right foot which was about 2' lower than my left, using a short stick to flick the many fresh-fallen leaves from around the base of a post that seemed to be GZ, & I heard a slight 'rustle' in the dried leaves near my downhill foot. Looked around, & there was a 2' long copperhead easing along about 6" from my foot! I couldn't MOVE, else he could've easily nailed me. And with all my weight on that foot, that's what I would've had to move first.

So, what does one do when a poisonous snake is crawling past your foot? It became a different version of that riddle about, "What do you do if a pit bull's humping your leg?" Answer - "Let him."

The story ain't over yet! After I continued my search, I was lookiing around the stone-works that level the downhill backside of the stage....and there, climbing up the stones, was another copperhead. This time, I could move.....and DID. Right on back to the parking lot. Left it to 'em. I'd seen enough snakes for one day.

November 3, 2008

WHOA! That's scary stuff, Star*Hopper! Good to hear you came away without a bite

November 3, 2008

Well I'm sorry but after reading this forum I am glad i live in New Zealand where we are predator free. I would freak if i met any of those and be put off geocaching forever!

You can all have them!

7.3k · November 3, 2008

I see water moccasins and pygmy rattlers pretty often. The guy below made a large strike as I stepped near him. I've had them "air strike" in my direction on four occasions. All four of those snakes could have hit my shin, none did. I think they prefer to warn. The head up posture is typical. They get your attention with a warning strike, then hold a defensive pose with their white throats exposed. They hold their ground, you get out of their way.

I DNF'ed the cache hanging above the moccasin below who wasn't planning to move. Would have been the FTF too. But i just couldn't convince myself to try and shift that snake.

3.2k · November 3, 2008

Nahh I think he was first to find.

November 4, 2008

These are plenty of venomous snakes in the southeast. Below are a few that I have found while caching:

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake that luckily was dead since I came within one inch of stepping on it

Copperhead that I almost stepped on

Pygmy Rattlesnake

November 5, 2008

I haven't come across a snake while caching yet, but we did have a family of snakes living under our porch. 2 parents and 4 baby snakes. Sooo adorable! One of them actually somehow managed to fall into our cistern tank, so I got an old hockey stick and scooped him out. I got a few pictures before setting him back onto safe ground.

Snake Encounters while Geocaching

Recommended Posts

Join the conversation