Molaker
Well-known member
Interesting day today. We spent the night at Buffalo Point National Forest campground on the Buffalo River in north central Arkansas. Beautiful place, especially for canoers and kayakers. As we were leaving, we stopped at an parking area that provided good visual access to the river with an impressive several hundred foot high bluff on the far side. Between the parking area and river, a broad clean gravel bar. I wanted some photos. As we approached, I noticed a large stack of "stuff" beside the road. "Stuff" being some camping items and several large cooler-size plastic tubs. Walking up the path from the gravel bar was a 30ish looking fellow carrying more "stuff". I looked on past him to the river where a couple of canoes were beached with more "stuff" sitting beside them. About halfway up the gravel bar were a couple of lawn chairs where another fellow sat, seemingly just doing nothing. It was about then this fellow doing the sitting sort of rolled out of the chair and started very slowly crawling on hands and knees on up the gravel bar toward the parking area. It appeared he may have injured himself so I called out to ask if I could be of assistance. The fellow carrying "stuff" said they could manage. It was then I noticed the crawler had only one shoe on. I asked what had happened and was told he had been bitten by a cottonmouth snake. He was crawling on his hands and knees instead of hopping with assistance because if he exerted himself and elevated his heart rate he would become nauseous and would vomit. So, he crawled. Very slowly on his hands and knees. There was little I could do to assist. I did ask if the park rangers knew of his plight and he said they did. He had been bitten at 8 pm the night before. EMTs had been summoned by the rangers, but the guy refused to be carted off in an ambulance. I don't know if it was because of the cost or what. They indicated they were being met by someone to take them and their "stuff" from the park and, I assume, the injured fellow to the hospital. I don't know if the guy was tough or stupid or both. As I said, an interesting day.
