[at-l] Short day hike along the AT

["Alice Kauzlarich" <kauzlar@madison.main.nc.us>]

I went for a day hike with four other hikers from Michigan who are not on
this list, but all women.  We were hiking from Garenflo Gap to Hot Springs,
about 7 miles.  Temperature in the 90's.  We had just started down the
trail at Garenflo and were chatting, as women do, and about five minutes
later the hiker babes up front yell something back to us hiker babes in
back (I was last because my water bottle flipped out of my fanny pack at
one point, and probably saved my life or I'd have been about 2nd in line). 
"Say what?"  Seems that the loud cicada turned out to be a timber rattler
directly alongside the trail!!!

Now, I've been hiking since the 1980's and this was the first poisonous
snake I have ever seen.  I have yet to come across a bear even.  That old
rattler was all coiled up and looking us in the legs.  I was not
particularly in the mood to continue in that direction.  As luck would have
it there was a climbable bank above the trail and that became our route. 
Now my companion at the time, who had a dog with her, wanted to throw a
rock at it. "Ha! not at a rattler", says I.  I'm all for chasing other
nonpoisonous snakes off the trail, but not this big fella.  He was as round
as my wrist and his coil took up a good square foot plus a few inches.  No
way Jose!  

The rest of our hike was uneventful, but it was horribly hot.  It took us
about 4 hours to hike this section, but we stopped for lunch at Deer park
Shelter.  Saw deer shortly after the shelter too.

So much for hiking in blistering heat.  If the rattlers are out there I
think I will wait for it to get back into the 70's and 80's to hike again.
;-)

The Highlander


                                                      
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