Our Experience with a Snakebite While Backpacking

We are backpackers. We love being able to pack everything in and live for a few days in the woods and survive on what we bring in our bag and our laughter. We have been backpacking for a few years, and it felt like the only natural progression as much as we loved going on day hikes and tent camping. We felt experienced and prepared for anything, but it was still terrifying for our son to get a snakebite while we were backpacking.

One of our favorite campsites is Cheaha State Park, Alabama.  

Trail signs from the Albert Pike Recreation area

My husband and I aren’t new to nature. Both of us played and camped as kids, and as a married couple. We have spent a lot of time camping and hiking. So it is only natural to do the same with our kids.

We had probably been on a dozen backpacking trips over the last few years. We know our limit is generally three or four days. We set out to do the Eagle Rock Loop in only five days.
We had backpacked here before, getting a mile and a half on the first day. One of the kids woke up with pink eye, so we got off the trail. So this was our chance at a do-over.

The site we loved on the Eagle Rock Loop. It was only a mile and a half from the trailhead, so it was a perfect site for a first night on this trail. We stayed here in June and again in September.

We loved the site we had stayed at before, so we decided that we would stop at it again. So day one was a breeze. We got there, set up camp, played in the clear-moving creek, and made the most beautiful memories.

On day two we were in new territory for us. We knew a few creek crossings were coming up, but there were also a lot of steep rocky climbs so we headed out in hiking shoes with plans to change into our water shoes at each crossing. Just a few miles after leaving camp we found a beautiful area called Winding Staircase. We set down our bags for a short break. It was such an incredible area. We were just farther downstream from the earlier campsite and the area was crystal clear. Swimming was a must.
We began seeing several things left behind; a cooler with rotting meat, a folding chair, and a nice hammock with netting. The hammock had a note to take it if you wanted it. It looked like it would be perfect with just a rinse, so we packed it up. We found ourselves wondering why people would leave so much stuff behind. We were about to find out that sometimes people encounter an emergency on the trail and need to lighten their loads to leave quicker.

There is such a sense of calm out on the trail. Sitting down by the river is so peaceful!

We headed back out onto the trail. After some walking and talking we had our third creek crossing. This part of the forest is less traveled and more marshy. It was not my cup of tea.

We stopped for lunch. The kids were excited to get down to the creek. It was smaller than what we had been crossing and enjoying earlier in the trip. It was also slower moving. They were eager to get the hammock rinsed out (it had been holding some rainwater). The kids had hopes they could use it that night. Of course, we cautioned them to watch for snakes. (I swear I say that so much when we are hiking I probably say it in my sleep.) No sooner had they gotten to the water that my daughter yelled, “Rabian just got snake bit”! I had trouble believing it because he made no sound (which was scary itself). I looked at him, and he looked like he was trying to figure out what had happened. My husband jumped down the bank and into the water to grab him and haul him back to where our stuff was. I was busy trying to see what equipment we needed to carry. I tried multiple times to call 911, but there was not even SOS service where we were. I had the presence of mind to take a photo when I got to him. I knew we needed to be able to tell swelling, and time was important, but I had no marker. So a photo would have to do.

A cave on the trail

The kids were the only ones to see the snake. They described it as small and brown, but they didn’t have a good description. It had struck him so fast and was gone again so quickly we had no idea what we were dealing with. I had heard these woods had lots of copperheads. We had lots of time in the woods avoiding any problems with snakes, so I wasn’t as worried about them before.

He said it wasn’t painful, and he didn’t feel anything different. We all headed out rather quickly; and we had our dog lead the way.
My husband was checking his phone constantly on our way out. At some point he yelled I have service, y’all keep walking while I call 911. We had 6 miles of hiking to get back to our truck so we needed to get moving.
Generally, a snake-bit victim needs to stay still and off the foot with the bite. But we didn’t have that option. Even a helicopter couldn’t get down to us. We needed to get out of the wooded area, and walking was the only way to get there.

The scenery out of the Eagle Rock Loop is incredible. Just before he was snakebit we had decided to go back to the more scenic area and spend the night. We weren’t really excited about the area of the trail we were in.

We stopped a half hour after the bite, and I took another look at the bite. (It was under his sock, so we would have to stop so I could look at it.) There was still no swelling, and nothing about it looked like a problem. I felt immensely better and assured him he was going to be fine. But I still wasn’t sure if it was a venomous snake, and the reaction was delayed.
We kept walking. My boy kept talking to us, and even though he was a bit scared, he was calm and kept his cool.

We hiked several miles, and my husband was again able to get on the phone with 911 to give them a better update on how long it would take us to get out of the woods and on my son’s condition. The dispatcher he was talking with was not familiar with the trail, so we were scared she would be unable to send anyone out. And the signal for the calls was inconsistent. He kept getting cut off.

After almost an hour with zero pain or swelling, we felt like maybe he would have no problems. Of course, that didn’t stop us from continuing our mad dash out of the woods.

The Langley Volunteer Firefighters met us on the trail and were ready to do whatever was needed to take care of our boy.

We were just about a mile from the truck and met up with the Langley Volunteer Firefighters. They checked him out and confirmed that if he was having no issues and it had been an hour and looked so good… we were fine. One of the firefighters radioed ahead that the helicopter could be cancelled, but he would still like to have the ambulance continue to wait for us.
The EMTs checked him out and were so happy to see him looking so good.

The relief on each of the first responders’ faces gave me more and more gratitude. They were feeling like he was fine.
When I saw the firefighters in the trail hiking out to meet us and check on our boy, I was overcome with relief. I was having a hard time holding myself together. It felt so good knowing we had help now.
There were so many people working to get us help. The dispatchers had to transfer Brad to another group as we would be in their jurisdiction. There were two volunteer fire departments there to help. There were EMTs there in the ambulance waiting to take him to a meeting point. There was a helicopter on standby waiting to come and pick him up from the ambulance. So many people came together to make sure he was ok. There were at least a dozen people we saw at the trailhead ready to help however they could. It was not a trailhead located just down the road. We were WAY out of their towns. But they came. They were there and ready to do whatever they needed to get my boy to a hospital.

Our family always does a “All In” and now our doggy joins us. This was before stepping off on day 2.

It was either a dry bite or a non-venomous snake. It was not the dangerous bite it could have been. And I am so so grateful.
I am writing this only 48 hours after the snake bite, and he is feeling perfectly fine. He went on a walk with me this morning, and has been running around chasing the dog. Life is back to as normal as it can be so soon after something so crazy.

Things I am glad we knew:

• Immediately get help. We couldn’t wait for help to come to us. To wait for someone to help us carry him out would have meant hours and hours before getting to a hospital. The area is heavily wooded, and getting a helicopter to land there was impossible.
• Just because it looks like you don’t have cell phone service doesn’t mean you can’t call 911. We have newer iPhones, and they will show SOS when you can use the phone to call 911.
• We also didn’t have a snake bite kit. All that we have read has said not to use one. I have done even more reading since our interaction and still feel a snake bite kit is unnecessary.
• We also knew not to give any medicine. Even if it had been a painful bite, you still don’t give Tylenol for the pain.

Things we didn’t know

• Don’t use a tourniquet. We had string around his leg and were ready to tighten it up if needed, but that wouldn’t have been a good idea.
• We didn’t have a good map of the area. We were only reasonably sure there were no more dirt roads around us to get to. (We were correct, but a map would have been great.)
• We didn’t have a satellite phone, and with every step I took, I wished we had one so that we could get a better idea of first aid for him or what to do. (We did the right thing as he was able to walk fine, and we would have carried him if we needed to.)
• We didn’t know the exact mileage of where we were on the trail, just reasonable guesses. I often use a GPS tracker on my phone to see how far I have gone, but I needed to save battery. It would have been helpful to know how many miles exactly we were in the woods.

Overall, we did the right thing to get him out of the woods and to safety. Not much I would have changed as I feel like we have read enough and were level-headed and able to make quick decisions to get him off of the trail and to help.
I think we will backpack again. As of right now, I am not at all eager to go into too desolate of an area. As the kids get older, I might change my mind, but for today I am not eager to be too far from civilization.