Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

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drm
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Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by drm » May 15th, 2023, 6:21 am

I was on a morning hike and something felt soft and squishy below my left foot. Maybe I even heard a gurgle. I look down and a rattlesnake is bunched up on the trail! It only rattled after I stepped on it, and no lunge or bite, despite my bare ankle being inches away. I didn't step on one section of it stretched out. My entire foot was on layers of snake. It slowly moved off the trail, but still faster than I could get my phone camera out. Maybe it didn't bite because I seriously injured it.

This was the Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, the new loop they added, fairly close to the upper junction. The new trail is less worn in and has taller grass around it, so harder to see. There were lots of people on the original trail, but few seem to be using the new loop.

gallione11
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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by gallione11 » May 15th, 2023, 8:39 am

We've only done that trail twice, but have run into a rattlesnake both times. Same spot both years -- on the second switchback past the shoebrush in the rocks on the right side (when ascending).

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adamschneider
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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by adamschneider » May 15th, 2023, 9:48 am

Eek! I'm generally not afraid of rattlesnakes (because they are VERY afraid of us), but accidentally stepping on a sleepy one is something I do worry about.

If it moved "slowly" off the trail, there's your answer for why it didn't bite, probably: too cold and sluggish in the early morning hours. Poor thing. If it survives, maybe it'll learn not to sleep on trails!

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drm
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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by drm » May 15th, 2023, 10:09 am

I have done Lyle Cherry Orchard for years and never seen a rattler before there. And it was probably 70* when this happened - not sure if that makes for a sluggish snake.

I have had close calls for stepping on them before, but they warned me away in the way that only a rattlesnake can.

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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by texasbb » May 15th, 2023, 12:29 pm

drm wrote:
May 15th, 2023, 10:09 am
I have done Lyle Cherry Orchard for years and never seen a rattler before there.
Well, you apparently didn't see this one either! So every time in the past, you just stepped right beside them. :)

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drm
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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by drm » May 17th, 2023, 2:11 pm

Usually they let you know if you just missed them . . . :lol:

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sheilakpdx
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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by sheilakpdx » June 3rd, 2023, 10:52 am

We were there yesterday doing the same loop as described. Thanks for the heads up on the rattlesnake - we were extra attentive on that last portion of the loop where it meets up with the original Lyle/Cherry Orchard trail. We did not encounter a snake there but did about 0.40 miles up from the TH when starting out. It was on the trail and slowly started making its way back to its den at the base of a large rock outcropping as we approached. It was 64 degrees so too cold to rattle or move very fast. Upon our return to the TH, we could see it curled inside the den where the sun was shining directly on it.

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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by Waffle Stomper » June 4th, 2023, 2:38 pm

"Maybe it didn't bite because I seriously injured it."
This is probably one of the instances where I think shooting it would be the right solution.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir

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Re: Yikes - I stepped on a rattlesnake!

Post by Splintercat » June 11th, 2023, 8:53 pm

I nearly stepped on this rattlesnake at Blue Basin last year -- also in a grassy area, though I was stopped (and backing up for a photo) when I almost stepped on it. He (she?) was coiled up on the trail and let me know before I took that last step -- and I moved pretty fast after I heard that sound! :lol:
281893992_10229646608817315_2718194243288084628_n.jpg
I had my camera out and on a tripod, but with a wide angle lens on it... so while I scrambled for a telephoto he started to move off the trail -- this was the best shot I could get before he vanished into the grass. Amazing to see how quickly it just disappeared in the grass, too! Adds some veracity to the saying "snake in the grass".

Glad you didn't fare worse, Dean! If it was mortally injured, it will make a good meal for a scavenger.

Tom :)

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