|
DustyBottoms



Registered: 11/07/14
Posts: 3,071
Loc: TheUnderbelly
|
SNAKES!!!!
#25421673 - 08/29/18 02:11 PM (5 years, 4 months ago) |
|
|
The gnarly venomous ones. Specifically coral and rattle snakes.
I just booked a trip to Texas in October. Kayakcamping for 3 nights down the brazos river. I havenโt been but my buddy said the brush is hella thick. Total backcountry camping at night with machetes being mandatory to even set up camp.
Weโre in the middle of nowhere and apparently will not have cell service for the majority of the trip. Such a thing as OTC anti-venom? Iโm finding mixed reviews online.
What do you all do to prevent getting bit or what do you bring in the event you do get bit?
--------------------
|
BakaNotNice
Myco Maniac



Registered: 07/06/18
Posts: 53
|
|
Not much you can do besides shaking out your sleeping bags before bed and staying out of washes and ditches. There are some pretty gnarly snakes out there but they most likely aren't gonna bother you if you don't bother them. Just keep in mind that they are more scared of you than you are of them.
-------------------- "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." -Bruce Lee
|
BakaNotNice
Myco Maniac



Registered: 07/06/18
Posts: 53
|
|
If you are really worried you could invest in some thick gaiters.
-------------------- "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." -Bruce Lee
|
Morel Guy
Stranger


Registered: 01/23/13
Posts: 15,577
Last seen: 4 years, 30 days
|
|
Mmm stay sober?
Big issue is stepping on one. Use flashlights, thick boots and pants but will not help much in a direct strike.
Stay sober to decrease risk. Keep packs off the ground. Set up the tent and keep all gear inside. Use a camo chair.
Remember snakes are cold blooded and get close for heat.
-------------------- "in sterquiliniis invenitur in stercore invenitur" In filth it will be found in dung it will be found
|
DustyBottoms



Registered: 11/07/14
Posts: 3,071
Loc: TheUnderbelly
|
|
Quote:
BakaNotNice said: Not much you can do besides shaking out your sleeping bags before bed and staying out of washes and ditches. There are some pretty gnarly snakes out there but they most likely aren't gonna bother you if you don't bother them. Just keep in mind that they are more scared of you than you are of them.
I'm not planning to bother any intentionally. But apparently the brush is insanely thick around the river. I could see ourselves stumbling onto one by accident.
--------------------
|
DustyBottoms



Registered: 11/07/14
Posts: 3,071
Loc: TheUnderbelly
|
|
Quote:
BakaNotNice said: If you are really worried you could invest in some thick gaiters.
I thought about gaiters but going to a fro a kayak in gaiters sounds pretty terrible. And putting them on every time I get out of the cayak doesn't seem that practical either.
--------------------
|
DustyBottoms



Registered: 11/07/14
Posts: 3,071
Loc: TheUnderbelly
|
|
Quote:
Morel Guy said: Mmm stay sober?
Big issue is stepping on one. Use flashlights, thick boots and pants but will not help much in a direct strike.
Stay sober to decrease risk. Keep packs off the ground. Set up the tent and keep all gear inside. Use a camo chair.
Remember snakes are cold blooded and get close for heat.
I mean I could but sober kayak camping doesn't sound very fun. There will be tons of weed, edibles and a fair amount of brown liquor. Maybe thinned out blood will be a good thing if I get attacked? 
What do you mean by cammo chair? Like with cammo print? What the fuck is that going to do?
I'm not bringing a backpack. I'll bring my 50L rubber dry bag that folds over itself for this trip. I'm also unsure if I'll even do a tent. Might just sleep in the hammock at night.
Is there some type of repellent to keep them at bay? Perhaps even something we could burn in the fire at night?
Let's say it's 4am and I need to get up to piss. What can I do to let them know I'm about to start walking around?
--------------------
|
BakaNotNice
Myco Maniac



Registered: 07/06/18
Posts: 53
|
|
Quote:
DustyBottoms said:
Quote:
BakaNotNice said: If you are really worried you could invest in some thick gaiters.
I thought about gaiters but going to a fro a kayak in gaiters sounds pretty terrible. And putting them on every time I get out of the cayak doesn't seem that practical either.
I guess it just comes down to comfort over safety. Wearing thick boots and gaiters definitely is not ideal but neither is needing a medvac to extreme vasoconstriction and heart failure.
-------------------- "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." -Bruce Lee
|
BakaNotNice
Myco Maniac



Registered: 07/06/18
Posts: 53
|
|
Quote:
DustyBottoms said:
Quote:
Morel Guy said: Mmm stay sober?
Big issue is stepping on one. Use flashlights, thick boots and pants but will not help much in a direct strike.
Stay sober to decrease risk. Keep packs off the ground. Set up the tent and keep all gear inside. Use a camo chair.
Remember snakes are cold blooded and get close for heat.
I mean I could but sober kayak camping doesn't sound very fun. There will be tons of weed, edibles and a fair amount of brown liquor. Maybe thinned out blood will be a good thing if I get attacked? 
What do you mean by cammo chair? Like with cammo print? What the fuck is that going to do?
I'm not bringing a backpack. I'll bring my 50L rubber dry bag that folds over itself for this trip. I'm also unsure if I'll even do a tent. Might just sleep in the hammock at night.
Is there some type of repellent to keep them at bay? Perhaps even something we could burn in the fire at night?
Let's say it's 4am and I need to get up to piss. What can I do to let them know I'm about to start walking around?
There is this shit called snake be gone. People use it in their gardens. I used it while camping in a wash in utah. We put a ring around our campsite of it. Think using a ring of salt to keep demons away.
-------------------- "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." -Bruce Lee
|
BakaNotNice
Myco Maniac



Registered: 07/06/18
Posts: 53
|
|
For going to the bathroom at night I would suggest stomping as you walk. Snakes usually are not out in the open at night but if they are, stomping will scare them off.
-------------------- "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." -Bruce Lee
|
Morel Guy
Stranger


Registered: 01/23/13
Posts: 15,577
Last seen: 4 years, 30 days
|
|
I meant a camp chair.
I have seen a movie, I think it's true grit. He kept a rope around his bedding. Dunno why.
I don't like poisonious critters either. Freeky devils!
-------------------- "in sterquiliniis invenitur in stercore invenitur" In filth it will be found in dung it will be found
|
Sofaking420



Registered: 02/09/18
Posts: 1,126
Loc: Myco mountain
Last seen: 12 hours, 12 minutes
|
|
Leather boots. I perfer "logger " style where they are much taller.
Use a walking stick!!!!!
Becareful crossing fallen trees/ logs/ rocks.
Use your walking stick to poke around before you walk.
If you do see one a long stick to distract it is alot better then your foot.
|
ds442
Stranger

Registered: 04/02/18
Posts: 374
|
|
A snakes not going to attack you. Just watch were you are going and don't stick your hands in places you can't see like under logs or rocks. I was all over Ca where there are rattlesnakes and only seen 1 the whole year and a half I was there. Rattlesnakes take a long time to kill you but I think coral snakes you die quick from.
I seen a king snake in CA. They are a coral snake mimic. It was right on the trail. Very cool looking but I kept my distance because I didn't know what kind it was.
Wear some high boots and jeans. Snakes don't always inject venom when they bite humans too.
|
Fleabag Friend
OTD Free Bag Fiend



Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 16,633
Loc: Niggerville, TX
Last seen: 12 days, 6 hours
|
Re: SNAKES!!!! [Re: ds442] 1
#25431568 - 09/02/18 08:30 PM (5 years, 4 months ago) |
|
|
I don't know how far up the brazos you gonna be, but Texas, specifically South East is my home. Down in the swamps. Really if you're gonna be on the water, you're gonna be wanting to look out for the beautiful and short tempered water moccasins and copperheads. It's still hot as hell well into October so critters are gonna be out and about sunning themselves, just as active as ever.
The further up into the hill country you are the more rattlers you'll find, and the further south into the sticks is gonna be Cotton Mouth, Copperhead territory. Not too many rattlers. Copperheads are some sneaky little bastards and I've almost stepped on em a few times. Fabulous camouflage!
Honestly coral snakes are a non issue. They are shy and keep to themselves. The ones I've seen and messed with I had to provoke quite a bit before a strike. They were sunning in a field each time and were very obvious. Otherwise you will probably not see one. Oftentimes when they do bite, it is a "dry bite" anyway. They have fixed fangs, and with the angle the teeth are set at, it is difficult to get their little mouths into a wide piece of man flesh, so no venom gets in. So you got that going for you. But if it does, you're pretty well fucked, as I'm sure you've heard.
Cotton mouths look a lot like non venomous water snakes. Just straight black, very little patterning. You're probably going to see a water snake before you see a cotton mouth.
Cotton mouths are short and FAT. Makes em buoyant, good swimmers. Their body tapers into their tail really abruptly. Fat triangular shaped heads. Water snakes, if they're swimming are gonna be pretty well submerged, and they're long and thin.
Copperheads aren't gonna be mistaken for anything else, but like I said they're sometimes hard to spot, especially in dead leaf litter.
If you want to avoid them, well too bad. You're in their territory. That's the way I see it. Utmost respect should be shown, and not fear. Animals sense that, no matter what species. Get used to watching up the trail a little ways where you're going to be stepping, eyes down. Carry a walking stick if you can, because that gives you a tool to flick them out of the trail with. They don't want a fight, and given the opportunity are gonna leave ya alone. That's it really. Don't go leaping over logs neither. I see em bedded down under logs quite a bit. Go poking around with your stick first. Low lying areas, thick leaves, logs, moist areas are gonna make for good snake habitat.
It may sound dumb to most, but go barefoot. It's what I do. I've got real thick calluses built up over the years, so the only thing that sometimes hurt me are patches of briars.
Being barefoot really slows you down and makes you pay attention to what you're doing. Makes you conscious of every step. Connects you with the environment more. I really enjoy it and I've been doing it since I was a kid without issue. And it feels nice too. No boots to worry about having to dry out at the end of the day. A boot ain't gonna stop a pissed off cotton mouth, whose probably gonna strike up at your calf anyways.
I really like hammock camping especially around the water. Byer of Maine makes a good mosquito hammock for cheap!
Enjoy your trip, and honestly, don't worry about the snakes man. There's no more snakes here than there are anywhere else. Just keep your head out of your ass and have fun. Leave your drinking to camp. I think the weed might help you pay attention in all honesty, haha! And if you're buying a machete, don't cheap out. Channel on YouTube called "house boat Rob" has got a lot of machete reviews. Environments are similar.
-------------------- "Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things."-Marvin Heemeyer ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ช๐ท, ๐ช ๐ญ๐ธ๐ฐ, ๐ช ๐๐ช๐ต๐ท๐พ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฎ, ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฝ '๐ฎ๐ถ, ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ซ๐ฎ.
     ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ต๐ต ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐ท๐ฎ
|
|