[pct-l] snake bites...?

[Bighummel at aol.com (Bighummel@aol.com)]

Okay Bulltaco,  I have been in the mountains and wilds quite a bit  over my 
lifetime and I do love to be there as often as I can.  It comes  down to what 
you fear and the reasons for fearing those things.  I don't  fear snakes of any 
kind and have found that they are just like you and me.   If an intruder 
enters my house I try first to scare him out of the house before  I strike. 
Striking at an intruder is my last resort UNLESS aggressively  attacked.  Then I 
will strike without hesitation in order to protect  myself, my family and my 
home.  Snakes are no different.  If you don't  step on one, attack one, 
accidentally grab one, they are very unlikely to want  to have anything to do with an 
animal that outweighs it 400 to 1. 
 
In the warm / hot deserts of Southern California rattlers will come out  
during the colder parts of the day in order to soak up the heat radiating from  
rocks and ground and roads.  At these times of the day you have to be  careful 
what you step on (most PCT hikers don't climb much so they are generally  
putting their hands on a rock that they can't see what is on top).  
 
A habbit of mine, generated in youth from looking for all of those things  
that you can find on the ground if you just keep looking down, is to look down  
directly in front of where I am walking.  I am VERY careful what I step on  
and where I step.  If you are hiking the PCT then you should too, for  
statistical purposes if not safety purposes, as you are going to take, let's see  . . . 
 2,658 miles x 2640 average steps per mile = ~7,000,000 steps!   Odds are 
that you will step on something or somewhere along the way that you  wished you 
didn't.  
 
Do I carry a snake bite kit? No.  I do carry a pretty good first aid  kit 
that includes many things that could help to alleviate the common problems  
associated with a snake bite; antibiotics, alcohol wipes, anti-inflamatories,  etc. 
 
What do I fear most on a PCT hike?  That my determination and drive is  not 
what it once was when I was younger.  Snakes?  Nope.   Lightning? Nope.  Cars?  
Yep.  Sprained ankles?  Yep.   Bears? Nope.  Mountain Lions? Nope.  Death?  
Nope.  Not  getting to hike the PCT again before I die?  Yep.  
 
I agree with you whole heartedly that everyone should be well  prepared.
 
Greg 
 
In a message dated 3/19/2005 12:23:16 PM Pacific Standard Time,  
n.ruiz@verizon.net writes:

Greg,  lets talk about you, you said it well yourself ,45 years in the 
hills,you  sound like a very intelligent person,and your mountain broke-in you know 
what  to do,its the average person that dont know what to do,do you carry a 
snake  bite kit ? I have a first aid kit in my truck,van,and one in the house 
,with a  snake bite kit,last year I got stung by a ground bee, you know the one  
one  that come around every time your going to eat,I swear I saw them an  
intire rattler poison and all, well two hours later my hand started to  swell,by 
9:pm it started to worrie me,So I took the first aid kit out and  lanced it 
and put the suction on the bite and in 30 minutes I felt reliefe,and  slept 
good,and I am not pulling you leg,I think every should have a kit and  know how to 
use it,,,!         "the  bulltaco"