Ginseng hunt ended with me almost getting Rattlesnake bit.

[Nitric]

Also, I just thought of something....There was a "bigfoot" sighting on the backside of that woods years ago. Now. I'm not a believer in Bigfoot, but maybe it's possible there are bear in there. miles of basically untouched land back through there. You would think someone would have seen it, but even like our land it's so rough, and there is everything they need, they may not ever have to travel far. Some of it's so thick and rough ground, I can't even see very far.

No idea, and no, I don't believe it was a bigfoot. but what they saw through the brush could have been a blackbear.

 

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[pa plateau hiker]

Nitric, maybe we are talking about 2 different kind of snakes. These are ring neck snakes, gentle and don't bite. To this day, I pick them up when I come across them. I have never been bit by one, but they do pee on you.

 

[Nitric]

View attachment 1634125 View attachment 1634126 Nitric, maybe we are talking about 2 different kind of snakes. These are ring neck snakes, gentle and don't bite. To this day, I pick them up when I come across them. I have never been bit by one, but they do pee on you.

I added above....I'll just relocate what I find. That looks like it. They are a lot bigger than what's in the hand above. They raise their head about 4 to 5 in up and will strike at you. But maybe it's because my wife already had it wound up too...I have no clue...The while ring on these is real white. Real bright. but looks the same as above.

 

[huntsman53]

Well, I called the National Forest Ranger Station in Greeneville, Tennessee yesterday to report what I believe was two small but accidental or intentional forest fire burns. I did not mention this the other day but when I was walking in on the old logging road to hunt Ginseng, I found two spots on the mountain below the old logging road that had recently burned. They were not caused by lightning because I looked for evidence of a lightning strike and there was none at either burn. One was about the size of a 30'x30' house and the other was a little bigger but spread more out the side of ridge. I also noticed on the way in, that some folks had drove out the old logging road some 300 to 400 yards to a large tree across the logging road, then they walked in drinking and throwing beer cans down on the road. What were they doing you and I would ask but who knows but it appears from the tire tracks being fairly recent and the burns being fairly recent, that these folks were the cause. The Secretary said she would pass the info and my cell phone number to the Law Enforcement Ranger and that he will call me. Well, it's been almost two days and I have not received a call, so apparently they don't really care. I also told the Secretary about the Rattlesnake, so maybe they are scared to go there.

 

[Tedyoh]

My friend in PA had to kill this one that was living under his porch....too aggressive to bag and relocate...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

interesting thread, I'll tag along

 

[Nitric]

interesting thread, I'll tag along

Ya..I got kind of carried away in Huntsmans thread. It wasn't planned...just kinda happened...Never mind my crap. I was going to erase some, but it would leave holes.

 

[Clay Slayer]

I'm not a "snake lover" nor am I a "snake hater". People who kill every snake they see don't bother me and others who keep them for pets don't bother me either, to each his own. I guess I fall somewhere in between. The only snakes I come across on a fairly regular basis in my yard are small garter snakes. I know they are completely harmless and l leave them to go on their way every time. It's obvious they are much more afraid of me and want nothing more than to be left alone.

In Louisiana state-wide we have a little over fifty different species of snakes, but only about 6 are venomous and common enough to consider. The rattlesnakes (Pygmy, Canebrake and extremely rare Eastern Diamondback) prefer the hardwoods and dryer soil up in central and north Louisiana and are not found in my area. Same with the Coral family(Harlequin & Texas), they prefer drier upland areas and are extremely rare in my area.

I live in south-central Louisiana and only have to keep an eye out for a couple of venomous ones while hiking and fishing around the marshes, lakes and bayous in this area.

The first is the Cottonmouth, aka Water Moccasin. This is the most common venomous snake and can be found in virtually any body of water or damp, low-lying area around here(GREAT swimmers). They can be just as common in drainage ditches along 4 lane highways around town as they are deep in the woods. They prefer to be left alone and will go in the opposite direction of you if given the chance. Bite is very painful, but not generally life-threatening, especially if medical attention is received in a reasonable amount of time.

The other one is the Copperhead. This is a mean little sucker and the only snake that I will put down if given the chance...especially if I come across him in a state park, a hiking trail or some other area I know other people will frequent. He doesn't really like water, but can be found in the drier hills and prairies surrounding the wet low-lands. He won't run, but prefers to remain motionless and stand his ground...and if he's out of his environment he may even chase you a little. Bite is extremely painful and permanent tissue damage is to be expected. Rarely fatal to a healthy adult, but medical attention should be received ASAP.

I guess where I'm going with this is that I educated myself on identifying what's really dangerous around me and what is not for a reason. An example is a Cottonmouth and a common Water Snake(non-venomous) often look VERY similar and both are found in the same environment. In fact Water Snakes are EVERYWHERE in my local wetlands and if I couldn't identify them I wouldn't be able to take 10 steps in the woods without fear. And if I went out of my way to try and kill every snake I came across, I wouldn't have any time left for actual fishing or hiking.

I suppose if I lived in a part of the country where rattlesnakes were common, I would probably treat them the same as a Copperhead.

Some people have a genuine fear of all snakes, my wife included. She is truly scared of all of them and wants absolutely nothing to do with them ever, ever, ever...and that's fine. Myself, I just consider them another creature in nature. I started teaching my son about identifying snakes when he was quite young because it was necessary for when we went fishing and camping in our part of the country. I didn't tell him a blanket statement like "every snake is dangerous" or "kill every snake you see" because I don't believe those statement to be true or necessary. He knows NEVER to approach a snake, but at the same time he doesn't run screaming every time one is nearby either. I’m a firm believer that a healthy respect for something is much more practical than just plain fear.

Anyway...here's a little garter we found in the yard. These little guys are the only ones I have ever handled in nature. Although if I ever came across a Scarlet Kingsnake or Milk Snake I would have to resist a strong urge to handle one of those for a minute or two...just make damn sure you know your banding sequence.

 

[huntsman53]

Well, I finally made it back to my' secret spot for hunting Ginseng on Saturday and avoided any Rattlesnakes this time around. It has been hard to get out with all of the torrential rain across the area ever since the remnants of Florence passed through. However, I was finally able to dig the last 5 Ginseng roots of my' allotted 25 roots and they are pretty decent roots. I actually dug some 3 prong roots but replanted them when I came across some bigger 4 prong plants that had larger roots and I replanted them right where I dug up the bigger roots. Noticed that one of the 4 prong plants had started to grow roots off of the stem because the stem had been damaged by a falling limb, so I replanted the top (the plant) in hopes it will actually grow another root. In the past, I have harvested roots and their' tops (plants) together intact, then cut the root off just below the bud and replanted the tops with the buds and a small portion of the root intact and some have actually produced new roots. Ginseng Dealers (Buyers) don't like it when I bring in roots without the buds as the Chinese Buyers don't like to buy them, so I stopped. However, I believe besides planting seeds and rootlets, by doing the above, I believe one can help Ginseng's survival and those with Ginseng crops, can also expand their' Ginseng crops. I found two logs with a lot of Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms on them but the mushrooms were old, waterlogged and covered with bugs. However, I was able to harvest about 20 pounds of Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms on the way back to my' truck and they were growing on a hardwood tree only about 100 yards from the truck.

 

[huntsman53]

By the way, does anyone know what kind of Shelf Mushrooms these are and are they possibly edible? They were still waterlogged and I only took two. It took several days for them to dry out and even if they were edible, they are now too hard to do anything with, with the exception of possibly drying them out totally, grinding them up to make tea.