Timber Rattlers at Pilot Mountain State Park

[Dee-Vo]

This past Sunday, I hiked a few miles at Pilot Mountain. I noticed a few new signs posted around the property regarding Timber Rattlesnakes. This prompted me to dig deeper to find out if they'd indeed been seen here.

I spoke to an employee, and she told me that employees had seen rattlers here. Very cool.

Just passing this along. I thought this was neat.

[streamereater_101691]

My neighbors(husband and wife) hike there and hanging rock all the time. Seen both diamonds and timbers at both locations. His credibility is good being that he worked at a zoo in college.

[Woolly Bugger]

I've seen them at Stone Mountain and Daughton Parks

[Mudwall Gatewood 3.0]

Usually, I've seen/heard of a timber (on the road or neighbors) by this time of the year here in or near The Grove.  Have not seen or heard of any in 2025, but the summer is young.  They are native citizens.  Perhaps they've all been deported.

If there are eastern diamonds that far inland (Hanging Rock, Pilot, etc.) then they need to update the distribution/range map.   

[Big J]

My neighbors(husband and wife) hike there and hanging rock all the time. Seen both diamonds and timbers at both locations. His credibility is good being that he worked at a zoo in college.

I have a hard time believing there are Diamondbacks that far north and inland in NC.  He provide any photo evidence?

My understanding is finding one even in their historical range in NC is pretty rare. 

[Dee-Vo]

I've saw multiple Timbers around Stone Mountain.

Never even heard of a Diamondback in these parts.

[streamereater_101691]

My neighbors(husband and wife) hike there and hanging rock all the time. Seen both diamonds and timbers at both locations. His credibility is good being that he worked at a zoo in college.

I have a hard time believing there are Diamondbacks that far north and inland in NC.  He provide any photo evidence?

My understanding is finding one even in their historical range in NC is pretty rare. 

I'm skeptical myself. Kinda doubt it since they are stuck in the 2005 flip phone era. I'll ask though. My understanding was east of I-95 like cotton mouths, but I've heard of cotton mouths further west. I guess it's possible, but unlikely.

[Mudwall Gatewood 3.0]

My neighbors(husband and wife) hike there and hanging rock all the time. Seen both diamonds and timbers at both locations. His credibility is good being that he worked at a zoo in college.

I have a hard time believing there are Diamondbacks that far north and inland in NC.  He provide any photo evidence?

My understanding is finding one even in their historical range in NC is pretty rare. 

I'm skeptical myself. Kinda doubt it since they are stuck in the 2005 flip phone era. I'll ask though. My understanding was east of I-95 like cotton mouths, but I've heard of cotton mouths further west. I guess it's possible, but unlikely.

I didn't want to disparage Streamereater's neighbor, but when it encompasses encountering eastern diamondbacks in those parts, I believe, in lay terms, it is the "I Did Stay at a Holiday Inn Express" syndrome.  Or if you need a more cognitive scientific explanation (worked at a zoo in college leading to misidentification of a snake later in life) then what we might have here is a classic example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

It can happen to us all!


Personal Story, switching from snakes to sex:  As an undergrad I took a class in Human Sexuality.  After doing very well in the class, I was sure, 100%, I could bring any female to an earth-shattering orgasm with just a few flicks in the correct spots.  I WAS MISTAKEN!  I was suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect. 
PS: I never fully recovered from my multiple failures.

PSS: I still use a flip phone!

[trout-r-us]

It's amazing how many folks think every snake seen in water is a Water Moccasin. I say let 'em believe it, as it may help to keep the crowds down. 😁

[trout-r-us]

And unfortunately there are many that believe the only good snake is a dead snake.🙁

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[Dee-Vo]

I'm mostly intrigued by the Copperhead/Water Snake misidentification.

[Onslow]

It's amazing how many folks think every snake seen in water is a Water Moccasin. I say let 'em believe it, as it may help to keep the crowds down. 😁

WTF is a water moccasin?  Is that a shoe a person uses to walk in the water?

I've never seen a Cottonmouth or a rattler of any kind in their natural world.

[troutboy_II]

We saw a six foot black timber rattler on the fs road running along side the Davidson about half way down the gorge a few years ago. Dude was enjoying the sunshine. 

They are out there. And why we always looked before we put a hand on a boulder to pull ourselves up. Beautiful snake but for real a bit scary.

Be careful out there.

TB

[Woolly Bugger]

I've only seen one Cottonmouth a.k.a. Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus), that was several decades ago. We were canoeing down the Black River in eastern NC for three days. First venomous snake we encountered on the trip was a rattlesnake, possibly a pygmy, laying all coiled up on a tree that had fallen across the creek. We gave it a wide berth. The next day we came across the cottonmouth that was in an eddy of the creek, it coiled up raising a third of its body out of the water as it opened its mouth, which looks as big as a softball, as it swirled in some exotic snake movements. My buddy, David sitting in the stern, said, "Let's back up and get a closer look!" I thought we were close enough and declared, "Hell no!" To me it looked to be easily six feet long. It was displaying aggressive territorial behavior, and I vividly remember that encounter to this day.