Rattlesnakes

[sdhiker]

My husband and I had a great hike up the Devil's Slide last Saturday, August 4, then did the loop past Laws Camp before returning down to Humber Park. A few switchback from the bottom we encountered a large rattlesnake that gave a good warning at about 10 feet away. It was to the side of the trail, well camouflaged. Is it common to see rattlesnakes when hiking these trails? Some of the trails through the ferns on the loop were very narrow. Is there much of a risk of encountering snakes in the ferns?

Thanks. I was happy to recently discover this message board as we plan to keep hiking fairly regularly at Mt. San Jacinto.

[magikwalt]

When you say "a few switchbacks from the bottom" are you referring to Humber park or where the Laws camp trail comes into Saddle Jct?

I've been doing a loop through Laws Camp for the last few months and haven't seen or heard a thing. Over here in the low desert I've seen or heard 3 so far this summer.

Scott was out hiking to and from Humber on Sunday so maybe he's been working that lower area some and has better info on it.

[sdhiker]

It was a few switchbacks from Humber Park. In a couple of weeks we plan to hike from Humber to the tram and back. So, it sounds like you, Magikwalt, haven't seen any snakes this year in that upper part.

Thanks for the response.

I also wonder if people are finding them from Saddle Junction upward toward San Jacinto peak.

[magikwalt]

My standard route is down from the tram through Law's Camp, Saddle Jct, Wellman's Divide and back to the tram.

No snakes.

We also took a trip down to Caramba Camp about 3 weeks ago and didn't see or hear any.

[sdhiker]

That's good to hear!

[guest]

Hi,
As Walt mentioned, I did the Humber park tram trip (there & back) a couple times in the last couple weeks, always going the south side through Laws / Skunk Cabbage area, where the tall, cool ferns are and haven't seen any snakes.

I think there's a much better chance down lower to run into them as you did.
This spring I encountered a couple on Skyline (east side of the mt) at 7k ft. which surprised me they were that high.

I wouldn't be too concerned, it has been a dry year. It's always nice when they give you some warning, (that's a busy trail, so they have company).

ss

[sdhiker]

So, are there usually fewer snakes in a dry year? It sounds like we have to be careful as always but not be too concerned about snakes. If anyone hikes the Devil's Slide trail a lot, I would be interested to know if they often see snakes there, especially at the lower part.

I appreciate the responses.

[Foleymo]

I saw a rattler last Monday (July 30) pretty low on the trail from Idyllwild to Strawberry Junction. Check it out here:

http://homepage.mac.com/foleymo/snake.jpg

Also, I saw a few around the Saddle Junction area in mid-June. In all these cases this summer, I only heard one of them rattle. Luckily their camo wasn't so great (dark color on light colored sand/dirt).[/img]

[sdhiker]

Scary snake picture! It's disconcerting that they don't always rattle. The only other rattlesnake I've encountered while hiking didn't rattle and I was about three feet away when I noticed it. A girl who came down the trail after we met up with the snake on Saturday said it had been there four hours earlier when she was going up the trail and was surprised it was still in the same area. On the way up, she had almost stepped on it with her foot just six inches away! Yikes!

[Cy Kaicener]

On May the 18th we had a whole thread about rattlesnakes
http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?t=17