Everyone
is familiar with how a full moon can make things go a little…batty. Yesterday was a full moon, and things
certainly went batty as a result.
Mid
afternoon, I headed up to run my favorite mountain trail with my dog,
Sadie. It was a hot day, 87 degrees with
a good amount of humidity. The mid
afternoon sun glared off the dirt trail, making it hard to distinguish items
lying on the ground. Added to that was
the sporadic modeled pattern from overhead tree branches and the side of the
mountain casting its shadow on the trail that also made discerning what lay
ahead a challenge. I was wearing my sunglasses to help overcome these
difficulties.
Sadie
and I got perhaps two and a half miles up the trail when we encountered a group
of three college-aged girls who didn’t have a clue as to trail etiquette. Spreading themselves from one side of the
trail to the next instead of staying to the right, I was forced to squeeze by
them on the left, which placed Sadie right up against a little raised edge
that’s heavily covered with tall dried grass.
This
time of year, I try to avoid getting so close to that edge, as it’s a great
place for rattlesnakes to be concealed.
Today was one of those days.
Just
as Sadie got close enough, a large Pacific rattler struck out at her. She jumped away, startled, then turned on a
dime. My mind hadn’t quite registered
yet what had happened. As it tried to
adjust, I watched Sadie lunge at the embankment. I saw a slight flash—the body of the snake—as
it struck out again. I yanked back on
Sadie’s leash. She relented for a moment
before again going after the snake. This
back-and-forth continued for perhaps six strikes of the snake, all narrowly
missing Sadie, before I could gain control of and pull her away. Meanwhile, the college girls walked past,
unaware of the disturbance.
Our
pulses racing, Sadie and I continued on.
Went only about a quarter of a mile before we came across a baby Western
Diamondback rattler lying in the middle of the trail. These snakes are far more aggressive than the
Pacific rattler. This one was
particularly testy. It didn’t even wait
for us to pose a threat before it lunged out, narrowly missing Sadie’s front
left foot. In fact, I thought she’d been
struck due to how close it was and how she’d jumped away. Glaring over my shoulder at the pissy snake,
I continued a little ways with Sadie before stopping to check her foot. Thankfully, she’d been spared.
Less
than an eight of a mile along, we encountered yet another baby
Diamondback. This was especially
unusual, for it’s months past the time they should be hatching out. This snake we didn’t see, the bright sun,
casting a blinding glare on the dirt trail, until it was literally between
Sadie and me. Looking down, I caught
sight of it just as it struck towards me.
Holy crud!
I
jumped out of its way and managed to avoid getting bit—barely. Doubling my pace, my adrenaline now flowing
at full speed, I vowed to get the heck off the mountain as soon as possible. But Mother Nature wasn’t done having her fun
with Sadie and me.
Another
quarter mile along, we encountered our third baby Western Diamondback that also
struck out at us. This time, we had a
little more distance between us but were still just as jarred by the
unnecessary attack.
Normally,
Sadie couldn’t care less about the snakes we encounter while on our runs. We come across quite a few, and she looks at
them in passing. But that wasn’t the
case today. With each new attack, Sadie
became more on edge. In between
encounters, I’d see her nose rise in the air and she’d sniff, as if knowing of
the impending danger that lay ahead.
By
this time, four different rattlesnakes had struck at Sadie and me in a period
of less than fifteen minutes. Needless
to say, both of us were on edge and wanted to get home. To heck with nature and exploring all she had
to offer. As far as we were concerned,
Mother Nature could keep her bad attitude rattle snakes all to herself!
Never
before have I encountered more than two to three rattlers in a single day. And I’ve never been struck at more than once
in a run. In fact, until today’s bizarre
full moon madness on the mountain, rattlesnakes have only struck at me less
than a handful of times in my entire life!
Sadie
and I managed to make it off the mountain without further incident. Both of us were exhausted by the end, our
adrenaline rushes having drained us.
Goes without saying that I’m beyond grateful that neither Sadie nor I
ended up feeling snake fangs dig into our flesh on today’s run.
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