Comments on: Rattlesnake Season is Here.

By: Riles

Riles — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:51:18 +0000

Actually, they ARE active at night. In warmer weather, they hunt at night because it is cooler, and their heat-sensing pits are like night-vision goggles for them.

By: JS

JS — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:42:02 +0000

Oh yes those litle snakes, Ive seen a few ,once going up Cowels Mt, saw a girl stopped and a snake right in front of her, she runs right up to me an about 3 inchs from my face says,” I just saw a snake!!”, I ask do you know what kind it was? Lets go look. And it was a rattler about 1.5 foot. It was still crawling off along the trail, and she got a good look at it. Some guy comes by and wants to throw a rock at to scare it, but I let him know once he coils up, it could be a long time before he would be ready to move, so if there straight let them be cause there exiting stage left themselfs.
Some posts discribe how hard it is to see these things and once, in Rice Canyon, when it was a canyon, I was resting and looking down into the canyon, as I go to get up I notice a baby rattler , about 1 foot from my foot, just as I step back that guy went for my foot, but was short, now Im really cautious, thy can be right there.
Also around the Tecate area there is a rare specices of rattler, a Granite Rattler, Grey, lives in and around that granite out there. That aussi guy found one when he did his show around San Diego,
The ones that dont rattle are use to trail traffic, go up cowels , they hardly do unless they are messed with, But there hunting tactic is to sit along side trails waiting for small game, so use extra caution when using rabbit or other animal trails.
I dont mess around when I see on of these things, when I was a kid I caught one and put it in a paper grocery bag, took it to a neighbor, and before we opened it it went off , and that guy killed it, ive been lucky , been close and hope to let them be what they are and leave them alone. What worries me is they may get into my bag or coil up around where Im sleeping, but hen they are not very active at night, but you never know. One bit of advice or a tip I give away freely , besides tips are not always money, ” Dont pet a Rattle snake.”

By: LL

LL — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:54:06 +0000

Thank you very much for this excellent article. A friend and I recently stumbled across a rattlesnake on a rock on the trail while hiking Cuyamaca Middle Peak (6/19/2012). This is only the second snake I’ve seen in several years, but I’ve also been hiking more often lately. I agree that the rattle sound is extremely unsettling!

By: Rattlesnakes, again. | San Diego Hiker

Rattlesnakes, again. | San Diego Hiker — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:04:39 +0000

[...] wasn’t going to write about this again this year, my first rattlesnake entry is by far the most read, and most Googled blog entry on the site. I figured I had it covered. That [...]

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:31:34 +0000

Does anyone know what is up with the Rattlesnakes this year. I come across 1 everyday on mission trails now. The past few years I would see maybe 5 a year. It’s to the point where I don’t want to go out because its just a matter of time before I step on one. Just the other day I stopped a fellow hiker to warn him of a rattlesnake that was 10 feet behind me. The hiker had a hard time finding it because it blended in so well. Is there a reason for what I see as a serge of rattlesnakes? Thank you for any help.

By: Marc Arndt

Marc Arndt — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:52:18 +0000

I know the feeling, Adam. Nothing sets me on edge like a rattlesnake, and seeing more than one on a hike really makes me jumpy. I’ve never seen a mountain lion, but I have allowed myself to become totally psyched out on a couple solo hikes, head swiveling and mind racing… Luckily I’m a bit larger than your average lion prey.

By: Adam Efron

Adam Efron — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:45:21 +0000

Went hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains (ice house saddle) last weekend. Came across 5 rattle snakes in the 7 mile hike. Three small ones, one medium, and one large. I almost stepped on one and so did my friend. He was wearing vibrams. Pretty amazing how hard they are to spot even when looking for them. By the end of the hike I was pretty freaked out. I saw more on this hike then on all my other trips. That’s why I like the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. No rattlesnakes or mountain lions!

By: Richard Medsker

Richard Medsker — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:19:26 +0000

We were hiking down near the Mexican border below San Diego today (May 12, 2012) and came across a rattlesnake next to the trail. It threatened us a little and then slithered off into the bushes.

By: Marc

Marc — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:14:30 +0000

When I was young it seemed they were just part of the summer, and though we spent a lot of time running around in the canyons of eastern Chula Vista (roughly where Eastlake is now), it was still pretty rare to run into them. We were almost as likely to run into one in the yard. Once, however, when I was about 12, we were playing hide and seek in some tall grasses growing on the hills, and I heard a sound, and looked down to see one crawling over my shoe. I bugged out of there as fast as my 11-year old legs would run.

We ran into 2 on a hike in high school. The first while trying to wade through some thick chaparral. Just the hot, quick rattle somewhere near our feet. I bolted out to a clearing, and Brad, froze until I convinced him to run for it too. The next was a beautiful red diamondback, on the opposite side of a rock we were stepping over. That was enough, and we spent the rest of the hike nervous and jumping at every sound.

But, I’ve never been bit, and I don’t know anyone who has.

By: sat

sat — Sat, 15 May 2010 00:09:14 +0000

We’ve only run into rattlers snakes on a couple occasions. The first time was when we were off the beaten path looking for a geocache. We got quite a scare when we heard that rattle right next to us. We tend to stay on well marked trails now The next time was at the top of Garnet Peak. There was no rattle out of that one and we didn’t notice him despite being right next to him for a while.

Thanks for the reminder on what to do in case of a bite. Hopefully we’ll never need to use that knowledge though