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Worst Experience with Plant, Insect, Animal Ever?


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So I was sitting here dealing with a wood tick that had literally embedded itself two thirds of the way into my flesh, a wood tick I picked up while geocaching, and this led me to consider all of the several painful things that have happened to me while out in the wilderness caching.

 

These unfortunate things have happened directly as a result of geocaching, in order of what severity:

 

1) Poison Ivy (twice major, about five times very minor) - PI NEVER bothered me in the past, but I guess repeated exposure has finally made me sensitive. The first time I had it, I had NO IDEA what it was and it was very bad. Now I know and it's not so bad.

 

2) Chiggers - thought these were bed bug bites when I first got them, but eventually narrowed it down to chiggers after SCOURING everything to locate possible bedbugs. So thankful it was 'just' chiggers, and the bites took a very long time to fade.

 

3) A hunk of wood embedded in my FACE of all places, right under my right eye when I accidentally walked into a needle sharp dead branch. I was pulling slivers and pieces of wood out of my skin for a week. I've had hundreds of slivers, some in very sensitive spots which makes the following necessary needlework all that much, uh, funner (fingertips anyone?)

 

4) Wood tick embedded in skin (WHAT? THEY DO THAT?)

 

5) Various spider bites and bee stings. Bee stings aren't so bad, but I had several spider bites at one point that created quarter sized dark red bumps that itched and burned for days. I could see the little double holes that proved they were made by one or more spiders

 

6) Twisted ankles and other damage caused by falls, sprains and getting hit with branches and rocks.

 

7) One day I brushed a plant (or something) and felt an intense burn. One single blister was suddenly there on my arm. Plant? Insect? No idea, but it took six weeks with antibiotic ointment to go away.

 

8) I was peering in a hole in a tree in the dark and a squirrel jumped out, using the top of my head as a springboard to go up the three. I'm pretty young, in my prime, but I do believe I almost had a heart attack. Not kidding. Now I am careful to bang on the tree first, maybe put a stick in there and move it around. Had a couple of squirrels jump out since, but because I was checking this way first.

 

So that's it.

 

No broken bones - yay! No snake bites - yay! No scorpion stings - yay! No accidental experiences with wild parsnip even though it's here - yay!

 

So what have you experienced?

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In logging one cache I stepped over a fallen tree to reach its location. After finishing signing the log and replacing the cache I turned around. I realized at that point that I had stepped over a juvenile rattlesnake that was sunning itself on top of the log. The coolness of the morning probably worked in my favor, however it was awakened at that point and was letting me know that it was very displeased with having its nap interrupted. After warily watching each other's movements for a spell we went our separate ways without harming the other.

 

That was the closest call that I have had so far with potentially dangerous wildlife.

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I've run into rattlesnakes on the trail but no close calls yet.

 

The worst thing that happened to me was when bush-whacking down the side of a peak in Phoenix and slipped. After my front foot was lifted to step downhill, the rocks supporting my back foot gave way. Gravity welcomed me and introduced me to a very solid rock against my palm. The bruise I got from that lasted for over a week but that wasn't the bad part.

 

The bad part was the cholla ball that got crushed between my palm and that very sturdy rock. The spines literally made it to the bone in dozens of places. I also got 5 cholla balls on the backside of my other forearm as a bonus prize. Much blood was shed getting these out (100s of spines total).

 

For those who don't know, cholla spines have reverse hooks on them (they really don't want to let go). They also stiffen up when they come in contact with blood. So, even though I was able to remove the obvious spines, I still had many hooks embedded in my palm. They eventually worked themselves out over time, but it took about 3 months.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't cry when we yanked the spines out, but on a few occasions my eyesight did fade to pure white in the face of the pain.

 

Yeah... that was the worst to-date. :)

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I've run into rattlesnakes on the trail but no close calls yet.

 

The worst thing that happened to me was when bush-whacking down the side of a peak in Phoenix and slipped. After my front foot was lifted to step downhill, the rocks supporting my back foot gave way. Gravity welcomed me and introduced me to a very solid rock against my palm. The bruise I got from that lasted for over a week but that wasn't the bad part.

 

The bad part was the cholla ball that got crushed between my palm and that very sturdy rock. The spines literally made it to the bone in dozens of places. I also got 5 cholla balls on the backside of my other forearm as a bonus prize. Much blood was shed getting these out (100s of spines total).

 

For those who don't know, cholla spines have reverse hooks on them (they really don't want to let go). They also stiffen up when they come in contact with blood. So, even though I was able to remove the obvious spines, I still had many hooks embedded in my palm. They eventually worked themselves out over time, but it took about 3 months.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't cry when we yanked the spines out, but on a few occasions my eyesight did fade to pure white in the face of the pain.

 

Yeah... that was the worst to-date. :)

 

It's a rite of passage...you're not a TRUE Arizona outdoorsman until you have fallen on a cholla somehow.

The real fun begins when you loose control on a mountain bike descent and run into one. :o

Luckily it was a staghorn and not a teddy-bear.

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While I was recovering from Lyme Disease (yes, I got that while geocaching). I brushed against some poison ivy. Normally. I might get a minor rash. Well, with the Lyme Disease, the poison ivy turned into allergic dermatitis. Don't ever put me on prednisone again!

Bears? Wanna talk about bears? We have over 3000 black bear in New Jersey. I've probably met 20 of them. (And I have caches named afer many of them...)

I met Stumpy before geocaching. (Stumpy only has three paws. Problem with a trap...) About a mile in on the trail, I came around a bend. And there was Stumpy. I missed him by about four feet. He took off through the azalea. Wild azalea is a really nasty plant to bushwhack through! It was about fifteen minutes before I was able to move again! I've got pictures of a few of the bear that I've met. Some run away too quickly. And the ones who sit and stare at you... I'd like to get away as quickly as posible.

Thr are people who will not hunt for some of my caches because of the bear. Nearest bear is about a mile an a half north. I've met her a few times. Her name is Amparo Oso.

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Although nothing bad happened, about a half an hour before I found a cache at the entrance to Mikumi National Park in Tanzania I was riding in the back of a Toyota land cruiser with about a half dozen tsetse flies. The guide was getting rid of most of them but I squashed a few as well. A little bit later while watch a large herd of elephant about 200 feet away, a large male separated from there herd, faced us, and our guide told the driver "we should move. now!"

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I've run into rattlesnakes on the trail but no close calls yet.

 

The worst thing that happened to me was when bush-whacking down the side of a peak in Phoenix and slipped. After my front foot was lifted to step downhill, the rocks supporting my back foot gave way. Gravity welcomed me and introduced me to a very solid rock against my palm. The bruise I got from that lasted for over a week but that wasn't the bad part.

 

The bad part was the cholla ball that got crushed between my palm and that very sturdy rock. The spines literally made it to the bone in dozens of places. I also got 5 cholla balls on the backside of my other forearm as a bonus prize. Much blood was shed getting these out (100s of spines total).

 

For those who don't know, cholla spines have reverse hooks on them (they really don't want to let go). They also stiffen up when they come in contact with blood. So, even though I was able to remove the obvious spines, I still had many hooks embedded in my palm. They eventually worked themselves out over time, but it took about 3 months.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't cry when we yanked the spines out, but on a few occasions my eyesight did fade to pure white in the face of the pain.

 

Yeah... that was the worst to-date. :)

 

It's a rite of passage...you're not a TRUE Arizona outdoorsman until you have fallen on a cholla somehow.

The real fun begins when you loose control on a mountain bike descent and run into one. :o

Luckily it was a staghorn and not a teddy-bear.

 

I spoke with a person in Tucson (guide at a resort) who had a similar experience. He said he ended up flipping off of his bike and landing crotch first (followed by torso) into a staghorn. He said he made good friends w/ the person who helped extract the spines.

 

My 2nd worst encounter geocaching was in upstate NY. I got a really bad case of Poison Ivy. Luckily, my daughter who was with me was spared. *phew*

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Before geocaching, I had managed to avoid ticks completely. Then after a weekend in the woods, I was getting ready for bed and found a tick on my groin. I think the experience has scarred me for life! I'm very careful to avoid long grasses now and always have a thorough checking over after being in the countryside.

 

Since I've started caching my wife has given me a new nickname - tick magnet! Wood ticks, deer ticks, they all love me. Starting a second round of antibiotics this week. My doctor told me I could give up caching for a while. :lol:

 

Funny thing about snakes - I have two kingsnakes, and various lizards (a hobby), but when I 'accidently' run across a snake in the woods, I about jump out of my skin!

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I personally have not had any bad experiences while geocaching, but a friend cacher's dog was bitten by a rattlesnake while we were on a hike to a remote cache in Texas! See before & after pics of her Dog!

 

snakebite.jpg

 

The dog survived after 4 days in an Animal Hospital and 2 vials of anti venom.

Edited by Space*Cadet
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When I was in 4th grade I was in the YMCA. We had a camping trip to Maine. We were walking around a lake and about 100-200 feet in front of me there were some kids harassing a snake they saw on the trail. Of course, when I walked by the spot the snake was in about 10 seconds later, the thing lurched out of the bushes and bit my ankle. Luckily, it was not venomous. However, I had a HUGE welt on my ankle and a snake-bite scar right in the middle of it for the entire summer. Pretty B.A.

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Sometimes, in Minnesota, where I live, I'll hike way out into the middle of a swamp (we have LOTS of wetland here) and grab a micro after a long search. I'll feel pretty good about myself... then I remember that in MN, the worst we really have here is the humble mosquito.

 

I stick my hands into a tree, and belatedly realize that if this were the American SW, or SE or plain ol' vanilla S, I'd probably be dead. We don't have bad things in trees here. Oh, there's spiders and snakes, but none of them particularly venomous. In southern MN, I'd be a bit more careful because there IS the Brown Recluse spider, but it's a small spider and not like, say, a rattlesnake.

 

So yep, I got it easy. No chollas, no snakes, no deadly spiders, no scorpions... we have cold. Lots and lots of cold. So much cold that we don't have other dangerous things. :D

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Sometimes, in Minnesota, where I live, I'll hike way out into the middle of a swamp (we have LOTS of wetland here) and grab a micro after a long search. I'll feel pretty good about myself... then I remember that in MN, the worst we really have here is the humble mosquito.

 

which is probably responsible for more deaths than any other animal worldwide with estimates of over 1 million people dying as the result of disease carrying mosquitoes. Here in the U.S. we mostly only have to worry about west nile virus but in other places a mosquitoe "bite" can transmit Malaria or the even more dangerous Dengue fever. I know a couple of people personally that have contracted Dengue and it knocked them out for several weeks before they began to feel normal again. In both cases, it was caught early.

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I almost forgot about an encounter with 'wild dogs'.

Well, they really weren't wild dogs, but the 'owner' certainly didn't have any control over them.

I was caching in an open desert area of Scottsdale finding a series based on Canadian Provinces/Territories. Apparently there was an 'urban camper' camping out near one of the caches, and as I approached I noticed a dog roaming around the area. I hadn't seen the camp yet, so I called out to the dog thinking it was lost.

It thought I was invading their territory, and came rushing to defend the area...with it's three pack-mates soon following. I was encircled by four upset dogs, with not even a hiking pole to defend myself. Now these were good-size pit-bull type dogs, not Chihuahuas!

The 'urban camper' heard the ruckus and headed over to try to get the dogs away. It was clear the dogs didn't care a whit about his commands, and even when he was standing by my side the dogs kept circling and barking.

He (the camper) eventually decided he needed to go back to camp and get a rope, and three of the four dogs went with him. But, the three-legged bitch just wasn't going to leave me alone, although she did back off a bit. Once I found an old piece of pallet board I felt a bit better...since I now had something to inflict a little damage with if necessary. Soon the camper dude came back with the rope, lassoed the ringleader, and all was under control.

Somewhere in the melee, I found out he had only had the dogs for a couple of weeks...which explained the lack of training.

I pointed out that I had been in fear of bodily harm, and if I had a gun I probably would have used it...and he needed to keep the dogs under control since other geocachers would certainly be coming around the area and maybe one of them would actually have a gun.

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It's amazing how many folks talk about the brown recluse spiders in their area. Do any research from a reputible organization and you'll find a habitat location map, such as this one from the University of Monmoth, IL. There will be some slight differences, but no major changes in states affected. And yet I've had friends in south Florida talk about the brown recluse spiders they had trouble with. No doubt they were seeing one of the many look alike spiders.

 

So no, you do not have brown recluse spiders in southern Minnesota. They do not go that far north. Brown recluse spiders only have 2 colors. The coloration provides the well-known violin pattern on the back. But if it has stripes or hairy legs or any other color patterns or more than 2 colors, it ain't a brown recluse. So relax.

Edited by MountainWoods
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In southern MN, I'd be a bit more careful because there IS the Brown Recluse spider, but it's a small spider and not like, say, a rattlesnake.

I was much younger and of all places, got bit in the thigh by a brown recluse in a beach outhouse (adding insult to injury), at what is now Kittatinny Visitors Center in NJ.

Since he died when I got bit, got to see what that pinch was from.

I thought no big deal, it was just a little brown spider.

Looking in my critter book at home (nerd) it was a brown recluse, that wasn't supposed to be that far North.

Good thing, next day the dead skin showed I better hit the Doctor's quick and they at least knew what it was.

Two inch raw hole that took almost four Months to heal.

 

Eight years ago I had a small rattler catch my heel on the AT near Knife's Edge.

Punched through a brand-new pair of Lowas.

Hurt like Hates, but a lot less tissue damage than that small spider.

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I've only come away injured from a couple of caches:

 

  1. Sprained my ankle going down some stairs after an event :rolleyes: Seeing the x-rays a few years later I learned I actually avulsed my lateral malleolus!
  2. Had a run-in with a farm dog at what should have been a png. I had a tough time squatting for a few days after being very scratched up by that dog! I swear if it could have gotten me down it would have raped me! Here's my log, complete with pics of my legs: My dog log.

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once I had to run out of a swamp in florida with a small kid, due to a huge splash sound not far from us

we did not care to stay and have a look what kind of water monster it was..

so we had to drop that cache, we even continued to run to the car when we got to the parking lot,

wife and the even smaller kid was waiting in the car, they did not at all find it funny :-)

 

---

once I left alot of red dna in a log book,

I fell down in a spiky bush just before finding the cache,

after signing the cache, I wanted to hurry back to waiting wife and kids

so I ran a bit, jumped over a fallen lug, to fall down and twist an angle,

could hardly walk the way out and the rest of that day.. that was also in FL :-)

 

WOW loraine, what a terrible dog story !!

we had quite a few bad encounters wih dogs while out geocaching,

a few times I had to pick up a stick to defend my self, while yelling out loud to the owner to get his dog away from me,

I also got surpriced during a night cache alone.. a dog ran directly up to me barking and stuff,

so I pointed my 1000 lumens light directly in his eyes, so it left after a little crying.

Edited by OZ2CPU
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My worst is just a scratch here and there from a thorn or branch. A few times I was almost certain I'd touched poison ivy, but nothing came from it. Since then I've brushed up on my ability to identify it so I have a better idea of what to look for. Around here in Atlanta there is so much viny, weedy growth, it's very difficult to tell where one plant stops and another starts...so I have always had a hard time with plant identification.

 

I've read lots of lots about wasp or hornet nests, fire ants, etc...but *knock on wood* have not had to deal with any of that thus far.

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I thought I had escaped lightly with only a few scratches after searching for half an hour in a bramble patch, only for someone to point out to me later that I had a huge rip in the back of my shirt which I hadn't noticed. I had been walking around a busy town all that time...

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Sometimes, in Minnesota, where I live, I'll hike way out into the middle of a swamp (we have LOTS of wetland here) and grab a micro after a long search. I'll feel pretty good about myself... then I remember that in MN, the worst we really have here is the humble mosquito.

 

I stick my hands into a tree, and belatedly realize that if this were the American SW, or SE or plain ol' vanilla S, I'd probably be dead. We don't have bad things in trees here. Oh, there's spiders and snakes, but none of them particularly venomous. In southern MN, I'd be a bit more careful because there IS the Brown Recluse spider, but it's a small spider and not like, say, a rattlesnake.

 

So yep, I got it easy. No chollas, no snakes, no deadly spiders, no scorpions... we have cold. Lots and lots of cold. So much cold that we don't have other dangerous things. :D

 

I simply wont put my hands any place that I can't see. I always have my hiking stick and will use it to drag out a cache, or to make reasonably sure that there's nothing that can hurt/kill me. There are a lot of caches around here that are hidden in small voids created by large boulders laying against each other. It's a popular spot for caches but it's also a nice and shady place for a rattlesnake to escape the heat of the day. I've been horrified to see fellow cachers simply walk up and stick their hands in as if they were reaching under their kitchen sink, or something.

 

I've been lucky. Rattlesnakes usually warn me before I get too close. I've had one bee sting when the bee crashed into my neck and fell into my collar and obviously panicked. I've had two ticks latch on on two different occasions. I've brushed against stinging nettles and while it stings like crazy, I've never had a bad reaction besides some local swelling for about an hour. I've had two cases of poison oak rash, the first was pretty bad as I had no idea what was wrong with me and really didn't know everything I was doing was spreading an invisible oil all over me. I've since learned that if I get it on me, I have several hours to get it cleaned off before I react. This was good knowledge as I tried to scramble across a steep hillside instead of wading through a creek, when my feet slipped out from under me and I was headed for the creek anyway, with a long vine of poison oak wrapped through my crotch. I basically "juiced" an 18' PO vine with my crotch. That waist deep creek was suddenly very appealing.

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It's amazing how many folks talk about the brown recluse spiders in their area. Do any research from a reputible organization and you'll find a habitat location map, such as this one from the University of Monmoth, IL. There will be some slight differences, but no major changes in states affected. And yet I've had friends in south Florida talk about the brown recluse spiders they had trouble with. No doubt they were seeing one of the many look alike spiders.

 

So no, you do not have brown recluse spiders in southern Minnesota. They do not go that far north. Brown recluse spiders only have 2 colors. The coloration provides the well-known violin pattern on the back. But if it has stripes or hairy legs or any other color patterns or more than 2 colors, it ain't a brown recluse. So relax.

 

Several years ago when I was working for The Salvation Army, some type of spider got into the rehab dorm and had bitten about six of our clients. These caused serious necrotic wounds. The doctors at the county hospital categorized all of them as brown recluse bites, despite that up to that time, no one had actually seen a brown recluse in California.

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It's amazing how many folks talk about the brown recluse spiders in their area. Do any research from a reputible organization and you'll find a habitat location map, such as this one from the University of Monmoth, IL. There will be some slight differences, but no major changes in states affected. And yet I've had friends in south Florida talk about the brown recluse spiders they had trouble with. No doubt they were seeing one of the many look alike spiders.

 

So no, you do not have brown recluse spiders in southern Minnesota. They do not go that far north. Brown recluse spiders only have 2 colors. The coloration provides the well-known violin pattern on the back. But if it has stripes or hairy legs or any other color patterns or more than 2 colors, it ain't a brown recluse. So relax.

 

Several years ago when I was working for The Salvation Army, some type of spider got into the rehab dorm and had bitten about six of our clients. These caused serious necrotic wounds. The doctors at the county hospital categorized all of them as brown recluse bites, despite that up to that time, no one had actually seen a brown recluse in California.

Yes, but notice that part of California is in the territory of the desert recluse, so that is understandable.

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if I had a gun I probably would have used it...and he needed to keep the dogs under control since other geocachers would certainly be coming around the area and maybe one of them would actually have a gun.

 

Dogs! Man, I sure wish I lived in your area! We can't carry guns around here, but it would be helpful.

 

I have had so many run-ins with dogs while hiking. I hate it when you are minding your own business, enjoying your walk and this dog runs at you barking like crazy and then proceeds to jump on you with muddy paws, all the while the owner is feebly trying to call the dog off. That's the owners that actually try to call their dogs off. I won't even get started on the ones that say 'oh, he's friendly' while the dogs barking at you.

 

I LIKE dogs, actually, but I'm starting to hate them if you know what I mean. I think pepper-spraying them would go a bit too far, maybe there's some sort of spray bottle with a nasty-smelling chemical that's hard to wash off? :)

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