Rattlesnakes: How common are they in the higher elevations?

[Wildhorse]

A great book I have been reading about creatures that live around oak trees in California says that ground squirrels have long been the staple of the rattlesnake diet. Over time, the squirrels evolved to have higher resistance to the rattlesnake venom, and then, in coevolutionary fashion, the snakes with less poisonous venom starved before leaving offspring. The surviving snakes had stronger venom and left offspring with that trait. In turn, the more resistant squirrels left more offspring. The circle has continued for a long time, making snakes more venomous. If our ancestors had been snake food, then we too would have more natural resistance.

The first rattlesnake I saw in the San Jacintos crossed the Devil Slide trail one afternoon as I was coming down. It was not more than a 100 feet in elevation below saddle junction. The second one that I remember coiled up and rattled at me, only about a foot away from my leg, while hiking on the PCT on the desert divide. I remember another at a switchback on the PCT north of saddle junction, at about 8400 feet. There have been others, but after encountering so many, the details are blurry.

I do see them more often at lower elevations. I remember several within a few minutes at lower elevations on the snow creek trail.

BTW, I have never personally seen poison oak above about 4500 feet in the San Jacintos. I know of a botanist who has unexpected found it above 6000 feet, where it really should not be. I guess nature does not respect boundaries.

[Ed]

Yet another good reason for dogs to be on leashes in areas where their allowed, (and maybe take it to snake training class).

I took my tri-color basset Chloe to rattlesnake aversion training every year for two or three years. Then we encountered a large one lying across the trail in the Laguna Mountains. Chloe walked up and began sniffing its tail before I saw it. (I'm absented-minded to begin with, and more so on the trail.) Fortunately, I had her on a leash and pulled her back before anything happened.

The snake seemed very sluggish. I reported the incident to the rattlesnake aversion training people. Their explanation was that the snake must have been in a dormant state, where it does not give off the odor the dog has been trained to avoid. According to them, a snake in the dormant state is just as venomous as a normal one, but much less likely to strike. This one was certainly in no hurry to move, he was having quite a siesta.

About six months later, I was taking Chloe for her daily walk in a nature preserve near our home. She dived into a bush after a baby rattler which bit her on the nose. So much for the dormant snake theory. Fortunately we were about 5 minutes from the car and about 40 minutes from the vet, plus she had her anti-venom shots, which buy you some time. Her nose was quite swollen by the time we arrived at the vet's. The treatment was expensive, about $1700.

My best rattlesnake story:

Three of us were practicing our rock climbing at Mt. Rubidoux. I was shooting the breeze with Sam while belaying Sheldon from below when I looked up, and saw that Sheldon was frozen. Completely frozen. I inquired as to what the problem was, employing language that was smart-assed, derogatory and too crude to repeat here. (Sheldon was ex-Minnesota Vikings, no worries about his feelings being hurt).

Sheldon's answer, in a very subdued voice, was 'I'm looking straight at a rattler.' The snake was on a ledge, and the next move on the route was a mantel up onto the ledge. Definitely out of the question, as it was not likely Mr. Rattlesnake would be into sharing the ledge. So Sheldon was steeling himself for a traverse to the left, across territory that was well beyond our idea of reasonable rock climbing.

It turned out ok. It was the last time I saw Sheldon. He died on Noshaq, in Afghanistan, about five months later.

[lkelly]

Who did your training? Not all are created equal. I have mine trained and have seen them avoid, alert and circle rattlers they encounter. I use a guy out of the desert, Erick Briggs. Very good with both dogs and snakes.

[Ed]

Who did your training?

I don't have the name anymore, and can't find a name on the web I recognize. It was a family-type outfit that went around the state, often employing gun clubs as their venue. I don't think many other people did it at the time. I had the impression they were pioneers and well-regarded. I always found the training to be quite interesting, and Chloe certainly graduated every time by circling around the snake and coming to me. Glad you have had better luck with it than me. Basset hounds, being hounds, are very difficult to control. Gone are the days when I could take walks and hikes with unleashed Labs.

San Diego County banned rattlesnake-aversion training for a while, I don't know whether the ban has been retracted. I think the issue was some old rules regarding having dangerous animals.

[Ed]

Sorry, I found it. I think they changed their name and the senior person died, but it is the same outfit.

http://socalrattlesnakeavoidancetraining.com/home.php

[KathyW]

I've seen them as high as 9,000'. The last few years I seem to be seeing more and more of them even in the winter when hiking in the desert. It used to be from November through March they were generally out of site, but not so much anymore as it's warmer all year round.

[cynthia23]

That sounds logical--that warmer weather might lead to more year round activity. But on the other hand, I personally haven't seen any snakes at all for almost two years. I think the drought has dramatically cut down on the number of them, though I haven't seen any articles confirming this one way or the other.

[SoCalJim]

It was reported in San Diego earlier this year that rattler sightings were up significantly. Haven't seen any recently updated reports. I've seen a couple so far this year, about average for me.

[bluerail]

I see So pacifics on the north side of the mountain frequently, but the highest ive ever seen one is around 6000', but i remember reading this awhile back about one at the peak.


https://books.google.com/books?id=mpTKB ... nd&f=false

[cynthia23]

Wow, that excerpt is fascinating, Bluerail. It seems so odd to think of snakes on the actual peak, but hey, maybe they think it's odd to see us there, too. Thanks for posting that--very cool.