Abundance of snakes!!

[psnapp]

Sam -- do voles include garlic-breath, scuzzy, slimy-haired "house boys"? If so, PRESERVE the snakes!!

Phil

[sammcdonald]

hey phil....i think those "house boys" in turkey would qualify as the species "volus nastius"...even those that didn't smoke those foul smelling cigs.

for the uninitiated, phil and i served together is the usaf and were stationed together in the lovely city of trabzon, turkey, then a city of 66k with no sewer system other than the aptly named Black Sea.

[psnapp]

Sam -- very articulate as always, my friend! Drop me a line @ psnapp@yahoo.net sometime!

Phil

[Rebelsoul]

Saturday I went down the Natchez Trace Pky. and saw 3 rattlers run over in the road within 5 miles of each other...after reading this and other posts about more snakes in the Smokies,it got me wondering what's going on.
I have been wandering in the woods around the Trace and Laurel Hills WMA for years and have never seen a rattler dead in the road....copperheads,yeah,but not a rattlesnake.I know they've been scarce around here,but that seems to be changing.

[PeteCz]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

I still have yet to find a rattler den but I'm looking...
In case there is any doubt, I love snakes and I love finding them...
Even my mother, when she visits, has found a snake out here she likes...
If anyone is interested in finding some, or one, just let me know....

What?!!!?

No other words necessary....



Knucklehead....good choice....

Just messin'

[nvr2L8]

Rebelsoul,

You saw my three favorite snakes - the flat ones.

[Jim Casada]

Precisely why anyone would want to visit a snake den is beyond me. I'm not particularly scared of them, although I've hunted turkeys in Texas in a couple of places where rattlers were far too plentiful for my taste. That being said, I know off the top of my head the whereabouts of two rattler dens (unless they've been abandoned in recent years). One is far up the Left Fork of Deep Creek in the area of the headwaters of a feeder, Keg Drive Branch. There are lots of rock cliffs/overhangs here, and locals have always maintained it was the area where Tsali hid out.
The second is not in the Park but is on the head of Kirklands Creek just outside Bryson City. In the latter case the topo map actually shows a location called "Snake Den" or something like that. I seem to recall seeing something similar on a couple of topo maps for sections of the Park, and the naming likely comes from real-life circumstances.
Almost all the dens I've ever heard about in the Smokies have been in rocky or cliff-like situations at fairly high to high elevations. Jim Casada

[Carlito]

In my mind there are always a lot of snakes in the park, and I fully expect to see one every time I go up to the park. Two weeks ago I saw a massive rattler stretched out in the woods about 15 yards back from the bank (I was swinging around a buddy that I was fishing with, and I was lucky to spot it before I stepped on it!)

On several occasions I've seen them hanging in the rhodo, which scares the crap out of me. It's hard enough sometimes to just keep an eye on your fly, and even more so to constantly scan the rocks, banks, and tree branches around you. I bet I've walked right by a dozen for every one that I've spotted.

I personally don't fear the snakes though. I've seen many rattlers up in the park, and I've only had one show any aggression at all. Does anyone know of people being bitten while fishing in the park?

[Rog 1]

I am sure it happens....someone has to keep statistics on this....personally I have had more trouble from yellow jackets and hornets than snakes....I am sure I have passed close to more snakes than I wish to know about in all the years I have trampled through the woods up there.

[$3Bridge]

I tend to be more careful around rocks and ledges, or around woodpiles and downed timber. Never even gave much thought to them hanging in rhodo until that picture was posted on Deep Ck and your comments about them hanging in rhodo. Also, those dang northern water snakes seem like they are everywhere, though they just make you jump.