Skip to main content

Rattlesnakes


  One of the very first dates I went on with my wife, was a walk up the Bitterbrush trail. We walked along the trail through the rolling meadows below the rock garden. I'm sure we were talking sweetly and discovering new things about each other, typical first date stuff.
 Suddenly!  Just a few steps ahead of us in the trail was a coiled and rattling, prairie rattlesnake. Looking back on the incident, I'm glad my first reaction was to pull her back to safety and take a protective step forward putting myself between her and certain danger. Another option would have been to push her into the weeds and run back down the trail screaming and flailing my hands. Really glad I didn't do that, but you just never know how you'll react when put to the test.
Stock Photo
  I remember that the snake seemed to be a perfect match with the color of the surrounding plants. It was beautiful, and it was pissed. I stomped my foot on the trail a few times and the snake left the trail and went into the grass... by about two inches. A mountain biker rode by while we were standing there. We pointed and told him there was a rattlesnake right on the edge of the trail. The biker uttered some version of "sure, whatever," and pedaled by. At some point, his ankle must have been within easy striking distance of the already agitated snake.
Actual photo from a friend in Colorado

  Now, I'm familiar with the policy regarding bears that says: You don't need to run faster than the bear, only faster than the people you are with. But, I don't think this holds true for rattlesnakes. An average rattlesnake has an 18 inch striking distance and can strike at a speed of 108 inches per second. Since this is Boulder County, let's just assume our snakes strike even faster than average. They probably train harder and eat only lean prairie dogs.  Just because you are riding past the snake fast, if you are within 18 inches or so...it's not fast enough.
  Another time I was climbing up in the rock garden with my friend Josh. He was ahead of me, because, well... we were climbing. Suddenly! Bam! right in front of me was a big thick rattlesnake all snaked-out and making its way across the trail. I stopped and let the snake pass, then I caught up to Josh and learned he hadn't even seen it. For it to come out between us meant that it had to be right at the trail side as he passed. Again, within striking distance.
  I read an Outside magazine article titled Rattled from the June 2018 issue. It was about a guy who was bitten in the leg. It said each vile of antivenom cost $18,000 and over three days he used 18 viles of it. This really got me thinking, if I had 18 viles of antivenom, I would start micro-dosing myself until I developed an immunity to rattlesnake bites. Then I would sit out on the Pearl Street Mall with a guitar case full of rattlesnakes and let them bite me in front of a crowd. That would be a pretty awesome street performance.
  On average over 70 people are bitten by rattlesnakes in Colorado every year. As I  write this 2019 has already had three bites so far. Of course the odds of being hit by a car or even bitten by a dog are higher than being snakebit. The point is, these awesome predators are going to be out on the trails next summer, and maybe if you're lucky you might see one. If you do, pay it some serious respect.
If you want to read a true survival story and see some gnarly photos, read this article.
Outside Mag

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The White Room (a short story)

FRIDAY After a short struggle I located Cliff at the airport. It was good to see him again. I had my bag packed and my skis on the rack of my Audi. Instead of going back to my house, we blew past the exit and cruised through Denver. We made a quick stop at a dispensary, then started climbing into the mountains. Five hours later we rolled into the town of Crested Butte. Matt had driven out from Arkansas the day before and we all converged on Kevin’s house. This was a reunion almost thirty years in the making. We pulled into Kevin’s driveway, kid’s bikes and other toys were poking out from the snow in the yard.  A master bedroom had been added to the house, but it still lacked siding, leaving the insulation exposed. Kevin came out to greet us wearing slippers, jeans and a tee shirt. He gave us each a hug. Nice addition Kev, that’s new since the last time I was here. Cliff said. Yeah I started it four years ago, maybe in another four I’ll finish it. Kevin’s just doing what he can...

Spectator Sports

  I’m not good at ball-sports, or really, team-sports all together. In little league I once tried throwing the ball from right field to first base. Instead I threw the ball out of the park and hit a guy sitting in the bleachers. As a high school freshman I tried out for soccer and qualified for the sub-sub-JV team.   The cross country team needed runners, so I quit soccer after a week and I ran. I ran in the fall, and then I ran again in the spring for track. I wasn’t good, but I could do it. All that really mattered was that I crossed the finish line. Running helped me develop the mental state that I use nowadays when I’m tackling a long climb. I don’t need to enjoy it, I just need to zone out and keep putting one foot, or pedal, in front of the other.   My state had one professional sports team, a hockey team called the Whalers. But they broke up, or moved on a few years after I moved to Colorado. I love the atmosphere of a Rockies game or watching the Eagles. But I h...

Lucky or Good?

 The darkness comes quickly after work, the mornings are really cold. I think it's time to look back and say that was an awesome mountain bike season. I get a little banged up every year, some more than others. This is my fourth crash of the 2023 season and the first one to bring some pain. Maybe I can learn something if I run through them and try to determine if I'm getting good or just lucky. The frequent heavy rain kept trails at Left Hand constantly changing. This led to my first debiking incident. I was taking some friends down Ginger Booty. We had sessioned the big booter and were riding out the rest of the single track. Cody came up fast behind me right as I reached a section of deep rut, filled with loose fist size rocks. My brain analyzed the possible line choices and came up empty as my front tire wedged against a rock. With the front tire stopped my mass started a slow motion arc over the bars. I'd like to think that I tucked my chin and pulled my hands into my c...