And while we're talking snakes...

As I walk along a forest path, I scan as far ahead as I can, then walk a little less than that distance, then scan ahead again. I don't like to walk with my eyes down on the path all the time, and periodic scanning seems to work.

The first two times I encountered diamondbacks, I was one step away from them. That is, I had to stop my step in mid-air to avoid stepping on them, then teleport back a few yards. (I'm not kidding. I have no idea how I retreated from one step to three yards away. It just happened.)

By the third encounter, I was skilled enough at scanning ahead that I saw the snake from three or four steps away. It's not that I saw a snake, either. Some pattern-analysis routine in my brain detected too regular a pattern on the ground ahead and sent a warning message in an adrenalin envelope straight to my consciousness.

How do you deal with a snake you encounter? It does no good to throw things at it. That only makes them angry. And I couldn't hold a stick that was long enough for me to feel safe pushing a diamondback off the path.

The only thing that works is to back off twenty paces or so, then approach the snake at a normal pace, but stomping as hard as you can. Evidently they can't hear very well, but they can feel the vibrations, and are interested in avoiding being stomped on.

Bear