My fiancé and I ventured to the Poconos for the Fourth of July weekend, taking off a day early to hike. Our original plan was to visit Bushkill Falls, known as the Niagara of Pennsylvania, but due to capacity restrictions it was full, so we turned to Plan B and decided to try Thunder Swamp Trail off of Route 402.

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Most people who know me know I’m terrified of snakes. From tiny garter snakes to pythons, I’d just prefer to avoid them all. As we’re hiking along, talking about how much we enjoy the activity and we should get hiking boots and start doing it more regularly, we quickly stopped dead in our tracks. I had never heard a rattlesnake rattle before, but the moment I heard it that day, I knew exactly what it was. I, of course, turned and ran back in the direction we’d come from while my fiancé pulled out his phone and began to video the snake — of course, from a safe distance.

I was almost ready to completely give up on our hike out of fear, but my fiancé encouraged me to keep going. I agreed, but made us cross the street to hiking trails on the other side — just for my peace of mind.

In case you were wondering, I do still want to get hiking boots and keep up the hobby. I think our rattlesnake sighting was pretty rare, so I’m hoping it was one and done. Fingers crossed!

— Kim Krol, editor in chief