Snakes Question
What do you do when there is a snake in the middle of the trail?
Go around.
Either walk around it or gently encourage it to move off with a trekking pole. Small non-venomous ones, just step over.
Well, most of the one's I've seen have been on or near the side, but one time I threw some rocks at a rattler to get it to move far enough for me to want to walk past it. There wasn't much choice because there was a wall on one side and a drop off on the other. Otherwise I probably would have just tried to go around it. It was pretty stubborn, but I don't have all day. Maybe it's worth a try to jump over with a running start?
I don't think snake jumping is an Olympic sport.
Depends on the snake. Early in the morning you'll find them stretched out trying to warm up. If it's a big rattler, either encourage it off the trail, or walk around. No biggie. Don't forget to shoot a photo.
Since the vast majority of venomous snake bites occur to the hands and face, the best advice is not to pick it up and try to kiss it.
If it's a rattler, give it PLENTY of room and go around. DON'T do as one person previously (in another post) recommended and "step over the tail." FOOLISH and asking for a bite. I'd also not recommend jumping over a rattlesnake for the simple reason rattlers can strike with blinding speed and can easily nail you mid-jump. Know, too, if you have to walk around a rattler and it requires you to walk through some underbrush or vegetation, keep a sharp eye out for additional rattlers since a den can be moving together.
Getting bitten by a rattlesnake is, to say the least, very unpleasant. Getting bitten by a rattlesnake in the middle of nowhere is a hideous nightmare.
OkeefenokeeJoe
If I know it's not venomous I step over it. If I'm not sure I go around it. If the terrain won't allow that I wait for it to move off the trail.
I try to follow the golden rule when encountering wildlife, so since I would not like someone prodding me with a trekking pole or throwing rocks at me I don't do those things to snakes. I have read accounts of people prodding snakes into action so they can get a better photograph and this seems really wrong to me.
Life Member: ATC, ALDHA, Superior Hiking Trail Association
wait or go around remember you are in it's home.
Mama Bear
[It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.]
[J.R.R. Tolkien]
Count my blessings.Originally Posted by pickle
[I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35
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Most snakes will move away if you give them an opportunity, but rattle snakes will often coil up and defend their position. I usually just back off and give them time to move on, but I have had times when they refused to move. In those instances, I look for a long stick, longer than a hiking pole, to use to encourage them to move on. I have thrown rocks, but rocks just make the snake coil up.
Cotton mouthed moccasins will actually attack. Because they are water snakes, you don't usually encounter them on a trail, but if the trail is in the south and near water, you might see one. I once had one swim 10 feet to try to get at me. I was in a boat and beat it back with my paddle. I have had others come after me on the bank, but I can run faster than they can.
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Last edited by Shutterbug; 06-27-2016 at 00:36.
Shutterbug
Walk around it.
Start worrying about the ones you can't see.
Sleep on the ground, rise with the sun and hike with the wind....
Kill it, skin it, grille it, eat it.
While I would rather it just slithered off on its own, often times, they just sit there continuing to warm themselves. I am not a big fan of walking around the snake due to my fear that I will be walking into something I can't see. If it does't move after a little while, I try to find some small rocks to roll near it to see if I can encourage it to move. I don't think I would get close enough to it to use a trekking pole to move it. They can strike a lot farther than one thinks.
Whether you think you can, or think you can't--you're right--Henry Ford; The Journey Is The Destination
Mmmm rattlesnake! Though it is probably against some rule somewhere to kill one, based on where you are at the time. I remember back in basic training at Fort Benning, we found ourselves in the middle of an infestation, but couldn't move because there were no other available training areas. And if you've ever taken part in planning a training mission, you know the absolute nightmare it is when one LITTLE things changes after the plan has been approved by the CG and range control. Anyways, there were so many, and some really big ones, like excess of ten feet long or more, we were granted permission to kill them if they got close to our foxholes, or inside. Luckily, one of our Drill Sergeants had brought a skillet and a camp stove.
Hiking is if course, a different scenario, and I would do as others have suggested, wait for it to move, or go around, looking carefully for additional snakes just off the trail.
I'll typically take a few photographs, and some video of it.
If it's venomous, I give it room, go around it and continue on my way. If it's non-venomous, I usually just step over it and continue on my way.
I've seen far more snakes, venomous and non-venomous, on the side of the trail than I have laying across it......
u.w.
I suppose I could carry it to the next shelter. That oughta be interesting.
I get out my rope and tarzan it right over the whole area.
+1 if it is a rattlesnake.
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