>>1861380Iowa here, and I have trekked literally every state in the Great Plains. AMA.
>Does it get really cold in central USA during winter?Depending on snowfall, wind conditions, and humidity it drops an average 20 degrees after sunfall on an open field. Most of our range is a 1000ft rise, so it's kind of got a constant wind anyway so you factor another ~10 degrees if your facing that.
>Are there bears and poisonous snakes and bugs?Very few black bears, there are no wild brown bears anymore, you want to be on the lookout for mountain lions mostly (HUGE ones here because we have a big whitetail population). The worst snake you'd want to watch out for is the Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin, especially going into a body of standing water, on land they are easy to avoid because they will beat their tails on the ground to imitate a rattler if they are spooked. Their venom is even worse than a rattler too, also we have brown-back rattlers but they only ever hit small game animals.
The worst bug here are the paper wasps in terms of bite or sting, that shit lasts MONTHS.
>plants you didn't ask aboutFamiliarize yourself with poison ivy, it is fucking everywhere that there is any woods line.
Thistles are also everywhere, but they are also good for two things - making tea, and pain relief as their poison does work as an anesthetic too.
>good plantsClover and honey suckle are fucking everywhere and are DELICIOUS.
Wild lettuce is great too, mineral and vitamin rich, and also works on the same kind of level kratum does in a medicinal sense.
Wild rhubarb is a good trail snack too, as well as un-popped dandelion.
WASH EVERYTHING if you can. Deer and raccoons piss on literally every-fucking-thing out here.
