imported post
Flintlock wrote:
Tomahawk wrote:
I have spotted many critters, including a no-sh!+ rattlesnake, on the trail, but rangers are like unicorns.
An eastern diamondback? Really?
Did you kill it or just let it be on it's way? I lived in Virginia for 11 years and spent a good amount of time in the woods but never saw one. Did see a copperhead once or twice though.. There are a lot more bears around these days as well..
An eastern timber rattler, indeed. I was on top of a mountain hiking the ridge top trail in bright sunlight, and the snake was stretched out in front of me crossing the trail from right to left. I had been expecting to see copperheads, having seen them a few times before, so when I spotted the snake I was amazed to see such a big copperhead. This guy was about 4 or 5 ft long and his middle was almost as big around as my wrist. The color also wasn't right for a copperhead.
I was talking to the girl behind me when I saw it and I was only about 10 ft from it. I immediately jumped backwards, and the snake also recoiled backwards away from me into a coil. We had scared the crap out of each other. I took a step forward to get a better look, and he rattled once and then stopped. I backed up and got out my camera, with handy dandy telephoto lens, to take photos from a safe distance. If I can dig up the CD I stored them on I'll post one. Really great phot conditions, with the sunlight and the snake in the open and all. I'm not usually afraid of snakes, but copperheads are pretty small. Rattlers are big, with triangular heads and eyes like Satan. This was the real deal.
They are very common in the mountains up in north central Pennsylvania, my uncle's friendsused to hunt them, but I've never had a close encounter like that before. The good thing is that they aren't very aggressive and will leave you alone if you return the favor. I didn't kill it, because I figured it might be illegal and I wasn't in any big danger. We just went around it and hiked on.
About carrying while hiking: I also use a Safepacker. Works well and is comfortable on the thick waste belt of a backpack and keeps my 1911 right where I can reach it without moving any gear around, and also protects the pistol against abuse and weather. Only thing is it is not OC, so you can't take it into a VA restaurant with you.