Snakes are out

CarlS

CarlS

Member
Almost ran over this guy on Sunday. Came across the bridge at speed and hit an uphill turn, trying to downshift and not loose too much momentum when right in the middle of the trail.... OH Sh!t! Wasn't sure if I ran em over or not, when I looked back it looked dead with guts coming out it's mouth, but it wasn't... it was eating dinner!

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dustyyoungblood said:
Seeing the damn rattlers every ride now. Not happy
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I'd be bummed if I never saw rattlers. They're a beautiful representation of the living diversity on our planet. They don't have any interest in humans, and they keep rodents in check.

What's not to like about rattlers? Besides that they are dangerous to young intoxicated male humans? Maybe you and @jaime should ride... :eek::eek::cool:
 
mike said:
I'd be bummed if I never saw rattlers. They're a beautiful representation of the living diversity on our planet. They don't have any interest in humans, and they keep rodents in check.

What's not to like about rattlers? Besides that they are dangerous to young intoxicated male humans? Maybe you and @jaime should ride... :eek::eek::cool:
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zero interest in ever seeing a rattlesnake, ever.
 
I love seeing the rattlers while riding but there are definitely some sections of trail at Oaks right now that mess with my head being so narrow and overgrown. Boobytrap on Black Star was worse the other day, some sections of the trail were just brush that others had matted down where the trail is/was. I thought for sure I was gonna squash a snake but didn't.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any this year. :thumbsdown:
 
I haven't seen a snake yet on my cool, early morning rides.
I did see a mt lion on Saturday on the back side of Strawberry, on the singletrack climb, up near Strawberry spring. As I was pedaling up, I saw a pile of scat just on the edge of the trail, scratch marks and dirt made an attempt to cover the still wet turds. Duly noted and rode on. About a 100m later, I saw the cat, hunched over in that familiar feline poop-hunch. It slowly turned its head to me with that cat look you get when you stare at them pooping. I slowly put my bike in front of myself, as the cat was only 20m away. But he/she couldn't be bothered, stood up and loped away up the hill.
This was not a big lion, my guess is a juvenile of some sort. White muzzle patches, the long, black-tipped tail, and footprints at the scene verified my assumption. Didn't stick around to take pics as I was solo.
Just another amazing day in the San Gabes....
 
rossage said:
I haven't seen a snake yet on my cool, early morning rides.
I did see a mt lion on Saturday on the back side of Strawberry, on the singletrack climb, up near Strawberry spring. As I was pedaling up, I saw a pile of scat just on the edge of the trail, scratch marks and dirt made an attempt to cover the still wet turds. Duly noted and rode on. About a 100m later, I saw the cat, hunched over in that familiar feline poop-hunch. It slowly turned its head to me with that cat look you get when you stare at them pooping. I slowly put my bike in front of myself, as the cat was only 20m away. But he/she couldn't be bothered, stood up and loped away up the hill.
This was not a big lion, my guess is a juvenile of some sort. White muzzle patches, the long, black-tipped tail, and footprints at the scene verified my assumption. Didn't stick around to take pics as I was solo.
Just another amazing day in the San Gabes....
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Lucky dog! I still have never seen one in the wild. The unsettling thought is how many times each of us has passed by one that was tucked away out of sight but was well away of our presence. :eek::eek::eek:
 
mike said:
I'd be bummed if I never saw rattlers. They're a beautiful representation of the living diversity on our planet. They don't have any interest in humans, and they keep rodents in check.

What's not to like about rattlers? Besides that they are dangerous to young intoxicated male humans? Maybe you and @jaime should ride... :eek::eek::cool:
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Oh really, if rattlesnakes don't have any interest in humans and they keep rodents away then we should really welcome a couple to live on my patio to keep the rats from climbing the trees to my roof. Maybe some in the house to!!!!!
 
dustyyoungblood said:
Oh really, if rattlesnakes don't have any interest in humans and they keep rodents away then we should really welcome a couple to live on my patio to keep the rats from climbing the trees to my roof. Maybe some in the house to!!!!!
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Okay, now, don't go all manic, just relax and enjoy when you see one on the trail. Cuz you know you will. They know you will. They know you. They know.


PS: Peanut butter and a jawed trap for wood rats. A ratter isn't gonna swallow this dood...not the ones around here anyway.

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dustyyoungblood said:
Oh really, if rattlesnakes don't have any interest in humans and they keep rodents away then we should really welcome a couple to live on my patio to keep the rats from climbing the trees to my roof. Maybe some in the house to!!!!!
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Anything is possible. You should take some comfort in knowing that they are far more afraid of you than you are of them. It's absolutely true. A rattlesnake does not want to bite you, it wants to save it's valuable venom for it's prey (your rats). A bite is it's last resort to self preservation. It would much rather turn and leave the area. They are non-confrontational unless they feel that there is no choice. To those who encounter one coiled up, rattling, and set in striking position, aimed directly at us, we must realize that this is a simple minded life form compared to what our complex minds are capable of. It exists on a plain somewhere between instinct and simple thoughts. Danger/fear is about as complex of a thought as it is capable of having. Rattlesnakes are indeed a necessary element in the balance of nature. It is us who invades their home, if anything.

Bite victims simple got too close. The rattle is the warning. Even in the case of an accident where somebody stepped on the snake without meaning to. Heck, I'd bite you too, if you stepped on me!

Now, let's go back to your joking around about having one live on your patio to control the rat population. If there was a way for you to convey your thoughts to them that you had no bad intentions, I believe that you that you could live in harmony and close quarters without any concern.

Until that day comes, just respect them and give them their space. That's what they will give you in return.
 
mike said:
If I recall, you have a similar unfounded aversion to mountain lions. You better cool out, cuz like the lions, snake karma knows when you're creeped out by them, and you will have some absolutely horrifying encounters. The other white meat: Dusty Sprungblood. :cool:
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I don't really want to encounter a big cat, but I don't harbor any unfounded fear of the lions. I do admit I ride whiting a lot, and during the sightings a couple months ago I was pretty on edge. I study all the stats I can find and am comfortable being in their zones. A mountain lion sighting was just posted on my neighborhood watch Facebook and people wanted to have it trapped and "relocated"!!! Really!!!

My response "Just think of it this way, if you SEE a mountain lion you probably don't have much to worry about. They are ambush predators and need the element of surprise to catch prey. Plus, the males have a range of up to 200sq miles, so whatever was seen is probably long gone in search of the next deer."
 
"They are ambush predators and need the element of surprise to catch prey"
No that is not exactly true. I had one about 1/2 mile off sunning himself on a big boulder. He/she saw me and started my way disappearing into the chamise. It b-lined down the ridge, I though he/she is coming after me. It made a lot of noise since it did not use a trail, I could see pieces of chamise getting thrown into the air. I did not worry because I was on top of a rack next to a 12ft chain link fence. It came up to the fence. I could see every muscle and tendon as it walked towards me, no wasted body fat here. Its paws were huge as was its back hinds. I quickly decided 12 feet of chain link is not near enough fence and got off the rack as I was getting lower in the food chain. After seeing the wild cat just a few feet away from me I decided it is not a mountain lion, it is a lion that lives in our mountains. I had another encounter in the same general area and the cat just paced back and forth up on a big rock prominence about 100 feet above me, once I could not see it anymore. I quickly scurried up a large LOX tank and waited it out. I believe that they think we taste like chicken.
Happy food chain trails
 
Runs with Scissors said:
I believe he was referring to the rats. Or cats...they're one and the same. :D
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Don't tell my boy that. After nearly checking out, he was back from the vet at 60% of his normal body weight, and exterminated a fat wood rat straightaway. I'll bet the rat weighed over half what he did. He eats the mice, head first. The rats are too large. He's appropriately afraid of rattlers. He's no rat, and we both bristle at that preposterous notion. o_O:cool:
 
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