LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Avid hiker Tyler Roach tells News 19 that he’s at home recovering from a nightmare of a hike. Last Thursday, Roach was bitten by a venomous snake while in Bankhead National Forest.
When News 19 spoke to him about the ordeal, Roach said the first reaction from his friends and family was “really, it happened again?” That’s because this isn’t the first time he’s been bitten by a venomous snake.
Roach said the first bite happened back in 2020 and was less severe.
He told News 19 that when this bite happened, he was hiking the Big Tree Loop in Bankhead National Forest with his dad.
“It felt like thorns had hit me in the back of the leg,” he said. “At which point I turned around and saw a fairly large snake pulling off of my calf and scurry into the grass.”
He said the bite happened around 1:20 p.m., but he didn’t make it out of the woods until almost midnight.
Roach said right after he was bitten, he was calm, saying, “I’ve been through this before.”
He said due to a lack of cell phone signal in the forest, his father and him decided to start hiking back. By about 3 p.m., he said he was able to use the SOS mode on his iPhone and get a message out to emergency officials.
However, that’s when his condition started to worsen.
“We eventually hit a point where I could no longer walk,” he said.
Roach said his dad continued on without him, in hopes of tracking down help. He said eventually he could hear a helicopter circling overhead, but he had grown weak by that point.
“The sun was going down and at that point, I was unable to move on the ground, and I was vomiting profusely,” Roach said. “I was getting cold laying next to a log in the woods and there was a point where I didn’t think I was ever going to leave that spot.”
Roach said his dad eventually met up with first responders on the trail and brought them to where he was. By the time they arrived, he was coming “in and out of consciousness.”
EMTs gave him some initial treatment and then started the grueling journey of getting him back to the trailhead, where he could be picked up by a medical helicopter.
Roach said by about 11 p.m. he was out of the woods.
“I could not be more thankful for the response we had,” he said.
According to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, more than 20 agencies assisted the rescue.
Roach spent more than four days at Huntsville Hospital getting treatment. While he’s back at home now, he is still dealing with soreness and mobility issues.
“Very limited movement in my left ankle, no vertical movement at all and the side-to-side is pretty rough,” Roach said. “I can’t hardly move the leg in the mornings.”
He said he will be getting some physical therapy over the next few weeks and will be resting up.
As an avid hiker, he said he’s eager to get back on the trails.
“I will definitely be wearing bite prevention gear,” he said. “Also just being a little more alert to my surroundings.”
Click here to learn more about his recovery efforts on GoFundMe.
The post “I didn’t think I’d ever leave that spot” hiker says after snake bite appeared first on WHNT.
