Teen bitten by venomous snake while fly fishing on end of year camping trip in WNC: ‘I was scared’

Two Chapel Hill high school students are reflecting on a survival story that turned an end-of-year camping trip into a near-death experience.

Last week, 17-year-old Zain Shah and 18-year-old Kevin Foley, both seniors at Chapel Hill High School, were fishing in the Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina when their buddy trip nearly took a deadly turn.

As the two walked up the side of a riverbank to find a better spot to fly fish, Shah felt a “prick” above his ankle, looking down to find a timber rattlesnake coiled beneath the log they had just crossed, and a bite mark on his lower leg.

“I was scared, I was terrified,” Shah said…

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