Snakes, scorpions and sleeping

[ImAFred]

Ok guys this ? is mostly aimed at the az guys and others from the desert southwest.
My ? is, what do you do to protect yourself at night while sleeping? Bivy bag? Bug bivy? Solo tent? Hammock?? so that these lil guys don't mess with ya  TIA for your ideas...

[Beaglesdadi]

Solo tent for me. Maybe it's just a false sense of security, but I feel more comfortable being inside of the tent. Maybe I could graduate into a bivy bag down the road, we'll see.

BTW, Chuck Norris considers those critters as a snack!

Matt

[SlowDave]

I have a thing about snakes perhaps even a phobia.  That said I have never had a problem with them in camp and that is after literally years spent in tents and camping (I am older than most here).  I have had skunks and other critters in tents but no snakes.  Many of the tents I have used, wall tents and pyramids have not been completely snake or critter proof.  I have spent many nights in a sleeping bag on just a trap and the only problems were in my mind.

That said I have heard stories about snakes finding there way into unoccupied sleeping bags.  I don't know if any of them are true.

The way I see it is snakes would rather not be around us to start with.  Given a choice they will avoid us.  Picking a clear spot to camp helps.  Sometimes this is easier said than done if you are trying to avoid detection.  Move slowly and listen in snakey spots.  You are much more likely to have an encounter looking for a camping spot than occupying one.  They like hanging out in the shade under bushes in the heat of the day.  They like rocks and trails when they are trying to warm up.  As it cools off after a hot day they get more active.  Be careful around piles of dead wood.  Care should be taken stepping over logs and gathering firewood.  I kick wood before I pick it up.  Look before you sit or grab. 

This stuff becomes second nature and you don't even think about it after a while.  A couple of months ago I found some petroglyphs I wanted to check out.  The spot was really snakey and I was really careful.  I must admit it wasn't  spot I would wander through without a reason.  It had everything snakes like and I was creeped out.  I took my time tip toes through the brush, dead wood and rocks often not being able to see my feet.  No snakes except in my mind.

[ImAFred]

I'm starting to lean towards a solo tent also...
For a bivy I think I would want a hoop to keep the mesh/nylon off my face, when you start looking at those they're the same or more expensive then a solo tent and with the tent you could move around a lil atleast, plus they don't weigh much more... This bug bivy is cool as long as there's no rain forecasted
http://m.rei.com/mt/www.rei.com/search?query=Bug+bivy&un_form_encoding=utf-8
Or this solo tent looks cool
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___23888
Not really feeling the hammock thing... We don't have a lot of trees here and I've never felt like sleeping like a banana.

Who's this Chuck Norris you speak of???
Is he as tuff as a bikepacker?
Can he HAB for miles on end?


 

[SlowDave]

Chuck Norris doesn't sleep, he waits.

[ImAFred]

SlowDave, I actually have a bit of a phobia with it as well although mines more the scorpions and spiders then the snakes...
When I was a teenager we camped at lake Powell and a rattler crawled into one of the adults bags and when he got in he got bit... had to lifeflight him to page,az

[ImAFred]

Chuck Norris doesn't sleep, he waits.

I thought he TELLS the sun when to get up..

[Beaglesdadi]

Move slowly and listen in snakey spots.

Wise man once say, "Move slowly and listen in snakey spots."   LOL!

Matt

[SlowDave]

Yikes in regards to the sleeping bag snake.  I always wondered if it wasn't just a story like the American tourists in Mexico who found the unfortunate photos involving their tooth brushes after they returned home.  You know what I mean?

In regards to walking slowly I am serious.  A few years ago three of us were dove hunting in NM.  We had to cross an area with chest high brush.  Just the kind of stuff that sets a snake lover like me on edge.  Sure enough one of the guys heard one.  He froze and started scanning and there was a big boy two feet from his feet and not very happy about the intrusion.  He had no choice but to shoot it given the circumstances.  It had 14 rattles.

On thing I didn't mention was troughs and tanks.  Rattlers seem to like hanging out near them.  I imagine it is because they attract rodents.  We had a dog bitten at a trough once and none of us noticed until we saw the dog limping several minutes after we left.  I was considering putting a tank in for the wildlife at my place in NM until I was advised of the snake attracting aspects.

[KittyOnMyFoot]

Hammock... the only thing I sweat is ants, so I just check the tree first. If I rope up on a tree crawling with piss ants (not sure what kind they actually are, but that's the local name), they'll come sniffin' down the rope.

[ImAFred]

Hammock... the only thing I sweat is ants, so I just check the tree first. If I rope up on a tree crawling with piss ants (not sure what kind they actually are, but that's the local name), they'll come sniffin' down the rope.

Hammock isn't always feasible when there is a lack of vertical bushes

[AZTtripper]

Can't see using a hammock in the desert not that there aren't trees sometimes but there are certainly a lot of places one just wouldn't work.

Tents are nice and there are some good light options but they all seem to be just a little too heavy for bikepacking.

In my experience on the AZT and sleeping on the ground in AZ in general you don't want to be out there when snakes are the most active. Planning a ride in the summer months better to hit the high country. Not only would the lower desert be crawling with snakes at night the sun would cook you all day. That's a no brainer I know please take my smart ass comment with a grain of salt.

I would have thought that the snake in the bag story was urban legend but it makes sense if you leave something lay for too long something will move in. Easy enough to deal with just don't leave your bed roll lay out for too long. Likely not an issue when bikepacking anyway. I do like to get the down bag out early though (so it has time to fluff back up) but I usually put in on a bush, hang it in a tree or just lay it on the bike so it's up off of the ground.

My bivy sack used to have a mesh screen on it but I cut it off to save weight and bulk. Mosquito's are pretty rare in the desert so I never used it much anyway.

As for scorpions same as snakes I can't see being out when they are the most active. I did get stung by one at home once not that big of a deal really. They do like to crawl under things during the day to get out of the sun but I have only once seen one while bikepacking.

[ImAFred]

AZTrip everything you said I have already thought about and it is good advice, I'm a desert native so I do have some common sense when it comes to our desert friends... I wasn't planning on a summer trip in the lowlands(2300')
However there is a loop(here in Las Vegas), I have been putting together that would need to be done in between a late sept start up til mid november before the early snows make one or two of the passes too difficult so there is still the possibility of these guys being around in some sections of the route.... ideally I would be camping above 3500-4000' so that also minimizes the encounters but it is not unheard of to find them even at 6000-7000' and if a problem arose that you did need to bed down, down lower in elev. just wondering what my best options are...

...and the rattler in the bags is as true as true gets, guy put his bag down at dinner time and then went about a 1/2 hour later to get in and go to bed and pow the snake got him I was there and saw it with my own eyes..
I guess it was a pretty good bite too..not a dry bite. The emts were discussing removing his leg right in front of him in the chopper to Page, he was like wtf I'm right here...lol