Snakes!!! Bears and other Wild Life!!! Beware!!!

I love to hike and I am not afraid of the humans that I meet but the animals. After all, I am invading their home. I try to leave only my footprints and not upset their homes so I stay on the trail when ever possible.

But look what I found on the trail. I am not sure what kind of snake it is but all I need to hear is that it was a snake. I would have missed this one because he looks like a stick.

In West Virginia, they have about 20 different species of snakes but only two species are venomous: the Timber Rattlesnake and Northern Copperhead. Snakes love to warm themselves on rocks to regulate their body temperature. But they will generally stay away from human.

They will strike if they feel cornered or stepped on. I tend to look down at the trail as I walk looking for snakes and my footing. If you see a snake don’t try to move it with a stick or throw stones at it. Snakes can strike up to half their lengths distant in every directions as a rule.

It is best to give them a wide berth or go back the way you came. If you are bitten by a snake, try and remember something about what it looks like to give the doctor something to go on. But on the upside, only about 5 or 6 people in the United States die from snake bites because we have wonderful health care system.

Bears generally only attack when they feel threatened. In the U.S., bears kill about 3 people per year.

I have had several run in with them and been very lucky that nothing has happen. The worst was when I was on a 10 day hike in Cranberry, West Virginia. I was walking back to the car and in the middle of the trail was a cub.

The cub was looking towards me and it looked like he wanted to play with my dogs. But he looked up the hill, I think that his mother was up there. I could just see the mother telling the cub, “Come here now.” The cub bow his head and went up the hill. But it could have been a very different situation if they mother felt threatened.

Never forget that you are visiting their home. Enjoy it but be safe and leave their areas as you have found them. And stop every few minutes and look up and around for both the beauty and threats.