What Led Me to Snake Gaiters and Other Forms of Snake Protection

Areas like this are wear snake protection is essential. If bit by a venomous snake down here a person would have a several mile hike to get help.

I want to share two stories that led to me finally breaking down and buying my first form of snake protection: Snake Gaiters. Feel free to skip this section if you want to just get to the valuable information on Snake Gaiters, Chaps, Boots, and Gloves.

Close Call #1

I spend a lot of time walking along the river after it goes down in the late spring near my home. Late spring is the most active time for snakes in my area because of the perfect temperature. One day, after avoiding two snakes rattle snakes earlier, I was walking along an old road with cliffs on one side and brush down to the river on the other side. I noticed a Gray Racer (nonvenomous) slip away to my left very quickly. That got my attention away from my intended path as I walked and watched it quickly slithery away. That is when I felt a tap on my boot as it was in the air in mid stride with my other foot on the ground. I knew what it felt like but before I could comprehend it I heard a buzz. By this time I had already taken another step or two so I was out of the danger zone, but it was that unmistakable buzz that we hear all to often. When I looked back there he was coiled up shaking his rattles. I cannot say with 100% certainty that the tap I felt on the sole of my boot was the rattle snake attempting to bite me, but I am sure glad I was wearing my wading boots and not sandals like so many other times I’ve been on the river. Then to think that he could have struck at my other foot that was on the ground and had to have been an easier target! My boots are only six inches tall, which is probably at least as high as my boot was in mid-stride. I had a two mile walk back to my pontoon boat and than a 5 mile float to where I ride was parked; I would have been in pain with venom flowing through my veins for at least a couple hours.

Close Call # 2

The Pacific Rattlesnake is the species I deal with the most and luckily they are not as toxic as most of the others that are found in the USA

A buddy and I descended 2000 feet into a canyon that I like to fly fish a couple times a year and spend a night or two in the wilderness (the picture above is the area I am talking about). This is a place that is National Forest Wilderness Area with no roads and no mechanical methods of transportation allowed.

The first night we got in there it rained from dark to daylight, hard. Thank goodness we took a tent. In the morning, we put on our waders and river boots and headed up the trail with our rods in hand. The trail was overgrown and in many spots we were walking through brush where we could not see the ground. I always think about the snakes, as I have seen plenty in this area, but what can you do? Besides it rained all night and I did not think they would be out.

My buddy stopped behind me and said “Hey, check this out!” So I went back to him and there in the trail, right where I just walked, lay a coiled up rattle snake. He was pretty docile, but I am sure if I would have planted a foot on him, he would have been striking at me with a venom filled fangs. What do you do with a rattle snake bite when you have 5 miles and a 2000 vertical foot climb to the pickup? At least this scenario I had a partner with me to get help, most times I go in there by myself (I know, foolish but I can’t always find anybody to go with me). Hopefully my waiters would have stopped the fangs; if not there would have been trouble.

Protecting against snake bite can be very effective and as easy as slipping them on over your pants.

The Moral of the Stories…

It makes me wonder how many close calls we have working and playing in snake country. You won’t find me in these areas anymore without my snake gaiters on. They are so light that I don’t even notice them anyway, why would I go without them? Thanks for reading my stories and I hope they have helped to persuade you that it is not worth the risk of going without snake gaiters, or at least some type of snake protection.  Please read on to see what types of Snake Protection I have found to work best for me.

Conclusion