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Snake Activity


HartClimbs

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I was hiking the gunks on 6/11 and ran into both a copperhead and a black snake. I'm clueless what the black one was, other than big.

 

I've hiked these hills nearly twice a week for five years now, these are the first two snakes I've seen.

 

On the plus side, spring blueberries are almost ready and the laurels will be in full bloom this week or next.

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Three weeks ago I decided to go hiking in the Bald Eagle State park in PA at White mountain. As I was on my way there I came upon a timber rattlesnake on the dirt road. I jumped out and held his head down with a stick and grabbed him. I had him behind the neck but he was a little more flexible than expected and was able to twist his head and jab me in the finger with a fang. I than admired him some more and let him go than continued on my way. I then realized my figure was swelling up, then I noticed my hand was swelling up, then I noticed my arm was swelling up. I then started throwing up for what turned out to be 2 hours. I then attempted to drive out of the woods which took about two hours. Then I drove home which took 3 hours. Then finally my mom took me to the hospital after about 7 hours. I had a dose of Cro-fab a sheep derived antivenon. My platelet count was down to 5,000. The normal persons is 250,000. I felt fine but they made me stay in the hospital for 10 days, administering Cro-fab once a day until my platelet count starting rising. Finally Dr.Donovan let me go after 10 days of boringness in the hospital. The nurses where all really nice however and I did have a good stay there.

 

Moral of the story: Hold rattlesnakes heads down tight , and don't just grab right behind the head. Or better yet just admire poisonous snakes from a distance, or at least take another person with you.

 

I'll post some pictures later!

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Coolclay...

 

Tip #1... Don't pick up a snake.

Tip #2... If you ignore tip #1 and get bit, seek help immediately!

Tip #3... If you ignore tip #2 I think the gene pool is better off with you just lying down and passing in the woods!

 

Glad you're ok, but don't do it again!

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Hey I never asked for sympathy, if I had the chance I'd probably do it over again, minus the biting me part ;)

Then heed my previous tips:

 

Tip #1... Don't pick up a snake.

Tip #2... If you ignore tip #1 and get bit, seek help immediately!

Tip #3... If you ignore tip #2 I think the gene pool is better off with you just lying down and passing in the woods!

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Almost stepped on this one as it was laying across the trail while I was on    The Hiker Series

 

Kept me thinking the rest of the way

 

2.jpg

 

4.jpg

That kinda looks like the Cannonball/Hoeferlin trail between Hiker Series caches 4 and 5 before the Ringwood/Ramapo intersection. Am I right?

That's a biggy. I say it was 4' long and its girth probably 4". :D

Please tell me it rattled. :(

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I wish I could remember what part of the trail that was on so I could post it.

 

I just happened to look down as I was walking, and there he was. Two more steps and we both would have jumped!

 

No luck on the rattle. Actually, I think he might have been sleeping.

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When I did the Hiker Series I was between cache 1 and 1a when I remembered BrianSnat mentioned something about a rattlesnake near one of his caches! Thats when I decided I needed something to make noise while I hiked along and as I reached into my pockets for my keys....I noticed I did not have them! I forgot them in the car!

 

The whole time I was hiking I kept hearing chipmunks darting away through the underbrush along the trails as I walked passed them and all I could think about was rattlesnakes!! I got myself a little too paranoid a few times... :blink:

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Funny - I never realized there'd be all these cool snake pictures posted when I started this thread way back when!

 

Great pictures!

 

p.s. To any fellow snake-phobic's out there - while I'm very "respectful" of snakes - in 30 years of backpacking and enjoying the outdoors, I've been very uncomfortably close several snakes (almost stepping on a nest of copperheads once backpacking in PA) - but have never been bothered. Remember, unless you're in Australia - odds are it's 1) not poisonous, and 2) more scared of you than you are of it.

 

Laa Dee Dah!

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The whole time I was hiking I kept hearing chipmunks darting away through the underbrush along the trails as I walked passed them and all I could think about was rattlesnakes!! I got myself a little too paranoid a few times... :rolleyes:

 

I hear ya on the chipmunks making noise and being paranoid. I spent the next few hours the same way.

 

I also stopped at the new sporting goods store (Galyans I think) at the Woodbridge Center Mall yesterday to see if they have a better snake bite kit. I have been carrying one around in my pack, but I think it is time to check for other kits that may be available.

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I breezed through this thread and didn’t see mention of this snake.

s22.jpg

It's an Enhydrina schistosa (Beaked Sea Snake). One drop of it's venom can kill three men. Fortunately it’s only found near the Persian Gulf. I have to idea why I mentioned it here. Thanks for reading and have a nice night.

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From Team Rampant Lion's log today for my Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch cache:

 

Tough one, we nearly gave up. Paired with Tick Magnets and gunning to clear all the caches in WCR (got 4, TM got 5 as we already had one) this one threw us off pace. First the cooperheads were everywhere, both teams had near misses stepping on them.

 

f5999d6a-71a9-4613-8122-e0db1a83acdf.jpg

 

201acbee-4971-4e84-8e99-4e830396d351.jpg

 

Guess they weren't kidding.

Edited by briansnat
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They were everywhere but we were told we lucked out. Someone on the Hawk Watch who seemed knowledgeable said there is a den just beyond Briansnat's cache placement. He said they were in the process of shedding their skin which is why they were all out on the rocks. Thankfully for us, he said it likely also made them sluggish or we might be reporting a bite or two, as we weren't looking at all before we saw the first and it was a near miss. :huh:

 

But they were handsome creatures at that point. Great colors.

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From the Waterbury Republican American Newspaper, Local section, 8/4/4.

 

"Was it a rattler in the trail?" by Gale Courney Toensing

 

An thru hike on the AT was bitten by a snake August 2 along the Undermountain trail near RT 41. After being evacuated down the mountain he was Life Star Helicpotered to Hartford Hospital. The snake was not identified and anti venom was not used as "..whatever bit him had not injected poison into the bite." He was discharged from the hospital and planned to continue his hike.

 

-Break-

 

There are a few caches near there I've recently added to my find list without seeing any snakes. Just in case I've replaced my dry rotted snake bite kit ( at least 20 years old) with a new one.

 

Last May while visiting a cache I saw what can only be described as MANY snakes in the brush near the cache. They went one way< I went another>.

 

Got a laugh recently when I found a rubber snake placed to "guard?" a letterbox.

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I was hiking with Helmet of Skully & Mulder. I would be walking alongside him chatting when suddenly he would dive into the scrub, gone! There would be a loud scuffle, a couple of whacks with his walking stick, and his head would pop up above the scrub brush... he would dive back in and emerge with a 18 foot black anaconda!!! Kreiky!

 

Not sure if he was handling it or it was handling him... anyhoo, I was sitting near by when he rolled over a log and grabbed a 1 foot baby...

 

When asked if he saw the snake retreat under the log, Helmet replied, "Nope, just looked like a good place to find a snake!"

 

I then very slowly inched off the log I had been sitting on...

 

Here's to the Snake Charmer!

 

With this snake:

6c5b1e60-c82e-4430-b417-eefcac504213.jpg

And this snake:

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/log/8567c...b5521f02f70.jpg

And this one too:

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/log/4e8ed...75833679eb5.jpg

And the baby one:

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/log/77991...7d96e6097c0.jpg

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I happened to be copied on an email for an upcoming "adopt a crag" (similar to CITO, but for climbers) where the topic of Timber Rattlesnake sightings being reported to the state came up. I followed up with the individual from the Audubon Society (good folks!) who mentioned it - and offered to post something here (since we happen to find more than our share of snakes while out hiking!). Here's the scoop:

 

If you have observed a rare animal, be it a bird, amphibian, reptile, mammal, insect, or mussel, and would like to help us build the Natural Heritage inventory, please report your observation to NJ’s Endangered & Nongame Species Program. This data will help us look at habitat and population trends, and help us to develop conservation strategies for endangered and threatened species. The information compiled by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program is a powerful conservation tool for land-users and natural area managers. With accurate information, conservation action can be focused on our most important natural areas.

 

Our website, http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/rprtform.htm, gives instructions on how to report observations, including a form to fill out and links to mapping websites. The website also has a link to the current list of threatened and endangered species in NJ.

 

Thanks in advance for helping us help NJ’s wildlife by reporting rare animal sightings.

 

Sincerely,

Eric Stiles, Vice President for Conservation and Stewardship

New Jersey Audubon Society

Website: www.njaudubon.org/conservation

 

Conserving New Jersey's Natural Heritage Since 1897

Edited by HartClimbs
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There have been numerous log entries with Copperhead sightings for No. VA caches this summer. I received my own "thrill" while searching for Cannon Fire this past week. Perfect camoflauge in the leafy ground clutter, but for the ability to levitate :unsure: I would have stepped right on it.

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With all the recent sightings, I was wondering if the rattlesnake was making a comeback in NJ, or if more people were wandering in rattlesnake country looking for caches and encountering them. It looks like it may be the former. This is from The Record:

 

Deadly snakes prompt meeting   

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

 

By BARBARA WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER, (Bergen) Record

 

RINGWOOD - They've been on the move this summer - to back yards, decks, rock

walls, and the edge of woods. Oblivious to the scare they are giving residents,

rattlesnakes are slithering onto properties all over Erskine Lakes.

 

Poisonous timber rattlesnakes, categorized by the state as an endangered

species, have been spotted almost a dozen times over the past several months in

the borough, but residents are prohibited by law from getting rid of them.

 

"They aren't normally aggressive towards humans, but they are really freaking

people out," said Lysa DeLaurentis, Ringwood's animal control officer.

 

Officials are holding a meeting tonight to inform residents on what to do when

they see one, how to stay safe, and how to discourage the reptiles from spending

time near humans.

 

The meeting will be held at Little Beach Clubhouse at Erskine Road and Lakeview

Avenue at 7:30 p.m. It is organized by the state Department of Environmental

Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife, DeLaurentis said.

 

Information will be handed out and experts will be on hand to answer questions.

 

"I've had at least 10 calls in the Erskine Lakes section alone, and I normally

only get four or five for the entire area," DeLaurentis said. "We just want to

tell people what to do to distract them from coming on their property, and what

to do if they see one."

Edited by briansnat
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hey all you snakeologists, any body know what this one is called? 6d87bb2f-f124-4ce6-8bc5-fe38a6a36f3f.jpg762e49f0-b37c-42b6-86a5-68db1457801a.jpg87a0057a-652a-48fe-bab3-1024bc14a923.jpg

 

And no, it is not dead, but it plays dead and when laid over on its back, the flys swarmed like it had been laying dead in the sun for hours. When I first saw it, it was poised up like a cobra, had a cowl flaired and was hissing, after I had bagged it, it calmed down, and then when I dumped it out again, it's cowl took on a spade shape, after it rolled over on it's back, the cowl went back to normal. There were no "pits", no fangs, and when I let him loose, he moved so fast I thought he was a racer.... Could this be a rat snake? The colors were unbeliveable, the pics do not do it justice, it was neon orange and shiny black, its underbelly was also neon orange. It looked as if someone had a black light turned on.... Anybody got an ideas?

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hey all you snakeologists, any body know what this one is called? 6d87bb2f-f124-4ce6-8bc5-fe38a6a36f3f.jpg  762e49f0-b37c-42b6-86a5-68db1457801a.jpg  87a0057a-652a-48fe-bab3-1024bc14a923.jpg

 

And no, it is not dead, but it plays dead and when laid over on its back, the flys swarmed like it had been laying dead in the sun for hours. When I first saw it, it was poised up like a cobra, had a cowl flaired and was hissing, after I had bagged it, it calmed down, and then when I dumped it out again, it's cowl took on a spade shape, after it rolled over on it's back, the cowl went back to normal.  There were no "pits", no fangs, and when I let him loose, he moved so fast I thought he was a racer.... Could this be a rat snake? The colors were unbeliveable, the pics do not do it justice, it was neon orange and shiny black, its underbelly was also neon orange. It looked as if someone had a black light turned on.... Anybody got an ideas?

The hognose snake is one that acts very aggressive, but then "plays dead" when you pick it up. If it's still bothered (ie. you don't lose interest), I think it has glands where it excrets some stinky fluid as a final defense (sort of like Snat!)

 

Here's a link with details (although they don't mention the stinky part so maybe I remember that wrong).

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"This was my latest Snake encounter in the Hudson Palisades. I think somebody here also posted a similar picture but I still don't know what kind is it. Any guesses?"

 

The photo you posted is quite definitely a common garter snake. Its one of the most harmless snakes you'll ever find....well unless you're a frog!

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