The 73 Different Snakes of Arizona—Scientific and Common Names
(The 18 in Bold are Poisonous)

Arizona elegans philipi — Painted Desert Glossy Snake
Arizona occidentalis eburnata — Desert Glossy Snake
Arizona occidentalis noctivaga — Arizona Glossy Snake
Chilomeniscus cinctus — Banded Sand Snake
Chionactis occipitalis annulata — Colorado Desert Shovel-Nosed Snake
Chionactis occipitalis klauberi — Tucson Shovel-Nosed Snake
Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis — Mojave Shovel-Nosed Snake
Chionactis palarostris organica — Organ Pipe Shovel-Nosed Snake
Coluber mormon — Western Yellow-Bellied Racer
Crotalus atrox — Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus cerastes cerastes — Mojave Desert Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes cercobombus — Sonoran Desert Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes laterorepens — Colorado Desert Sidewinder
Crotalus lepidus klauberi — Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Crotalus mitchelli pyrrhus — Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
Crotalus molossus molossus — Northern Black-Tailed Rattlesnake
Crotalus pricei pricei — Twin Spotted Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus — Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus tigris — Tiger Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis abyssus — Grand Canyon Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis cerberus — Arizona Black Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis lutosus — Great Basin Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis nuntius — Hopi Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis viridis — Prairie Rattlesnake
Crotalus willardi willardi — Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake
Diadophis punctatus regalis — Regal Ring-Necked Snake
Gyalopion canum — Western Hook-Nosed Snake
Gyalopion quadrangulare — Desert Hook-Nosed Snake
Heterodon nasicus kennerlyi — Mexican Hog-Nosed Snake
Hypsiglena torquata deserticola — Desert Night Snake
Hypsiglena torquata loreala — Mesa Verde Night Snake
Hypsiglena torquata ochrorhyncha — Spotted Night Snake
Lampropeltis getulus californiae — California King Snake
Lampropeltis getulus splendida — Desert King Snake
Lampropeltis pyromelena infralabialis — Utah Mountain King Snake
Lampropeltis pyromelena pyromelena — Arizona Mountain King Snake
Lampropeltis pyromelena woodini — Huachuca Mountain King Snake
Lampropeltis triangulum taylori — Utah Milk Snake
Leptotyphlops dulcis dissectus — New Mexican Blind Snake
Leptotyphlops humilis cahuilae — Desert Blind Snake
Leptotyphlops humilis humilis — Southwestern Blind Snake
Leptotyphlops humilis segregus — Trans-Pecos Blind Snake
Leptotypholps humilis utahensis — Utah Blind Snake
Lichanura trivirgata gracia — Desert Rosy Boa
Lichanura trivirgata trivirgata — Mexican Rosy Boa
Masticophis bilineatus bilineatus — Sonoran Whipsnake
Masticophis flagellum cingulum — Sonoran Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum lineatulus — Lined Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum piceus — Red Coachwhip
Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus — Desert Striped Whipsnake
Micruroides euryxanthus euryxanthus — Arizona Coral Snake
Oxybelis aeneus — Mexican Vine Snake
Phyllorhynchus browni — Saddled Leaf-Nosed Snake
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus — Spotted Leaf-Nosed Snake
Pituophis catenifer affinis — Sonoran Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer deserticola — Great Basin Gopher Snake
Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei — Western Long-Nosed Snake
Salvadora deserticola — Big Bend Patch-Nosed Snake
Salvadora grahamiae grahamiae — Mountain Patch-Nosed Snake
Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis — Desert Patch-Nosed Snake
Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis — Mojave Patch-Nosed Snake
Senticolis triaspis intermedia — Green Rat Snake
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi — Desert Massasauga
Sonora semiannulata — Ground Snake
Tantilla atriceps — Mexican Black-Headed Snake
Tantilla hobartsmithi — Southwestern Black-Headed Snake
Tantilla nigriceps — Plains Black-Headed Snake
Tantilla wilcoxi — Chihuahuan Black-Headed Snake
Tantilla yaquia — Yaqui Black-Headed Snake
Thamnophis elegans vagrans — Wandering Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques megalops — Northern Mexican Garter Snake
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — Narrowhead Garter Snake
Trimorphodon biscutatus lambda — Sonoran Lyre Snake

Expert Advice for Camping in Arizona, or anywhere

Remember these 10 tips and camping will become easier and a lot more fun for you. These will get you started but are by no means, a complete camping guide. As with everything, camping improves with practice and experience.

1. Make a List, Check it Twice—Coming up with your own gear checklist usually takes at least four or five camping trips to get it right. Make two copies. Use one for packing before the trip and the other for immediately after while unpacking. Add any gear you forgot and cross off the extra junk. Keep in mind that although you decide the hair curlers can be left home next trip, certain items you might not have used the last time (like bug spray) should still be included.
2. Keep Your Cooler Cool— Instead of ice cubes, fill plastic soft drink bottles with water and freeze. When the ice inside melts, you have wash water or backup drinking water plus your sandwiches never get soggy. After you get home from the trip, immediately refill and freeze the bottles for next time.
3. Bring a First Aid Kit—You never know when you will need it, and you will be pretty darn happy you brought it. Make sure you include tweezers because Arizona has more than its fair share of thorns and cactus spines.
4. Baby Wipes Work Wonders— Disposable baby wipes are lightweight hand, face, and body cleaners. Hot showers aren’t always the case on most camping trips and water might be scarce.
5. Eight More Essentials for Every Trip

• 20+ feet of clothesline rope
• Duct tape
• Disposable lighters
• Toilet paper (and Ziploc bags to pack it out) stored in an empty coffee can
• Multi-purpose tool
• Heavy duty aluminum foil
• Large, heavy-duty garbage bags
• Flashlight with spare batteries

6. Pitching a Tent—Playing with poles and trying to find which piece goes where is an awkward way to start your trip. Practice at home so you are an expert when you get to the campground. The tent should be set up and waterproofed before the big trip.
7. Easy Fire Starters—One Duraflame® log cut into smaller blocks makes great fire starters. If your firewood and kindling is damp and uncooperative, try an emergency road flare. Steel wool also works well. Keep a bucket of sand or water nearby in case the fire gets out of control and be sure to completely extinguish the fire and coals before departure. Use existing fire rings whenever possible.
8. Good Wood—Campgrounds often have the tidiest forest floors because previous visitors picked up all the firewood. Mesquite, oak, and juniper woods work well for cooking fires. Pine works in a pinch, but gives food a burnt, sappy taste. Please do not damage live trees because not only does green wood not burn well, it also makes food taste smoky and bitter. And of course, you are damaging the tree. Burn downed, dry wood only.
9. Sleep Naked—Sleeping bags work by trapping warm air inside, thus providing a loose blanket of body heat. Having too small of a bag never allows the down or high-tech materials to work. Likewise, if you wear excessive clothing, you might sweat; trapped moisture gets cold quick. Buy the best sleeping bag you can afford that fits you and fits the temperatures when you will camp. Sleep naked or with minimal clothing to stay the most comfortable.
10. Clean Your Canteens—After every trip, I add a spoonful of baking soda and refill my water jugs and canteens. They sit overnight, get rinsed out, and are stored open until next trip to ensure fresh tasting water every time.

HAPPY CAMPING!
rb

Leave only footprints. Take only memories. Kill only time.

Taking care of the backcountry is a responsibility, not an option. Here are a few tips you can follow to reduce the impact you have during your hiking or backpacking trip.

If you bring it in, bring it out. Several gallon-sized Zip-loc bags does the trick.

Leave your campsite better than you how you found it. You can make a big difference for the next hiker by picking up trash and spreading ashes.

Use designated fire rings or pits if you are going to have a campfire. Don’t build a fire unless you really have to. Fires scar the land.

Keep campsites away from water sources. Run-off from soap, or worse yet, contamination from human wastes can cause many problems.

Noise is pollution too. Keeping the noise level down increases your chance of viewing wildlife and will not disturb others.

Stay in the designated campsite. Trailblazing and making new campsites often damages very fragile vegetation. Use tent pads when provided.

Take care of Human Waste. Learn how to dispose of human waste properly – besides being an offending sight for someone else, there are health hazards.

Read Will Harmon’s Wild Country Companion. These 196 pages of wilderness ethics are easy to understand and can hone your outdoor etiquette.

Practice what you preach…Preach what you practice. Set a good example so that others can learn good habits from you, and actively help educate others. Together we can keep our outdoors beautiful.

HAPPY TRAILS – rb

The creepy-crawly that raises the hair on my neck is the family of ‘pedes. I don’t care how many legs they have, they give me a shiver. Imagine seeing one that is nine inches long. You might never leave home again. Fortunately they are relatively harmless. Physically anyway, as I for one, am deeply scarred emotionally.

Some of the larger centipedes can inflict a painful bite, with swelling and redness around the bite. You lymph nodes near the bite area may also swell, but usually no tissue damage or infection results. These symptoms rarely last for more than a day or two.

Millipedes don’t bite but may secrete a toxin that can irritate the skin and, in the most severe cases, cause tissue damage.

Put an icecube on a centipede bite and the pain will usually be gone. The toxic secretions of millipedes should be washed away with plenty of soap and water. Do not use alcohol (rubbing alcohol). I am not going to deny a suffering man a cold beer to combat the pain and suffering. If a skin reaction develops, a corticosteroid cream should be applied.

Believe it or not, but the ‘pedes are known for leading to eye injuries. Now that really disturbs me even more. If this happens to you, and no matter who you are I hope it doesn’t, just flush your eye with water immediately, and find a corticosteroid-analgesic ointment specifically made for the eye.

I guarantee it’s not worse than getting stung by a hornet in the eye!

- rb

Rule # 1 – Preparation helps ensure safety.

No parent wants to even think about their little boy or girl getting lost in the outdoors, but anyone can get lost. I spent a night out in the woods once because it got too dark to find my way back. Not much fun, but not that bad either, because I was prepared. It’s a good idea that you and your kids be prepared too.

Spending time outdoors with your children participating in activities like hiking is a win-win-win situation. You are doing yourself a favor, with a little exercise, some fresh air, and a great stress reliever. Second, your kids will love the time spent with you as much as you love spending time with them. The kids also start to learn about the outdoor world and are less likely to become couch potatoes as adults. The third win is that kids begin to learn that nature is our most precious resource that needs to be protected so they bring these ideas to adulthood. Everyone wins.

Being prepared is the key to being safe!

Just like the adults, the kids should have a basic safety and survival kit. Hopefully they never have to use it, but always have a plan for emergencies because you can’t plan when they are going to happen. Prevention is the best investment you can make for you and your child. In simple, yet serious language, it is important that you teach (not preach) what each item is and how to use it, as well as what to do, in case they need help.

Put the following items in a hip pack or waist pack. The goal is that they can still play, enjoy the outdoors, and be free to move, however always having that hip pack just in case they accidentally wander too far away. A hip pack with an attached water bottle is a great design, while zippered compartments can hold everything needed. Make two little laminated cards to include in the pack. First, an ID card with contact information. Make sure this stays current. Second, include a checklist of required items. Then share the responsibility with your child of checking each of the items before each adventure.

Kid’s Safety Pack

Water – Fill the water bottle at the beginning of every trip, even just a couple hours. Make it a routine. Stress the importance of water and the importance of conserving it in emergency situations. Avoid juices, which attract ants and bees.

Food – Include something lightweight and nutritious, but high in complex carbohydrates. Including a couple Power Bars or other sports bars is a great idea, but make sure to explain that the food is for when the kid is really hungry. Put some regular snacks in your pack.

Rescue Whistle – A whistle is easy to use and very noticeable in the wilderness. Explain that three blasts every few minutes or so is a good way to get help. Make sure to stress that this is not a toy.

High Visibility Scarf or Cloth – Blaze Orange, like hunters wear, is easy to see anywhere. Maybe a lightweight, compact vest. If the child is asleep this signal scarf will help alert rescuers that they are nearby, if hung on a tree branch or waving it on the end of a stick. If reviewed with the child, then he or she will know what to do, and you will know that this highly visible sign is an emergency call. Dressing them in bright clothes, like a red shirt, is a good idea on any trip.

Glow Light Sticks – Kid or adult, being lost and spending the night outside can be terrifying in the dark. Glow Sticks give off a lot of bright light, providing security to the person lost, as well as an incredible search aid to the rescuers. Practice with your child about how to activate and use these light sticks properly. You can find either the 8-hour High Intensity or the 12-hour glow sticks in a variety of colors at most sporting goods stores.

Emergency Space Blanket – This has dual purposes. Providing warmth and security is one thing. Being highly visible is the second. Wrapping up in this blanket can be a lifesaver.

Personal Items – Fill a Ziploc bag with a small packet of tissues for personal hygiene use, plus some small Band-Aids to cover minor cuts and abrasions. Consider including some damp towelettes to allow the child to clean themselves. These items are purposely included to help add a sense of preparedness and self-reliance in the child’s mind. They will feel more secure knowing that these little items are available.

Checking the pack before every adventure is a great way to build a strong bond with your child, sharing with them the responsibility of checking their safety kit. This beneficial review session can become a special time for you and your child.

BE AWARE! BE PREPARED! BE SAFE!

The following is an outline of some important things you might want to talk to your child about. Be as creative as possible, but make sure your child knows this is a serious topic.

You might want to begin with one of these phrases:

Now that you are old enough to go on some bigger outdoor adventures, there are some important things we need to talk about…

Have fun. Being outside is always fun, but we must be prepared…

Teaching your child to enjoy spending time and being comfortable outdoors will enrich your lives and definitely make your time spent outdoors safer. In the event your child does get lost, make sure they know it is all right to be worried and afraid, but that you will find them as soon as possible. This, plus routinely going through the Kid’s Safety Kit with them, and they should be a great companion on most any adventure.

- rb

Your Mind is Your #1 Survival Tool

One of the best things I learned from the military is that your mind is the biggest obstacle that comes in the way of success but is also the most important asset to avoid failure. In the outdoors, your mind is your best piece of greatest survival gear, your #1 Survival Tool. When something happens no matter how seemingly insignificant or small, maybe you just realized you are lost, the first thing to deal with is PANIC! If left unchecked, panic can quickly make a small problem into a major emergency.

Davy Crockett said, “I have never been lost, but I have, on occasion, not known where I was .” Anyone, even Mr. Crockett can become separated from the trail. Stray too far from camp as night sets in, and sometimes, it gets a little scary.

The key is to remember you have your mind to overcome anything, protect yourself, and SURVIVE! Living to tell about it is a good thing. Survival is basic human instinct, and of course some people are better than others. You fight for survival every day in a world of cars and concrete. Being in trouble out in the woods or the desert is the same thing, but with just a different environment.

A useful acronym to help you remember to keep your wits, calm down, and survive is simply…

S.T.O.P. Sit. Think. Observe. Plan.

SIT When you realize that you are lost,just STOP and take the time to sit down. Calm down and and collect your thoughts. You are right where you are, so you can’t be lost. It’s just the trail, the camp, the vehicle, and everyone else that is lost.

THINK Ask yourself what you have to make it through this situation. Make an inventory of your survival items and figure out how you will use them. Think about how you planned for and prepared for this-both physically and mentally.

OBSERVE Look around. Is there a distinguishing landmark that demands notice. What about things you can see on your map. If you are still in trouble, look around for other important things like shelter, water, high ground, and open area. It is often better to stay in one area and use your limited energy wisely to help those looking for you, such as building a fire, making shelter, and sending out signals.

PLAN Create a plan of action. Your main concern is yourself, and how you are going to survive. Determine what can hurt you, so decide how you are going to prevent it. Heat or cold are usually your greatest enemy. Remain positive and optimistic. The searchers will find you, so make it easy on yourself while you are there.

Remember that if all else fails, just STOP, figure out what is going on, and work to fix the problem. Conquer your fears, control your panic, and you will survive.

HAPPY TRAILS – rb