Pa. Timber Rattler

That's a huge snake. Never seen one with this much black color. I'm glad your wife didn't step on him, he looks like trouble! The only time I've ever stepped on a snake was when I was wearing sunglasses. After that I never wear them in the woods.

My wife always goes first. He was _very_ docile. We were hemmed in by dense brush, and couldn't bushwack around him, so we spent 10 minutes deciding what to do. The trail is maybe 30" wide at that point. We tried gently poking him, and splashing a little cold water on him to get him to move. He didn't even rattle! Finally, I just put the tip of my pole close to his nose, figuring he'd have to swerve around it if he decided to strike, and we tippy-toed around him. He never budged.