![]() Story was he was near Spring mountain shelter searching for firewood. Although there are accounts of people being bit, one Alex Reiger age 20 back in 2009 was bitten by a copperhead. Many claims in fact are of hikers that thought they were bit. The records of people being bit by a copperhead on the Appalachian trail is nearly unheard of. As long as they gave the snake distance and didn’t mess with it they walked away fine. Many of the stories hikers tell when they encountered this snake on the trail is that they serve no real threat. If bitten one should seek medical attention immediately. If bitten on the extremities, this leaves an opportunity for damage to muscle or bone tissue due to lack of muscle mass to spread out the venom. Just one bite gives a feeling of intense pain, throbbing muscles, swelling of the skin, and severe nausea. Trust me, a wonderful day hike can turn into a terrible hospital trip if you’re not careful. This is very dangerous because right at your feet could be Agkistrodon Contortrix, more commonly known as the copperhead snake. When this happens, you become less aware of your surroundings and pay less attention to detail. These creatures deserve some respect from us.ĭogs are considered as the men’s/women’s best friends and snakes are mysterious and beautiful but when you are in the outdoors always stay alert and show some respect to these creatures.After a long day of hiking up and down hills following trails through the woods, things can tend to get a little monotonous. So, if I see a snake crossing or heading to my direction, I don’t have the intention of catching it or playing with it. And most of the time, I regard the snakes as the “gods” that guard the mountains and the nature thereat. I may not be superstitious but I usually consider my encounters with snakes as my “lucky” moments. In case of snake bite, this could be helpful. Be alert also for snake encounters on the early morning or early evening as these are the times when I usually encounter them in my “playground”. Be alert when hiking/running on thickly shaded trails, most specially in forested areas or virgin forests. Always keep your feet on the cleared trail. Do not attempt to thread on thick vegetation without any trail. Expect snakes to be present in cooler and thick vegetation. I’ve never been bitten by a snake but there are preventive measures to undertake. There are also vaccines that would prevent one from being infected by rabies. You need injections for anti-rabies and anti-infection and such injections are being administered on scheduled dates or interval of days. Treatment on dog bites are very expensive but they are also readily available in hospitals and famous drugstores. I also prepare to hold my water bottle and be able throw it to the dog if there is imminent act of attack or just simply pick up a stone on the side of the road. I became smarter in dealing with astray dogs along the streets that I have to stop, walk and try to avoid getting nearer to a dog few meters before the location of the dog. Since the time I’ve been bitten by a dog, I stopped using my iPod and headphone. I am not sure what kind of snake it was but I was glad it did not bite my leg. The snake’s body diameter could be at least 1 1/2 inches, about one meter long and it is colored black. However, my latest encounter was a snake that was coming head-on directly to my legs! I had to immediately jump from the trail and stopped. As always, whenever I go on my daily trail runs, I always see a snake at least once a week or the most, two times a week crossing a few meters in front of me. They are even seen hibernating on the branches of big trees in the forest. On the mountain trails, the snakes are the most popular creature that you can see crossing your path or even meeting you head-on while one is running. I cancelled my run and went back to Manila for the much-needed medical attention on the next day. It was a wound and scratch but I still need to have the dog bite treated immediately. ![]() I am glad I was using a calf sleeve that the bite did not puncture my calf muscle. I had been a victim of a dog bite when I was running at nighttime during one of my adventure runs in San Narciso, Zambales. ![]() If you are not alert and don’t do some immediate measures to thwart their attack, most likely they will bite your legs. ![]() These dogs usually bark and run after you on daytime or nighttime. On the roads, the famous street dogs or what we fondly call as “askals” (Asong Kalye) are the number one “attackers” of runners. These are the two most popular potential “enemies” of ultra marathon runners in the country.
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