The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

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Adam
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The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Adam »

I am was just wondering whats the worst thing thats happend to everyone while field herping?

Me. I was hiking on the side of a big bolder and the side gave way and I came tumbling down. I was by myself and had phone service. There were 4 rescue vehicles a 2 ambulance and a fire truck that came to get me. Here is a pic in the ambulance. I dislocated my patella. It didn't feel to good. The worst part was putting it back into place.

Image
hellihooks
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by hellihooks »

I got tagged by a rattlesnake... that kinda sucked. :oops: :roll: jim
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pete
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by pete »

Two pit bulls...spent an hour in a tree :oops:
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Crazins
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Crazins »

I broke a nail once...

it hurt!
millside
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by millside »

flipping a yellow jacket hive.
or sprained ankle,

after thinking about it, I would take the sprained ankle any day over flipping bees
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Daryl Eby
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Daryl Eby »

Nailed by dozens of tiny ground bees and had to run, stumble, roll about a hundred yards down a steep hillside and jump into an icy cold river. Came out soaking, stinging, shivering, cussing, and laughing hysterically at my friend who had suffered the same fate.
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Mike Pingleton
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Mike Pingleton »

I think it was that night in the tent after we had Ray's Chili for supper.

:o
nickj1199
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by nickj1199 »

I have flipped a hornet nest before, its not fun.....
Paul White
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Paul White »

prickly pear in the crotch
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Jason_Hood
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Jason_Hood »

Stepped down hard on a nail on a concrete slab. Went deep into my heal... It was the first spot we stopped at for the day. :evil:

Jason
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Tim Borski
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Tim Borski »

Still waiting for something bad to happen.

Ps: I'm sure it'll be good. If I live, I'll tell ya all about it.
erik loza
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by erik loza »

Getting several pages through the dirty magazine that was at the trash spot before realizing it was gay porn.
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Four negative scenarios I have survived:

1) I saw a man being butchered with swords in China - WAIT - that was actually kind of cool. He definitely looked like he had it coming. On the way back to civilisation from a jungle trek about seven or eight men jumped out of a third world mini-van and just started hacking at him not five metres from me. Their swords were about as long as one of my legs and of the highest quality stainless steel, cerrated edges and a hook for disembowling at the top. I was considering taking out my camera but they had spotted me and had bloody swords in their hands so I opted not to.. :cry:

2) Once, on a jungle trek, I lost one of my shoes and had to walk a kilometre back to my motorcyle and then drive on these treacherous rocky paths and use that same foot to press down on my tiny brake, which wasn't designed for mountain travel and would hit the rocks and not really slow me down that much, actually. The bones in my foot were badly bruised and I was limping for days.

3) In Italy I once slipped on a grassy hillside covered in morning dew, in the mountains, and slid down at highspeed, hit a bump, and flew arse-first into a massive cactus. It took my aunt nearly an hour to remove all of the spines and, being Dutch, made fun of me the entire time. I couldn't sit for days.

4) This was the worst by far: One time I went on a caving expedition in a cave where a Brit had died the previous year, after being bitten by a venomous snake. Needless to say, they didn't get very far. The craziest thing is they had serum with them. Perhaps they misidentified the snake?? Anyways, that was them a year before and now I was there to try to explore the rest of the massive cave. That all went well, but we realised it was far to long to tackle in one day and decided to head back after a half day (we had a very early start).

When we got out of the cave we realised our driver had forsaken us and it was over 40km to the nearest town. My friend, a local, just sat down and looked at his shoes and I was like; "Hé! We had better start walking if we want to get back anytime soon!". He looked at me like I was a madman (which I am) and we began the "hike" back. I should also mention that we had no food or water with us, but this was more of an inconvenience than a threat to our lives.

The threats to our lives included a shady group of farmers that had contructed home-made muskets and were walking towards us (some also carried large curved blades - cicles sp?) as the sun was descending and we heard shots in the mountains. They didn't look friendly, as we passed them. After that it was so black that we couldn't see anything, not even each other. Eventually we used moonlight to at least see the path infront of our feet and kept communicating as to what lay ahead.

At around 23:00 that night we made it to the nearest town and called a friend to pick us up. Our feet were completely destroyed because we had been walking in RUBBER BOOTS and carrying heavy caving gear after the driver left with our spare clothes and shoes. I have those tattered boots up on a wall of my parents-in-law's house to remind me to always drive myself! O, and I never saw that friend again. :lol:

The next day I still managed to get in to work and my students kept asking me why I was walking so funny. I was like; "%&$# off and do your assignment!"
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

erik loza wrote:Getting several pages through the dirty magazine that was at the trash spot before realizing it was gay porn.
Haha!
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

nickj1199 wrote:I have flipped a hornet nest before, its not fun.....
ZOMG, that reminds me of the time I was stung by a leaf (at least that's what it looked like). I was just back into city AFTER a trip (driving my motorcycle) and this leaf came softly falling down and landed in my shirt near the neck. When I reached to brush it away it stung me three times and I nearly crashed. I got my passenger to drive me to a pharmacy and my neck and upper chest had completely swollen up. The girls behind the register kept repeating that they didn't want to be responsible for giving me the wrong medicine so I just went home, took a shower, and passed out on my bed. It was nearly a week before I could feel the upper left side of my body again.
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kyle loucks
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by kyle loucks »

Hmmm...

Bees, done that.
Drove my van into a "puddle" in the middle of nowhere. It didn't make it out the other side.
Slipped down an embankment landing on my upper back and cracked a rib.
Fell face first into a muddy ditch with a fist full of angry racer while my friends laughed uncontrollably.
Collapsed in pain from a kidney stone on a nafha trip... friends stopped laughing and drove me to the hospital.
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Natalie McNear
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Natalie McNear »

This is something that happened back in the fall... I was hiking around off-trail and got into some pretty deep brush, and soon reached a point where I literally couldn't take another step forward. I looked around and noticed I was completely surrounded by thistles, blackberry bushes, stinging nettle, and (by far the worst part) tons of HUGE ORB WEAVERS!! Those who know me know that I hate, hate, HATE orb weavers! They freak the crap out of me. And there were about 20 of them with their huge webs that I could see just from standing in that one spot. I don't even remember how the hell I got out of there, I don't really care to remember. But it was pretty horrible.

One time (also last year) I sprained my ankle while herping and walked around on it for the rest of the day. I heard something snap/pop and it hurt a lot when I did it, but after that the pain wasn't too bad until I had to drive with that foot. It was like a 2 hour drive home, and by the time I got there I couldn't even put any weight on the ankle and it had swelled pretty big.
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Warren
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Warren »

getting tagged by hots is not much fun
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BDSkinner
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by BDSkinner »

Oh man...

My first bad experience was flipping a yellow jacket nest, never good. My most recent also involves orb weavers. I was chasing a broadheaded skink and I ran straight through the web getting the spider on my face.... I'm not arachnophobic, but it sure gave me the heeby-jeebies
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Not to mention POISON IVY.. I seem to be hyper allergic to it. That's why I need to leave North America (or anywhere else with those evil plants). Thorns are one thing, but they heal soon enough. Poison ivy last me weeks, sometimes.

By the way, the photo at the top just loaded. Is that your knee in a very un-knee-like shape?? I've dislocated my shoulder in martial arts, but Jebus. :beer:
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Dave S
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Dave S »

I spent alot of time in the canals of South, Florida back in the 90'sand early 2000's do to:

Getting chased by pitbulls, had to swim across a big canal to get away......
Flipping a hornet hive, got stung 17 times before jumping into a nasty canal......
Chased by a very unhappy Bull and ended up in a pond....
and last but not least.....got chased by a crazy Hillbilly late one night in Fort Pierce after I turned down the wrong road
and flash my lights on him dealing illegal substances!!??!?!?!?! Scared the crap out of me when before I could backup he jumped in his truck and came flying towards me. I managed to get out of the way and took off with him on my ass. Doing 70 on a muddy dirt rd late at night with some crazy AHOLE behind you isn't what I call a fun or productive night.


Dave S.
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Maarten wins.

Me, I once found nothing. That was pretty bad.
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Dell Despain
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Dell Despain »

MaartenSFS wrote:I saw a man being butchered with swords in China - WAIT - that was actually kind of cool.
:!: :?: :?: :o
WTF is cool about that?

-Dell
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Nick
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Nick »

I've been shot at, stung by bees, put nails in my hands and feet, dislocated my shoulder... I've also been stranded a long way from home due to car troubles. Getting stranded was probably the worst.
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Scott_Wahlberg
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Scott_Wahlberg »

Off the top of my head. I got stuck in a ditch about 5 miles down a forest service road off of a rural highway here in east Texas. After walking down the FS road and then down the highway I finally got picked up and dropped off at the school of the closest town, a town of 300 people. While waiting there and trying to figure out how I was going to get home and get my truck unstuck a truck with two locals pulled up and asked what I was doing. I told them the story and how I came to be stranded at the school when they offered to call a friend of theres with a 4X wheel drive truck to come pull me out. I told them that would be great and asked what I could do to help. Two of the guys jumped out of the truck to keep me company while the driver went to get his friends truck. It was around 1am at this point, pouring down raining and pitch black. The batteries in my maglight went dead on my walk out of the forest. After chit-chatting for a little while one of the guys turned to me and asked me if "if you died tonight, do you think you would go to heaven"? This was definitely not the question I wanted to here from two local east Texas red necks at 1am in the morning. Needless to say I was gripping my maglight pretty tight at this point. It was about that point their friend pulled and I was happy to get out of there and go get my truck. This may not be the worst thing to ever happen to me while herping but it's definitely the most on edge I've ever been while herping.

-Scott
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:Maarten wins.

Me, I once found nothing. That was pretty bad.
Thank you, but I think Dave S. wins. There is nothing scarier than being chased at night by a crazy redneck in a pick-up, hence I am staying in the North, where rednecks are more pleasant. If those men with swords had been chasing me it would have been a different story. I looked at them. They looked at me (when the deed had been done with bloody swords in their hands). We exchanged each others' intentions through our glances. They got back in the van. Tyres screeched. O, I should mention that is was broad daylight in the middle of a bustling market and no one did anything. I was like; "HELLO, is anyone going to call an ambulance?!"

Villagers in China offered me free watermelons, not to rape my arse. Dave S. wins.. so far. AND I HATE FINDING NOTHING. ARGHHH!
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Nick wrote:put nails in my hands and feet
Are you the Messiah? :mrgreen:
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Dell Despain wrote:
MaartenSFS wrote:I saw a man being butchered with swords in China - WAIT - that was actually kind of cool.
:!: :?: :?: :o
WTF is cool about that?

-Dell
I don't know, you had to have been there. My friend with me was scarred for a while. I suppose you have to be crazy like me. Having spent years training in martial arts and then seeing a real life sword attack was a privilege few foreigners (if any??) have. After my friend got over it we affectionately referred to the area as "Slayer Town". I was there three days later and life was back to normal, blood had been cleaned away neatly. Business as usual.. :?
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Crazins
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Crazins »

DUDE I thought you were kidding about the whole guy-vs-sword thing! $h*t!!!! WTF?!
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Scott_Wahlberg wrote:Off the top of my head. I got stuck in a ditch about 5 miles down a forest service road off of a rural highway here in east Texas. After walking down the FS road and then down the highway I finally got picked up and dropped off at the school of the closest town, a town of 300 people. While waiting there and trying to figure out how I was going to get home and get my truck unstuck a truck with two locals pulled up and asked what I was doing. I told them the story and how I came to be stranded at the school when they offered to call a friend of theres with a 4X wheel drive truck to come pull me out. I told them that would be great and asked what I could do to help. Two of the guys jumped out of the truck to keep me company while the driver went to get his friends truck. It was around 1am at this point, pouring down raining and pitch black. The batteries in my maglight went dead on my walk out of the forest. After chit-chatting for a little while one of the guys turned to me and asked me if "if you died tonight, do you think you would go to heaven"? This was definitely not the question I wanted to here from two local east Texas red necks at 1am in the morning. Needless to say I was gripping my maglight pretty tight at this point. It was about that point their friend pulled and I was happy to get out of there and go get my truck. This may not be the worst thing to ever happen to me while herping but it's definitely the most on edge I've ever been while herping.

-Scott
JESUS.. Why do rednecks have to invade everywhere warm? :cry:
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

Crazins wrote:DUDE I thought you were kidding about the whole guy-vs-sword thing! $h*t!!!! WTF?!
It was more like.. swords versus guy.. Why do you think I always carry a weapon, be it a telescopic baton (gave that to my father in law when I left), a long screwdriver, a sturdy pen, or a snake hook? I guarantee you that herping in America is FAR more dangerous than most other countries out there. For one, property laws are crazy here. In China you can go almost anywhere you want. I know foreigners that would walk right through someone's house if they passed through a village during a hike. I think that private property has its merits but imagine if you could herp anywhere in the U.S without worrying about whose land it was!
Brokenpast
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Brokenpast »

Three come to mind:
1) Being shot in the Butt with Salt by a Caretaker that didn't know I had permission to be on the land he was managing. Amazing how 250 pounds can clear a fence when encouraged by salt!!!!!

2) Being chased by a bull that was in no mood to allow me to have the gopher I flipped in his pasture!!! Same 250 pounds, different fence!!!!

3) Being behind Frank Retes as he tossed a 4 foot Speckled Rattler over his shoulder as he stood above me on a slope. Same 250 pounds, no fence that time!!! The real trick was trying to get Retes to quit laughing!!!!!
urodacus_au
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by urodacus_au »

Stepped on a broken bottle in a tin dump that drove part of my boot and sock into the ball of my foot. Two days later it was off to hospital with a purple foot where i stayed for a week. The infection didnt hurt anywhere near as much as the 5 weeks i had to take off work, my leave only covered the first 2.
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Natalie McNear
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Natalie McNear »

Scott_Wahlberg wrote:After chit-chatting for a little while one of the guys turned to me and asked me if "if you died tonight, do you think you would go to heaven"? This was definitely not the question I wanted to here from two local east Texas red necks at 1am in the morning.
Must have been terrifying at the time, but I can't stop laughing at this part. :lol:
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Fieldnotes
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Fieldnotes »

Spending a but_load of time and gas money and not finding my target species... That always horrible
jimoo742
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by jimoo742 »

Gun held on me for trespassing, I got lost in W KY
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Alex Pepper
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Alex Pepper »

Getting a double-envenomation (one bite to EACH hand) by a Rhombic Night Adder (Causus rhombeatus) while deep in the middle of Botswana. One boat, two medical airlifts, and one ambulance later...I got to spend 3 days in TICU (Trauma Intensive Care Unit) in South Africa before finally making the decision to sign out AMA (Against Medical Advise) after the head of plastic surgery insisted on performing fasciotomy because of his concern about compartment syndrome. I know enough about venomous snake bites to not let anyone slice my arm open from a non-necrotic bite. Two injections of blood-thinners to the stomach later, I was on a plane back home where it took about a month of physical therapy to recover with very minimal residual effects. I'm sure glad I trusted my knowledge of treating snake bites more than knowledge of who was supposed to be one of the best plastic surgeons in country/continent.

Although I'm fully aware of how much worse an envenomation could have been, I truly hope I never top it as the worst thing to happen to me while herping.


Alex
VICtort
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by VICtort »

At Cape Sable, Florida, we were camped in a tent and had drank a few brewski's, and of course nature called...I looked out the mesh screen and realized it was covered, perhaps tens of thousands?...with salt marsh mosquitos. I lay awake most of the night in agony, not daring to unzip the mesh screen and allow all those mosquitos in. I don't know how you SE residents can put up with them, they were fierce. We only lasted one night, and learned why the locals seemed to always be running from cars to buildings etc.

Also a close call, I was wearing some cheap imported from China boots and walking on very smooth, steeply sloping glaciated granite massif in California's Sierra -Nevada mountains. The granite was covered with sheeting water, and algal growth. I started slipping and sliding, fell prone, and almost slid off a cliff to serious injury or worse, but my desparately clinging fingers finally found a crack in the rocks as I was sliding. Despite the damage to my fingers, I was grateful not to go over the cliff. I will never wear those boots again, the soles just did not grip at all. Vic
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azatrox
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by azatrox »

Hmmm....I've been on some hair raising adventures, but just about the worst thing that has happened to me personally is the poison oak/ivy....I swear I look like Rocky Balboa after going 10 rounds with Clubber Lang when I get that stuff....nasty, evil, vile plants! Thank God for Tecnu!

Cholla is never fun either...especially when it REALLY gets ahold of you...I scream like a little beotch everytime.

Down by the border I was asked to show papers...So I handed the BP officer an old Wendy's wrapper and a gum wrapper....I doubt that was what he had in mind, but he should have been more specific.

-Kris
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venomdoc
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by venomdoc »

Hmmmmmmm....... some contenders
- running over a Pseudechis pailsus after several years of looking for one. It bolted out and under the left tyre. Nothing could be done but sob.
- getting bitten by an Acalyptophis peronii (horned sea snake), the first one we ever caught and discovering the hard way that their unusual rockhard muscle allows them to strike straight up half their body length while on land. Discovered the hard way that the CSL sea snake antivenom works quite well too! I prefer to test this in my lab rather than in my thumb! Severe myotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Agony for two weeks. Resumed swim squad training a month and a half after the bite, not realising how destroyed my muscles were. First lap of butterfly and both rotator cuffs shredded. Six months recovery and nuking forever my competative swimming career.
- boating accident in Flores driving shells up against my knee bone that the local doc didn't get all of, ending up unconscious at the Bali SOS clinic 36 hours later with full blown septicemia requiring massive amounts of intravenous antibiotics
- getting bent while scuba diving with sea kraits in Niue. A truly awful sensation.
- having a 4 meter termite mound crumble while I was at the top, landing flat on my back on a small mound a meter off the ground. Small it may have been, but still hard as concrete. Breaking my back and the amount of titanium it took to repair gives me a x-ray profile like Wolverines!! 4 months bed-ridden going out of my mind with frustration. I now set off metal detectors! Also, it means I can no longer play with MRI machines myself for my research, otherwise my spine would sever as the metal all takes flight!!

Just a few off the top of my head!
Bryan

-------------
Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
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StephenZozaya
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by StephenZozaya »

I stubbed my toe on a rock once. It really hurt.
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Ridge Walker
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Ridge Walker »

Once, I went looking for rattlesnakes and found a salamander. :(

RW
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

azatrox wrote:Hmmm....I've been on some hair raising adventures, but just about the worst thing that has happened to me personally is the poison oak/ivy....I swear I look like Rocky Balboa after going 10 rounds with Clubber Lang when I get that stuff....nasty, evil, vile plants! Thank God for Tecnu!

Cholla is never fun either...especially when it REALLY gets ahold of you...I scream like a little beotch everytime.

Down by the border I was asked to show papers...So I handed the BP officer an old Wendy's wrapper and a gum wrapper....I doubt that was what he had in mind, but he should have been more specific.

-Kris
Tecnu does work!
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MaartenSFS
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by MaartenSFS »

venomdoc wrote:Hmmmmmmm....... some contenders
- running over a Pseudechis pailsus after several years of looking for one. It bolted out and under the left tyre. Nothing could be done but sob.
- getting bitten by an Acalyptophis peronii (horned sea snake), the first one we ever caught and discovering the hard way that their unusual rockhard muscle allows them to strike straight up half their body length while on land. Discovered the hard way that the CSL sea snake antivenom works quite well too! I prefer to test this in my lab rather than in my thumb! Severe myotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Agony for two weeks. Resumed swim squad training a month and a half after the bite, not realising how destroyed my muscles were. First lap of butterfly and both rotator cuffs shredded. Six months recovery and nuking forever my competative swimming career.
- boating accident in Flores driving shells up against my knee bone that the local doc didn't get all of, ending up unconscious at the Bali SOS clinic 36 hours later with full blown septicemia requiring massive amounts of intravenous antibiotics
- getting bent while scuba diving with sea kraits in Niue. A truly awful sensation.
- having a 4 meter termite mound crumble while I was at the top, landing flat on my back on a small mound a meter off the ground. Small it may have been, but still hard as concrete. Breaking my back and the amount of titanium it took to repair gives me a x-ray profile like Wolverines!! 4 months bed-ridden going out of my mind with frustration. I now set off metal detectors! Also, it means I can no longer play with MRI machines myself for my research, otherwise my spine would sever as the metal all takes flight!!

Just a few off the top of my head!
Bryan

-------------
Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
If you keep going you'll soon be an android! :thumb:
Paul White
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Paul White »

Jesus Bryan, do you want to die young?

Still, I repeat, prickly pear in the crotch :evil: In my wife's van, pants off, with tweezers in a public park trying to be inconspicous. It's those little needles too, those are just the worst...
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jonathan
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by jonathan »

Slipped off a 3' rock in a stream while flipping for Dicampaton and broke my hand badly. Worse part was that we were on our way to do some cliff jumping. Finished the hike but had to opt out of the jumps. :(

Got our rental car broken into while we were snorkeling for sea turtles on our honeymoon. Stole my camera, camera gear, gps, headlamp, first aid kit, some clothes, wife's backpack, some of her clothes, and about $300. The $300 was so carefully hidden inside the backpack that they probably never found it though, even if they took it apart. :lol:



kyle loucks wrote:Fell face first into a muddy ditch with a fist full of angry racer while my friends laughed uncontrollably.
Collapsed in pain from a kidney stone on a nafha trip... friends stopped laughing and drove me to the hospital.

I was there for both of those!

(p.s. - we were still laughing, but we waited until you were safe in a hospital bed first. ;) )
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jonathan
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by jonathan »

Bryan's tales are freaking insane. I've had more adventures than the average person (mostly non-herping) but...wow, nothing even comes close to comparing.
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jdustin
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by jdustin »

Not much has happened to me. I fell from a large boulder onto my face in front of a couple friends. Hurt the pride more than anything really.
I hit a palm frond with my minivan while looking for rosy boas this last year and pretty much jacked my van.

Before the board crash someone posted a story of getting their leg wedged between two boulders, and being stuck in horrible pain.
This discussion is a good reminder that we need to be careful out there. A bite or mechanical injury while herping alone in a spot with no cell reception could quickly become really bad. I know I've been too careless about that myself.

Adam- was that recent? you ok?
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Crazins
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Crazins »

venomdoc wrote:Hmmmmmmm....... some contenders....

Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
You know, Bryan, at one point in my life I wanted to be you. Now I'm not so sure...

The worst thing that ever happened to me (and it wasn't that bad) was I was on a T. rufipunctatus survey this summer. I didnt notice that the pit tagger had poked out of my dry bag and I scraped my knee against it while crawling through a crack in some boulders. I still have a scar from the inch long gouge. I wasnt too upset though- I feel like I got what I deserved after pit tagging so many snakes.

-Marisa
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Nick
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Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Post by Nick »

venomdoc wrote:Hmmmmmmm....... some contenders
- running over a Pseudechis pailsus after several years of looking for one. It bolted out and under the left tyre. Nothing could be done but sob.
- getting bitten by an Acalyptophis peronii (horned sea snake), the first one we ever caught and discovering the hard way that their unusual rockhard muscle allows them to strike straight up half their body length while on land. Discovered the hard way that the CSL sea snake antivenom works quite well too! I prefer to test this in my lab rather than in my thumb! Severe myotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Agony for two weeks. Resumed swim squad training a month and a half after the bite, not realising how destroyed my muscles were. First lap of butterfly and both rotator cuffs shredded. Six months recovery and nuking forever my competative swimming career.
- boating accident in Flores driving shells up against my knee bone that the local doc didn't get all of, ending up unconscious at the Bali SOS clinic 36 hours later with full blown septicemia requiring massive amounts of intravenous antibiotics
- getting bent while scuba diving with sea kraits in Niue. A truly awful sensation.
- having a 4 meter termite mound crumble while I was at the top, landing flat on my back on a small mound a meter off the ground. Small it may have been, but still hard as concrete. Breaking my back and the amount of titanium it took to repair gives me a x-ray profile like Wolverines!! 4 months bed-ridden going out of my mind with frustration. I now set off metal detectors! Also, it means I can no longer play with MRI machines myself for my research, otherwise my spine would sever as the metal all takes flight!!

Just a few off the top of my head!
Bryan

-------------
Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
I am not envious. You win!
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