"There's a rattlesnake over there"
Today was 100+ degrees and I needed to do a long run. My goal was 12 miles, I stopped at 10- and I only made it to 10 miles because I had a revelation right before I was going out the door. I realized that it was the perfect time to hit the Stony Valley Rail-trail- a flat, straight, and easy trail that was created when they picked up the old rail tracks. The beauty of this trail is that it is located in between two mountains and is lined by tall, shade-bearing, trees.
I was right about this choice, there was even a breeze- but a slight breeze on a shaded trail when the temperature is over 100 degrees is still a very difficult workout. I had strategically mapped my route so that I came back to my car every 5 miles for a reload of sport drink and re-evaluation of my plan based on the weather.
During my first out-and-back loop two bicyclists rode by, within a mile I looked ahead and noticed they were stopped... perhaps just looking out over the reservoir, I thought. Then the man shouted back to me, "There's a rattlesnake over there." At first I didn't quite make out what he was saying, but it sounded like the word rattlesnake, so I stopped and had him repeat it.
Surprising myself, I didn't freak out, I didn't turn around, my heart didn't even skip a beat. I just asked a few questions, (1) Where is the snake? (2) Is it coiled or just laying there? (3) Is it rattling?
He told me it was coiled, the woman who was with the man said she could see it rattling. They also informed me of its position, which was on the same side of the trail that I was running, so I walked to the other side and moved slowly forward. They then informed me that it was gone, it had slithered away back toward the water. I walked slowly down the side of the trail until I passed the point where the snake was, there was nothing. The man told me he was a little surprised because he had just rode passed it, but as I approached it took off.
Once I started running again, I evaluated the situation. Was it still safe to run this trail as there was just a rattlesnake spotted? It is extremely rare for a runner to come across a rattlesnake on a run, but it does happen. I've been reading up on this for a little while and decided that it was still safe, so I decided to continue, but to keep even more vigilant about snakes... of course that meant that everything looked like a snake after that.
One thing that's really important to note about rattlesnakes is that they have no intention of eating you, so it's not to their benefit to bite you. Even if they were to kill you, they wouldn't eat you, so the only reason why a rattlesnake will bite you is if you startle it or threaten it in any way.
Snakes don't hear with ears, but they feel with the vibrations in the ground, this is why they are rare for a runner to come across one. The snakes can feel the pounding footfalls from a pretty good distance and they will take off the moment they think you're close. This is why the cyclist rode right by it, and I think it only coiled when he stopped and got off his bike- the cyclists had come upon the snake suddenly, so the snake was preparing for defense... my footfalls, plus the man not getting too close, gave the snake the impetus to bolt in the other direction. Had we cornered the snake or gotten too close, it would have struck. Also, had the man said nothing to me or I just ignored him and ran up to the snake, it would have struck in defense. However, if I had been in front of the cyclists, it is more likely that my footfalls would have cleared the way. At least that's how I read it.
If you encounter a snake on the trail, stop. Give it a lot of space and move slowly away from it. Don't make any threatening motions, don't hit it with a stick or a rock, just slowly move away from it or stand completely still and wait for it to leave. It doesn't want to have anything to do with you, either.
If, by some small chance, you get bit, call 911 as soon as possible (in other words, carry a cell phone) and move slowly and calmly to a place where the ambulance can get you. Most initial bites are "dry" bites to warn you, but assume it was a wet bite.
Here's a good resource. Click Here
Be safe and have fun! Thanks for reading!
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