June 9, 2004

This morning as I sleepily sauntered to the creek to fill my water bottle, I froze when I came upon a copperhead snake.  Oh my God!  Fear had my adrenaline pumping as I studied the snake's tongue vibrating with his mouth wide open.  He was coiled and defensive---ready to strike!  I was scared motionless!  I backed away, packed my stuff and hit the trail without water.  As I hiked this morning, I reran the copperhead incident over and over again through my mind.  One cannot be too careful out here and I was attentive throughout my 18 mile hike. 

It's a good thing, too!  As I was climbing Cold Mountain, I spotted a note on the trail. It read, Rattlesnake...5 feet ahead, on right..12:45.  I looked at my watch.  It was 1:15.  Oh shit!  I hiked on gingerly while trying to spot the rattlesnake.  Yep..it was still there.  Oh shit!  Fear once again set in as I hiked past my second snake in one day.  Seeing both a copperhead and a rattlesnake within biting distance freaked me out.  My fear of snakes still exists.  I fully expect to have a very wild snake dream tonight.