+wimseyguy Posted September 18, 2002 Share Posted September 18, 2002 Just a friendly reminder to exercise caution when geocaching. It is always a good idea to use a stick or something other than your arm when reaching for a cache in a wooded area. I pushed a 14 inch Copperhead off the trail near the Trade Show cache last night around sundown.He was just catching the last few rays of warmth off the pavement when I came by. Yes I'm sure it was a Copperhead. There are very good resources for identifying snakes where I work. Be careful what you wish for! Quote Link to comment
+JoeyBob Posted September 18, 2002 Share Posted September 18, 2002 I have only seen two snakes while caching, and both were in Chapel Hill- Balldercache,and the Maytag cache. I have carried a stick for a long time, more for spiderwebs than snakes. I do not like the sneaky little snakes, and give them every opportunity to leave me alone! JoeyBob Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted September 18, 2002 Share Posted September 18, 2002 Just one more word about snakes to keep in mind. They hunt at night during the summer, so they are most likely to be seen near dawn and dusk. They are cold bloodied, so during hot weather you will find them in the shade. IE..under the shade of a log or a rock. Always step up..not over. They can't hear well, they feel vibrations, so always step heavily and thump your stick on the ground. They will move away from anything to big to eat, if given the chance. El Diablo Everything you do in life...will impact someone,for better or for worse. Quote Link to comment
+Luggage & Leather Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 Actually snakes don't bother me much in this area. I lived in Arizona for a while and rattlers or Gila Monsters could be a problem. The eastern part of NC you have to deal with Cottenmouths who are a little aggressive. Copperheads are generally not out to get you, (they look like the Brown Banded Water Snake to some folks, but Copperheads generally avoid water) and they are the only venemous snakes in our area. But Brown Recluse Spiders, Black Widow Spiders, and any bug that your allergic to (bees, mosquitos with West Nile, Ticks, ets.) could be a problem. But to tell you the truth (I've been bitten by Brown Recluse), in this area, if you're a healthy adult, it shouldn't be a problem. Get to a hospital and get fixed if there's a problem. So don't let your kids stick their arms in the hole first . Even though snakes don't bother me, I can still jump higher than Mike Jordan when I see one on the trail (even if it's just a stick lookalike, dadgum sticks!). Quote Link to comment
+JoeyBob Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 I also have had near cardiac arrest on seeing stick-snakes underfoot. Took the kids around Shelley Lake in the stroller one time and drove over a little garter snake. I wish someone had videotaped it: 6 foot 2 inch man screaming and levitating over the path, 18 inch snake scared to death, and two small kids laughing at Daddy doing a funny dance. Quote Link to comment
+Ltljon Posted September 26, 2002 Share Posted September 26, 2002 After reading this post a couple of days ago I came upon my first Rattler today. I coincidently stopped on the trail to put on my glasses so I could see the GPS, (I know, too many b-days) looked 4 or 5 feet in front of me & there he lay. Not a real good feeling since I'd just walked past here about 3 minutes earlier & turned around to head back. If I hadn't put the glasses on I'd never saw him as it was low light, raining & foggy & probably would have stepped on him about mid-way on his body. Yee haw... Oh well, as I said in my log for the cache, "I let him go". Let's be careful out there... Quote Link to comment
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