Sunday, leading a hike in Panthertown Valley in far western North Carolina, there was no doubt about what was blocking the trail just 10 feet ahead. The markings may have been a bit murky, but the rattle sure wasn’t.

For only the second time in 33 years of hiking in these parts I had encountered an iconic resident of the mountains. I spread my arms to stop the group and announced, “You folks are in luck — that’s a timber rattler.” There was mixed reaction about the luckiness of our encounter.

You didn’t have to be a herpetologist to know we were looking at a timber rattlesnake. Despite its darker-than-usual hue, the authoritative rattle served as both accurate calling card and fair warning.

That’s not always the case with snakes, though, which is why, at the start of summer I like to rerun this post about how to go about identifying both snakes and birds.

When it comes to snakes and birds, I don’t expend a lot of my remaining gray storage memorizing types and species. Two reasons: One, there are thousands of species to begin with, and two, the same critter can look completely different depending on various factors:

Sex. Male birds generally are more colorful than females (the cardinal).

Location: Corn snakes throughout much of North Carolina tend to be mostly brown or gray; in the Coastal Plain, they’re bright orange.

Age: Adults of most species may have completely different coloration than they do as juveniles.

When it comes to snakes, the only thing I try to remember is whether ones are harmful. This one, I knew, was one of the state’s venomous six. But for the less obvious to identify, I turn to the
the “Snakes of North Carolina Online Identification System” run by the Davidson College Herpetology Laboratory.
The site asks 11 questions about your snake, starting with “Snake Length,” and a reminder that it’s common to overestimate length. That caused me to think, then scale back from 3 feet to 2. Other questions:
Location Where Found: Mountains (easy enough, out of six obvious choices from the drop-down menu).
Body Form: “Moderate,” “Slender” and “Stocky” are the options, with definitions of each to help. Mine was definitely “Stocky” (“thicker than a pencil”).
Scale type: This is where the “I don’t know” default came in handy; I didn’t get anywhere close enough to tell if they were “Smooth” or “Keeled”.
Pattern: Banded.
Main Background Color: Black.
Belly Color: Again with the default (who’s going to roll over a live snake — and the questionnaire wisely advises you not to).
Distinctive Characteristics: “Scared the bejeezus out of me” wasn’t an option.
Time of Day: Day (vs. Night).
Behavior: “Smells bad?” Who was I to judge after six hours on the trail?
Found in Water? No.
The site suggested it was either a timber rattler or a northern watersnake. Had I needed additional confirmation I could have  visited the Snakes of North Carolina Web site.

But again, no confirmation. My elevated heart rate, still up as I drove home, was all the confirmation I needed.

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Coast

Neusiok Trail, Croatan National Forest
Havelock
20.1 miles (with shorter section hike options)
Getting there: From U.S. 70 in Havelock, go left on NC 101. After 5.3 miles, go left on Ferry Road/NC 306. Go another 3.3 miles, then go left on FR 132; it’s a little over a mile and a half to the trailhead.
More info here and here.

Let’s get right to that shorter section hike: Start at the Neusiok’s northern trailhead at the Pine Cliff Picnic Area and start hiking west, then south and east. That west stretch is a mile or so along the south shore of the Neuse River (yes, here the Neuse is so wide it’s more of a shore than a bank, complete with sandy beaches). Then the trail heads south into a pine savannah, then a coastal forest. At one point, the holly and galax will make you think you’re in the mountains. A lovely ramble on a crisp, cool to cold day. When you hit NC 306 after less than five miles, hang a left, then another left at FR 132 for the surprisingly quick two-mile return trip to the car.

Piedmont

Hanging Rock Trail, Hanging Rock State Park
Danbury
1.6 miles, with additional hiking options
Getting there: From Winston-Salem headed north on US 52, go north on NC 8 to Danbury, where the familiar brown state park road signs will lead you to the park entrance on Moores Spring Road/SR 1001
More info here and here.

Psst! The fall color that lures half the state to see a 360-degree show encompassing the Piedmont to the east, Virginia to the north, the Blue Ridge to the west and Winston-Salem to the south, has passed and so have the crowds. You won’t have Hanging Rock to yourself, but you should be able to enjoy a degree of transcendent tranquility atop this quartzite knob, one of five or so remaining “peaks” from the ancient Sauratown Mountains. Once you’re sufficiently blissed out, head back to the trailhead and check out the Hidden Falls and Window Falls trails.

Morrow Mountain and Sugarloaf Trails, Morrow Mountain State Park
Badin
5.4 miles
Getting there: From NC 740 in the town of Badin, follow those familiar brown state park road signs to the park entrance.
More info here and here.

Morrow Mountain, located an hour or so from Charlotte and the Triad, two hours from the Triangle, makes for a good day trip. The Morrow Mountain/Sugarloaf hike is classic Piedmont hiking, through relatively mature hardwood forests, with a dash of altitude thrown in. Part of the ancient Uwharrie mountain range, Morrow Mountain tops out at 936 feet, not exactly Mount Mitchell, but pretty good for this part of the state. Sugarloaf is the more remote of the summits, Morrow Mountain has the views but there’s also a road to the top.

Mountains

Price Lake
2.7 miles
Blowing Rock
Getting there: Located at milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, between US 321 to the north and US 221 to the south.
More info here

With all the hiking options along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 2.7-mile loop around Price Lake is probably the most accessible. For starters, there’s a cumulative elevation gain of 18 feet on this nearly 3-mile loop, and you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out where those few feet are. And, the trail is easy to follow and the tread relatively flat (your only potential challenge: crossing Laurel Creek if it’s been raining). A lovely lake ramble with a great view of Grandfather Mountain.

Panthertown Valley
5.5 miles, with additional options
Cashiers
Getting there: From Cashiers to 2 miles east on US 64, then take a left on Cedar Creek Road/SR 1120. After 2.2 miles, go right on Breedlove Road and continue to the trailhead, about 3.7 miles up.
More info here

Panthertown has everything but trail markers and a decent map. Fortunately, it’s hard to get too lost in this 6,300-acre valley that has waterfalls, a frisky mountain creek, a white pine forest, granite cliffs, great views, a rare Appalachian bog and a whole lot more. One of the top places in the state to explore.

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