Jim there be inflation in your words... that be more than .02 worth :) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Scotti" To: Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 2:33 PM Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Rattlesnakes > Here's my rattlesnake $0.02. First, the statistic I've heard is that > something like 90% of snakebites are due to the moron actually trying to > interact with the snake. Keep in mind that the snake can only jump about its > own length, so if you give it plenty of room, you should be safe, even if you > have to walk past it. Also, most snake bites are dry. The snake actually > has to be in contact and squeezing, I think, to inject venim (but that > shouldn't slow you down from seeking medical attention if bit....). In all > the years I've been out and about, I've never seen a live rattler on the > trail. My wife saw one once (but by the time I caught up to her and its > location, it was gone), and I've seen them in the road a couple times, most > recently last summer up near Toroweap Overlook when we saw one in the dirt > road within a mile of the ranger station there. It was in the middle of the > road, so I got out of the car after stopping about 15 or 20 feet short of the > snake, took a couple pictures (the best with the zoom, of course), then I > tossed some small rocks generally at it to get it to move off the road so we > wouldn't run over it. I never got closer than about 12-15 feet and we did > get some decent pix too. Other "signs" of a rattler besides the sounds > mentioned by others is that you can sometimes see the trail of a snake (don't > know if it was a rattler, though it was "S" shaped going down a wash one time > while out in the wilds when I saw that a couple years ago - while > "Geodashing", BTW. The snake trail was within a few hundred meters of the > dashpoint, though it did not log its earlier visit to the dashpoint on the > internet, so I got credit for the first arrival.... :-) ). > > I've been known to leave snake bite kits in geocaches from time to time. > They can be found at most camping stores or even WalMart for only a couple > bucks and are usually yellow rubber and have some instructions inside and are > used to suck the venim out. Not sure how useful they are, but I suspect the > best thing to do is to seek medical help as soon as possible in any case. > Better yet, give the snake a wide berth - it is more likely to be more afraid > of you than you are of it and usually, you will see or hear it long before > you get within striking distance. It's also a good idea to keep your eyes > and ears open, especially with kids or pets since they don't know the rules > of dealing with snakes (though I have heard of anti-snake training for > dogs...). > > Jim. > > On Mon, 24 May 2004, SquishyGecko wrote: > > > While reading the logs for GCJFPP, I noticed that the first two people to > > attempt this cache saw "signs" of a rattlesnake ahead. Being from a > > place where rattlesnakes aren't a huge issue, and being accident prone > > (I've had two cactus incidents while caching so far, one pierced a > > muscle), I'm wondering just what exactly the signs of a rattlesnake in > > the area are, other than the obvious rattle. > > > > Also, I've been searching the internet for information about how to deal > > with a rattlesnake bite, and so far there doesn't seem to be much other > > than to keep the wound below the heart, don't cut it open or use a > > tournequette, and call for help. Anyone have any other suggestions? > > > > If you don't hear from me by tomorrow, it's probably 'cause I'm going to > > attempt GCJFPP this afternoon, and Mr. Rattlesnake might decide to eat > > me. > > > > Signed, > > Dumb Desert Dipstick :-) > > Jim Scotti > Lunar & Planetary Laboratory > University of Arizona > Tucson, AZ 85721 USA http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/ > > ____________________________________________________________ > Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com > To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit: > http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching > > Arizona's Geocaching Resource > http://www.azgeocaching.com