I started hiking about eight years ago, and one of my first experiences was getting bitten by a snake.
I had no idea what to do. I panicked, had no phone reception, and just kept walking. I didn't realise how serious it could have been until later. Luckily it wasn't venomous and I walked away fine. But that moment stuck with me.
At the time I had no snake bite kit, no first aid knowledge, and honestly not much preparation at all. It was a wake-up call. Not just about snakes, but about what it actually means to be ready for something going wrong out there.
This is what I know now that I didn't know then.
If you see one on the trail
Most snake encounters end with the snake leaving and you continuing on your way. They're not interested in you. The bites that happen are almost always because someone got too close, tried to move it, or startled it by stepping somewhere they shouldn't have.
If you come across one: stop, stay still, give it space and time to move. Don't try to go around it immediately. Once it's off the track, back away slowly and keep moving. That's genuinely it.
Trekking poles help here. Tapping ahead through dense grass or low scrub gives snakes a heads up that you're coming. Most will move before you even see them.
What to actually do if someone gets bitten
This is the part worth memorising, or at least saving somewhere you can access offline.
- Stay calm and stop moving. The less movement, the slower the venom spreads.
- Lay down and keep the bitten limb still.
- Call 000 immediately.
- Apply a pressure bandage directly over the bite site.
- Use a second bandage to wrap from fingers or toes up the entire limb. Firm pressure, not tight enough to cut off circulation.
- Mark the bite site with a cross on the bandage and note the time.
- Splint the limb to stop movement, covering joints above and below the bite.
- Monitor and begin CPR if they lose consciousness and stop breathing.
Your kit should have at minimum: two heavy compression bandages, a gauze pad, and a marker. That's the basics. The gear is useless if you don't know how to use it though. Watch a video on pressure immobilisation technique before your next hike. It takes ten minutes and it's worth it.
The stuff people get wrong
There's a lot of bad advice floating around about snake bites. The main ones to ignore:
Sucking the venom out does nothing except introduce bacteria. Putting ice on it can cause tissue damage. Using a tourniquet cuts off circulation and can make things significantly worse. Running for help speeds up venom spread. None of these help.
Also, not every snake is venomous, but treat every bite as if it is. You're not going to correctly identify the species in a panic, and you don't need to. The treatment is the same regardless. Get help, stay still, apply the bandage.
Gear worth having
Long pants and boots give you a real barrier. If you're hiking through dense scrub, snake gaiters are worth considering too. They cover your lower legs and take a lot of the risk out of pushing through vegetation.
Staying on marked trails also helps. Going off trail is where most surprise encounters happen, and it's not great for the environment either.
Snakes aren't a reason to avoid hiking.
They're part of the environment out here, and most of the time they want nothing to do with you. But being underprepared when something does go wrong is avoidable. I learned that the hard way eight years ago. You don't have to.
