The Piney Creek Trail is well known for getting overgrown, especially where it crosses ‘Cat Briar Meadows.’ As soon as spring is sprung, nature goes wild and starts encroaching on the trail. Which is okay but that also coincides with the onset of ticks and the time when snakes come out to sunbathe. Piney Creek is a very snakey wilderness. We’ve seen all sorts of snakes here. There was one that moved so fast, it looked like it was being pulled along by an invisible wire. Of course, I won’t let you forget the timber rattlesnake that made Ginger squeak, and I chased into the brush here in an attempt to get a picture (not one of my wisest moves).
The vegetation wasn’t the only challenge. I had a problem with my legs, they were not long enough.
With creatures like these around, not being able to see the trail in front of you encourages odd behavior like beating the ground in front of you with your hiking pole, and loudly repeating things like, “I’m here snakey, snakes, I’m coming.” Well, okay that’s what I do, ‘Your mileage may vary,’ as they say.
The vegetation wasn’t the only challenge. I had a problem with my legs, they were not long enough. The creek was quite high, and at one crossing my shorts got soaked. I had to hurriedly remove my cell phone from my shorts pocket mid creek and continue the hike with a damp undercarriage.
Fortunately, there was no one around to witness this as it looked more like I’d completely lost control of my bladder than I’d had trouble crossing the creek.
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