I have tried to beginning hiking more since I moved to southern CA.
In FL I had to deal with rattlesnakes, venomous spiders, plus sizable alligators that can kill you in a matter of minutes.
The last thing on my mind in the woods was black bears, however I ended up seeing a single once while I was deep in the backwoods on a mountain bike. I remember telling my Mom about it right away, even though he didn’t think myself and others until I showed him the photo I abruptly captured with my smartphone. But it was the snakes more than anything else that gave myself and others serious trepidation while hiking the woods in southwest FL. There are six known species of venomous snakes in FL—cottonmouth, southern copperhead, eastern diamondback, dusky pygmy, timber rattlesnake, plus eastern coral snake. When I moved to Tarzana, CA, I thought I would be getting out of the swamp plus away from the venomous snakes. Little did I suppose that CA is beach house to 8 weird rattlesnakes, including the western diamondback plus the northern pacific rattlesnake among others. When I go hiking in Topanga State Park, I am constantly vigilant about not being careless with snake safety. This is unique ly important when I take my portable cannabis vaporizer with myself and others into the woods. I want to love the outdoor environment of southern CA, but not at the expense of clumsily walking into a rattlesnake while I’m on a trail in Topanga State Park. Even yards within Tarzana could be beach house to a rattlesnake nest, so it’s smart to be vigilant even if you aren’t hiking in the Santa Monica mountains.